During my fearless years, I absolutely loved to travel alone. Round trip flights were cheap. I’d often travel to Atlanta to visit my friends who were going to college there. I also drove to as many places as my heart desired. Gas was cheap. I loved being in the car and just driving to new destinations. I had no fear.
After marriage and kids, travel became more exciting when we were all together. I stopped traveling alone as much. In fact it wasn’t very often, other than to work, I even needed to go anywhere alone. My husband is awesome at navigating new locations. I frankly trust his driving so much, I’d rather not drive to new destinations without him.
That’s cool and all, but when I do have to travel on my own, it can be a bit scary. Especially when it is to a new city I’ve never been to. I recently had to travel to the hometown of the Green Bay Packers for a seminar. Before heading out, I did my research on google maps. What, no GPS in my car? Correct, but that’s a whole different story.
The google map looked pretty straight forward. I printed the directions and felt confident I could find my way. It looked like all I had to do was to take an off ramp, go to the left, take a right and head straight for a while, then take a left to destination. Sounds pretty easy huh?
Well, apparently Green Bay deems roundabouts are imperative for moving traffic. They don’t have just one going into the city, they have LOTS of them. Let’s just say the printed google map in my lap looked nothing like the maze I drove into. Despite thinking I was going in the right direction, I got lost rather quickly (Memo to self, next time zoom into google maps more so that I can see what the roads look like).
Not all those that wander are lost.- J.R.R. Tolkien
Meal of the Lost
I resorted to pulling over to catch my bearings. Most people would probably use Siri at this time. I did the next best thing and called my husband. His voice is much more calming and frankly, I don’t quite know how to use Siri either. He was able to patiently talk me through the navigation out of the lost zone, onto the correct road and off to my destination. My hero comes to the travel rescue from afar!
Once I found the hotel, I checked into the room and plopped onto the chair exhausted. I looked at the complimentary drink ticket from the restaurant in the hotel and quietly put it back in the envelope to leave for the next guest to enjoy. I was too tired to venture out to find another location again. Besides, I had something to look forward to in the morning. For some unknown reason, my room was upgraded to one with a rain shower. I decided in the morning, I’d figure out how to work all the buttons. One adventure on that day was plenty for me.
I sat there, a little disappointed, but content nonetheless. Despite how crazy the entry into the city was for me, I had made it to my destination. I grayciously unpacked my snacks. Yes, that night, a home away from home dinner was just what this girl needed! PS – yes, my hero packed the meal for me too, including a couple Leinenkugel Octoberfest beers – Cheers to another adventure!
