Our Newest Gadget - GPS for the Car

The day before leaving Chicago we bought a GPS for the car. This is a purchase we have long considered but kept putting off because of the cost. But the idea of travelling across the country, and then finding our way around a foreign city, was just enough to make us spend some money and buy a system.

We ended up purchasing the Navigon 7100 at Best Buy. Here is how it went down …

• Over a few months we had narrowed our choices down to Garmin and Navigon. The one reason we went with Navigon was the lifetime traffic subscription that was included right out of the box. With all the other brands you had to buy extra equipment (anywhere from $150-250) and then spend around $75 a year for service.
• We had settled on the Navigon 5100 because of price, around $300.
• The day before we leave I get an RSS feed from Slickdeals that tells me Costco has the Navigon 7100 on sale for $300! Basically the same price we were going to spend on the 5100 but you get some added features (bluetooth being one of them).
• Call up Costco but they tell me they don’t have online items in the store.
• Head to Staples assuming they would price match but they only carried the 5100, not the 7100.
• Head to Best Buy where they not only have the 7100 in stock but were more than willing to price match.
• Used a $100 Visa Gift Card we were given as a going away present toward the purchase, and when it was all said and done the system cost us $236 out of pocket!

The Navigon worked pretty much flawlessly from Chicago to Los Angeles. There was a street in Las Vegas it wanted me to turn down that was one-way but that wasn’t a big issue. We enjoyed many of the features including the time left until we reach our destination and what time we would arrive. Knowing where the next ags station was via the points of interest (POI) was also handy along certain sections of I-40 (the old Rotue 66) and when crossing the desert.

Here in Los Angeles the Navigon has been helpful in finding the few stores I have been on the hunt for. After looking up the local Target and Sam’s Club online, I simply entered the address and it took me where I wanted to go. The traffic feature came in handy the other day when travelling from one store to the next, allowing me to avoid the freeway and the bumper to bumper slow down.

Easily one of the best investments we have made recently as we know it will help us navigate our way around the 10, 110, 210, 710, the 5, the Harbor Freeeway, and every other place around here.

Sorry for the Delay … Here is Our Update

Sorry for the lack of updates yesterday but we are without one of life’s modern conveniences: Internet access at home. Our ISP will only make the connection when we have a router which of course is on a truck somewhere in middle America. We also don’t have a home computer so I am left to use H’s laptop when she is home and then ‘borrow’ Internet access from our neighbors. I have found that the people around us are much more tech savy as there are very few open WiFi connections around. In order to get a signal this morning I am sitting by the pool which is located in the middle of the building.

I am not going to lie, it seems weird sitting outside on a computer in April. However, it’s 54 degrees out at 6:30 a.m. so I can’t complain.

The last few days have been busy on my end. On Tuesday I tried to find the local target which I don’t think was all that close - North Hollywood. I picked up a few things and then made my way to Sam’s Club which there are not a lot of here. Apparently Costco is more popular in the LA area so we might need to change our membership. Anyhow, we picked up a small 15′ LCD to serve as our television until our SONY arrives on the truck (with the router). Driving was kind of a nightmare as there was traffic everywhere and I had no idea where I was going. Thank goodness we purchased our GPS system before we left as it has been life saver on more than one occasion already. Of course when I got home I realized that the guy at Target not only over-charged me but I was missing an entire bag. More on this later … The rest of the day was spent unpacking the items we brought with us and giving the entire condo a good cleaning. I still have yet to get to the bathroom but that is on the list for today.

Yesterday was spent trying to shore up our banking here which has been a little crazy. The transfer from our Chase account has yet to go through and I get the feeling it isn’t going to so I might just take a cheque and make a deposit at Bank of America. Mind you I don’t know if I can do that but I am going to try. H’s bank card has the wrong name on it so she has to get that corrected. The good news is that I think I can now access our accounts online so we have that going for us.

Our DirecTV was hooked up yesterday and it is nice to have a little entertainment for the time being. Having the receiver and tv on the breakfast bar isn’t the most logical place but it was better than the other option - the floor. It is nice to have a DVR again though. I also drove back to Target yesterday and picked up our missing items. The clerks were really nice about the whole thing but it was just a pain to drive back up there for a few things. I then tried to swing by the DMV to get my license renewed but the line was out the door and down the street. The offices open at 8:00 a.m. today and I think I might take a chance and just show up.

H is busy with work and planning her first event for this Saturday.

Carter is doing much better and isn’t as freaked out by all the sounds of downtown LA.

I will try and provide some more insight into living downtown and what else is going on with us later today … so long as H brings her computer home and there isn’t any rain outside to dampen my posting.

We’re Going to California …. Tomorrow

Well I first want to apologize for the lack of news/posts but things have just been so crazy the last two days. Secondly, I am sorry for the long post you are about to read but I think it covers everything from the last two days or so.

• Monday: Much of the day was spent organizing what ’stuff’ I thought should stay in the car with us. Early in the evening both H and I went to Ditka’s with my former colleague. We had a great time and it is a real shame that I was not more aware of this great resteraunt earlier. We arrived home around 8 or so, after a stop at Dairy Queen, and did a little more organizing. H was in bed by ten but I was around until 2:30 a.m. or so taking apart the computer and things like that. (that is one of the reasons we have not posted - no computer at home, and H’s work computer was being swapped out).
• Tuesday: Movers arrive at 8 a.m. … Mover gone by 10:30 a.m. … It was quite strange to be honest. They came. They packed. They left. I can say that they did a great job putting our stuff together and packed anything in sight, including the rags I had made to clean the condo with. With the movers out the door it was time to prepare the condo as best I could. After two general cleanings which involved a vacuum and Swiffers I got to the baseboards, windows and window sills, the caulk in the bathroom and what seemed like a million other things. H was home by 6:00 or so and we packed up three-quarters of our stuff and headed to her parents. Spent most of the night talking with her family before heading to bed.
• Today: Back into the city by 9:30 a.m. and the touch-ups began. We did a little painting, something got spilled behind the washer/dryer and the unit had to be pulled out (solid hour there). We emptied the fridge, loaded the car with the rest of our stuff and said good-bye to our place. Stopped at a pet store to get Carter a seat-belt (more on that another day) and then into H’s work. Picked up her new laptop and saw a few people. Took our cable box back to Comcast and paid the remainder of our bill. Then we were on a hunt for a GPS unit and we got a great deal on the Navigon 7100 (more on this another day too!). Back out to the burbs, dinner and more conversation and now here we are.

Now that we have a laptop we will post from the road. Stay tuned for our journey to California.

Here we go!

Moving Appointment Set!

Tuesday turned out to be a fairly productive day …

We settled on a moving company and they will be here on Tuesday morning at 8 a.m. to begin packing all of our stuff. A crew of 4-5 people will be on hand to put our precious belongings in corrugated boxes and load them on to a truck. The good news is the company checks out well with the BBB and have been great to work with so far. Bad news is the latest our stuff will get there is April 10th. It could arrive a few days earlier but it still means we will most likely be without things for at least a week.

Having realized that, we are heading to The Container Store this weekend to pick-up two ’smallish’ size Rubbermaid containers. We will use them to pack up things we feel should be with us while we travel such as documents, household goods for our home in LA, etc.

The rest of the day was spent changing addresses. I never realized how many people you need to notify when you move! Mortgages, cell phones, home phones, cable, Internet, magazines, mail service, gas and hyrdo (electric for the Americans). I knocked out quite a list today and still have a few to finish up tomorrow.

Of course I need to let the Department of Homeland Security know where I am going to be. I have to do that within 10 days of moving so I have the forms printed out and the numbers handy for when I arrive in LA.

We are going to purchase a GPS unit for the car and I am leaning toward the Navigon 5100 at this time. I love the fact that it has a built in traffic receiver and lifetime traffic. Aside from using it for the trip to LA, the GPS will be vital for navigating the greater Los Angeles area. It could take me years to figure out the difference from the 10, the 110, the 405 and so on.

Reality is starting to creep in that we are a little more than a week away from the move. Excited? Yes. Nervous? Not really but if I am only because the process has so many parts to it. Relived when it is all over and we have a life in LA? For sure.

By the way, it snowed here in Chicago at one point today and it was 70 in LA.