Navigational bliss

B and I have joined the twenty-first century and have bought a navigational device.

B has an amazing sense of direction, but we get lost occasionally when we go somewhere new. A couple years ago when we were going to open houses every weekend, I frequently had to call LS and ask her to look up our location (if we could even figure out where we were) and direct us to the location of the home. Life ought to be easier, and navigational devices help.

We decided to get the Garmin 350--it's not top of the line, but our needs are simple. We just want to get to our destination without getting lost, and if we make an incorrect turn, we want it to recalculate the route and tell us what to do. The Garmin does both.

I've been watching the price since adding the Garmin to my Amazon cart back in January. The price dropped considerably a couple weeks ago, so I decided it was time to snatch it up.

Our purchasing adventures are rarely straightforward, and the Garmin was no exception. I remembered that if you purchased a gift card from the local grocery store's CoinStar machine (a coin-counting machine), the retailer paid CoinStar's 8 percent fee. Conveniently, Amazon was one of the partner retailers. We had earmarked our elephant bank's coins for the Garmin purchase, and this option allowed us to save a few more dollars.

We placed our order and the Garmin arrived last week, but we didn't have an opportunity to use it until this weekend, when we went to a friend's housewarming party. I've used the Garmin only once (and as a passenger), but I am a believer. No more printing directions from Yahoo maps! No more trying to follow directions that don't make sense! No more trying to read paper directions and road signs at the same time! Our ride over was stress-free and easy--and we didn't get lost.

I'm sure that the Garmin will lead us astray occasionally, just as our paper directions did, but I have faith that I will eventually arrive at my destination. I couldn't say the same when I used paper directions.

We're going to put the Garmin to the true test this weekend at an out-of-town wedding. If we can travel among the hotel, ceremony, and reception without getting lost, we'll know we have a winner.