So this car pulls up.....

[powayroger]

This Saturday was one of the rare Saturdays that I worked (I’m one of the few Supervising Park Rangers that doesn’t work on weekends normally). I also brought the wife up for a historical/geographical/geology driving tour that the Julian Historical Society and San Diego County Parks was offered. I work in the local mountains (4300’), near Julian. I have about a 1.25 hr eastern commute to work and if I was heading to the beach after work, we’re talking about another 30 minute drive to the west after arriving home. So if I was going from my work to the beach, we’re looking at roughly a 1.5 hr drive west. So you’re probably thinking, what does working in the mountains and the beach have to do with this story. Well, here it goes.

The wife and I stopped at Wynola Pizza for dinner. Wynola is about 15 minutes away from work and about 4200’ elevation. As we were getting out of the car, this car (With 4 females with bathing suits), heading east towards Julian, stopped and needed help with directions.

The driver said that they had left Ramona (About 35 minutes west and at around 1200’ elevation) and “knew” they were heading in the right direction, but needed help in getting to Pacific Beach (The Pacific Ocean spot in San Diego).

Being the professional I am, I smiled and told them that they needed to turn around; head back to Ramona, and follow Hwy 67 all the way to Interstate 8 and take that west all the way to the beach.

Now, I guess I could have been bad and told them to continue on Hwy 78 and that would have taken them to the desert and finally to the Salton Sea.

Oh, btw, as the wife stated, they were not blonds but brunettes. I guess they could have died their hair.

An observation-If you’re heading to the beach, shouldn’t you expect the drive to be mainly downhill to sea level? Wouldn’t driving uphill be a sign you might be going the wrong direction?

BTW, when we left my work at 5:15pm Saturday, it was 97 degrees.

 

[Pablo]

I tell people we are as a species in reverse. Reverse evolution. Think Idiocracy. People rarely know the compass direction. They don't use logic.

I guess this is what gadgets are for.

It's was 92°F here yesterday - and it was 92°F in Fl when visiting last week. 30% vs. 80% RH though.

 

[refaller]

When my sister in law lived off the shore in New Jersey my wife would call me as she was leaving and ask whether she went East or West to get home. How she couldn't remember the ocean was two blocks East I have no idea, but she didn't. GPS is her best friend.

ref

 

[PF52]

They'd probably Mapquested some directions but started out in the wrong direction without ever realizing it. I've seen it a million times; someone's got a printed set of directions but they're worthless now because somehow they got off course and are now way out of their way. And without a map, they're really lost.

I suppose nowadays, with people having GPS on their phones, its less likely to get so hopelessly lost. But you never know. Some people will find a way!

 

[Turk]

Originally Posted By: Pablo
I tell people we are as a species in reverse. Reverse evolution. Think Idiocracy. People rarely know the compass direction. They don't use logic.




Yeeeeeep.

 

[pbm]

Originally Posted By: Turk
Originally Posted By: Pablo
I tell people we are as a species in reverse. Reverse evolution. Think Idiocracy. People rarely know the compass direction. They don't use logic.




Yeeeeeep.

+2
....Without getting political, I believe that government 'programs' have turned
'survival of the fittest' on it's ear....

 

[Pablo]

Originally Posted By: pbm

....Without getting political, I believe that government 'programs' have turned
'survival of the fittest' on it's ear....


Proof here and in the latest Walmart thread.

 

[RF Overlord]

Originally Posted By: pbm
I believe that government 'programs' have turned 'survival of the fittest' on it's ear....
Yeah, now it's "survival of the fattest"

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Well, there's Lost , then there's lost.

I'm pretty good at navigating - I think that's because my father always made me read the maps and figure out directions when I was a kid. I used to travel all the time in college to Binghamton, Syracuse, Oneonta without a map using all backroads. Maybe I have a better sense of direction than most?

I know some people who just have NO sense of direction and when you try to point out a better route they get upset.


For me, navigating solely with GPS is a nono. I'm always afraid that it will die. I try to work wit ha map or just figure out directions.

 

[spackard]

Technology changes. But, people don't.

I looked up Wynola Pizza and Pacific Beach on Google maps. That's seriously lost. You'd think around 3500 feet you'd start to get a clue. (For the non-Californian, meadows and water are found up to around 1800'. Water reservoirs are up to around 3000 feet, but it's pretty cold in the winter at those heights. So, at 4200 feet, you're staring at trees, no meadows, very little grass if any. Yeah, the beach is just a mile away.)

 

[Lillikai]

I use to vacation with my Grandma a lot and if we got lost she'd always say- "We are not lost. We're always somewhere!" Haha, she always had the best sayings.

 

[morepwr]

But the GPS said it was this way...

 

[dparm]

Surprised that between the four of them, no one had a smartphone with GPS and some sort of navigation software...

 

[gfh77665]

You're talking to "4 females in bathing suits" and you are worried about navigation?

LOL!

 

[Andy636]

Originally Posted By: Pablo
I tell people we are as a species in reverse. Reverse evolution. Think Idiocracy. People rarely know the compass direction. They don't use logic.

I guess this is what gadgets are for.

It's was 92°F here yesterday - and it was 92°F in Fl when visiting last week. 30% vs. 80% RH though.


True statement here sire

When I was a kid and my parents used to say to me "when we where your age" I never believed a word.

Now as I past 30 I look at the younger generation and realize that they are basically brainwashed zombies that can't survive for 4 hours without Face Book or a smart phone. They have no interest in nothing, [censored] morals and refuse to commit to anything.

God knows how they make it all the way to high school since you just ask them one basic thing in math or physics they just put on a dumb face and remember suddenly they have something urgent to do and have no time to answer your question.

The way I see it our future looks grim.

 

[MinamiKotaro]

As someone with absolutely no sense of direction, I am sympathetic to those four females.

I cannot navigate, at all. After I've driven a route several times, I'll be ok. If I have to diverge from that route in the slightest, I'm probably screwed. I always get lost the first few times I drive somewhere new.

Recognizing the lay of the land, understanding traffic layouts, utilizing compass directions, I just have no head for it.

You should have seen my poor scout master trying to teach me how to head to a specific location on a map using a compass and/or the sun.

 

[threeputtpar]

Originally Posted By: powayroger
As we were getting out of the car, this car (With 4 females with bathing suits),


Pics of said bikini-clad females, or it didn't happen!

 

[DBMaster]

Originally Posted By: RF Overlord
Yeah, now it's "survival of the fattest"


ROFL!!