Keeping the Windmill Alive - Where was your last trip with your GPS?

last weekend, from Columbus, Ohio to Indy. Nuvi worked flawlessly, but with one goof. Pulled south off of I-70 for gas just east of Indiana-Ohio line and it wanted me to go to Rt. 40 (north of I-70), instead of I-70, when I returned to travel...

I took my Go930 on a 1500 mile trip to Pennsylvania and back, it worked flawlessly. My son and I did alot of sightseeing, the POI's that I loaded from here...and those that were already in the unit were a great help.

I loaned my 660 to a fellow Bus Driver for her Vacation to South Carolina and back...she loved if..and said it saved her many many times. Found all their Motels for them..and many bathroom breaks..

We took a trip to Colorado, and, as usual, the Nuvi performed flawlessly. It's a pleasure to see all of the restaurants available in the next town so you can make a choice among all of them, rather than the few that are within a block or two of the Interstate.

One morning after a stay in an Albuquerque hotel, we used the GPS to try to find a local non-chain donut shop. Turns out the Nuvi database was out-of-date because the address it lead to was an S.O.B. (Sexually Oriented Business). Not a great place to visit, especially with the kids along for the ride.

We ended up going to Dunkin' Donuts, which was still good, but we like to try local places along the way. One example of a great local donut shop is in Estes Park, CO, called the Donut Haus. (342 Moraine Ave.) Everything is tasty, but our favorites are their cheescake donuts and cinnamon bread. It's been a favorite of ours for more than 20 years.

Anyone else use their GPS to find local food places rather than chains?

Wind blow my windmill

It was in late May, and wasnt exactly my last destination using the GPS, but it was at least not a routine trip like a drive to work, a very local gas station, weekly church services or any other trip that was only logging mileage accurately or a quick find your way out of trouble.

I used both my Nuvi 250W and my 60CSx at the same time and only the 60CSx while hiking to trap the breadcrumbs.

I did find that sometimes it isnt beneficial to see the map display on the screen. It sometimes is useful only to use the GoTo feature and choose your POI file for the area to see only the POI's and let the Nuvi shine in other roles that we may not always use it for. It will always keep the closest POI at the top of the list with an arrow pointing the direction and how far away it is. (waterfalls, visitors centers, campsites, etc...) This also works while driving on the freeway or other road to alert you to what is the closest to you and which direction it is from your direction of travel.

Oh yeah, back to Yosemite....WOW, what a great year this spring was for viewing of the waterfalls! This was a highlight year, and MEGA water flowing in all the rivers! The wife and I cant say enough of this place. My father first introduced me and the family in about 1969-1970. We have backpacked from Tuolumne Meadows to the Yosemite Valley several times, as well as doing the High Sierra Camps loops several times and this is God's country without question. It doesnt matter what your beliefs are, it is spiritual. No questions asked.

Used it in pedestrian mode in Old Montreal. Worked great.

Limerick PA, to the Philadelphia Premium Outlets. It was not listed so I programed it with a road destination. Before that I checked it on google map switched over to satellite view and it showed no mall it was under construction, google needs to update their maps.

Nuvi "Gabby" 360

We took a short 5 day trip to Quebec City this last weekend. They are celebrating their 400th Bithday this year. The only problem we had, was they have moved the road that runs along the St. Lawrence river and put a park there. The old road was about 3 miles long. This was done 2 years ago. Our Nuvi was trying to put us on a road that does not exist any more. I have the 2009 updated maps. Other than that it was a great weekend. The weather was cool, 63 was the high for the 3 days, but no rain. Great food and plenty to see. If anyone has a chance to go, do it. You won't be disapointed. The price of gas was $132.4 per liter in Quebec.

Used it so I know where the Red Light Cameras are. What a great file that is.

I hope this is a typo!!

Went to Las Vegas last Thursday for a four day trip.

That is what it was. That equals around $5.02/gal.

Windmill

Last trip i took with my GPS was from Milwaukee to Perralt Falls Ontario. GPS worked Flawlessly. Seemed to miscalculate the finall destination by about 25 mins, but it got us there with no issues..

Planning a trip has never been as much fun as with the nuvi. Actually, it used to be a chore, i.e. making personal notes of which routes to take, what exits to get off on, etc. The week before camping, I preloaded the nuvi with the places we planned to go during our camping stay. Then loaded them all into their own special category of POIs.

The nuvi performed without a hitch during the past 5 days. It was also the first time we used it in pedestrian mode, i.e. hiking on trails around camp. The trip log (breadcrumb) feature was awesome for this!! We used it to backtrack our way.

The only glitch was mine, or should I say it was Walmart's. When we were planning our trip, I forgot we had a Walmart POI file here so I didn't check this site. I went instead to the Walmart website's store locator and found a store we can use. I uploaded its coordinates to my nuvi. Unfortunately, it directed me to a huge shopping center with Best Buy, Sears, Macy's, etc. but not a Wal-mart in site. It's a good thing the nuvi said there was a Wal-mart about 2 miles away. My wife didn't give me hell this time. The nuvi can be a marriage-saver as well!!

There are 3.79 liters in an US gallon, and @ $132.40 per liter, that would be $501.796 per gallon. Like I said, I hope it's a typo.

Yes, I misplaced the decimal point, It should have been One dollar and thirty-two point four cents. Thanks for the correction.

I'm headed out on my first major road trip since I got my Nuvi in a week and I can't wait. I'm driving from my home in suburban Maryland to visit a friend in Upstate NY. I'm already planning my side trips on the way up. Any recommendations?

Loading up ole trusty "Gracie" (my Garmin 2720) with Map Source waypoints I headed out to the Houston area and other cities throughout Texas from the Jacksonville, FL area.

Ole Gracie performed flawlessly. The only glitches encountered (and no fault of Garmin), were road construction projects and related slowdowns along the way.

In the near future I'll be replacing my 2720 with a newer Nuvi model not that the 2720 is outdated for my needs but it is a bit bulky sitting atop the dashboard.

Just got back from a Nova Scotia tour. Remnants of the hurricane followed us around the peninsula, my buddy blew his Dyna up and had to ride with me for the majority of the trip, but at least my Zumo preformed flawlessly!

Our last trip was to Nebraska and Georgia and I was absolutley amazed at my GPS, it even had old dirt pivot lanes on it. Talk about detailed!!

Went from Port Republic Maryland to Danese West Virginia. Approx 350 miles each way. Did a route through the Mountains to minmize the Interstate route we usually go. Did this on my 2004 Kawasaki Vulcan 1600 with a friend. Used the MP3 player on the 660 with earbuds....already planning for next years ride doing a different route.

I was driving to a specific address and found some disturbing quirks with typing it in. For instance the address is different in the GPS for Highway vs HWY. It is different for Parkway vs Pkwy.

This became very frustrating when the address printed in the Phone book is not spelled the same as that in the GPS (i.e., 135 E Pkwy as opposed to 135 East Parkway).

Anyone found the same descrepancies when traveling? Any way to avoid these or determine which abbreviation to type in?

I use it mostly for local commutes. Next month I'll use it to get from LA to Milpitas, Ca.

Around town...

My last trip. Wichita Ks, to Phoenix then on to Las Vegas and over to Ontario Ca then straight North to Redding California. Our company issues us older street pilots, and "generally" the routing is pretty good, especially in town. Although, I do have to watch it sometimes by double checking a paper map. Garmin always wants to route me from Wichita to Oklahoma City (down to I-40) instead of short-cutting through the state of Kansas via highway 54 to grab I-40. This would have added a little over 100 extra miles to my trip. Next trip I am bringing along my Nuvi 650 to see what kind of differences I find between the two.

Great topic! . . . no problem with the windmill though.

Loaned the Nuvi 200W to the wife and daughter. She's going to Chicago to NROTC orientation. Last I heard they used it to find a Thai restaurant for dinner. Pretty surprising since my wife is electronically challenged.

I'll be making he second trip to mover her in later in the month (with the nuvi of course).

Used it on a local trip to Sams Club and found a new route that it gave me but the road it had me going is blocked off. Time to send another report to Garmin and Navteq.

Just got back from D.C.....May I say....I LOVE MY GARMIN (Nuvi 750)!

It got me from Dulles airport to the Lincoln Memorial, from there to the White House (or as close as one can get these days), the Jefferson Memorial and then from D.C. to Gaithersburg, MD to my hotel.

I never once looked at the map the car rental agency gave me...just zoomed in and out of map on the Garmin unit.

To use a GPS in the city/town of which your pretty familiar with is one thing, but to go someplace where you completely are lost (unless you have your Garmin..ha ha ha)is another.

I even got tired of trying to find a good radio station and played my mp3's out of the unit itself.

I LOVE MY GARMIN (Nuvi 750)

P.S. Funny thing, even though my wife got me this for father's day, she said I couldn't take "her" Nuvi. So...I went to Walmart (wallyworld) and bought her the Nuvi 200 model....just to pacify her while I took "MY" unit with me. HA!

I LOVE MY GARMIN (Nuvi 750)....and so does my wife.

Stu Pidasso

From New york

Cleveland to Hilton Head SC and Savanah GA Great trip!!

We picked blueberries today in a farm outside the city. Totally unfamiliar territory. The Garmin once again was stellar.

just got back from Navarre, Florida.
A bunch of us went in two vehicles. We used my new Nuvi 360 and a Streetpilot c340. Weirdly, each unit plotted a slightly different route (even tho both had essentially the same avoidances, maps and such). It didn't matter, because we ended up taking a different route than either one suggested.

Both units worked well. The closest thing to a glitch was when I was going to WalMart (which was on the left) and my 360 insisted that I take a right and then make a block before crossing the road into the parking lot. All I needed to do is make a left - there was even a left turn lane with an arrow. Maybe a left was illegal there at some point in the past? It found a liquor store - also on the left - easily enough!

I didn't use the 360 in pedestrian mode, as I thought I would on this trip. Maybe next trip.

I used my "new" GPS recently on a drive to my brother's wedding in the Texas Hill Country. The destination was the Trois Estate across from Enchanted Rock State Park. There aren't any visible signs screaming out its name, just a simple street sign at the entrance. As soon as my wheels touched the driveway I received the "You have arrived" confirmation.
Trois Estate at www.troisestate.net, doesn't really do it justice for what they have to offer. The breath taking views from the rooftop overlooking the Enchanted Rock formation, at sunset, with a glass of wine and family was awesome.
In the same weekend, I also used it to find www.fogodechao.com in Addison and back home (Benbrook, Tx). I put 650 miles on the odometer this weekend and never left the state.
I chose my Magellan 3225 from a service award brochure. I am very pleased with its ease of use and functionality, not to mention its small footprint in a cluttered environment.

Just took it down to Norfolk/VA Beach area and it was really helpful in avoiding the toll-road at the VA-NC border after going for some BBQ. We detoured around the toll and it took us along some nice back roads back to our campground.

I use my 750 all the time. Trips to the downtown are and also use the poi files to look up phone numbers for businesses. Saves the directory information charges.

I used my NUVI 250 to get me from Guelph, ON Canad ato Algonguin Park, ON. 5h drive. Got me there with no problems at all. I made a slight alteration to the route, that got me up there using some back roads, rather than main highways when available, as I was Hauling my GrandAM Fully loaded, with a Canoe on the roof. Trip was great, except for the fact that my 8 Year old Son, Tripped over a tree root, and snapped his right arm. So at 8pm, we blitzed packing everything up, before it got dark and made the 5h drive back home. Hospital in the morning, and he got Surgery 4 DAYS Later! UGH! Now he's got a Titanium Plate in his arm, and we have a trip we won't soon forget.

Back from our second Virginia winery trip. Used the Nuvi 660 for almost everything. It did get confused once when on the Blue Ridge Parkway and it told us to turn right on to a highway when the turn was on the left, but crossed UNDER the parkway.

I love the GPS, but my wife laughs every time we get near a red-light camera and it sounds off....It even goes off while on the interstate and the intersection is next to or under the interstate bridge.

Last trip was to Atlanta. My 750 (new then) was an excellent help in getting around the city and finding my way to the aquarium and Fernbank, the Varsity, etc.

Upcoming trip the last week in the month from FL to Michigan to visit friends. They have a PO box so couldn't use a street addy. Got the Lat/Lon and put it in as a favorite. I'm anxious to see how that works out. I also want to create a route that I will use for some out of the way places in Indiana that should prove interesting also.

Traveled from NC to TX with my Nuvi 660. Nuvi gave me pretty good driving directions. Did not get lost at all. However, its built-in POI needs to be desired:

1. It sent me to two closed restaurants: Carribean Experience in Alabama and Forty (?) Seafood in Mississippi along I-20W.

2. It instructed me to take the wrong turn to a no-man's land for the Guess Factory Outlet instead of Louisiana Boardwalk.

3. Maybe I did not use them the right way, none of the outlet malls downloaded from this site showed up on my route.

All in all it was a pleasant drive.

Wales.

Wonderful trip. Beautiful country. The Nuvi 770 worked wonderfully. We have all the confidance to get where we want to go using the unit.

Jim

I had never been to his house. So put the address in and away I went. We both left my house same time and gamin got to his place faster than his "quick way".
Hmmm maybe his way not so quick!

I just got back from a long 5,427 mile trip with my friend "jack". He helped me find rest areas, places to eat and places to see. I towed my PG daughter's car from So. Cal to Dallas where she is moving. Then Jack and I went to see friends in MN, then back to Dallas where I helped deliver my daughter's baby-- (kept out of the way) I stayed in the waiting area and read the paper- an hour later a fine baby girl was born-- easy! Jack and I went to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in Fort Worth where most of the paper $$ is made. Pallets of bills. No samples-- for anyone. Back to California. I like traveling with my friend Jack, and he does not talk to much, except "Recalculate", which I fine irrating. So I had a talk with him and he now says, "Try again".

We're taking a driving circle tour of Lake Michigan, with a leg up into the Upper Peninsula and the National Parks and National Shorelines. I painstakingly laid out a *very* scenic route in MapQuest and downloaded it into my Nuvi 760.

Some interesting notes:
Totally surprised to have all the horse and bike trails on Mackinac Island in the Nuvi. This is an island that outlawed all motorized vehicles 100 years ago. So you walk, bike or ride a horse carriage. We biked, with the Nuvi in my pocket for guidance.

Along the northern lakeshore of the Upper Peninsula, many "roads" are really sand/gravel tracks. The Nuvi knew these roads, and got us where we wanted to go. The Nuvi actually had more roads in it than the maps we got from the park service.

This weekend will be my first long distance trip with my garmin nuvi 750. I am going to let Jill navigate unless she screws up, hope she doesn't. I've been telling wife,(or should we say trying to convince her) how valuable Jill is to us. Sure hope Jill lives up to her end.

I think that you should switch to Jack, that way if he screws up you can tell your wife "well, he is a guy"

I recently went from South Jersey to North Carolina. When we arrived there the Gps had us feeling at home in no time by guiding us to all the stores and different placed we wanted to go. On the down side while driving home I didn't see a sign that said I was entering Va and I did not disconnect my radar detector and yep! I got a ticket for having a radar detector. I didn't know the State police had equipment that could tell if you were using a radar detector. Maybe a suggestion to add to my Garmin wish list to let you know when you are entering and leaving a state so you know what laws to follow.

If you don't mind, could you let us know what highway you were on when you got the ticket for
the radar detector. Were you pulled over just for having the detector or something else first.
I've driven thru VA many times forgetting to take my radar detector down - mostly on I-81, I-95, US-17 and never had a problem.

I used mine on a trip from NE Ohio to down to Marietta, and then some side trips.

One thing interesting occured on the route calculation. When I first put the route in just from my house to the hotel the first 10 miles or so were an absurb cross country drive to the freeway with the rest of the trip being fine. About 25 miles on that route was a place for breakfast. I put it in as a way point and the system took me there using the correct route. So my observation is that the routing tends to be better on shorter routes rather than longer. Actually that does seem to make some sense since there are few possible routes for shorter trips and obvsiously the GPS can not evaluate every possible route.