The invention of GPS is wonderful and on our recent driving vacation it became indispensable as we searched for our beach condo or for a food stop on the way. The GPS performed great and since I have updated the maps it has never ceased to get us to the right location. Well, almost, the GPS didn’t know that on our search for a Blizzard the closest Dairy Queen had closed.

But on this trip we realized that as great as the GPS is, there are times when you need an atlas in the car. It is not that we needed an atlas to help find our way, but we wanted an atlas to see where we were. Face it; the map on the screen of the GPS does not give the big picture. We knew we were on the right road, we knew what the next turn would be and we even knew the time we would arrive. However we didn’t see the big picture.

So before we take the next trip we will purchase an atlas so that we can see the big picture.