Signs are generally placed to warn, to inform, or to remind
people of important information. Without signs, drivers may not
realize that there's a blind driveway around that curve, or even
that there's that dangerous 90 degree curve on the cliff's edge
right after you come over the hill. Signs are important in our
daily lives, helping keep us safe and ensuring the orderly
progression of society.
But there is a concept known as "too much of a good thing."
Signs multiply, become obstructive, unhelpful, and downright
irritating. It is often said that every rule exists because someone
did the opposite of it at some point. If new signs must be placed
every time someone forgets a tiny piece of information, we may be
doomed to an eternal purgatory of signage. Welcome to the Time
of the Signs.
As folks following this series may have figured out, I've always
liked signs. As a kid, I'd read the road signs out loud when my
folks drove me somewhere, which I'm sure didn't annoy them in the
least. Being a bit of a sign geek, then, one thing that just
gets under my skin is when the folks making the signs make mistakes
that are really uncalled for. It doesn't make the signs
wrong, per se, but it's distracting at the least. This cache
is dedicated to a rather strange phenomenon that I've noticed here
in San Antonio, and a counterpart of which I've seen out in
Houston.
You see, to have a coherent system of national highways, the
highways need to have some consistency, especially in their
signage. Now, sure, there will be some differences in how things
are implemented, and things aren't going to look exactly the same
everywhere. But there are some things, some simple things,
that are so common that they're codified. There's a right way and a
wrong way to do them, and for some reason, San Antonio seems to
persist in doing it wrong. So, using your knowledge of the
Interstate system, examine the image below. Some of the portions
may jump out at you as being wrong. Put those portions together,
and you'll know where the cache is.
One final note, when you do get to the final location, it's very
likely to be high traffic, especially during shopping hours.
Use your best stealth skills, and make sure the cache is replaced
out of easy eyeshot, and hopefully this one will last for a while.
Good luck!