thankful thursday - paper road maps

A few weeks ago I went to AAA to get the maps I need to plan our summer vacation. With great expectation I walked into the building and approached the counter with my list in my hand. The woman efficiently put together the maps I requested and I returned to my car with a bag full of large paper maps. I was almost giddy with excitement as I drove home, thinking about all the possible routes we could take, places we could visit and things we could see.

I know there are apps for my phone that plot your route, give you hotel suggestions and points of interest nearby. They will even tell you if there is construction somewhere or road closures. They give you traffic updates. Navigation will give you audible, step-by-step directions to your destination. You can find gas stations with the cheapest gas.

They say there is an app for everything.

But you can't feel the crisp folds in the map or spread them open all over the floor to get "the big picture" with a map app. You can't smell the ink and paper on your phone. You don't sharpen your mental math skills adding up mileage between towns in your head. You don't learn to navigate, to go from point A to point B using nothing but your map and your brain.

It's not that I have anything against "progress." Although, just because something might be easier doesn't necessarily mean it's progress - but that's a blog post for another day.  I really just like the challenge of planning a trip myself, using a paper map and a highlighter. I'm thankful AAA still prints paper maps and hope they continue to do so for many years to come. I like the adventure of not knowing if there's road construction or a detour before I get there. It's what makes the great American road trip great!