The United States has 48 contiguous (meaning they share the borders) states and two problem states, which are Alaska and Hawai’i. They haven’t done anything wrong, but they are the last two added to the union because they are outside where the rest of us are located. Alaska is separated from us by British Columbia, and Hawai’i is out in the Pacific Ocean.
These are two, dare we say, polar opposite states. Alaska is considered a frigid place, whereas Hawai’i is a tropical paradise. Either way, they are both ours, and when one looks at a map of our nation, we do our best to get the two problem children into the picture in the best way we can. Sort of like getting the wild toddlers to stand still for the family photo. We do that cartographically by inserting both states in a comfortable position in the southwest corner of the Pacific close enough to the rest of the continent to continue the concept of a nicely squared-off cluster of landmasses.
Unfortunately, some folks think it is possible to drive to Hawai’i via a superhighway of some kind. You can’t. Hawai’i is about 2500 miles from California. A method has not been developed to make a bridge that far.
Sometimes rearranging things can cause confusion like this, but honestly there is no point in having a map with endless blue space representing the Pacific just so Hawai’i can be seen in its usual location on a flat map. We would also have Canada in every map if we did so, so as to reveal Alaska’s actual location. So, we fudge a bit.
I mention this because I have been looking at ads for backup power generators, and if you have seen one, you know that they all feature a sleek, comfortably sized piece of equipment sitting near the wall of your home and ready to provide power in an emergency. When I had an estimate crew come by, however, they could not put the unit next to the house. The location they had in mind would require breaking up the concrete patio to place the device several feet away, running connections across the entire axis of the basement to the other corner. No neat little gizmo sitting pretty next to the spotless siding here. I would have Alaska staring me in the face as I looked out the window of San Diego, and its power source would come from Maine.
The concept of truth in advertising has some loopholes, and maybe some places do allow the generators to stand side by side with the homes they protect, but not with the ordinances here, it seems. So, the ads fudged a bit. Because weather has been a major topic lately, with talk of an extreme winter coming, I offer this warning as a public service so nobody thinks it’s possible to drive to Hawai’i or have your generator sitting cozily next to your abode.
Maybe I need a vacation to Hawai’i.
