Finding Walmart on the Garmin GPS

Darev2005 commented on my previous post that he was surprised that Walmart would be listed as a "place of interest".  Obviously he hasn't been to the "People of Walmart" website.  
I jest, but for those who don't have GPS, or who only use it for specific addresses, I want to explain.
We had a GPS for three years before we did anything more than type in an address.  After a couple of weeks of getting used to it, we were hooked.  I did have a problem, though, if I wanted to simply type in the name of a town without using an address, because when I went to "where to" and clicked on "address", it demanded a street address; simply putting in the city and state wasn't acceptable.    
Then one day Cliff went into a tool store and I stayed in the car and played with the Garmin.  
I found out there was a "City" heading that did not require an address.  Sweet!
Since Cliff was taking his time in the tool store, I explored further:  I selected "where to" and then chose "Points of Interest".  
Under "Points of Interest", I could choose "food and drink", so I played with that awhile.  Being in Blue Springs, there were a lot of places to choose from, but I selected "Pizza Hut".  By going one step further, I found the phone number of the local Pizza Hut:  Wonderful!  From that time on if we were on the road, I knew we could call ahead and order pizza from our car.  
I returned to "Points of Interest" and saw other options:  Fuel, Transit, Lodging, Shopping, Bank or ATM, Parking, Entertainment, Recreation, Attractions, Hospitals, Community, and Auto Services.  
By exploring all those options that day, I found out you can find the nearest Walmart under the "Shopping" heading, and city parks under the heading of "Attractions" and then "Park or Garden".  
This revolutionized our travel experiences, and we use our Garmin for these things more often nowadays than for simple directions.  It's how we found the Iowa State Parks where we camped last weekend, as well as the city park in Elkhorn where we picnicked.  Not to mention the Walmart in a nearby city.  
Perhaps everybody else knows all this stuff, but since it took me years to figure it out, I'm putting it out there for other slow learners and senior citizens.    

I did get the daybed... and other short stories

It looks right at home near my computer, doesn't it? That's the headboard of my children's old baby crib on the wall.

The mattresses on the daybed and trundle leave something to be desired; I will probably replace them, since a twin bed mattress can be purchased at Big Lots or Sam's Club for $100. Now that I've finally gotten the daybed, I can move on and do some other things with this room. And now when grandchildren want to spend the night, there's a bed (or two) waiting for them.

I've already found out the daybed is going to come in handy when I'm watching television episodes like "The Dog Whisperer" on my computer; I can stretch out and relax instead of sitting in that computer chair. I need a few big pillows for it, though.

I would not have dickered with the girl on the price ($300), but when she answered my email, she said, "Someone else is coming to look at the daybed tomorrow, so I can't take less than $275."

Oh, so I can have it for $275? Thank you very much.

I have three numbers to call in the nearest town to see what it will cost to have my wireless Internet secured, and one number to call in the next nearest town. I know it will be a very simple job for someone who knows what he's doing, so there's a limit to how much I'll pay to get the it done. The grandson has a techie friend who could no doubt do the job, and I would be glad to pay him. But getting somebody like that to help you is next to impossible; young fellows always seem to have something more important on their minds... like women.

Our Garmin Nuvi told us today that since we've had it for more than a year, we need to purchase new maps. I went to the website to check it out, and found out it would cost $69 for a onetime update on maps, or $119 for updates for the life of the GPS.

We could buy a new Garmin for $129. I think I'll pass on the new maps and we'll get along with the outdated ones for another year or two; then we'll just buy a new GPS.

Do they think we're idiots?

Two new loves of my life

While we were in Georgia, our techie-smart son helped us out with some stuff we couldn't figure out on our own.

This is our our new Garmin nuvi 200W GPS. Circuit City honored their thirty-day deal to match any competitor's price, so we ended up paying $219 for it. What a deal! Cliff couldn't hear the Magellan GPS we borrowed from his brother to use on the way down, but this Garmin is good and loud. Almost TOO loud; I had to turn it down when I got a call on my cell phone! With the help of this baby, we had no trouble driving right to Cliff's sister's house in St. Louis, where we spent the night last night.

Cliff has had his XM radio for quite a while in his shop, but we didn't have a clue how to set it up in the car. Believe me, we enjoyed this thing on the long road home from Georgia. Thanks, Son! I only wish you could have heard me and Cliff helping ole Hank Williams and Patsy Cline and the others with their singing.