Rather than having an "AHA" moment it was more like a "Well DUH" moment when the light bulb came on. I have spent days poring over maps, using the new Mapquest, figuring mileages, hours of driving time, preferred routes, etc., when it finally came to me that I never follow any plans so why stress over them. I have dozens of Triptiks with sections I've never driven, many iterations of Mapquest, and all those trips that are still in my head. So now I've decided on a tentative route and stops, written them down with pertinent information I'll need if I decide to stick to any part of it, and between paper maps and my Aussie friend who resides inside the Garmin, I will do just fine. And if I get lost? I can't stay lost for long and I'll make the best of it if I do.
A comment on the new and improved Mapquest: in some ways I really like it. I registered so it would keep certain info in memory, and supposedly would be necessary to call up previous maps. I recorded my userid and password in a file where I keep all those ridiculous words, but when I went to retrieve a map it asked me to sign in again. Then it didn't like my userid or password. No problem, I clicked on "Forgot password?" I couldn't believe all the info they wanted - my email address wasn't enough. They needed to know my date of birth, city of birth, mother's maiden name, # of children I had, and just about everything except the last time I had sex! Really!!!
I can't say but you can imagine how irritated I was with all this, and I never did manage to sign in. From now on I will just create a new map from scratch every time, and forget about the benefits of signing in. And while I'm at it I will wean myself off Mapquest. It always wants to route me out of the way to stay on interstates (as does the GPS), so the paper maps will be my best friend on the trip.
The past weekend has been absolutely perfect weather-wise. Now we are to have a week of rain, and it looks like it will start any minute - probably while I am making a run to the Post Office and drugstore.
Just 15 more wake-ups until take-off!
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Hey, a new page here to comment on. I like paper maps too, even tho i do look up things on Mapquest to get the location and surrounding area.
ReplyDeleteWe have Microsoft Streets & Trips but I've never used it. Mapquest I use to see how many miles things are, etc. I still prefer my good old tried & true map Atlas. Also have additional Atlas's for each of the southwestern States including Utah & Colorado. I prefer to chose my own routes, my way, & I enjoy that. Like you, I don't necessarily stick to what I decide from start to finish & that keeps things from getting boring. Weather changes,,roads change, plans change, I change....Love it:))
ReplyDeleteMe too.....GPS is often wrong, Mapquest and Google Maps like interstates even if you tell them you don't. So, if I want to travel a long distance and get there fairly quickly I use them. Otherwise I'm a maps person too. I often wonder if those who use nothing but their GPS ever realize how far out of the way it takes them to get where they are going or if it's just that they don't want to bother doing it themselves so they don't care.
ReplyDeleteWe use Microsoft Streets and Trips for our planning exercise. It allows us to choose whether or not we want to travel on the Interstate system or not and can have as much or as little detail as you want. There is a lot of details regarding amenities along the way available and we use that occasionally to find a spot to park at days end. I still like paper maps but find them to take up to much room and hard to refer to while on the road. Our Australian friend "Sheila" guides through much of our on the road travel but I do make sure she is taking me where I want to go before I turn her loose.
ReplyDeleteI'm like Al - I use Mapquest to figure out the miles and then I resort to the paper map to figure out how I want to get to that end point and how long. GPS - we use it when we're getting close to our destination and it usually does a pretty good job of putting us where we belong.
ReplyDeleteI was just catching up on my blog reading this morning and was happy to read that you have chosen to do a more 'tentative' routing of your return trip!! I, personally, think that makes alot of sense, especially since you are not limited by a 5th wheel, truck camper or time schedule. Take the opportunity to check out some interesting places along the route back home, relax and, most of all, enjoy!!
ReplyDeleteI'm back out in the Napa area again for awhile and hope that once you're back and rested, we can get together for a visit!!
Mapquest probably doesn't have records that go back far enough to cover the last time you had sex!!
ReplyDelete:-O
I love maps! When I was a little girl, I thought if I looked close enough with a magnifying glass, I could see the little cars driving on the red and blue lines!
ReplyDeleteI would sit in the back seat of our station wagon, or in the first seat in our camper bus (converted school bus) with my finger on the map and I would slowly move it from town to town as we drove along. That was the beginnings of my lust for travel and love of maps!
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(Our Blog) RVing: Small House... BIG Backyard
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I prefer the paper maps. More fun figuring out which routs to take the next day. I always wait until at least lunch time to decide where to spend the night and sometimes I just wait until I want a break and stop at the next available place.
ReplyDeleteWe are getting the same week of rain. I am glad I don't have to drive in it, but I do have to go out in it to get to places. I really like my spiffy white and yellow rain slicker, so that helps lessen the pain in the behind a shower can be. :D
ReplyDeleteI love paper maps for in the car. Pooldad calls me his "navigator" or "co pilot". He was impressed when we first started dating I could read a map. I didn't realize people didn't have that skill, but....the people that work for him [back 20 years ago] had to have the ability b/c they were on the road so much, and he would get so frustrated b/c they got lost so much. Now all the trucks are outfitted with GPS and they wouldn't know what a paper map was. Poor kids.
I like Mapquest if I am looking up a new, local address for my appts or taking the kids to their friends house over by their school [it's about 10 miles away, and I get so lost if I don't have directions] but we don't use it too much for long trips b/c it has a tendency to take us through the most commercial routes with all the fast food and touristy shops.
I have never heard of Microsoft Streets and Maps, but I think I would be very interested in it after reading all the comments here. I just love learning about something new reading blogs, don't you? heehee
And I know a lot of RVers who have run into trouble with GPS because what looks like a decent road or wide enough will turn out to be rocks and gravel or too narrow to maneuver.
Try to enjoy the rain. We really need it out here on the east coast, with no snow this winter. But I am beginning to wonder if we aren't close to making up for the loss yet. We have had a lot of rain this spring.
Talk to you soon! Take care my friend. :)
I tell Maps to find a place im interested in ... It gives me 3 routes ... I then expand the viewing area and then will look at the paper US Map then the state map...
ReplyDeleteLike today ? I decided ti head to Butte bit ended up in Bozeman and thight I'd drive on on ti Spoksne .... Well? Glacier National Park is just up the road a piece ;) so heading there in the AM !
Unless of course I take a wrong turn and end up some place else ... I do that A LOT ... hahaaa
Love it....
Been missing you !
Sigh ... one finger typing and Siri ... Typos can be fun too
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