With the untimely death of our laptop, we had to change our travel strategy for the Epic Roadtrip. We had been planning to use it extensively to get directions, book motels, etc. It died three days into our trip, so we had to seek an alternative. First we went to Best Buy and looked at GPS units. But since we've been jobless for a couple of months and the first paycheck is still a month out, we made the parsimonious choice and decided we didn't need a GPS; we would rock it old school.
Our parents all did it. They used maps, charted courses and even (gasp!) stopped to ask for directions. We decided that we could follow their example and go retro.
Well, times have changed. It turns out that you can't actually purchase maps anymore. Well, not at gas stations. A friend did point out that you can buy maps at your local Barnes and Noble, but if you're in a strange place, you're going to have a hard time finding one. Unless you have a GPS.
We mostly did OK. We used a a Bob Evans map (Bob Evans is a restaurant chain based the midwest, and they apparently distribute maps of their locations nationalwide) gifted to us by one of our hosts. We also got a motel discount magazine (like you see at IHOP and similar locations), which had maps and of course motels. But we did have to put in a couple of help! phone calls on our cell phone. Good thing we still had our phone, imagine us trying to find a pay phone! (Did I mention old-school is not what it used to be?)
About a week in, Jerry and Vivian had pity on us and let us borrow their GPS. It was invaluable. I still believe we could have made it work old-school, but I also now know that you can't overlay a previous way of life into a contemporary paradigm. In short, you can't go back. Sorry, Mom and Dad; we tried.
