Mike: Your story is quite helpful! I know driving with our wives can be challenging at times especially in unfamiliar areas. Although I've not quite started to use my GPS - I am getting there - your story is one good suggestion if I can't simply find an alternative route from where one is standing to the destination. Actually, I've navigated my wife to a certain point that I'd be familiar with and then go from there. Jeff ----- Original Message ----- From: "Michael May" <MikeMay@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> To: <gps-talkusers@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Sunday, December 12, 2004 1:14 AM Subject: [gps-talkusers] Situation 8, forcing the BN to avoid a road closure > Situation 8 > We are driving to a Society for the Blind Christmas function at the > Sacramento Yacht Club. It is very foggy and there is lots of traffic. I am > in charge of directions with my BrailleNote GPS route guiding us along. > > The tension in the car is palpable as we creep across a bridge over the > Sacramento River. The BN reports 2.1 miles to our destination. I can't wait > for a warm fire and glass of wine. > > We arrive at an intersection where the BN instructs us to continue straight > but flashing lights and police cars across the road force us to turn right. > It turns out that a gas main ruptured and the route we needed was > completely blocked. > > Question 8 > What now? We are in a completely unfamiliar area, it is residential and > there is nobody to ask directions of. We are already very late. How do I > get us to the event and keep my hide intact at the same time? > > Answer8 > My wife wanted me to call the Yacht Club, which I of course did. I told the > bar tender where we were and she gave me very complicated directions for > two possible alternate routes and at the same time, my wife is talking to > me. I hang up, more confused than ever. > > I told her to pull over and take a deep breath while I find us a route. I > went into Explore mode and reversed the route so I can understand the route > coming from the destination toward me. This gave me a chance to see each of > the cross streets that might provide an alternate access and which might > clarify what the bar tender told me. > > I found another road that intersected Highway 80 and set it as my > destination. I then calculated a route from where we were to this interim > destination. While we were driving there, I then calculated a second route > from the freeway intersection to the Yacht Club. In other words, I picked > an interim point that created a triangle around the road closure. This > means of using two routes to complete an entire trip is a good strategy for > forcing the BN to route you the way you want to go rather than the way it > tells you to go. > > My wife was about ready to tell me where to go as well. It turns out that > everyone was delayed by the road closure so relatively speaking, we weren't > late. It was wonderful to step out of the car and fog into the embrace of > the holiday cheer, great folks and good food. Thank goodness the return > trip home was uneventful. I am also grateful for the fact that I could be > the navigator. I don't know quite what we would have done if I didn't have > my GPS and ingenuity. > > > > >