A strange place in the dark
In the city, finding a new site via its address is actually a simple task. The numbers run in predictable directions, at predicable intervals. After dark, the street lights provide enough of a glow that the tourist can usually locate a target. Here in the country, a different skill set is required.
First, let me give thanks to the wisdom of those officials who installed what we refer to as “911 numbers”. Civic addresses, displayed so that emergency services don’t require a local pilot to navigate back roads. But, the odds of spotting one of the signs, at road speed, without a spotter and a big light, in the dark… it still helps to know where you’re going.
Tonight, my group decided to skip the site meeting room and opt for an old-fashioned, all around the kitchen table get together. Interjection: I’m really the “new kid in town”, and I don’t know where everyone lives from having gone to birthday parties and such. I did have the civic number, and I also had a dark night. Dig out Google and do some careful measurements… how far past the corner am I going? In this case, 2.4 km.
I made it, and parked the car across the road in a farm lane. Much better than trying to back out of someone else’s hazard strewn yard. A dent in a fender will be remembered much longer than the choice to get off-road parking, right?
My meeting went well. However, the choice to put a flashlight with a dead battery in my pocket for the walk to the car won’t gain me many practicality points…
