If you need directions, I'll be your guide...

I recently acquired one of those GPS navigation devices. We bought one for my grandparents last year, but they haven't used it, so they gave it to me. I get lost.... more or less constantly.

The downside of my Magellan Whatever-Its-Called is that I'm still getting used to driving and looking at it. With reading directions off a piece of paper, I have to remember the street name, whereas so far with the GPS I keep forgetting to look at the street name, so then when it starts counting down to my next turn I'm afraid I'll miss it or take the wrong one, so then I look at the street name on the screen and then miss the turn. Or a couple times I took the wrong turn because I didn't trust the countdown.

On the upside, I take wrong turns all the time anyway, but the GPS thing just gives me new directions and it usually doesn't make me feel stupid. I also like the fact that it tells me how long it will be until I get there.

By far the best part, however, is the fact that I can search for any local businesses nearby. This means that on a road trip, I can find the nearest Starbucks any time I want, without having to wait for the Starbucks symbol on an exit sign.