Googlepunked in a driving rain: ‘68 Mustang Fastback + iPhone + Google Maps

A couple weekends ago my 16 year old son Gabriel and I took our old Mustang up to Kerhonkson, NY, for an overnight stay. Saturday night we decided to drive over to New Paltz to see the film “W”. Unfortunately this meant driving in the dark about 20 miles on a small, twisty, mountain highway during a spectacular country thunderstorm. But the draw of Oliver Stone’s take on Dubbaya was enough to risk the trip.

As soon as we left I realized we were in trouble. The Mustang’s 40 year-old pockmarked windshield, outdated, feeble headlights, and crappy wipers provided visibility of about ten feet.

And water was leaking on our feet through a hole somewhere, while the towels we’d stuffed on the floor were interfering with the clutch and gas pedals. Then we realized we could use my iPhone as a Nav device.

So, as we careened blindly through the trees and climbed higher and higher, Gabe fired up the iPhone’s Google map. He zoomed in on highway 55 and followed the blue dot indicating our position and the sudden turns looming ahead.

As we approached the top in the thunder, rain and heavy fog, he shouted warnings over the storm and racket (the Fastback has a three hundred cube V8 with a 4 barrel Holley and Flowmaster exhaust ): “180 degree right coming up fast… turn now!” and I’d turn to the right , glancing to my left to see a 500 foot drop illuminated in the rain by lightening strikes.

Yes, I know I should buy a GPS, but that would violate the authenticity of my 40 year old car muscle car. After all I’ve been searching for months for a real 60’s hot rod tach with the right font and face.

Anyway, finally, totally scared out of our wits, we made it down the mountain to the valley floor, leading into New Paltz.

Now the damn Google maps that had probably saved our lives showed the New Paltz Cinema in the middle of a prairie field next to a river outside of town. We drove back and forth in the heavy rain trying to figure out what was going on, wasting 20 minutes, more water dripping on our feet, wondering why there was no civilization where Google said there was a shopping mall.

Finally, driving into town, I asked at a bar where the New Paltz Cinema was; it was 3 miles to the east of where Google said. What, you can’t trust Google maps? Later, Mike Monello explained to me that Google business locations are crowd sourced, someone had clearly mis-contributed the location of the theater. Perhaps a competitive theater owner?

Anyway we made to “W” in the nick of time, a fascinating piece of Stone storytelling. But it was little hard to concentrate after our harrowing drive. So after buying multiple rolls of paper towels to get us home dry, I took a southern route 40 miles out of my way.

As I pulled into our borrowed house at 2 AM, my precious son, who I’d endangered via our bonding experience, was safely asleep at my side. I was exhausted, but wiser, forty year old car technology had utilized, then outperformed the 21rst Century.

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