GPS is killing my brain. I heard that on the news the other day. Some newscaster reported that the more we rely on our phones to get us from one spot to another via GPS, the more our hippocampus dies. Not good news for the world or our brains. This is not good news for me. I need my brain.

I remember my dad always had an atlas in the car. He would drive, and Mom would navigate. This came in especially handy on vacations (always by car) if traffic was stuck. My parents could always find a way to work around the problem area. Sometimes these alternate routes would make the trip more interesting. Sometimes, not, but we always got home.

I know my dad loved reading, too, but I do not really remember any specific books that he enjoyed. He did read the Bible every morning. This is know. I also know that he enjoyed the National Geographic, Prince Caspian on Sunday mornings, The Reader’s Digest and one time I brought home a book from the Bookmobile that I didn’t like. He picked it up and enjoyed it thoroughly. I will never understand because it was a book about warring rabbits or something. He loved it! So weird.

Last spring before our son got married, Tom and I returned to the AT for a short stint of hiking. I was pretty anxious about it since the previous time that I followed him around, it didn’t go very well. In fact, being his sherpa now gives me the heebeegeebees. That first time, a road was blocked, so we could not reconnoiter. Tom ended up having to hike an extra seven miles on top of an already long day of hiking. Fortunately, he got some cell service, so we were able to communicate for a few minutes before he headed down to meet me. His extra seven miles were mostly in the dark. He says now that he wasn’t scared, but I bet he was a little. I know for certain that I was scared for him.

This time, in order to avoid the nonexistent cell service and lack of GPS, I went to Barnes and Noble and purchased an atlas and a map of Virginia. A real paper map! It made me feel a bit better. No need to rely on that darn GPS. My hippocampus was already feeling a renewed surge of activity. Boy, did I study that map before heading to Virgina and the Appalachian mountains with my slack packer husband.

My father must have been watching as we navigated the mountains of Virginia and the Blue Ridge Parkway. While up on the Parkway, I had deja vu. My father may have taken me up there once when I was young. My sibs did not confirm this, so maybe it was just Dad, Mom and me. ?? Tom and I also explored Appomatox, visited a super big tree, the National D-Day Memorial and had a great dinner one night in Roanoke. It was a great trip for sure!

All in all, our trip this time was nearly perfect! I do think that Tom played a large part in our success because he took more time to plot and plan before setting out. He’s learning, too.

From now on, I will take better care of my hippocampus. I will put my phone down and use the built-in computer that God gave me to navigate this world. The one that my parents taught me how to use on those sometimes extra long family car trips. As I look back upon those with a smile, I know those times were some of the best, but I also am looking forward to our future trips too, navigating this world sans GPS with Tom and our family.