So after NS and I finished debating the merits of keeping your Jawea in a sack versus a bucket, we headed for the SUV. Being that I did not know who I was beyond my hastily constructed Steve persona, where I was or what I was doing, I thought it prudent to let NS drive. After all, she did have the keys.
As we walked to the SUV, NS said, “Steve, you drive, I don’t even have my learner’s permit yet.”
“Well, I guess that settles that, where are we going NS?”
“Being that neither of us know how we got here or where here is, I am thinking we punch in the coordinates for the nearest police station.”
“That sounds good to me.”
Before we get on our way, we looked in the back and found a couple of flats of water and what looked like military surplus peanut butter.
Thinking out loud, “At least we won’t dehydrate or starve, you don’t have a peanut butter allergy do you?”
“Nope, peanut butter is one of my favorite food groups.”
NS hits, well I guess taps the Points of Interest tile on the GPS screen and selects Emergency Services. The Mill Valley Police Department pops up showing coordinates Latitude 037.9051820 and Longitude -122.5440060, but it seems to be confused on the best route to get there. I am thinking this is due to us being on a rutted track in the middle of a field with a bunch of cows.
“NS, I think the GPS does not know the directions to the Police Station because we are on a rutted track in the middle of a field with a bunch of cows. Not that the cows are at fault or anything.”
“I agree, even though cows evolutionary trait that has allowed them to survive is that they are tasty, they really have no bearing on the GPS providing directions to the nearest Police Station. So, how about we head West as that is the way the ruts take us and see if once we hit a real road the GPS gives us directions.”
“My thoughts exactly.”
Bump, bump, bumpity, bump … bump. “My this is not really a road, but we seem to be bumping along quite well. Good thing this SUV has a off road tires and suspension.”
“Steve, exactly, while we bump along can I take a look at your notebook and the picture your drew of the coins on the tiles?”
“Sure, it is sitting on the console.”
NS flips through my notebook and looks at the page with the coins drawn on it and writes numbers across the top:
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
She then Writes the number corresponding to the tile from top to bottom:
03767437471217066181
Below that she writes the GPS coordinates of the Mill Valley Police Department removing the decimal points and the minus sign:
03767437471217066181
03790518201225440060
“Steve, stop a second and take a look at this.”
I stop the SUV and take a look, “I agree that they look very similar, Let’s put the decimals back in both and add in the minus sign for Longitude.”
Latitude 037.6743747 Longitude -121.7066181 ?
Latitude 037.9051820 Longitude -122.5440060 Mill Valley PD
“NS, we should be able to put in these Latitude and Longitude and come up with a place.”
NS puts in the coordinates, touches the search icon and sure enough those are the exact coordinates of the “Sandia National Laboratories.”
“Steve, are you thinking what I am thinking?”
“Maybe, I know you said you were not allergic to peanuts, but since I have amnesia, I don’t remember if I am?”
“Steve, no that is not what I am thinking, I am thinking we should skip the Mill Valley PD and head to the Sandia National Laboratories instead. It looks like it is only about 90 minutes further than Mill Valley.”
“Yeah, I was just kidding about the Peanut stuff, I definitely was thinking we should head to the Sandia National Laboratories, though can we call it SNL? I am wasting brain space thinking the whole name every time and think of the seconds wasted every time we say it.”
“Uhm Steve, sometimes you over think things.”
“Well if I did not have amnesia, I might remember that.”
So after we contemplate the depth of my overthinking, we decide to skip Mill Valley and head straight for SNL. We bump along for another twenty minutes before we run into California Highway 1 and head South. NS only had to yell “Watch out for the cow!” twice before we got to the highway. I only bumped one and it really was more of a tap since the cow didn’t even fall over and only moo’d once before mooving out of our way. I know, another bad pun.