OH, WHAT FUN

As a way to save money, I'm always trying to save money, I figured I would bring my own GPS along on the trip so I wouldn't have to pay the $10 a day the car rental agencies wanted.  So I bought a Garmin with the European maps, got it home and updated the maps as instructed.  Used it some before we left and all is well.  While in London I turned it on just to see if everything was in working order. Well, it had a map, but no detail, nor would accept any instructions for guidance.  So I got a hold of the Garmin help line in the UK (probably in India) who told me I had to update the device.  Of course in my effort to pack light I didn't bring the USB cable with me.

So off we went looking for a USB cable.  Now of course it's not a normal USB cable, the end that goes into the unit is different than most.  So after traipsing around in the rain we found one at a computer store on Oxford Street.  Hooked it up to my computer, but it didn't work.  Called India again who told me that we had to have a Garmin USB cable and gave me a on-line link where I could buy one.  So we order one, to be delivered at our next stop near York.

Being anal retentive,  I wanted a cable NOW.  So we took a bus ride to the suburbs we found a auto supply store that sold Garmin products and they had the correct cable.  Back on the bus to the city and that evening I hooked everything up and, NO WORKIE!  The help line is closed until morning.  I do have a UK paper map, but it's not very detailed and my navigator can't read a map worth a darn (Sorry Cathie).  Anyway her duties in the car is to keep me on the correct side of the road.

So the next morning I use the B&B's land line phone to make the toll free call to the help line.  I'm halfway through trying to understand the Indian person on the line when the B&B owner says I can't use her phone, after having received permission to do so.  So I had to hang up on the lovely person in India, who I couldn't understand anyway.

But lo-and-behold, Daniella, the gal in India understood what was wrong with my GPS and e-mails me the steps to take to correct the problem.  These instructions were never found in the manual.  So I follow these top secret instructions by touching the volume button, pressing the top right had corner of the screen for 10 seconds, then a new screen pops up, select this, do that, hook to computer and update. Seem to be working so far.  The Internet connection is slow, or perhaps it's my computer, so I had to leave it hooked up and on all night, but the next morning I had maps.  Boy, that was a load off my anal retentive mind.

So we leave London taking the the train to York for the next segment of our adventure.  In York we picked up our rental car.  A very nice six speed diesel Volvo V-40, with, you guessed it, GPS.  I've got 4 USB cables if anyone needs one.