No GPS!?!

This morning it was very foggy. I was surprised because I have only experienced that much fog on the coast or in the middle of a Fairbanks winter. The fog blocked satellite communication with the GPS. I had actually decided to not worry about the GPS because I knew where I was going and basically how to get there. Later I realized it was not working anyway.

Spencer and I ran errands ending up at Costco. He really liked the kitchen supply store btw. It had a plethora of fascinating items. I gave him a tray and some small pitchers and he was happy the entire time I browsed. At 11:15 we left Costco in a big hurry (more like a slight panic), as Molly needs to be picked up at 11:30. I realized I could easily get us back to her school, but I was not at all confident I could do it in a hurry.

I looked down and lo! The GPS was finding satellites (eight to be exact.) Then I realized it was sunny. Am I already accustomed to the constant presence of the sun? I think it's because I still think we are on vacation. We have been on longer vacations, so maybe when we move out of the hotel and can count our time here in months and years, instead of days and weeks. So, what I am saying is maybe when it's no longer vacation, I'll get sick of the sun? Hmm. Well, to be honest, I might. It's still a long way out.

I arrived at Molly's school right at 11:30.

Derek sez: I probably could have used the GPS today. My first attempt at driving back to the office from FDOT central involved a 5-10 minute detour while I discovered that not all Meridian Drives are the same. Some take you about 3 miles out of your way as you're trying to hurry to eat lunch and check your email.

Playtime

GPS fun #1: pick a point in which we have not yet traveled and have it get us in and out while running errands. We are seeing some interesting neighborhoods. GPS fun #2: find parks with playgrounds. The GPS does not list city parks, so we have had to find an outside source for those, but once I enter them in the GPS it’s playtime for the Soden’s! The neighborhoods with parks all seem to have incredibly expensive houses as well. Luckily, we do not have to pay to play in the park.

Molly informed me last Monday that Lafayette Park only has swings and slides, nothing interesting to play with. We need to go back to Myers Park, because it has different, interesting things to play with. Lafayette has a fairly extensive play structure, but Myers has an excavator and some bouncing thing and a less extensive play structure. Winthrop Park used to be the favorite because it has a huge play structure and a bunch of extras, but it doesn’t have an excavator! I can’t wait until I accidentally assume she wants to go to Myers Park and have a tantrum to deal with once we arrive because Myers isn’t as good as ______ Park.

Lost Shopping

Lost, Lost, LOST! Today I took a detour in the downtown area. And holy cow! That place is a spider web. It’s not really that confusing, nor are you really that lost, but I was trying to follow the gps at the same time. (Side note: Derek’s old co-workers generously gifted him a gps.) It has been incredibly handy. Up until Tallahassee we were using it in already familiar territory in California. There we used it as a test. It told us some funky stuff, but we took it with a grain of salt and went with what we knew rather than blindly following it. I have done quite a bit of research on Tallahassee, so I knew the lay of the roads pretty well. I still maintain this is true to a certain extent. The problem has been the downtown area. None of the maps I have looked at have been all that specific on downtown routes, so seeing the organic and crazy nature of the roads is not that surprising. It has been difficult understanding what the gps wants me to do. I just don’t have the downtown knack yet. I worry I will use the gps so much that I will miss the clues for the different roads. But then again, I know I am over worrying this point.

What has been fun is learning what to ignore from the gps. To go to Target (those four simple lovely words!) it wants you to turn around in some neighborhood and back track a bit, etc. And right in front of us is the road that leads down to Target.

Can I now mention the lovely shopping here? Let’s see, we have only been to Costco (yes, it’s bigger, but it’s not hard for any Costco store to be bigger than Juneau’s), Target and New Leaf Co-op (which is equivalent to Rainbow or a smaller and local version of Whole Foods.) I have to say, prices are the same as Juneau’s prices. Which is terribly disappointing. There are a few items whose prices are higher (yes, higher!) or lower, but generally they are around the same price.

Oh, I forgot Wal-Mart. It is surprisingly hard to find a clothes drying rack in town. I had to go to Wal-Mart.