Sigh Me Says......."There's been a change in plans"

For those who have been reading my blog you will remember my brother-in-law, Don in Florida--the one with the hydroponic garden. Well, two weeks ago, while on the way to the bathroom in the middle of the night, Don fell and broke his collar bone.  At present he is in a Rehab Center while learning how to dress and feed himself with his non-dominant left hand. After a few conversations with him via phone, I have decided to put my northern passage on hold and reverse course.  I am presently on the way back to Florida and will be there in about a week.


Sigh Me says..."If you are looking for the map I think I found it."

As most of you also know my blog postings trail my actual locations by about one week.  Since I am a single woman traveling alone (and I give out my blog address to anyone interested) I have made it a practice not to divulge my location until I have vacated the area. That may seem excessively cautious but keep in mind--I parked in front of a busy tattoo parlor 3 days ago and in a very remote pawn shop parking lot last night; neither were the most secure spots.  Plus I don't want to invite possible unnecessary problems by encouraging someone to follow me.

Sigh Me says, "Please turn out that light so I can get some sleep!  By the way, do they make a sleep mask for cats?"

The reason for the explanation on the blog postings is that I still have pictures and stuff for Maryland, Pennsylvania and New Jersey that I don't want to forget and I will be posting it as I drive south.

Sigh Me says, "Will Florida be any cooler than New Jersey? This humidity is ridiculous.  By the way, I sure am glad you bought that fan."


However this trip south may take longer than I anticipated.  I started out from Pt Pleasant, NJ two days ago and when I got to the edge of Philadelphia I started finding road construction and lots of detours.
After the third or fourth backward turn into the world's worst rush hour traffic, Elizabeth, the GPS, decided to put her foot down.  She stopped working!  She just jammed up and refused to budge.  And I knew I had just passed the same shopping mall for the third time.

Sigh Me says, "My beautiful fur coat is absolutely fabulous but I wish I could take it off in the summer. AHH, that breeze feels good on my neck."


The detours kept telling me to take this state road or that freeway but I did not recognize any of the roads.  My Atlas was too old and the map was too small for me to discern which road I needed to be on.  At one point I saw a sign that read "Wilmington city limits" so I was sure I was finally headed right.

Sigh Me says, "I notice that this heat is making my ankles swell.  If I just prop my feet up while I nap that will take care of the problem."


But I drove for another hour and nothing was making sense.  I tried two grocery stores, a CVS and a Walgreens to get a current map but none were to be had. Google Earth and GPS are the Walmarts of the map industry and they are wiping them out.

 

Sigh Me says, "Did I hear the dinner bell?"


I was getting very tired and hungry by the time I stopped in the last store to ask for a map and directions--and I chastised the clerk for not carrying maps of Delaware.  She informed me I could probably find one when I got to Delaware.  The shock must have shown on my face when I said, "I thought I was in Delaware.  How far away am I?"
"Oh, about 50 miles." She said.
Lessons learned--1.) I rely way too much on Elizabeth to find my way. 2.) My sense of direction is grossly out of whack if the sky is cloudy and there are no mountains to guide me. 3.) I hate big-city rush-hour traffic to the point of it becoming a phobia  4.) Florida is a very long way away from New Jersey and 5.) Forget about schedules!
By the way, I think I just passed the same Walmart for the 3rd time.