The GPS's on Parade........

Happy Wednesday everyone!  If your counting, only 16 more days of school until summer break!  HAHA!  As we told you in our last post, we have replaced Geraldine our GPS.  Now we don't want to offend anyone named Geraldine, but our Geraldine didn't always have a good sense of direction.  It's a funny story how our GPS came to be known as Geraldine, and maybe Rob will tell you sometime.  Anyway, here is a picture of all four of our Garmin GPS units.  They are arranged around the one thing important for ALL GPS user's to own. A good atlas.  

From left to right they are:

Garmin Street Pilot i2

Garmin Street Pilot C550

(a.k.a. Rosie)

Garmin Nuvi 265W

(a.k.a. Geraldine)

Garmin Nuvi 50LM

Why so many GPS units you ask.  Basically because when it came time to upgrade the map software for them, it was usually more cost effective to buy a new GPS that had a larger screen, more features, and of course the latest mapping software.  In fact, with the newest GPS, the final cost using reward certificates we had accumulated at Best Buy was less than the cost of lifetime updates for our current GPS.  Plus, the new GPS has lifetime updates included in the price.  Here are individual pictures of each one:

Street Pilot i2

This little unit was very basic, and we never actually gave it a name.  It was a little difficult to see when driving, but it generally worked well.

Street Pilot  265W
a.k.a. Rosie

This unit was a vast improvement over our first one.  It came to be know as Rosie, after Rosie the Riveter of WWII fame.  This unit was very reliable.  It took us from North Carolina to Seattle, WA and back in the summer of 2008 with very few mistakes.  

Nuvi 265W
a.k.a. Geraldine

And then we have Geraldine.  This GPS was larger, worked good, but was prone to recalculating en-route and deciding we were somewhere we definitely were not.  Then a few moments later, it would recalculate and find us again.  Both of the last two GPS units had the traffic software, and bluetooth connectivity.  Both of these features we found to be not all that special.  In fact, Geraldine seemed to work better with them turned off.  

Nuvi 50LM

Here is the latest member of our travelling family.  The screen is a bit larger, it tells you which is the proper lane to be in for a multi-lane intersection or exchange, it doesn't have bluetooth, or traffic software.  The biggest bonus with this unit is it has lifetime map updates included.  We haven't had it long enough to name it just yet, but with the trips we have planned for this summer, I am sure we will come up with one.

Rob has owned one other GPS prior to these units.  It was a Magellan Marine unit.  Rob says it was one of the first portable, consumer units to come on the market.  It was large, slow, and due to federal regulations at the time, had an "error" factor of 10 to 15 yards.  

Thanks for checking buy today.  Come back again soon, until then, stay safe out there.....-R,T,&J.