When we travel I have many forms of technology available to help guide us to the best route and insure we don’t run into any problems for a vehicle as large as we are. I use software on the computer to map our whole route which began in Mesa AZ and will end in San Jose sometime in October; I have my iPhone and Ipad to help guide us to what is ahead like campgrounds, fuel, bridges or toll roads; and then we have a GPS which always seems to disagree with all the other technology. Since we are traveling with another couple I have added information to guide me along. We have radios so we can communicate information to each other or more importantly they can share that their GPS, smartphone, atlas, etc. disagrees with what I am doing!!!
Most of the time all this information is very helpful like when we are traveling through Virginia and we see a sign that says there is a bridge/tunnel ahead and we have to stop and be inspected before entering. What? That is what all 3 of my travelers are asking as we past the sign! We were not suppose to be taking any tunnels, we routed ourselves around the Chesapeak Bay Bridge Tunnel. Well, sometimes your technology fails you. The good news is it was a quick stop, get out turn off the propane and the nice lady lets us proceed. The really good news is the tunnel was very short and Paul now can say he has taken his RV underwater.
The other great thing about all this technology is you can find things you thought you were going to miss. Traveling through Maryland I get a call on the radio that we need to stop and go see where Pat’s mom grew up. We had discussed this but thought we were not going close enough and she wasn’t even sure she had the right information. As we are traveling around the outside of Baltimore Pat has been on the cell phone with her family in CA and gets new information that indicates we are passing right thru the small town that her mom had grown up in.
“Exit here” is what I get on the radio. Wait, we have two rigs that are over 50 feet long and we are exiting before I can access all my APPS that tell me what is ahead! What about low wires, skinny streets, no where to turn around! We take the exit and are now dumped into a commercial area with lots of stores and cars wizzing by. My drivers are pretty good, Paul spots an empty lot about a 1/2 mile up on the left and it looks perfect for us to manuever.
We get stopped, Kip unhooks the tow vehicle and three of us take off for Ellicott City to look for a house on Rest Lane that Pat had been to when she was 5!!! What a great adventure this is and is only 5 miles off of our path. Ellicott City is a very old community outside of Baltimore which now looks like a thriving tourist destination with lots of cute shops and that charm of a century ago. Using GPS technology we find Rest Lane but we don’t have an address that agrees with the ones on the houses. Pat’s five year old memory is not matching what we are seeing in 2012 however we take photos of several houses that might be it.
This is it!
It has been decided that this was the house her mother grew up in. On our way into this neighborhood we passed a neighborhood market so I suggest we return there and maybe someone knows something. It was only 2 blocks away from here. The Market was perfect.
Oella Market
This place has been here a 100 years so I am sure Pat’s mom also stood in front of the steps years ago. The current owner has only been there 30 years but his mission is to learn the history of the area and he has books and all kinds of pictures from the past. Pat got to see her mom’s home village and I got to see another spot that might be on my radar for a future visit!