They even have a character who will gladly ride along with you and give you directions and funny/scary narrative, Dr. Nightmare. To quote the Garmin blog; “Love the voice. Ours has the habit of saying creepy things at the most opportune moments when looking for a house to buy. When we arrived, if the house was no good, he would say ‘Welcome to this dreadful destination.’ A friend was in the back of our car, and as she leaned over to look in the rearview mirror to check her hair, he said ‘Is that a goblin in the rearview mirror?’ She then replied ‘No its me.’ But the most uncanny of them all was just the other day, we were driving slowly through a small town when the vehicle in front of us stopped at the pedestrian crossing. As he did so a cat by the side of the road crossed in front of this vehicle. As we drove off Dr. Nightmare said “Did a cat just cross your path?”! Weird or what?!”  We can hardly wait to go pick our grandsons up and go for a nice country drive with Dr. Nightmare along to entertain us!

I love yardsaling, don't you? When you are driving down the highway and see something great that you feel you just Need to get back to later, but you are on your way to an appointment or maybe traffic is just crazy, and you just can’t stop right this minute, what do you do?  Well, if the automotive GPS you are traveling with is a Garmin nuvi it is no problem at all.  All you need to do is just reach out to that handy touch screen and ask to “view map”, then click on “vehicle” and “save location”, name it (anything at all if you are in traffic, just to be able to find it again), and you are done!  How simple is that?  Gotta love those GPS touch screen features on the go! Next time you see, oh a terrific garage sale or an interesting restaurant or maybe a side trip you want to take on your way home from vacation all you need to do is just save that location on your Garmin nuvi GPS.  Nice feature.  Simplify your life and save that location.

Hey! It’s finally here! We have had several people looking specifically for a GPS device that would work specifically for truckers, the nuvi 465T - the first nuvi designed specifically for over-the-road truckers. The nuvi 465T is the first navigation device to provide the NTTS Breakdown Directory which is the most comprehensive guide to semi-truck repair facilities nationwide - including those offering 24-hour road service, created with over-the-road drivers in mind. Also, lane assist comes standard with this GPS receiver for truckers, which is especially helpful when navigating complex highway interchanges. It also provides specialized routing to support truck-related restrictions (customizable by height, weight, length, width and hazardous materials). Simply enter dimensions and load restrictions and nuvi 465T guides you according to your requirements, even including multiple-point routing so that you can take a more efficient route between multiple stops along your trip.

This lets you know what lies in your path. It displays warning information of upcoming road conditions to make drivers aware of possible hazards along the route such as sharp curves and steep grades. You'll also get lateral wind warnings and notification when the road narrows. Also, with nuvi 465T's integrated FM traffic receiver you can receive free alerts about traffic delays and road construction that lie ahead on your route. Simply touch nuvi's screen to view traffic details or detour around the problem area.

You also get nuvi’s hands-free calling as the 465T integrates Bluetooth wireless technology with a built-in microphone and speaker. When paired with your compatible Bluetooth phone you are able to talk hands-free through the 465T while staying focused on the road. Simply dial numbers with nuvi's touchscreen keypad to make a call, and answer calls by tapping the screen and speaking into its built-in microphone. It is the safe way to travel down the highway.

Crazy, crazy stores Black Friday - I’m sure not joining in on that crush! Who wants to get up at O’dark-thirty and push and shove and stand in line with a bunch of other folks who are pushin’ and shovin’ and standin’ in line trying to get the best bargains. Not Me! I plan to do my shopping online, whenever it is convenient for me, with no other shoppers rushing me or confusing me or stressing me out. This is going to be eeeeasy shopping this year. With the house nice and quiet, got my little refreshments, my nice comfy chair, my computer and me. I’m liking this. I am checking out some pre-Black Friday bargains already online, looking at some automotive GPS systems and found some Garmin nuvi automotive GPS units already on sale! Who knows, I might finish my shopping Before Black Friday even rolls around. Yup, I’m talking eeeeasy this year, and I like eeeeasy!

Well, it’s that time of year again, and up here in the North Country the snowbirds are thinking about taking flight back to warmer climes. It is time to be looking at automotive GPS units to help you get around all the obstacles that might be in your way, help you find the nearest gas station or restaurant and help you plan your route to save you gas along the way. There are so many options, let’s consider some of them.

For example, the DeLorme Earthmate BT-20 w/Street Atlas USA 2010 Plus is a smart, flexible GPS, mapping and routing solution offering both Bluetooth and USB connectivity which plugs into your USB laptop PC or UMPC, or works wirelessly with your Bluetooth-enabled laptop, UMPC, PDA, or touchscreen phone. This DeLorme Earthmate GPS allows you to create driving routes automatically, with user controls for road preferences. It will help you locate 4 million places of interest such as restaurants, lodgings, attractions, truck stops, and businesses of all kinds.

Also, the nüvi 255W is a widescreen navigator with voice-prompted turn-by-turn directions that speak street names. It's packed with millions of destinations and maps for North America. With its "Where Am I?" emergency locator, you always know your location. Simply tap the screen to get your exact latitude and longitude coordinates, the nearest address and intersection, and the closest hospitals, police stations and fuel stations. Garmin’s nüvi 255W includes many travel tools including JPEG picture viewer, world travel clock with time zones, currency converter, measurement converter, calculator and sports a sleek, slim design that fits comfortably in your pocket or purse.

So, go south if you will, but do it safely and efficiently with your choice of automotive GPS systems. There are many affordable automotive GPS units to choose from.

While all are lightweight, the 1260T is nearly half the weight of the other two at about 4 ounces - I'm likin' that in my pocket again if I head out on foot or on my bike ‘cause it won't be bulky. Okay, good... All three have rechargeable batteries; with a battery life between 3 and 8 hours on each, the 550 beats the other two out again, but I will be able to just keep them charging while I am in the car. No problems there. All three come with preloaded maps and have the ability to load more - nice. All three use voice prompts and speak streets by name, I like that a lot, but none of these have voice activated navigation; well, I don't really need that one, and it keeps the price reasonable.

All three of these automotive GPS units will do detour calculations to get me back on track, but only the 550 and the 1450 will figure out the most direct route for me; although, all three models will help me avoid highways or toll roads - savin' me money; and the 1260T and 1450 both include ecoroute to save gas. I like that. Oh, the 1260T is the one with Bluetooth, a handy feature to have; and that one comes with Lifetime Traffic included, oooh, nice. They all have world clock and a picture viewer, anti-theft (Great Idea) and are easily personalized with Garmin Garage. Ahhh, the nuvi 550, is waterproof and great for motorcycles, boats and geocaching! Well, I think I know which one I want, how about you?