This morning I arrived in Phoenix by Air Canada 589 after over four hours on the plane. My behind was sore and tired from sitting on the plane and freezing in the cold air conditioned cabin. I welcomed the desert heat that engulfed me as soon as I stepped out through the automated door of the airport.
The rental shuttle bus was parked in it’s usual place, I boarded the bus. The bus was full this time there was no vacant seat. This time I rented a silver Monte Carlo and got the GPS for an extra $10/day. Budget recently started offering the GPS, I figured I would try it. It is a portable model that mounts onto the windshield with a suction cup. The suction is very secure as it has a lever when turned, increases the suction. The model of the GPS is a Garmin StreetPilot c550. I entered my destination address using the touch screen and then hit go. The system is pretty intuitive and easy to use. I headed out from the rental parking structure, the screen message indicated that the GPS was initiating contact with the satellite and calibrating my current location. After a couple minutes the voice from the unit activated and began giving me directions. I was very pleasantly surprised with the accuracy of the directions. I was able to get onto the freeway I10 using a route I had never been before. I did not have to watch the screen because the voice was clear and audible, although I could not help but look at the on screen map every now and then. The map was accurate and clear as well.
Without the GPS the trip would have taken me slightly longer as I would have to drive slowly while reading the directions. The GPS gave me confidence I had never felt when in a new unfamiliar city. I decided to explore Phoenix since I had a day to kill and I did not have a meeting until tomorrow. I drove around the city turning into neighborhoods and exploring. When it was time to head to the hotel I simply selected the last entered address which was saved in memory and hit go. The voice from the GPS guided me back onto the main road and back to the hotel. I truly love this technology and would definitely get one for my wife who has a hard time remembering roads and reading maps.
