Get Lost!

For the past few weeks I have relied heavily on my GPS to guide me to all my errands: I registered Gabe for school, had a job interview, dumped a thousand pounds of excess off at the Value Village, found two different local recycling centers, made my way to Target, the lake, oh and I finally snatched up a Wa driver's license.
Using a GPS is fabulous because it helps you find your final destination without delay (usually).  But the problem with the handy device is that I am so focused on following the directions that I don't take in my surroundings.  I miss landmarks, have no real idea about distances from point to point, I don't have an understanding of the overall area and my tunnel vision limits me from discovering new places.

Yesterday I took the gang to the lake for some SUP and kayaking.  Of course I planned to follow the GPS to the lake, but I missed a turn and ended up locating my neighborhood Costco.  Yay.  After the lake adventure we needed to return to Costco for my sister to pick up some only-in-Washington items and then to a grocery store.  I know how to get to that grocery store from my house, but really was clueless about how to get there from the Costco.

I needed an intervention.

So, today was the day to get lost.

I had a few things I needed to take care of but I had enough room in my day to turn off the GPS and go explore my neighborhood.  I'm pretty proud of myself.  I managed to get to all of the different areas of town - obviously by "areas" I mean "shopping areas" without using the freeway.  Not that the freeway is bad, but it isn't necessarily the shortest route all of the time.

While I was out getting lost, I paid close attention to the buildings and notable landmarks so they can now serve as my navigational beacons.  For instance: turn right onto Park, then right onto that street just past the movie theater.  Pass the park and ride, keep going until you get to the light where you have to make a super sharp left to go up a hill.  Then cross the street by the church, go down the hill, turn right at the Bartells, when you see the Taco Time turn left.  Boom.  You are at the street that leads you to Costco, the lake, ... if you stay on this street and turn left at the Burger King you get to that tasty breakfast place or you can turn right at the funny shaped bank and you are at Top Pot donuts.

While being lost I found a few new places that I want to return to for some future adventures.

Super successful getting lost journey.

I feel like getting lost is important in life.  Not a good choice if you are in a forest without a flare, or water, and it is getting dark.  But an excellent idea in a city with good cell reception.

Maybe a good lesson for how I live my life too.  Maybe I need to worry less about where the next turn is and just enjoy the exploration, drive on until my instincts tell me to turn.


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