In a world full of smart phones and navigation devices, you’d be hard pressed to find someone who still uses maps and writes out directions…
I am one of those people.
I love my Tom Tom and the navigation system on my phone but I’m one of those rare breeds that still writes it all out. Nothing really compares to writing out my own directions. It’s something I always do for every trip I take and it’s something I recommend to anyone who plans to travel long distance.
You might be wondering why it is that I write everything out…Well, you never know what life is going to throw at you while you’re traveling and I’ve found that it’s always best to be as prepared as you can be before you head out. So I take each leg of the trip and get to work looking at the different suggested routes (thanks Google maps) and figure out which would be ideal in terms of distance and also in terms of traffic congestion. I’ve found that even though some routes say they’ll save you an hour of time, it doesn’t always work out that way…especially when you find yourself in a major city around rush hour.
Once I figure out which route I plan to take, I then look at towns in between here and there that might be good to stop off at for breaks. I’ve found this to be especially helpful when traveling with small children. During this past trip, I looked for Chick-Fil-A restaurants on our route since I knew I could trust that their play areas are always clean for C to get some energy out in.
I also try to compare gas prices between states so I know when I should plan to fill up and when I might be better off waiting. There are plenty of websites that can help you find the lowest gas prices in certain areas (which I used last year when we took a trip back East for my brother’s wedding).
I’ll never forget the time that the charger for my GPS device broke in my car (literally in the charging portal in my car). It was at that moment that I realized you can’t always rely on technology to get you from point A to point B. You have to know where you’re headed. Plus, I’ve found, it gives me more peace of mind.
So my question is this:
Do you rely solely on technology to help you navigate during trips (or in life in general) or do you still plan and write out your route like me?
It's An Ordinary Blog 
Maybe it’s my fascination with maps…. But I’m just like you. We’re 2 normal people. 😉
We don’t go on a lot of trips, so I haven’t been in this situation very often – but this is actually really smart! I think I might make a point of this from now on! It also saves you the frustration of trying to figure out where you need to be going when you get there – you’d already have a plan.