Driving Between Worldcons, According to Google - RonO's Ramblings

I'm sure most people are now familiar with the feature in Google Maps that allows it to give driving directions where oceans must be crossed (by telling the user to use a kayak). Just to confirm that it was still there, I asked it to give me driving directions between the sights of Anticipation and Aussicon 4. And it complied nicely (here).

What I'm trying to figure out is why it routes the user through Hawaii (Oahu) and Japan (the main island with Tokyo and Osaka I believe). I'm guessing that it is trying to minimize the sea voyage distance.

I was also able to get the walking directions. However, anyone planning on following those better get started pretty soon or they'll miss Aussicon.

One other oddity I noticed, but one I think I can explain. When I started at home instead of the Palis in Montreal, it still routed me through Seattle. I'm guessing this has to do with the great circle distances that put Seattle much closer to Oahu than San Diego.