“Recalculating…”

My GPS hates me.

I would not have moved to North Carolina without GPS. I have no sense of direction (up is north to me,) and I was going to a brand new state with no idea of where anything was.

Well, right now I should be on a train driving through 10 acres of Christmas lights. I am not. I’m at my desk typing. Why? Because my GPS hates me.

We programmed it one time to take us back to a lake we’d accidentally found on our own. We couldn’t remember how we’d gotten there, so we programmed the GPS to go to the lake in Ft. Bragg.

She (my GPS’s voice is female) sounded very sure of herself, and she did get us to a place that looked familiar, but then she told us to take the next right. It was a dirt road. It was a dirt road with HUGE pot holes, the kind of holes cannon balls could have blown up. I have a tiny car — I mean tiny, just a smidge bigger than a Smart car. My car could easily have been destroyed by those pot holes. It dead ended. We turned around.

The GPS then said take the next right. Again, it was a dirt road with huge missile holes. We came to a place on the road where I would have had to jump the car three feet to get to the other side. We turned around.

Dave has a better sense of direction than I do and suggested we just drive straight for a little while. Sure enough, there was the bridge over the lake, and a LEFT turn got us to the little beach. I’m not sure where the GPS wanted us. I suspect dead.

Back in November, we found a light show with a train that would take us around. We agreed that was someplace we wanted to go. We procrastinated until this week, since it closes after Friday. (Today’s Wednesday.) I programmed the GPS, going over the route carefully because the trip would be made mostly in the dark.

Long before I was expecting it, I was instructed to take a left. I told Dave I thought it was too soon, but if the computer said left…I took the left.

We found ourselves wandering around a housing development with those cute little streets that lead into each other, so you can’t find your way out. Did the GPS help? No. It announced it was recalculating and shut up. It never said another word as we struggled to find our way home. Traffic was fairly heavy, and it had started to rain. It was completely dark by that time, and I hate driving in the dark when I know where I’m going. Being lost in the dark in the rain with a mute GPS is not my idea of a good time.

I should be on a train right now. We will, damn it, try again Friday. (It’s supposed to storm tomorrow.) This time I will turn left where I think I should turn left. I will not be defeated by a computer this time. There’s a train ride at stake here, damn it.

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Shout out to Esther estow76 (Esther). We senior ladies must stick together.