Sunday, June 22, 2008

These Directions are Only for Planning Purposes . . .

Ever notice that disclaimer on the online maps & directions? Well, today I'm not even sure how it would have been useful for planning purposes! I entered the address of the Farmer's Market I wanted to go to, 500 ABCD Street (street name (obviously) changed for the sake of security). Got my directions. It told me the location was 7.something miles away, ok, I can live with that. It did NOT tell me that it couldn't find my location & was sending me to a location "nearby" like it sometimes does. I start driving w/ two children "discussing" EVERYTHING loudly in the backseat (such an asset to finding your way on unfamiliar roads). But I DID follow the directions as stated! And those directions took me, not to 500 ABCD Street but to 3900 ABCD Street! HUH?!?!?!?! So at that point I warned the girls that we very well might NOT find the Farmer's Market that day, but we were still trying. And I headed down that street for a VERY LONG time. Through parts of town I actually recognized and beyond . . . and finally DID get to 500 ABCD Street and DID find a very nice (though not huge) Farmer's market and we got some yummy fresh early summer veggies and a source for local raw honey (though I don't need any yet and will keep fingers crossed to find a CHEAPER source, but at least it's something) and yes, I think we'll be going back to this little Farmer's Market throughout the season. But then, I had a vague idea where I was and most definitely was NOT going to go back the way I'd come (which by the time I traveled however far down ABCD Street probably ended up being closer to 15 miles) so I decided to try continuing down ABCD Street (to 400 block and beyond) and see where I ended up. And you know what? We were less than FOUR MILES from home! And a quick, easy to remember & follow 4 miles at that. Seriously it's like 4 turns! WHAT was Google Maps thinking sending me way out through 2 other towns (granted these "towns" are all suburbs of our main city & so are quite small (think DC's Chevy Chase, Bethesda, etc) but still!) and more than 10 miles out of my way?

Oh well, at least I didn't get irretrievably lost in the midst of it all LOL.

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