Community Chat

[monicakm]

I was reading about some things that we baby boomers know/remember but that more recent generations do not.  One of them was paper maps.  Lordy, how many wrecks might have happened because mom and dad were in the front seat wrangling with a map the size of the entire front seat?  I remember it well.  I also remember mom steering from the passenger seat while dad read the map   A generation and a half later there's Google Maps.  Just tell your phone the address, hit start (navigation) and boom! Visual and turn-by-turn voice directions.  And if you have a navigation screen in your car, you have the same convenience.  

[Another new name Sue]

I was in Auto Club recently and asked if they still offer paper maps to members, and they said "yes."  Navigation on the car and cell phone is wonderful for finding one's way to a destination, but it doesn't give a person a good overview of an area, which would be helpful on a road trip.  We still need paper maps.

[Seminole2]

We have an up to date atlas that we use when on a road trip.  Sometimes we like back roads and want to see the entire area.

[Group 5 minus 1]

Except we are not on GPS. And we tell those people that have to find our house that and they still call us saying where are you?

[Karie2022]

Funny, I was just having a conversation with my family about maps. First I was amazed at how many of my family members over the age of 50 cannot read a map and have a horrible sense of direction. Second, my 21 year old son was on his way home from college and I asked which way he was coming home and he said I don't know I just Plug in the address-I said don't you do an over all view of the area? He said no.  I'm always looking at maps-granted not paper ones any more typically google maps or google earth. I like to see a broader picture.

[Kachina624]

I'm much more comfortable using and more trusting of paper maps.  Love to study them.  Before setting forth, I always fold them so just the area I'll be traveling is displayed.  Eliminates struggling with a big sheet of paper.

This is what GPS  does...

[Franklinbell]

I do enjoy the convenience of gps, however I still like a map. I will always know how to find my way. I just learned that triple a has maps! I have fond memories of car trips with a trip tix. ( I think that's what they were called)

[monicakm]

@Seminole2 

I haven't been on enough road trips lately

[Carmie]

I still have paper maps and use them.  Our GPS has done some funny things over the years and I don't 100% trust them.

Once we were looking for a store we found on the net that had a small TV to fit in our RV while on vacation.  The GPS had us heading towards the Cape May Ferry.  My husband was in the parking lot already when I screamed for him to stop.

Once it had us heading down a dead end road that led to a lake another time...dangerous. It tried to guide us down one way streets too.

Since we travel hundreds of miles in an RV, I use a paper map for backup and like to see what else is in the area.

I always read the map and my husband drives. We work as a great team.  My husband uses GPS, I never do. They aren't perfect.

All three of my adult children can read a paper road map. It's a great skill to have.

[monicakm]

@Karie2022 

Same here. I do have a good sense of direction tho but I might be lost trying to read a map, at first anyway.  Any area we're in that we would like to explore a bit more (and it's been a few years), we Google that too ("what's to see in SE OK?").  "Restaurants around Broken Bow."There are many ways to navigate an area and ask about local sightseeing or activities. "What is there to do in the Rose Capitol of the World?"  "Can I drive from Texas to Hong Kong?"