Those fun vacation stories.......

I think most people can look back and chuckle at a few of those times on a "dream vacation" when things didn't go as planned and I am sure some of those moments included unintended detours. I can remember pretending to sleep through those times, times when my parents argued over who had read the map wrong and how it could imply the road went straight through a military base when the fact was, a large fence blocked their path. That would be followed by the repeated attempts to back the car and camp trailer back down the road to where they could turn around safely.
We live in an age now where we are not forced to rely on a folded paper map or notes scratched onto a piece of paper. Instead, we have GPS units and computer programs such as Mapquest to rely on and prevent such vacation stories from entering the family history. It seems that they still will occur, especially if you are someone who wishes to use Mapquest to navigate your way to the Ozark Mountain Resort in Kimberling City, MO. For the past two years, people have driven their motorhomes and towed boats up a one way/dead end street in search of the resort that Mapquest mistakenly places next door to the Ashley family home, several miles from the actual location.
Travis Tucker, Kimberling City's public works director has solved the problem somewhat by placing a "dead end" sign at the end of the street after placing numerous unsuccessful calls to Mapquest. This is the same solution Six Flags over Mid America used in Eureka, MO for it's incorrect Mapquest directions that lead visitors to a dead end neighborhood road. Spokeswoman Melissa Gordon stated " Less than one tenth of 1% of Mapquest users contact monthly for any reason and only a fraction of those inqueries relate to requests or complaints about map and routing accuracy". When exactly would a Mapquest user contact them with a complaint? Before, during or after they have had to back a 36' motorhome and tag along trailer successfully all the way back to the original turnoff?
Fear not happy roadtrip vacationers......... new technology such as Mapquest, operated by America Online, may still allow your family to enjoy those funny family vacation moments unless you choose to add a bit of "old world" travel help such as calling the destination and scratching notes on paper.