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.
5 comments:
We go old school all the time. Last year (or the year before) we drove all over the east coast and we would get directions just to our next stop. This led to our being ridiculously lost in New Jersey and we had to stop and buy a map at a gas station.
I found myself in a similar situation when I went to Utah for my grandfather's funeral. I got into the rental car, pulled out my gps and discovered that while it would turn on, the touch screen was utterly unresponsive. We ended up booting the laptop and using the aircard to get online and google maps our way around town.
Tim Gunn would be proud of how you "made it work."
We do it old school with a road atlas from our state farm agent.
It is good to hear your saga about the maps. We are having the same trouble south of the equator. Maps between towns do not exist. Only small charts of the city center. But how do you get from one city to another is not always clear. Our GPS, with a specially purchased Chile road map, has been invaluable. It has gotten us going the wrong way on a one way road in the heart of Santiago! Many irrate drivers later we managed to duck into a driveway. Boy, did I need the wine tasting after that harrowing experience.
beth
Post a Comment