because if you're looking for a new GPS, I do NOT recommend this one. I mean, yeah, it gets you mostly where you want to go, I suppose. But it sucks.
The first indication I had that it has its crappy moments is a while back when I was going to IKEA in East Palo Alto before the wedding. I actually happen to know exactly where ikea is, but I had just gotten the GPS and was in the entering-in-every-destination mode. If you've ever been to this one, you'll know that its right off the freeway. Like seriously, right off the freeway. Instead of taking me there, the GPS decided to make me exit a couple of exits south of the actual store and then had me on some random side road going even farther south. Like a nitwit, I followed the directions blindly for a good 10 minutes before I realized what was up. And keep in mind that I know this area fairly well, having lived around there for ages -- so hence, NITWIT!
Anyway, there's been a few more issues over the last few months. Stupid things that could usually be explained by the software using old maps or something -- you know a few Taco Bells off the freeway that were no longer there, that kind of thing. A particularly memorable moment was when I went to Oregon a while back when it decided to not take me to the airport parking lot I needed to go to and instead decided I needed to be doing loops around South San Francisco. I've been frustrated but decided to keep forging ahead. Well, actually, we had decided to return it to Cost-Co eventually but there seemed to be no rush.
But Sat was the last straw. I was heading up to Sonoma for my friend's bachelorette party. And it seemed to find the hotel/spa in Sonoma just fine. But about an hour into my drive, I felt like a couple of coffee. What sucks is that before my GPS-days, I would have waited til I saw a Starbucks off the freeway and just pulled over. Now, I thought, haha, I'd find one nearby and it'd be awesome. I could get it sooner!! It directed me off the freeway near a big shopping center in Fremont. OK, actually, it was a center that looked like it would have a Starbucks in there, so looking good so far. We drove past the center, came up around the back. I swear, I even thought at this point, how lucky I have this thing. I would have spent ages driving around this place looking for coffee, but the GPS knew exactly where to go. Looped around a bit more. And some more. And finally arrived at what the GPS thought was a Starbucks. I think it might have been a Ross. Anyway, I still ended up driving through the shopping center and got no coffee. The fun part was that it was Sat morning and there were a lot of people shopping and I managed to hit every single light. Approximately 25 minutes later, I got back onto the freeway empty-handed.
A little later, I realized I would probably have to cross a bridge at some point and had no cash for the toll. I needed $$ for the wknd anyway, so it seemed like a good time to pull over and look for an ATM (and maybe there'd be a Starbucks next door!). Again, I looked for the nearest ATM on the gps and found a credit union a couple of exits ahead (awesome, since I have a credit union). Turned out the ATM was actually a couple of miles off the freeway in Richmond somewhere. OK, that's fine, I guess. Maybe it was too much to expect that it would be right off the freeway. Following the directions, I drove to what was supposed to be an ATM and what was actually Contra Costa College. To make matters worse, I think they were having gradutation ceremony so lots of the surrounding roads were blocked off, and I didn't figure out why until I drove around trying to get to the "ATM" and finally got close enough to see it. It was a lot of fun trying to get outta there. And the optimist that I am, I even got out of my car and walked a few blocks to where the ATM was supposed to be, thinking maybe its just in the college somewhere and I couldn't see it while driving.
OK -- more than half hr later, I'm back on the freeway, wondering when the bridge was coming. Turns out I was closer than I thought. It came up on me like a couple of exits later. No warning, and suddenly I'm stuck getting on the bridge with no cash. Well, almost. At the last second, there was an exit, so I took it, came back the other way to look for an ATM again. You get where this is going, right? Anyway, that little detour lasted another half hr and actually took me to the federal building in Richmond. If I were ever planning on transferring locations at my current job, that'd be one of my options, so I'm glad I got a chance to check it out. Since there was no ATM there, I'm of course grasping for ways to find meaning to my experience.
Fortunately, there was a Walgreens across the street which happened to have a B of A inside. I decided to eat the convenience fee and just go there. I'd like to point out too that the B of A hadn't shown up on the GPS. But whatever.
A little closer to my destination, starving, I pulled over to a Jack in the Box off the freeway that I managed to find despite my GPS's attempts to screw me over again. But getting back on the freeway was a different story. I don't know why I even turned the stupid thing on again honestly. I figured it knew where the hotel was and that was my next and final destination, so why not just go with it. But first it tried to make me turn right when I could literally see the freeway on ramp on the left. I turned left. THEN, it re-routed itself and told me to get onto the freeway going S even though I could have sworn we were going north. But this is where my need to follow directions again the better of me. Suddenly I had doubt. Before I pulled out, I had been very close to my turnoff. Maybe while circling around the freeway, I had passed it and that's why I was to go south. Unable to make a quick decision (I never can), I went south. Only to be told to take the next exit and come back north!
Needless to say, I arrived at my final destination almost 2 hrs late and not very happy with life. The girls, already enjoying their relaxing spa afternoon, were - I'm sure - absolutely thrilled to having me come in all ranting and raving. And G, who had to endure phone updates every step of the way, expressed some concern for the safety of the GPS (after all, how can we return it if I've destroyed it?).
Fortunately, on my way home, I had my friend Vid to guide me. Other than a winding, circuitous, oftentimes scary "shortcut" to the freeway in Sausilito, she did quite well.
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