One of the more unexpected and fun parts of our second day’s drive to DC came when Bret realized that our GPS, affectionately named Veronica, had ultimately persevered in her attempts to get us to skip a quick side trip through West Virginia.
In our quest to see as many different parts of the US as possible, Bret thought it would be more scenic to drive thorough northern West Virginia and into Maryland on our way into DC.
Alas, however, he had earlier told Veronica to get to our destination downtown DC as quickly as possible and she has never taken her job of delivering us to our destination lightly. Not wanting to take the time to reprogram her, Bret instead decided to go his own way and wait for her to adjust. It took about two hours of her trying to redirect us before Bret triumphantly announced, “She did it, she changed her mind to go the way I want, and she shaved 20 minutes off of our time.”
It wasn’t 20 minutes later she urgently was telling him to exit. Without thinking, he followed her directions and found himself on a two-lane back road going the direction she wanted us to go – and avoiding West Virginia.
“I can’t believe it,” Bret muttered, “she outsmarted me.”
It turned out to be one of the best things to happen all day. Veronica’s route took us through small towns that wound through valleys showing off leaves that were fall’s crowning glory. Small villages built into the sides of hills and quaint churches with steeples backed by blue sky and light fluffy clouds. Not West Virginia, but more scenic than we could have ever imagined.
Smart Veronica!
