How the Garmin Saved our Marriage
Although there is some exaggeration, this really has some truth to it. The two major disagreements we have had over our 35 years of marriage revolve around two things – loading the dishwasher and how to find our way to a new location when driving. Now, I know these aren’t earth-shattering problems – I’m very fortunate to be happily married to a wonderful man. The first one we resolved – my husband is the neater of the two of us, and his method for loading the dishwasher results in 100% more dishes fitting in than when I do it – so, he does all the loading of the dishwasher – problem solved.
Finding our way to a new location was a big trickier – with my husband loathe to ask for directions (I’d be the one running into the 7-Eleven or gas station to ask for help), we knew we needed a solution for my poor map-reading skills (if he was driving), and following sometimes inaccurate MapQuest or Google maps could get pretty tense.
Well, about two months ago, my husband came home with a gift – a new Garmin – with a large screen we could easily see with our Boomer eyes, and portable to boot. We just got back from a ten-day trip to Vancouver and Washington State (we flew to Seattle and brought the Garmin for the rental car), and I can tell you it was, as Billy Crystal said, “mahvelous.” Driving to Stanley Park, finding the Sea to Sky Highway, going to Lynn Park Canyon, and making our way to our hotel in Seattle and through North Cascades National Park was effortless (okay, I’ll admit – a few times we blindly followed our computer-generated guide’s voice even when we could tell “she” wasn’t right – but – she ultimately got us there). The $250 we spent (we can also find restaurants, gas stations, parks, etc. on our Garmin) has reduced the sometime tense “discussions” we had when we travel. Ms. Garmin, we love you!
