2019 Life Logs, Day 96: The Long Way Home
Date: Saturday, April 6, 2019
Weather: Mostly Sunny; High 58, Low 40 degrees F
Location: Back Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
After a morning walk with Leslie with beautiful seashore views, I left Rye to head west to a place called Ashburnham, Massachusetts, on the New Hampshire border. I had planned to do a surprise stop to see my niece Lynne on the way, but when I stopped to get gas and set my destination in Google Maps, I realized I really didn’t have time for that. So I decided to drive along the coast for a bit and then head west. As I left the coast to head west, I kept getting the strangest directions from Google Maps. But since I was unfamiliar with the route, I just kept following. I went through towns I had never heard of and the drive took much longer than anticipated. It should have taken me an hour and a half, but it took three and a half hours!!! I have been considering getting a puppy and a friend’s sister has a little yellow Lab boy available in Ashburnham. The farm is quite remote, but in a beautiful spot. Nancy, the puppy’s owner, is the sister of my friend Meghan, the goat lady. Nancy was in with the sheep when I arrived checking out a newly born lamb. Once she was sure the lamp was okay, she brought the puppy’s mother, Kylie, to meet me and then I met the five remaining puppies.
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and is probably going to be bigger than his mother. He is adorable, but I think a large Lab will be too big for my tiny cottage. Decisions, decisions. I make that decision tomorrow, but today I needed to get on the road home. I had checked out the timing before leaving home and thought it would take about two and half hours. But this afternoon, my phone said it would take over four hours. When you are driving alone, you just basically do what your phone tells you, but things got weirder and weirder. I was being routed on tiny little roads, no where near I 495 that I thought I would be taking for most of the trip. And in addition, my phone battery was low and I was fearful that it would shut off while I was in the middle of nowhere with no paper map. I kept stopping and trying to memorize the route, but even when I changed it to head directly to I 495, it continued on side roads. After two and half hours, I was in slightly more familiar territory and I followed my nose to the main highway. At this point, my phone was still saying I had two hours to go, but I knew it should only be an hour and a quarter at most. I looked at the route and it was taking me off I 495 and back onto side roads. Then the phone died and I drove home by the highway that I know. I was exhausted when I got here and so confused by what had happened. When talking to Heather tonight she said to check the settings on my new phone. She thought maybe it was set to avoid highways. I had no idea there was such a setting, but indeed there is and indeed my phone was set that way. Ugh. What a long way home, but I was introduced to all sorts of places where I have never been before. I guess that’s a good thing. And I’ve learned to never leave home without a paper map and a car charger for my phone.
