Some travel days are good, and some aren't so good, but when you keep going in circles first thing because you can't find where you are supposed to detour, it sort of sets the tone for the entire day.
First thing that bugged me was the new male voice on the GPS - Jack. Where in the world does Garmin get these voices, or what computer program puts the sounds together. He kept telling me to get onto Wisconsin "Wendy-nine". It dawned on me that he was saying twenty-nine, and a hundred or so miles later he said to drive "wendy-nine" miles and then keep right. There are some other ridiculous pronunciations but this one struck me as being totally off the wall.
I have always avoided driving anywhere near Minneapolis-St. Paul, but the bypass around it was easy as pie to follow. Traffic was heavy, but maintained a steady speed. I finally arrived at the motel in St. Cloud. Again, the directions given by the Garmin were really bad so I just followed signs to the motel 6 exit. Then when I arrived to find this is probably the worst motel I've stayed in for a long time, that took the cake for the day. The room is ok, and the front desk was friendly, but she put me in the middle of the long corridor and I ended up having to bring Lady past the office. I hate doing that, and she acted like she'd never gone through a door before.
I'm changing my route a bit after reading Rod's blog, I'm determined not to go anywhere near Sturgis. I love the bikers that flood into Washington DC for Memorial Day every year, but it seems like they would be concentrated in a smaller area. I lived in Northern VA so maybe I just don't know how and where they spent their time when they weren't down by "The Wall". It was always an awesome sight to see the thousands of bikes heading towards DC from their various staging areas.
I am so hungry this afternoon I will have to go out to eat somewhere. I've avoided it by bringing a lot of food along, but I'm running low on the stuff that is filling. I think there is a supermarket within walking distance - well, a pretty long walk but I need that - so I will just leave Lady in the room while I go shopping.
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I hated the female voice on my Garmin so I switched to the male and had problems understanding his pronunciations also. So, I switched to the male Australian voice and really like it. I can understand what he's saying and I love the accent. Now he's my "Jack-in-the-box"! You might want to try that, mate. :)
ReplyDeleteYou definitely want to avoid Sturgis during the rally, it is totally nuts there.
ReplyDeleteYou should down load the Mr. T. voice for your Garmin! I pitty the fool that took the wrong turn!
ReplyDeleteAnd if that doesn't work, I have a niece with a new AAA membership that can get you a nice trip tick...
Drive safe, and we can't wait to see you soon!
i've heard the male Australian and he was pretty good.
ReplyDeleteI actually like the 'Jack' voice on my garmin!
ReplyDeleteI have done some shopping in St Cloud. :)
We hate having a day of detours, not easy to get around and find the right campground. We've done that this summer a couple times.
ReplyDeleteWe're so glad to have the Garmin (at times it isn't) we would have never made it without it, We're still using the female voice. Good luck. Sorry we didn't get to meet up this trip.
Travelodge motels are low price and pretty decent and they have an online rewards program. We used them a lot when traveling.
ReplyDeleteI didn't like the garmin for the recalculate thing, My friend had one and it always wanted you to turn somewhere like a wall. I have a Tom Tom and it doesn't say that it just takes a minute and then tells you where to go. I have the male vioce as the woman grated on my nerves. It is easy to understand but he gets on my nerves too. LOL I guess I jus6t don't like being told where to go. Hope you have a better day tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteOnly time we use our Garmin is to navigate our way through cities. It's generally pretty good but we have ended up in some heated arguments. Sometimes Garmin Gertie is right & sometimes I am right. We have quite a time with each other some days.
ReplyDeleteOur male Garmin voice tells us to "turn rot" and that the exit ramp is "on rot". County Road is "Ounty Road." I would check out the Australian voices but my husband is hard of hearing and that probably wouldn't work well. We do get led to some interesting routes sometimes, but for the most part the GPS is helpful in our travels.
ReplyDeleteA long yucky day. We don't like taking the girls past the front desk either the few times we've stayed in a motel. But it does happen and we just hope they don't do their usual mouthing off. We have a Tom Tom and it doesn't say the recalculating all the time which I love. Our old one told us constantly it was recalculating and I hated it. Definitely avoid Sturgis. Unless you just have a major urge to be deafened by bikes.
ReplyDeleteYou were so close to Fred and I. We are in Savage Minnesota. Best of luck in your travels. I love reading your blog.
ReplyDelete