getting lost

when i returned home from my trip to boston last month i was surprised by a gift from jak. wrapped up and sitting on my desk with a very sweet card was a: GPS. this gift was in response not only to this incident, but many others that have occurred just like it over the past few years. my philosophy when driving while lost is this: if i just keep driving, i'll get there eventually. i don't have a problem with stopping and asking for directions, but if i am driving to the movie theater, and i know pretty much where it is, and i have been there before, i really don't see the point in stopping....it's gotta be here somewhere....

for the first few weeks i didn't need to drive anywhere that i didn't know how to get to. i kept thinking that i would bring it with me when i needed it. the fatal flaw in that plan is: "how do you know when you are going to get lost?" i think i have proven on more than one occasion that i am capable of getting lost under almost any circumstance.

this past weekend i realized that the car installation kit is not a sticker that permanently attaches to some part of your car, but is a suction cup for the inside of the windshield. so i installed the parts that hold the GPS in the car and now i can take the GPS in and out with me as needed, (i just need to remember to bring it when i plan on getting lost).

we used it to navigate our way west orange, new jersey a couple weeks ago and i used it to try out a new route to king of prussia a few days ago. and my overall review is mixed. it works well on the broad strokes, but often gets confused on the details (recalculating....) and sometimes it gives you instructions, not quite soon enough for you to actually make the turn/merge/on ramp/exit that you need to make (recalculating...). however that being said, it is a great toy, and i think that it will prove quite useful. we are considering buying the digital maps for italy, and taking it with us on our trip in october.

one of the mind blowing feature that it has: it "reads" your location and you can ask it to look for restaurants & it will give you a list of nearby restaurants. it will also show you shopping, lodging, gas stations, etc. how crazy is that?