I hate technology

I used to do a lot of, "jumping in the cage and hittin' the road". Every weekend I was in Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, or the northern New England states. Rail photography and videoing. It also afforded me the chance to get out of Connecticut. As a traveler, I love maps, not those useless Rand McNally things that only show you highways, I am talking real maps, map books,the kind that cover half a state (Except Rhode Island), and show every road, alley, short cut and train track. Hospitals, schools, Police Departments, parks, and cemetery's. Map books made by American Map, Arrow, or Hagstrom (my favorite).

You could find your way anywhere, taking routes most people didn't know even existed. A quick glance in the book and not only did you know where you were and where you were going, but what towns and cities lay in between, directly in route or off the side. I have a box full of map books and fold out maps and it is Always in the car...well until recently. I have been moved from one car to another for the last few months so the box is in my living room. 
Which leads me to Saturday.

Saturday we, Gerald Miner and I, went to Billerica, Massachusetts, GPS took us right here, of course it, as usual, told us the place was on the opposite side of the street from where it actually was, and told us we were there about a half mile before we were. The problem with the electronics is when we left our original destination, we went cruising, and while GPS is great at telling you what road you are on, it does damned little in telling you what town. Now, I don't mind cruising around aimlessly on city streets, but it is nice to know what City's streets we were on. We spent about a half hour lost in Lowell before we knew it was Lowell. It's also nice to bypass GPS routes occasionally. GPS sent us west along the river in Lowell up to Tynsborough then down route 3 to 495, when all we had to do was cross the Rourke bridge on Wood street to Drum Hill road. 3 miles and we would have been on route 3 at exit 32.

The problem I believe is that the electronics are set up for idiots, If there isn't a route number it avoids it, even when set as fastest route.

klay