GL: Road map

[Jim Fidler]

We used Microsoft Streets and Trips instead of DeLorme, but the result was
the same.  Having local street maps of each place we stopped along the loop
was extremely helpful.  I printed out the maps and we used them while
exploring on our bicycles.  It really added a lot to the experience and I
strongly recommend it to all Loopers who have a computer aboard.  A
printer is very nice too and they are cheap and small.

I used to have DeLorme Street Atlas and really liked it but several years 
ago
they completely redesigned it and I've never been able to make it work for
me since.  Microsoft Streets and Trips seems much faster and simpler and
it includes street detail for Canada.  In 2004 Street Atlas did not.   Maybe 
it
does now.

Best of all, these programs cost only about $40 and are well worth it.  One
of the most useful PC applications you can have on your computer, whether
you're on the Loop or at home.

Jim Fidler  "Fiddlesticks"


> As
> an adjunct, we have found a simple road navigation program more useful 
> than
> nautical charts for inland cruising. We have a copy of the DeLorme Street 
> Atlas
> on our laptop. It couples to a GPS hockey puck. It shows our location to 
> within
> a couple of yards anywhere along the waterway. Incidentally, the roadmaps 
> are
> updated far more frequently than the nautical charts.
>
> Larry Z