My smart phone has decent GPS services.

Yesterday John and I went to to Tampa Bay Downs racetrack. As we pulled out of Kings Point I put in our destination address: 11225 Race Track Drive, Tampa, FL. The GPS responded and we dutifully followed the instructions, listening to the female voice. Unfortunately following her instructions took us onto a toll road and John wasn’t happy. He was sure we could have avoided paying the fee, if we’d taken a different route. And as we approached the race track, she had us turn right rather than left, so we had to backtrack. John wasn’t happy.

So on the route home, we didn’t follow her instructions. Instead we defied her!

We intentionally kept going on Hillsborough Ave. even when she said we should turn, and we didn’t get on the Memorial Highway, even when she told us to. We had our own route in mind and it felt good to be defiant. We stayed on Hillsborough Ave. until we could get on 275, which allowed us to merge with Hwy. 4 toward Orlando. We knew Hwy 4 had an exit to I-75 and that’s what we took. Once on I-75, we were in familiar territory. Only when we got on I-75 did I feel “the voice” approved. Up to that point, she knew we were defying her and her tone chastised us.

John laughed at me as she gave me orders and I’d reply to her, “No, we aren’t going that way.” I had the nerve to taunt her!

He said it was weird listening to me argue with a “device.”

But it felt good to know we had a better route in mind. Of course, she was there, if we really got lost. I can imagine she’d have laughed, if we’d really gone astray, but as it was, following our route went smoothly and didn’t have any tolls.

I just thought of something: Maybe she is paid by the toll roads.