Now that I’ve been retired from my real job for a few years, I really just like to stay at home. What a luxury. No early morning alarms going off. A lot of days I have nowhere to go. It’s great.
Still, I like to see what is around me, this county, state and country is huge. I didn’t have time to drive around when I was working and now, I don’t want to. To the rescue is the map program on the computer. I love to get on the map program and see the satellite images of everything near and far.
One time when I was looking at the map program for the city of Buffalo, New York, I was able to find the downtown roundabout that Joe and I got stuck on way back decades ago when we were coming home from Niagara Falls, Canada. It was incredibly busy, and no-one would let us into the lane we needed to be in to exit.
That is why I hate roundabouts. (Yes, it’s my yearly rant on roundabouts.) Sometimes, you just can’t improve on the original. There’s not a lot of confusion with stoplights. Green, you go. Red, you stop. Yellow does depend on timing, but we’re all used to it.
Last summer we were in Northern Ohio at a busy roundabout. One lane was so busy that all the cars from it just kept turning onto the roundabout and no other drivers could get in. Finally, a fellow driver took pity on us and let us into the roundabout. How is this an improvement? Just look at the errant black tire marks all over the current roundabout curbs and centers. They aren’t that easy to drive when you are trying to look at where everyone else is in the roundabout and decide if you can enter and exit safely.
Anyway, back to the map program. As the interstate routes get busier, I love to get on the map programs to find alternative routes. Sure, I could probably have the program do that for me, but it’s much more of a challenge to do it yourself.
So, a few weeks ago, I needed to head out of town to do an interview. Problem, there was some road construction going on and the main route was closed. I broke out the map program.
It looks like if I turn off the main route, go through a nearby small town, and head out along the river, I could eventually get to my destination. I had heard others talk about this route; they enjoyed it and sometimes went that way just for fun to enjoy the scenery.
I gave the route a quick look but didn’t study it closely like in the past. The appointment day came, and I rushed out of the house without reviewing the route again. I didn’t even set my GPS, like I usually do, so I don’t miss a turnoff. How hard could it be?
I came to an intersection I had never been at before. I looked at the road signs, they were not very helpful since I didn’t know where I was going. I figured the road I needed went off to the left. A semi headed that way in front of me. I followed it but noticed two trucks behind me turned right. Hmmm.
It’s amazing how remote some of these county roads are. The homes were further and further apart, and I was beginning to hear banjo music playing in my head. My nerves were starting to get to me, that unsettling feeling that I wasn’t going to get to my interview on time and I still didn’t know where I was.
I found a place to pull off and asked the GPS program for help. It told me to turn around.
I finally got to a road I recognized and made it right on time. Whew.
I’d been so good at this alternative route thing in the past that this was a real hit to my confidence. So, from now on – GPS – I’m not leaving home without it.
And now back to the map program to look at cities in Europe. Oh look, there’s the Louvre.
