Daylight saving time got you confused? We know we were confused on our recent trip to the southwestern states.
Daylight Saving Time
As far as we know, Arizona is the only state currently not using daylight saving time. On face value, this isn’t a big deal. But, let me tell you why it confused the heck out of us.
The Texas Two Step
We decided to take an impromptu trip the first part of March. Our new granddaughter would be in Texas with her parents for spring break week. And, we got an invite to join them. Texas is in Central Time zone – thus the Texas two step forward two hours. We hit the road in our motor home on Wednesday, March 7.
We entered Arizona Saturday, March 10. And, we crossed a time zone. Meaning, we lost an hour (or gained depending on how you look at it!). And, daylight saving time was that night (or early the next morning). But wait! Arizona does not observe daylight saving time. (Spring forward – remember that…)
Sunday morning, we entered Texas. Another hour lost. Or is that two? Or is that three?
Three Hours Lost
We were beginning to feel like we just traveled from west to east coast via plane. We lost three hours just like that.
Arizona – no daylight saving time in Mountain standard time (1 hour ahead of Oregon).
Texas – Central standard time with daylight saving time (2 hours ahead of Oregon plus DST).
So basically in the matter of a day and a half, we lost 3 hours. Three hours traveling, three hours sleep – you get the picture. Our bodies were feeling jet lagged.
Cell Phone Time Change
To make matters worse, our phones didn’t change immediately. Or part of the phone changed time, and the other screen still showed the old time.
As if traveling doesn’t take enough out of you, the time change nearly did us in!
Return Trip
Of course, the reverse is true on the return trip. We forgot about the time change, so we actually could have traveled longer each day. But doing close to 500 miles a day is plenty, regardless what the hour is. Throw in a little daylight saving time alteration in Arizona just for fun.
Getting Away Is Great
So whining aside, we had a great vacation. Our granddaughter is changing so fast. She’s smiling and babbling (aka telling stories). And changing on a daily basis. Rick and June (Tarna’s folks) were great hosts and allowed us to “camp” on their front lawn north of Houston. It was fun spending time with Travis and Tarna as well. We decided that this might be a good trip each winter about this time. The desert warmth was wonderful.
We visited with friends Karen, Don, and Diane from the Austin area. And, we got better acquainted with Zac and Lorilyn from Full Custom Fab. We met them through Instagram and the fact that we both have ArcLight Dynamic CNC plasma machines.
We’re back to work as of today. No rest for the weary!