We'd broken camp early and rolled out on the highway to find
Maggie was not working. Maggie is our GPS, and as a side note, her name comes
from her brand name Magellan.
In addition to Maggie, we have a road atlas which is our
only map onboard. It covers all of North America, but doesn't include cities or
any other fine detail.
It was the start of our 3rd day on the road. We were leaving
Richibucto, New Brunswick with the destination of North Sydney, Nova Scotia. A
level of panic and uncertainty set in almost instantly and built as we rolled
along considering the implication of navigating without Maggie. Once before we thought
she died, but miraculously and inexplicably came back to life. However, this
time, after repeated plugging and unplugging sequences, wire twisting, power
button pushes, a little cursing and much wonder, Maggie was surely dead.
To say the least, we had become dependent on her, and the
best plan was find a Canadian Tire or other maritime substitute, and buy a
replacement. But even finding something like a Canadian Tire store was going to
be a problem without Maggie.
In the past, we've used her to find campgrounds, coffee,
food and fuel. She's been an important part of our travel team.
In addition, the day plan was for a scenic drive along the
coast, which would include multiple secondary roads, small towns, and
periodically jumping on the freeways to help make our destination on time. All
of which would normally be a breeze with Maggie's guidance, but now the plan
was in jeopardy.
Maggie not only makes travel easy, but also safer. She gives
us clear advanced guidance so we're in the correct lane and generally prepared
for what's up ahead. She makes our travels much safer especially when
visibility is compromised at night, in the fog or being drenched in a downpour.
And sure enough on this morning, it started to rain and then there was
construction. First thing we knew, I drove through a stop while preoccupied
looking for directions.
We stumbled our way along until Marlene made a last
desperate attempt to bring Maggie back, and like a miracle, she came alive. The
weight of uncertainty was lifted from
our shoulders as Maggie powered up, booted up, and worked as though nothing had ever been wrong.
Today, we are all so dependent on technology, and
in our case, it's an essential part of our travel too. The internet for research, planning,
and communication, cameras to help us remember our experiences, then lastly and
most importantly, Maggie for safe travel.
Maggie, our guardian angel on the road died and left us
vulnerable. The experience reminded us of how dependent we are on her.
Click here for the next story in this series:
http://travellingwithsteveandmarlene.blogspot.ca/2017/05/heaven-on-earth.html
Click here for the next story in this series:
http://travellingwithsteveandmarlene.blogspot.ca/2017/05/heaven-on-earth.html
