A few weeks ago, I wrote about how much I like my new iPhone, and I still do. But I guess the feeling isn’t mutual. Last Friday, I returned from a cruise (I’ll write about that a little later.). As I was driving away from the terminal, there was a sign straight ahead for the 710 Freeway. Since I wasn’t sure exactly where I needed to go, I pulled into a parking lot to get directions from my phone. For the past seven days, my phone had been on airplane mode. Apparently it was feeling ignored. That is the only way I can explain why it began acting like a spoiled child.

I was told to proceed onto Sea Shore Drive and then turn left on Ocean Boulevard. There wasn’t any Sea Shore Drive, but there was only one way out of the parking lot, so I went that way. I soon came to Ocean Boulevard and turned left. From there, my phone guided me through a messy construction area and then onto a tall bridge to the Long Beach pier. Semi trucks were being hooked up to trailers that had been downloaded from cargo ships. It was a very busy place.

At that point, my phone deserted me entirely, saying simply–“Proceed to the route.” Since I had no idea where I was, let alone what route I was to take, I continued on in the direction I was going. Eventually, I came to an area I couldn’t enter. At that point, I turned around and went back the way I came. I guess my phone decided I’d been punished enough and began giving me directions again.

Eventually, I did find Sea Shore Drive. That must have made my phone happy, because twenty-five minutes after I left the terminal, it directed me onto the 710 Freeway.