“Are you nuts?”

For the past couple weeks Yr Fthfl Srvnt, the old codger, has been trying to use the GPS-navigation technology on my iPhone. My Ford Escape has it too, as part of Microsoft’s “Sync” technology. But I refuse to use it. It’s too unreliable.
Yesterday (Wednesday, October 7th, 2015) my Transit Retirees Club held a cruise on the Erie Canal. It started in Fairport, a suburb east of Rochester (NY). The Erie Canal goes through Fairport, and has a place where boats can dock. It’s called “Packett’s Landing.” Freight on the canal was carried by packet-boats.
Part of the reason Rochester became prominent was the Erie Canal. It could tap the agricultural output of the vast Genesee (“jen-uh-SEE;” as in “Jell-o”) River valley, mainly wheat.
The Genesee River valley was this nation’s first bread-basket.
A feeder-canal was built in the valley from Rochester.
The main reason New York City is our premiere ocean-port is the Erie Canal. Other cities, like Philadelphia and Baltimore, could have become the premiere ocean-port, but they didn’t have an Erie Canal.
What they had was an Appalachian mountain-barrier, which the Erie Canal didn’t have.
I thought I would try GPS to get to Packett’s Landing; no Google-maps, just follow the voice-prompts.
I still don’t have my GPS up where I can see it.
I programmed Packett’s Landing into my iPhone’s “Google-maps” GPS. I have two GPS apps: one is ”Apple-maps,” which was on my iPhone when I got it. The other is “Google-maps,” which my computer-store suggested was better.
I was about 20 miles away in Canandaigua (NY) leaving my dog at doggy-daycare.
So I started it — it wasn’t the route I’d planned, but looked like it might be better.
“Turn right at Greig Terrace, and go east 800 feet to Main St., Route 332.
“Nope. Can’t do it.” Greig Terrace is one-way, and east on it is the wrong way.
So I proceeded toward Gibson St., the next street north.
“Turn right on Gibson St., and go east 800 feet to Main St., Route 332.”
“Okay, now yer making sense. I can allow one error.”
“Turn right on Main St.”
“WHAAAA......? You gotta be kidding.” Right is south; Fairport is north.
“Make a U-turn at Greig Terrace, and proceed north on Main St., Route 332.”
“ARE YOU NUTS? I ain’t doin’ that, not when I can turn left off Gibson to go north on Main.”
Suddenly I realized where Garrison Keillor gets the inspiration for his GPS skits on “Prairie Home Companion” with the GPS lady. Where the GPS lady says “That’s it! I’ve had it! If you don’t wanna take my advice, I’M OUTTA HERE! Yer always arguing with me!”
My friend Jim LePore (“luh-POOR”) and I ate out last night, as we do every Wednesday night.
We couldn’t eat out last Wednesday because he had to attend a wedding in Virginia Beach. His daughter drove.
His daughter had four GPS apps, including a Tom-Tom. They each suggested different routes.
His daughter got lost. A nine-hour trip took 12 hours.
Jim was just sitting in the back seat twiddling his thumbs.
Finally he said to his daughter “Will you just throw that thing out the window!”
That was after it had them do four right-turns around a block.
Once out of Canandaigua my GPS did pretty good. Their suggested route was more direct and made sense.
So I programmed it back to Canandaigua from Packett’s Landing.
Interestingly, it suggested the same route I was originally gonna do, more roundabout but involving expressways and the Thruway.
One wonders how a single GPS app can suggest one route there, and a different route back.

• For 16&1/2 years (1977-1993) I drove transit bus for Regional Transit Service (RTS) in Rochester, NY, a public employer, the transit-bus operator in Rochester and environs. My stroke October 26th, 1993 ended that. I retired on medical-disability. I recovered fairly well.
• The “Genesee River” is a fairly large river that runs south-to-north across Western New York, runs through Rochester, including over falls, and empties into Lake Ontario.
• The “Thruway” is a toll interstate from New York City to the Pennsylvania state line west of Buffalo. It’s the main east-west highway through New York state. —It more-or-less parallels the Erie Canal, avoiding mountains. Across western NY it’s Interstate-90. South of Albany to New York City it’s Interstate-87.