One of my favorite authors recently released a new book and despite all the other book stores having the softcover/paperback edition, I really wanted the book in hardcover. After looking up when/if the hardcover would be released, I learned that it already exists but it's sold exclusively at Target.
So a few weeks ago, after our gym workout session, my husband asked if I wanted to swing by Target to get the book I was longing for before we headed home (He was driving, and I was the navigator/disc jockey). I was thrilled by this suggestion and I looked up which Target in the neighboring areas had the book I wanted in stock. I found one local (about 4.8 miles away) with 7 copies available in the store. I plugged the address into the GPS and we were on our way.
We left around rush hour, so I wasn't really surprised by the bottleneck traffic we quickly found ourselves in, and Adam and I were engaged in a pretty great discussion en route anyway so time sort of went by in a blur for me. But twenty-five minutes later, we turned into an unfamiliar and dodgy-looking industrial area and my eyebrows began to raise.
"The GPS is probably just taking us this way because Target is on the other side of the highway." My husband encouraged, when he noticed that I looked confused.
Ahh, that explains it, I thought. But two minutes later, we pulled into a parking lot and the GPS said cheerfully, "You have arrived." We both looked around.
"My love," Adam said, turning to me and gently taking my hand. "This is an Exxon."
The GPS had led us to a spot along the same highway about 22 minutes and 18.6 miles from where I thought it was taking us. Why? I genuinely have no idea. But we were two zip codes away from where we began and I had completely fumbled the navigation.
We just laughed, got a big gulp from the attached 7-Eleven since we were there anyway, and turned right around.
We did finally make it to the intended Target (26 minutes later) and when we did, we both broke into laughter that made us cry because, in the words of my husband, "Oh my God, I know exactly where we are now. It was right down the road from our house this whole time. We didn't even need a GPS."
So, dear ADHD-brained reader, don't be like me. Next time you have an impulse for a quick errand, double-check that the address coordinates are correct and correspond to your desired destination. Otherwise you, too, may find yourself slightly off Target. 😅