Nellie is the name I gave to the GPS navigational system built in to Lana's mini-van. I loved listening to "Nellie-the navigator" guide us through the maze of round-a-bouts, in her British accent. I miss hearing: "Your route is being calculated" and "Prepare to turn left at the next exit". Imagine this in the British accent.
I miss Nellie so much I went shopping for a navigational system of my own when we returned home. As luck would have it, Costco was selling the Magellan 360 Roadmate, which is a portable GPS navigational system that you plug into your cigarette lighter and attach (with a suction cup) to the windshield. I just got it a couple of days ago, and am enjoying getting to know this new navigation system..."Maggie Magellan", a poor (but good looking and smart) cousin to Nellie. I particularly like the lighted panel feature, which makes it really easy to keep track of upcoming turns during night driving.
When we were in England, our son-in-law, Rob, and I spent part of an evening shopping online for a new Ford Five-hundred, which is the car I would like to get someday. It is all-wheel drive, has a large trunk for my real estate signs, and sits a little higher than most cars which would make getting in and out easier for Max (and me too, of course). If anyone is Christmas shopping for us, I do like the "silver birch" exterior color. :-)
Anyway, the built-in navigation systems are listed at $1995 as an add-on! I blinked hard at that... and am now appreciating the $599 portable system I bought at Costco. The other great thing about the portable system is that it can be moved from car to car... or, in our case, car-to-van. Sometimes we travel in the van and sometimes we take the car on trips. With the cost of fuel now, we're inclined to take the car (1999 Mitsubishi Galant) on trips these days. It gets just about twice the mileage as the van, and is quite comfortable. Of course, we can't take as much stuff with us or crawl in the back and take a real nap, like in the van. Oh well, compromises and sacrifices must be made in the name of being environmentally and financially responsible.
I've been testing Maggie around town and am looking forward to seeing how she performs on a real road trip. Stay tuned for that report in the future. Oh... and I programmed Maggie to speak in a British accent too. How cool is that?
2 comments:
Welcome home Carol & Max. I was over in your neighborhood the last couple days.. the REALTOR® Leadership Conference in Leavenworth. Sorry I did not contact you... I am bad! But our schedule was booked and my incoming president wanted to meet with me in the evenings to go over what we learned during the day.
But anyway... road trip ?? You could come this direction. See if Maggie could find us.
Bunny
Maggie sounds great and the British accent sounds cool too...I want to check them out next time I'm in Costco, now that you have me curious!....last time you mentioned Costco...I had to go buy myself a memory-foam mattress! I love it by the way and even talked a neighbor into getting one.
Peggi
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