Sunday, April 5, 2009

74W is where?

Last weekend, my husband Bob and I embarked on our road trip to Asheville, North Carolina. As I was wrapping up logging my hours for work, Bob decided to map quest our route and print a map. We live in the northern section of Georgia and decided to take the scenic route through the mountains as we had plenty of time to reach our destination before my 7:00 p.m. signing.

One hour into the trip:

Bob: Check the map and let me know where to go?
Julie: (glances at the minuscule square that's supposed to be a "map") Seriously?
Bob: Yeah, why?
Julie: The map is too small. I can't make out the route numbers because of the fat blue line that shows us where to go.
Bob: Oh.

Two hours into the trip:

Bob: We're in Franklin, NC - check the map and tell me where that is.
Julie: (glances once more at the flippin' tiny map, puts on her reading glasses to see if that will help and then glares at her husband) Seriously?
Bob: No Franklin?

Three hours into the trip:

Cell phone rings:

Mother-in-law: Hey we're here. Where are you?
Julie: Seriously?

........................................

We did make it well within our time limit. And I'm the first person to tell you that I love the feeling of not really knowing where you're going but knowing everything will be okay. It's adventurous and fun.

Leaving Asheville was an entirely different experience.

Bob: 74W right?
Julie: (feeling smug) Yep.
Bob: Ok. 40W to 74W right?
Julie: (definitely the superior gender) Yep.
Bob: Ok. That sign says 240W to 74W.
Julie: Seriously?
Bob: Yeah. Do I turn?
Julie: Uhhhhh...yep. (decisiveness is always good)

Ten minutes later:

Bob: That sign says we're on 74E.
Julie: Uhhhhh...go that way 40W.
Bob: (cannot print what was said)
Julie: There...that sign says 40W, 74W uhhhh and 26W and 74E. How can we be going both East and West?
Bob: Seriously?
Julie: (cannot print what was said)
Bob: (cannot print what was said)
Julie: (really can't print what was said)

We made it home. We didn't kill one another. And we have learned not to follow what the signs say in Asheville, never to print anything from map quest, and to invest in a GPS system.