How my smart phone helped make a perfect day even better -- A Christmas in July story

Disclosure: I am participating in the Verizon Voices Boomers program and have been provided with a device and six months of service in exchange for my honest opinions about the product.

Don't you love the cover for my phone?

I haven't written about the Sabbath Experience in awhile, but that doesn't mean I'm not engaging in it any longer. This past week, after hearing the incredible weather forecast, I decided to take a break midweek. No, it wasn't Sunday, but Thursday's day of rest was exactly what the Great Physician ordered!

On Tuesday, I asked my husband how he felt about celebrating Christmas in July with me on the 25th. He thought it was a great idea. Then he realized he'd already made plans to have breakfast with a friend that day. 

"No problem," I told him. "I'll just go with you, sit in a different booth and work, and then when you're done, we'll head out."

So that's exactly what we did. And, yes, I did put in about an hour of work sitting at King's restaurant in Wexford, PA. But it was a pleasant, stress-free hour working on the blog. 

Around 11, we headed north on Route 19, with windows down and Christmas music blaring. We sang along with Bing and Frank and Ella as we searched for antique shops along the way. Antiquing is something Bill and I used to do fairly often. We both enjoyed it, but in recent years, have found little time for it. Christmas in July seemed like the perfect opportunity to revisit our old pastime. 

One of four vintage glass holdbacks

We stopped at a shop not even one month old, and I picked up a lovely pair of earrings and some fabulous 1930s art deco curtain holdbacks that I plan to give to my sister for Christmas (no worries about her finding out about them . . . she never reads my blog!). 

As we drove, we stopped various places to browse, shop, and eat. Finally, while we were in Volant, we spent some time in the field by the river. We watched a water snake's antics for awhile, then we sat on a bench and I read a couple of chapters aloud of Unconditional, a book by my new friend, Eva Marie Everson. Bill and I started a tradition of reading a book together every summer. It's one of my favorite things to do. After picking up Unconditional at the last writers' conference I attended in June, it seemed like the perfect pick for this summer. So, we sat and read together in the coolness of the early evening. Then we played a bit on the playground equipment and wooden train (hey, we're all kids on Christmas, right?).

Heading toward home, we decided to take a different route; one we'd never driven before. Then, I got an idea of where we could have dinner.

"I love it," Bill said, "but how are we going to figure out how to get there from here? I don't even know exactly where we are."
 

That's when I pulled out my Motorola Droid RAZR Maxx HD smart phone that I'm using as part of the Verizon Voices Boomer program. I hit the microphone on Google and said, "Brewery in Slippery Rock."

Bill reminded me, "That's not what it's called."

Before I could answer him, there it was on my screen -- North Country Brewing Co. Then I hit the directions button. 

As someone whose never had a GPS and has relied heavily on Mapquest, the VZ Navigator was a godsend. I just might get used to this feature! It found our location and led us to . . . well, I'd like to say it led us directly to the restaurant, but the ramp to I-79 was closed and somehow it missed that. 

"As soon as you can, make a legal U-Turn," the voice kept telling us as we drove past the intended ramp. I must admit, that was frustrating. After all, wouldn't you think road construction would be something the Navigator would be privy to?

Finally, we convinced it to recalculate and take us a different, more scenic, route. We found the restaurant, had a lovely meal, and headed home.

"I don't remember how to get out of here," Bill admitted as we got into the car. 

"No problem," I assured him, pulling out my phone.

No problem, indeed. We drove home, content with the magic of our Christmas-in-July day. While I respected our time together and kept my phone in my purse for the most part, there were times he found it acceptable for me to check my email, etc. for brief periods. It was, after all, not technically a holiday and I do have a business to run. It sure was convenient to be able to check on things with my smart phone. And, it provided some peace of mind for me as I was away from my office for the entire day.

A Sabbath day of refreshment with a little bit of romance thrown in. Ahhh. Delightful. And aren't the earrings fun?

When's the last time you took the day off?