Lost and Found

I have not used our Garmin in a long time.  I usually use my iPhone for directions.  Yesterday we drove to Savannah, Georgia.  Ray keyed the address of our hotel into the Garmin before we left.  Everything was going well as we began our day's six hour journey.  We did get a text from Charlotte saying that we had left a brush and shampoo, but that was minor.  We laughed at how we always seem to leave something when we travel and visit people.  My sister can attest to that in that she has mailed me items I have left at her place, or sometimes we meet halfway between our houses for lunch and she will return my left item or items.

As Ray is driving on the expressway I picked up the Garmin.

"I don't think the volume is loud enough,"   I said.

"Is it on mute?"  Ray asked.

"No, but I can not hear it.  Why can't I find the volume control?"

"Are you sure it is not on mute?"

"Yes,"  I stated with a sigh.  I had found the menu and tapped the little speaker icon.  It showed that I had muted it.  I tapped it again and it was no longer muted.  Where the heck is the volume control?

"Did you go to the menu?" asked Ray.  I know he is the techie of the family, but I DO know how to check the menu!  Why would he even ask that!

"I have checked the menu and all it does is allow me to mute the speaker or unmute it."  I spoke with a bit of an edge...not through gritted teeth....yet.

"Are you sure the menu does not give you a volume option?"  I could tell Ray was trying to be patient. 

"There is no volume option.  This is really not user friendly.  The volume is just too soft and I want to turn it louder."

I pressed the back arrow.  There it was!  The volume control!  I tapped the plus signs and soon the volume was at a level we could easily hear.

"In six miles turn left on exit 258," Miss Garmin spoke.

 This was good.  I could relax a bit now.  But first I put Garmin back on the map page. 

" Hmmmm....There is a red X here  I wonder what that does?"  I tapped the red X and nothing happened.  "That's weird, why would they have an icon that doesn't do anything?"

"What do you mean, nothing happened?"  Ray sounds a bit frustrated.

"I don't know...just nothing happened.  I really don't know why it was there."

We drove another ten minutes in a 'friendly' discussion about Garmin being user unfriendly and that words might be better to understand than icons.   Like the red X....what did it mean?  At that point Ray noticed that we were on our way to Exit 267 and must have passed our Exit 258. How did that happen?  Why didn't Garmin speak to us?  Why didn't she order us that we were to turn in 300 feet?

Ray decided to get off the exit and take a look.  There was also a Wendy's there for a much needed snack.  I held Garmin and scrolled to the menu again.  It was there I saw a faded white X with the word STOP under it.  I tapped it again and the red X appeared on the map page.  So that's what it meant.  I had stopped the trip when I had tapped the red X.  Easy solution...I re-entered our recently entered trip to our hotel, and voila!  Garmin was back to directing us.  And this new route was easier with a single turn instead of the more complicated original route! 

Ray sure is lucky that I am such a great 'nagivator'!