My son, his wife, her mother, me and my daughter took a few days to go down to Washington, DC which is a 4 hour drive from where we were staying. I also have to say that any car trip over 2 hours is a trial for me. So, again lessons to be learned. We drove merrily on our way having downloaded instructions on how to get to where we were going from MapQuest. There was one bit that was a bit tricky when we had to get off the motorway in Washington DC (we were going to stay at a hotel in Virginia which is just across the river) and make a Uturn and get back on a motorway. As we drove along before we got to the exit we noticed the neighbourhoods getting worse and worse. It was like something out of the scariest gangster movie I've ever seen. We got off the motorway and drove deeper and deeper into "the movie set" (it couldn't be real, after all, I'd never seen anything like it and I used to live in the US). Finally, my son decides we really don't want to go any further and actually have to admit to anyone we are lost.....we found a petrol station and my son and I got out. We had the mapquest papers with us. A man approached us and said "You're lost" (not a question, obviously we were lost!) He said "I bet you downloaded mapquest - I don't know why they tell people to make a uturn when it's not possible!" Then he told my son to put the papers away, all the while he was looking around to see who was near us. He told my son again in a rather urgent voice - "just put your papers in your pocket, put them away" Oh, boy! He produced a small paper that fit in the palm of his hand and proceeded to write instructions. The whole time he wasn't looking at his paper and was just looking casual. We got back in the car and I was feeling like we had met our "guide" angel!
We managed to get back on the motor way but this part of DC has an incredibly complex motorway system which intersects with each other. Thanks to mapquest we got lost again and this time in an industrial area with no people visible. We found a small strip mall which was actually just in the process of being completed and lo and behold we found a Starbucks open. (They say Starbucks is never far away!) We got instructions (we were now in a different State which borders DC!) back on the motorway. Again, thanks to mapquest we missed the motorway to Virginia and ended up in downtown DC. My son by now is hungry, tired, and discouraged. He veers off into the first hotel he sees. Gets out of the car. (we're all thinking he's lost his marbles) He tells the doorman to call him a cab! (oh, great, he's deserting us!) The cab comes and my son says "Here's the deal. My wife and sister will ride with you. I'll follow. Take us to this hotel" And that's how we found the State of Virginia!
)