As many of you know, Kat doesn’t drive much. It’s a positive feedback thing: she drives less, get less accustomed to driving, navigating, etc, and then wants to drive even less. She’s going to have to drive, at least occasionally in NC, so something had to be done.
One of the problems can be solved with technology: navigation. We just got a Garmin StreetPilot c340 GPS navigation thing. I have to say, it’s pretty cool. Basically, you suction-cup it to the lower-center windshield, plug it into the cligarette lighter, and off you go.
So, you’re driving around and it says things like “In point-two miles, turn left onto Main St.” Very handy. it has been named “Blinky” after a damn fine Simpson’s episode. “Old Blinky here will find a way.”
It also has a big list of built in destinations: stores, attractions, etc. We realized it had already become very integrated into our lives today (day one of ownership). We knew we were somewhere in Raleigh, and were about to get to a Starbucks. We had no idea where we were, and would have been hard-pressed to find our way out, but there was the Starbucks.
Advice: Don’t get a built-in GPS in a car. The one we bought is easily small enough to pack if we’re going somewhere and getting a rental car (say, Oli and Tina’s wedding). I also read a review site somewhere that the built-in ones tend to have less features for more money.