Jewel and I had our first real argument this morning. Today I was scheduled to go to the Torrance County Detention Center in Estancia, New Mexico. I decided to make the drive first thing this morning and to take the “back way”. That’s taking Hwy. 47 to Hwy. 60 and going east toward Willard. Then you pick up Hwy. 41 through Mountainair and then Estancia, turn east on Alan Ayers Rd. The detention center is right there. So, I fed the baddogs, told them to behave (that’s an inside joke between me and the dogs), and got in the car. I pulled Jewel out of her case and set the Detention Center address. Jewel popped up the boring route. (Note that I didn’t trim out Corona — just for Sandy.)
However, that was not the way I wanted to travel. I could not convince Jewel to show me the back way. So, I set out driving west on Meadowlake. When I made a left on Manzano Expressway, Jewel began squawking: “Recalculate. Turn right.” I didn’t heed her. I drove all the way south on Manzano Expressway until it intersected Hwy. 47, with Jewel squawking at me every 1/2 mile, “Turn right.” “Make U-Turn.” I’m not doing it, Jewel! Finally, when we were below Rio Communities, south of Belen, Jewel sighed (I swear I heard her), and told me to drive 19 miles to Route 60. YES! The way I chose is 1.1 miles shorter than the boring route and winds through mountains, past the Abo ruins, through the charming town of Mountainair (not far from the 7 MSN Ranch). It took me the same amount of time that traveling my normal route across Albuquerque and through Tijeras Canyon would take. More importantly, I fed my soul.
Perhaps on the next trip Jewel will listen to me.
She’ll never listen. Angela never listens to us. We did the trip to Portland last weekend on the Washington side of the Columbia River (most people cross at Hermistion or Biggs to the Oregon side) and it took Angela at least 100 miles to stop asking us to do a u-turn. I think she mentally calls us idiots for not heeding her travel advise. LOL
Someone should make a GPS that berates you for not heeding its advice. “What part of turn right did you NOT understand?” or “You stupid -itch, I said LEFT” “Fine! When you’re completely lost, don’t come crying to me.” I’d buy one!
Glad you made it….dang machine! Thanks for leaving me on the map….i’ll wave next time!
Hmm, I never thought about naming my GPS…it probably wouldn’t be very flattering, though. I’ve gotten to the point where if the thing keeps telling me to make a u-turn, I quit the route and then restart it again once I’m on my way or close to where I think the destination is. An hour of “make the next legal u-turn” is enough to drive anyone nuts!
Jewel (short for Sacajewea) does not specify “legal” anything. She gives instruction with military brevity.
I doubt it. I think she’ll be yelling at you every time.
— Vicki, who is a total and complete Luddite where this sort of device is concerned. Give me a map, every time. 🙂
Samantha gets very tedious with her “recalculating.” But it’s fun being “bad” and making her recalculate over and over again. She also has issues with pronunciation. U turns are “U gurns” and Kroger’s is “Krojer’s.”
Funny! We call ours Greta, and laugh every time we skip the U-turn she insists we make. We know she is cursing us under her breath!
Oh, and you can download different “voices” and “personas” for your Garmins/GPSes. John was dying to download Snoop Dogg’s voice for a trip he took with the boys (and I don’t mean our dogs 🙂 ) I can just hear it now, “Make yo’ right f’ing now, fo-sizzle”. However, the 39.99 price tag was too much for John’s cheap-bone, even as a gag for some laughs with the guys.
Next time you go this way, assuming Jewel allows you, you can wave to my mail box as you go past mile marker 187.