Our GPS is Sexist

By Jen.

 

I think I can claim that our GPS is sexist. It only responds to males. I am guessing it only had male programmers working on the voice command functions. I can get it to respond to me, but only if I speak at a lower frequency. And, no, it is not because I am louder. I tried louder; I tried softer. All that really matters is that I lower my pitch. So long as I use my “male” voice, it hears me, whether I am soft-spoken or shouting. Very annoying and a reminder why we need diversity in our workforces every time I use it. And, yes, we are finally using it again because we are finally traveling again! We are also well behind on our posts, so you will probably see quite a few popping up over the next few weeks. This post occurs over 9/26/2020 to 9/30/2020.

 

Improvements to the van included new windows and added insulation.

We also moved our toilet to under the bench seat (accessed via the door in the front). And added top access to area under the vertical cabinet.

Both of us lost our jobs to the pandemic economy. We have tried to find jobs, but unsuccessfully. So while we figure out our next move, we are going to enjoy ourselves in our country for a bit. This was harder than usual for us, as we hadn’t been shoring up US destinations, and the van wasn’t ready yet. We dedicated ourselves full-time to getting the van live-in ready again, and in a few months we set out for our first destination: Maine. I wanted to see Acadia National Park; I had heard somewhere that it was good. But, with me as the navigator, we never head in a straight line to our ultimate destination; I had some pit stops planned along the way.

 

We also upgraded our galley, gaining much more space and an additional drawer. New flooring was installed.

 

First up was my grandmother and aunt in Kentucky. I hadn’t seen them in over a year, so we stopped by overnight. Then I took us up to see the Great Lakes, Erie and Ontario. Of course, that meant a stop at Niagara Falls, which lies in-between!

 

Lake Erie.

 

I had been up to Niagara Falls in high school (more than 1.5 decades ago), but Jonathan had never been. Last time I was here, I mostly remember the tourist hoards. There were so many people, I had a hard time enjoying the falls. This time around, the crowds were so few you could actually social-distance, and have a chance at a few almost-tourist-free pics. Much more enjoyable!

 

There are small islands on the way to waterfall.

 

Fall time and some small falls.

Niagara Falls is split into 3 waterfalls. This is called American Falls.

Practicing safety protocols.

This one is Bridal Veil Falls, which is the smallest and hardest to capture a picture.

It is a really pretty area for being inside a city.

A black squirrel!

Horseshoe (or Canadian) Falls is the largest and falls in Canadian territory.

Some of the rapids leading to the falls.

This area of the river creates a giant whirlpool-like flow where the water completes a full circle in a counter-clockwise direction.

 

Jonathan doesn’t like the idea of going to the eastern USA as much, because it is more populated and has less state-owned ground. But, we are much more experienced at finding free camps these days, so it wasn’t as bad as he thought it would be. And, it has been an an interesting experience to see how the Northeast lives. Very different than the rest of the places we have been in the USA. For example, one of the more obvious ones was that there were more ornate wood houses and very few brick houses.

 

Fall colors!

Cute camping area in Ferris Lake Wild Forest in NY.

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!