[NAGDU] Our solo adventure

[Susan Jones]

Yes, mid western cities and towns have fairly normal street patterns, except when there’s a river involved in that case, you can depend on twisty, tourney, Windee streets, with names changing all the time. LOL! Susan Jones SBLANJONES 11 at sbcglobal.netp

> On Sep 15, 2019, at 11:59 AM, Tracy Carcione via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Twice this year, my job has sent me to Madison, Wisconsin, for training in a
> new computer system we're implementing.  The first time, some of my
> coworkers came at the same time, and it was very cold and icy out, so I
> didn't want to go out much.  But last week I went on my own, and the weather
> was great, so I got out and walked around.  Being an old married gal, I was
> a bit worried I'd lost my nerve for exploring on my own, so I'm happy to
> know I've still got it.  
> 
> My hotel was downtown, next to the Capitol square, so there were lots of
> twisty streets and strange intersections.  I felt like I was back in Jersey.
> Don't they know Midwestern towns are supposed to have nice, orderly street
> grids?  
> 
> I bought some AIRA time, and I have GPS on my phone, but the best method was
> still the tried-and-true one of asking a passing stranger.  
> 
> I got directions to one place from my GPS that were:  "Turn left on unknown.
> Turn right on unknown.  Turn right on Main.  Turn left on Main."  Say what?
> So I used the GPS for general directions, and to know the street names where
> I was, but that was about all it was good for.  
> 
> The AIRA was useful, but I kept having a bad connection, or losing the
> connection altogether, so it was back to the passing stranger, or my best
> guess.  
> 
> I tried to get to a restaurant that was 15 minutes away, but I got so mixed
> up with streets turning and changing names I finally gave up, and got almost
> as lost getting back.  After that, I stuck to closer places, and had better
> luck.  
> 
> Krokus did very well.  I'm surprised his head hasn't got even bigger, with
> all the people saying what a beautiful dog he is.  Someone even told him
> "Keep working hard, dog", which I thought was great-having someone recognize
> him as a hard-working dog.  
> 
> He is 6 now, and has developed a thing in unfamiliar areas where he just
> stops and refuses to go.  At this point, my husband usually goes ahead with
> his cane, and Krokus follows him, but, being on our own, this Krokus
> strategy didn't work and I had to work hard to get him moving again.
> Thankfully, he only did it twice, but it's nerve-wracking, because I don't
> know if he's stopping for a real reason or because he wants to find someone
> to follow.  Of course, he doesn't recognize me talking to AIRA on the phone
> as having someone to follow; he wants to see someone.  I'll have to call TSE
> for some advice, if anything can be done.
> 
> 
> 
> Just wanted to share, because I'm happy I haven't lost my ability to explore
> on my own, and maybe it will encourage someone else to do the same.
> 
> Tracy and the mighty Krokus
> 
> 
> 
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