For the most part, I feel blessed to have a GPS system in my vehicle.
There are many times when I have tried to use it and it has taken me to the very spot I needed to go. However, this summer it kept taking me back to the same closed highway.
I wanted it to show me an alternative route to where I wanted to go, but apparently it doesn’t recognize road closures. Eventually I found my way through and arrived at my destination.
Last week Friday, I wanted it to get me to a hotel in the Wisconsin Dells area.
I put in the address, but probably should have put in the name of the hotel. I say that because she kept trying to get me to drive into a gravel pit. There was no danger I would actually do that, as the gates were all closed, so I kept going.
“Recalculating,” Miss Garmen said.
Then I was instructed to “turn left,” which I did. “Turn left” again, which I did, then “turn left “ another time, and we were back to the gravel pit. I didn’t obey then, and she was getting frantic, so she told me to “turn right.” I did that, it was a street that simply curled around and I went right back out.
At that time, I didn’t care about Miss Garmen. I didn’t turn her off, as I somehow thought she might figure out that she was wrong and would correct herself.
However, I soon discovered that she had no clue what I wanted, nor would she figure out the problem.
By then, I was headed into the heart of Wisconsin Dells. I don’t mind driving there, but since I wasn’t sure where I was supposed to go, I stopped at the next available gas station. This attendant knew exactly how to get to the hotel, and gave exact directions.
However, he was telling me about turns at certain stop lights, and as I traveled past the Wisconsin Dells attractions, I kept thinking it would have been easier for me if he would have told me to go past the Tommy Bartlett show and turn left at the next light.
Somehow I had thought the hotel was more in the Lake Delton area, so it didn’t surprise me that I needed to be in that area. I found my destination, discovered that my room was ready and proceeded to take the luggage cart to my van to load my things. That luggage cart required some muscle to get the wheels to roll in the correct direction. It reminded me of an oversized grocery cart.
I had traveled there to play sheepshead. Yes, I know that I can go somewhere close and play sheepshead nearly every day or night of the week. I can gather friends at my house and play the game. In fact, I can sit at my computer, in Yahoo Games and play sheepshead in there, and I do most every evening for an hour.
However, this was a big tournament, with players from all over the state, and even from other states. I had attended it years ago, and made some friends, and the only time I see them is at this tournament. So I played for two days straight, was not a big winner, but not a total loser either. I had a lot of fun, and it was great to see everyone and to meet new friends.
I did learn one thing though — that GPS can’t always be depended upon.
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