Note: When you give me directions...

[fivetails]

I can deal with funny directions ~ I come from a town where everyone says "The Towers mall" - it hasn't been Towers since I was what, 11? - but for. the. love. of. a. spotted. frog. STOP GIVING ME DISTANCES IN KILOMETERS. :smash:

 

Everyone does it here in our current town & I get so confuzzled. When I ask "so how far is it?", you are supposed to reply with "it's about twenty minutes" or "prolly about a four hours drive" ... not some random number of kilometers. ARGLE BARGLE. :tongue_smilie:

[sunshine]

I hear women give directions in landmarks (like the Krispy Kreme, Walmart, etc..) and men give directions in miles and directions (north south etc). That is why I get lost everytime my dh or ds sends me to do an errand. You would think they would learn:glare:

[KidsHappen]

GPS doesn't always help. We were on a road trip to NC with a borrowed GPS. A friend had given directions to their house but the GPS told us a different way. We followed the GPS, turning left when we should have turned right. We searched up and down that road for the house, finally gave up, and went back to where the GPS diverged from the friend's directions. We found it fine going by the directions we had been given.

 

Once a friend was visiting us with their GPS. It took them on the shortest (by mileage) route through all the windy, narrow country roads and turned what should have been a 30 minute drive into an hour drive. There's an expression here, "Do you want the short way or the quick way?"

 

My hubby was on a business trip and was trying to use the GPS to get from the airport to his hotel. It deposited him in the middle of a field six miles from where he needed to be. He had to call me and I had to look it up on the internet for him. My brother is an over the road driver and he regularly tells me that the GPS is useless.

 

I take landmark directions everytime given the choice. It never fails that if someone tells me to go south then east and west are my only options or sometimes only signs telling me the way to cities I don't want to go to and have no idea where they are in relation to where I do want to go. On the way back from the airport here in Nashville there is one point where I have to take a interstate that is exactly in the opposite direction of where I want to go. If I didn't know that it would be seriously confusing. I never blame out of staters for getting lost here in Nashville.

[Ellie]

I hear women give directions in landmarks (like the Krispy Kreme, Walmart, etc..) and men give directions in miles and directions (north south etc). That is why I get lost everytime my dh or ds sends me to do an errand. You would think they would learn:glare:

Maybe *some* women do, but I give directions in miles and compass directions. And street names. Most people will ask me for the address, and the names of the streets where they have to turn. Sometimes I'll give them an obvious landmark if I know the street name is obscured (or non-existent). And sometimes I'll add something like, "Go straight on Calpine until you have to turn left or right or go into this guy's driveway. Turn left," or "if you get to the stop light at Lean, you've gone too far. Make a U-turn and come back."

[sunshine]

Maybe *some* women do, but I give directions in miles and compass directions. And street names. Most people will ask me for the address, and the names of the streets where they have to turn. Sometimes I'll give them an obvious landmark if I know the street name is obscured (or non-existent). And sometimes I'll add something like, "Go straight on Calpine until you have to turn left or right or go into this guy's driveway. Turn left," or "if you get to the stop light at Lean, you've gone too far. Make a U-turn and come back."

 

I am not sure what *some* women means but I would definitely get lost without landmarks. Street names are okay but I tend to pass them. Realize I saw it. Find a turnaround, forget the name of the street and have to call someone to get the name again etc... Yeah, I must be a *some* woman!:D

and hey, I'm good with that!

[swellmomma]

Y'all need to find the County Records office? It's in the old hospital building.

 

Oh, it hasn't been used for a hospital in 8 years.

 

This has only happened to me since we moved to the South a few months ago.

 

 

That reminds me of directions in my home town. I over heard my dad giving my mom directions to the kids school back when they attended ps. The directions included the phrase "Turn right where the old hospital used to be". Keep in mind that hospital had been demolished 20 years before lol (though it was the one I was born in).

 

I am a landmark driver so when I give directions they include landmarks. Even worse as I give directions I picture myself driving and turn my body as if I an turning corners. For example to get to my house I tell people to go through the 4 way stop in front of the elementary school then take the next "real" left, where the apartment building with the blue flags is. If they hit the Tempo it means they have missed the turn and they need to backtrack. Once on my street my house is the one with the light green trim just as the crescent starts to turn. (though in my defence my street has a name not a number when 95% of the rest of the streets in my city are numbered).

[unsinkable]

Well, this woman ;), I mean me, tends to answer the request for directions like this:

 

"I know how to get there but I can't tell you how."

[Jeannie in NJ]

I had to put my coffee down, especially for the one about turn right at the dead cat! I love cats but I was laughing so hard that I had tears running down my face.

 

The directions to my house were "Go 3/4 of the way down the street and we are the house with the huge, monster size holly trees". We cut those trees way back so now we are "the house that USED to have the huge, monster size holly trees but are now kind of scraggly". Never thought there was anything wrong with these directions until I started reading this thread lol.

 

p.s. I am originally from a small town in Texas that did not have ANY street signs (mail was picked up at the tiny post office window). Our house was turn left at the Dairy Queen go towards the water tank for horses, turn left and go the house with the porch swing in the front yard.

[Pip]

I give directions in compass directions.

 

This summer, in a strange town with no dh and a sick car, I got these directions to the mechanic. My thoughts and responses are in parentheses.

 

"Go down a ways to the 2 storey house and turn towards town."

 

(Which direction is town? right? Left? How will I know which 2 storey house?)

 

"The house is by the big tree.

 

(Which big tree? I see a lot of big trees around here.)

 

"there's also a fence."

 

(This is farmland. Everything is fenced.)

 

"Anyway, I think you will go right. Hold on. I think you will face this way {turns his body away from me and waves his hands around.} Yeah this way and turn in this direction.{Points hand}

 

(Yeah, thanks, that's real clear. My car shouldn't die in the process of following these directions.)

 

"The mechanic is down the street from the church."

 

(Which church? This is Oklahoma. Every corner has a church.)

 

"Just go a few blocks. It'll be there."

 

(What is your definition of a few? 3? 10?)

 

I thanked him and got in my car. Called dh at work and asked for a GPS.