Because They Never Ask for Directions...

During our last installment of Traveler's Resources I left you hanging with this:

"But it gets better.
If you're a traveler, presumably, you're unfamiliar with the Village of Lenox. So when you choose "Lenox Coffee" on "52 Main St" you probably don't know how to get there. Google comes to the rescue again!

..But you'll have to wait until my next installment of Traveler's Resources to find out how."

It was terribly unkind of me to leave you hanging like that. I mean, what if you had actually been in Lenox, reading my blog on your BlackBerry, desperate for coffee, and I just left you lost and decaffeinated? That makes me a bad person. And heaven knows I don't want to be a bad person, so here's the next installement of Traveler's Resources!

Google SMS (Text)
In my last post, I mentioned how GOOG 411 can send you a text message with the name, address, and phone number of the business you inquire about. Well, they can also give you directions to get there. So lets say you're in the parking lot of the Inn, ready to get to Lenox Coffee. 52 Main St reads like Japanese to you because, well, you're not from around here. But you do know that the Inn is located at 135 Main St.

This is what you do:
1) Create a new text message to 466453 (GOOGLE)
2) Enter the words "Directions 135 main st lenox ma to 52 main st lenox ma"
3) Press send

Done.

Google sends you a series of text messages giving you step by step directions on how to get there. I've used this for trips of hundreds of miles "Directions Syracuse, NY to Greenfield, MA" and it works just as for trips of a few blocks, like the one above.

The only critical elements here are the words "Directions" and "to". You can also use zip codes to get from city to city. And from what I'v heard, Google can actually send you a map of the directions if you have a web enabled phone. I don't unfortunately, but I'd love to hear how this works for one of you that tries it!

This service is also useful for finding movie times, local weather, definitions of words, even currency conversions and stock prices. Google has a great tutorial if you click here that details all of the awesome features of this texting service.

Next time, I'll tell you about my favorite resource for finding local events and happenings in the city you're visiting. Until then, happy travels!

With Love,
~Brande N.