Are you enjoying the latest heat wave?

[Mike]

We've had high daytime temps and high humidity since the 4th of July weekend in the
Niagara Region of Southern Ontario Canada. We've had at least one daytime high of 34.6C
and our lowest low was an overnight 15.5C. Our humidex (heat index) has consistently
been around the high 30s and low to mid 40s.
I think the last time we had consistent temps of this type was 3 years ago in 2007 which
ended a 3 year summer trend of hot, hazy and humid.
I know many of you have regular temps in the 40s where you live but do you also get the
heat index?
What do you do to "beat the heat"?

(I wish I were in Arizona. It's the humidity I can't do, not the temperature )

[Johnny R]

Heat wave? Heat wave?? We've had the wettest July in many years here in Alberta. Sure glad we've got the Class B, because camping is in!

[markopolo]

I had to run the AC in the house

My excuse was that I had to keep the humidity down as per the warranty to the new wood flooring I am installing!

[Mike]

A/C ??? You're kidding me? Has it been that bad out your way? Humidity?
I've been watching the weather netowrk and your temps seem reasonable in the low to mid 20s.
That's bad news for us as we're going to head out your way in a few days.

We're in a humidex advisory right now and yesterday, but it's been damp and steamy for the last
3 weeks. We were hoping the east coast would be a bit cooler with less humidity. I guess we'll
play it by ear when we get out there.

[markopolo]

Actually, it's pretty nice here now. We did have a few hot and humid days. Most days there is a steady breeze.

Are you going to be anywhere near Bouctouche, NB? That's near where I am. There's some beautiful scenery around these parts and fantastic lobster rolls. Lots of easy bicycling and many walking trails also. The boardwalk at the Irving Eco Centre is just great. It's built on/above the sand dunes. You can see some wind turbines on PEI from there.

[Ron J. Moore]

We are running in the high 90's and 100+ for the past 45 days. Humidity is bad on some days, but the heat is so constant. It is 1:40a.m. and it shows 89 on the porch. We keep the temp set at 80 and it just runs on and on!!! We go to the store early and get right back in; of course we have the AC in the our vehicles, but it is such a drag that you want to get home and off the roads. The folks who have to be out in these temps have our deepest respect. We talked about taking a trip to St. Louis.......maybe November, ha. Safe travels.

[Mike]

Actually, it's pretty nice here now. We did have a few hot and humid days. Most days there is a steady breeze.

Are you going to be anywhere near Bouctouche, NB? That's near where I am. There's some beautiful scenery around these parts and fantastic lobster rolls. Lots of easy bicycling and many walking trails also. The boardwalk at the Irving Eco Centre is just great. It's built on/above the sand dunes. You can see some wind turbines on PEI from there.

We should be in the area at some point. Probably after next week.
I have to pick up my GPS unit at a Walmart in NY state before July 29th to start,
then we're not sure after that, but we were thinking about doing the reverse route from
last August, heading towards the US East coast/Northeast, then up to NB, NS, PEI, NB, and finally Gaspe.
All at a much slower pace.
Our bikes are not folding, so we likely won't bring them along, but maybe there are bike rentals in your area?
We do like walking/hiking, so that Irving Eco Centre sounds interesting. I'll have to figure out where it is.

Just curious, you have a Garmin GPS don't you?
What will I need to do to get it set up with my laptop, and what should I do to get it's maps and points of
interest updated? It apparently comes with a free map update as long as I register it within 60 days of it's
first satellite acquisition. I understand the update process is quite time consuming, and any help might
speed it up for me. I'll probably head straight to the Starbucks nearest the Walmart when I get it, to get
some internet access. Are there any easy shortcuts, or things I could do or download in advance?
Are there any threads on here that describe the Garmin GPS setup process (in layman's terms)?
Might be a useful topic for some of us newbie GPS owners, or those who are a little less tech savvy?

[VernM]

Mike writes

Just curious, you have a Garmin GPS don't you? What will I need to do to get it set up with my laptop, and what should I do to get it's maps and points of interest updated? It apparently comes with a free map update as long as I register it within 60 days of it's first satellite acquisition. I understand the update process is quite time consuming, and any help might speed it up for me. I'll probably head straight to the Starbucks nearest the Walmart when I get it, to get
some internet access. Are there any easy shortcuts, or things I could do or download in advance?
Are there any threads on here that describe the Garmin GPS setup process (in layman's terms)?
Might be a useful topic for some of us newbie GPS owners, or those who are a little less tech savvy?It's not a sprint, it's a marathon (on most days).

I can see it coming. Another generation from now and we'll all be map-illiterate and they will have quit publishing them anyway, so the GPS folks can get a solid grip on that market. We'll know the GPS-illiterate. All stopped at four-way intersections asking each other "which way is ....."

You'd be surprised how far you can get without a GPS. I do it regularly. Dates back to two pilots of a business jet counting on their then-new GPS-like technology and, when the radio positioning transmitters was taken off air for routine servivce (by the Navy, who owned 'em) they didn't know where they were and had to make an emergencyv landing on the ice in Greenland, destroying the airplane. A simple map in the lap would have kept it from happening.

[markopolo]

I'd guess a fair percentage of the population already is map-illiterate. I seem to leave my brain behind when I have my GPS. One morning we wanted to be on the road early and figured we go to a Denny's for breakfast. Well, Garmin showed one ahead of us so we set it as a destination. Well, after 20 minutes of meandering along country roads there was no Denny's. There was nothing out there. To make it worse we had to head back the way we came. What a waste of time. Had I even glanced at map showing the bigger picture I would have realized that it didn't make sense to head off in that direction.

Garmin says to take exit 11 to the major airport around here. Maybe it used to be. It's actually exit 16. Probably lots of stressed out tourist getting to the airport late.......................

Still, as long as I have one, I'll use it.

Mike - It has been some time since I updated my Garmin. You have to register online and enter the device serial number. I recall downloading a web-update tool that checks your device and reports back what updates your device is eligible to get. It was easy enough to do. If it is a complete new map then it is probably a 1+ GB download.

My Garmin doesn't support loading custom routes built using Garmin's Mapsource program. I'll make sure to get that feature when t comes time to replace it.

Streets and Trips 2010 lets me send points of interest to my Garmin via USB cable easily.

[Mike]

Gentlemen,
Thanks for your observations and thoughts. We have had no problems navigating
since buying the RV using a combination of Mapquest, Rand McNally, and a dashboard
digital compass, and have been on the wrong route maybe twice. It has always been a
deterrent to getting a GPS that my mind will addle just that much more as I become
weaned off maps and common sense, and become a GPS junkie, going on endless trips
to no where, just to get my fix of hearing " left lane, left lane, turn left 200 meters",
or a speed limit overage warning.

However, that said, I can't wait to get the darn thing and try it. It's the nuvi 855 from
Walmart about C$164 all in. Ordered and had it delivered to a Walmart just across the border
in NYS (they don't/can't ship to Canada). So, I'll be picking it up tomorrow, with any luck,
and heading for the nearest Starbucks to test the speed of their routers and internet access.
Mark, I already found the Webupdater app on their website and have already downloaded it,
as well as some other things which totaled around 225MB. I hope 1 GB is well over the actual
size of any new maps I might be eligible for.
I'll let you know how it all works out (possibly in person, if I can spell New Brunswick ).

Cheers.

[Johnny R]

.... It apparently comes with a free map update as long as I register it within 60 days of it's
first satellite acquisition. I understand the update process is quite time consuming, and any help might
speed it up for me.

You will find that the new map offer comes quite quickly after you've purchased the Garmin, whether you need it or not. And you only have 30 days or so to install it. That's it for the freebies. You will also find that these units are frustrating when you use them in your home town, where you are familiar with the best routes. They often want to take you another way than what you're used to. But they are helpful if you're in a strange city, because you have no idea they are leading you in round about ways; you're just happy to get where you want to go..

[Mike]

Thanks for the info. Much appreciated.
Just got back today from our latest trip to the US New England area and Gaspe, after a small, but critical,
mechanical failure made it necessary to slowly and carefully return to home base for a repair.
We never got the new GPS unit out of the box, so I'm hoping to have a look at it tomorrow,
while scheduling some further RV repairs.