The "use landmarks that no longer exist" thing is one that I have encountered pretty much every time I move. "You know where the tire store used to be?" No, no I do not.

I was *very* confused when I first moved to Greensboro--after living in DE, Boston, and SF-- and couldn't figure out how to navigate without a landmark body of water (or 2). Until I started thinking of the traintracks as a river.

The "use landmarks that no longer exist" thing

I keep wanting a Jerusalem Waze version of it (for fun and history tours, not for simple and clear directions, of course). I may already have few ideas in mind.

I have a pretty great sense of direction and navigation though, and I love maps. If I travel to a place only once or twice, I can usually remember how to get there. (I've never tested this out in the woods or anything, but in a city, I can get by. The only city that has ever really confounded me was Toronto. "Head toward the water," they say. You can't see the frickin water for all the tall buildings. Everyone else in my family are terrible. It confounds me that I still have to give them directions to my house after I've lived here 11 years.

When I have the time, I sometimes follow the Dirk Gently adage that if you don't know where you are going you should follow someone who looks like they know where they're going, I've had surprisingly great results.

The "use landmarks that no longer exist" thing is one that I have encountered pretty much every time I move. "You know where the tire store used to be?" No, no I do not.

Ha! So, that's an everywhere thing? That everywhere thinks is just them? Good to know.

Last step of directions to the family farm: "turn left at the St.Pauli girl sign."

It fell off that barn when I was 11-ish? And last time I was there, the barn was gone too.

I didn't miss the turn.

There was a great article in the New Yorker (which I now can't find, of course) many years ago about the history of navigation systems and life before road maps and street signs and such. Lots of "turn left at the dead tree" or whatever. Even the early printed navigational aids used the same strategy.

Drat. I wish I could find the article again. It was truly fascinating.

The "use landmarks that no longer exist" thing

When I worked highway survey in rural areas I got some directions like, "take a right were that white van used to be for sale and then a left at the place where Brad and Susan got married".

I get that in calls to funeral homes, in a different way. "I saw Homer Delongely is laid out there. Is he the same Homer whose daddy used to own the filling station on Highway 17 and who married the girl from Valdosta?" All the time. So many variations.

The family house on the Gulf Coast was not that far from a casino that sprung up, so for a while you could say, "Turn at the giant neon alligator sign."

And by giant, I mean like 40 feet tall.