Well Griffo, you just demonstrated that you never understood the 2003 NAS procedures.
Listen on the local CTAF's and/or 126.7 while enroute.
I always found that I had much better situational awareness of important things that I might need or like to know that way.
It wasn't difficult but many just COULD NOT get their minds around no area frequencies for VFR.
Then in the first month or so after the 2003 intro, the ATC people managed to create 2 "incidents" that weren't, out of whole cloth.
However do those silly cowboy Americans ever manage to fly cross country with their system?
Please don't say radar coverage as most of the VFR traffic isn't even required to have a transponder, even in Class E, below 10,000 feet.