Lost

I had to go to a Microsoft Silverlight presentation today. I had registered for it while I was still an intern at Dell, and didn't want to give up on it -- I genuinely wanted to learn more about Silverlight, besides which -- my main reason for going -- I'd get to meet my old team from Dell :) The presentation was at 3001 Bee Cave Road, and I accordingly took the 30 to Barton Creek Square Mall to get there. I got off at Walsh Tarlton and Bee Caves, and began walking.
I'd investigated it exhaustively the previous day on Google Maps, looking at the street map, the satellite map, as well as the hybrid map, making little notes to myself as to where the road curved, where the streets went, what direction I'd have to walk toward to get there....every little detail I could think of. And yet I managed to get completely lost.
I crossed Walsh Tarlton and then Bee Caves after a long bout of dodging the vehicles whooshing past at high speeds. I forced myself not to get distracted by the beautiful views at the place -- all mountains, exactly the way I like them -- and began walking along Bee Caves Road. Or thought I did.
The road seemed to get progressively narrower as I walked. I looked at the massive mansions with some foreboding -- the maps I'd seen the previous day had not indicated such a profusion of wealth. It had looked like a normal commercial complex on Google Maps. Still I walked on.
The number on a mailbox was what gave me an inkling that I might not be on the right path. It read 5110, and I looked at it uncertainly. Surely I didn't have to walk all the way to 3001 on this road? Cap Metro's trip planner had announced a walk of 0.5 miles. This looked like it might be 5 miles. I shook my head, and walked further. It was a very pleasant morning, all cloudy and cool. Ideal for getting lost.
Further ahead, two perky dogs that looked like Dobermans looked at me suspiciously through a gate, their pointed noses pointed toward me accusingly. I scuttled ahead nervously. A showdown with man-eating dogs was the last thing I wanted. I walked and walked, and walked some more, and then finally found a signpost, which read: Rollingwood Drive. I looked at it with dismay. Where was Bee Caves Road?? I looked back the way I'd come uncertainly. Maybe Rollingwood Drive was another name for Bee Caves? Just like Capital of Texas Highway is another name for Loop 360. I wavered between turning back and marching ahead, and finally, after a lot of humming and hawing, decided on the latter. Though I didn't really march. There was a lot more hesitation in my footsteps than there was before.
I walked further and further ahead, crossing even 4901, before I finally forced myself to admit that I just might be lost. I tried to remember the part of the road that the bus had passed through -- it passes through a part of Bee Caves Road. The road that I saw ahead of me didn't resemble it from any angle. I was in despair. The three other Rollingwood Drive signs I'd passed on the way couldn't be wrong. I was lost.
But how? I asked myself in anguish. I'd walked straight -- just as Google Maps had suggested. Finally, vociferously cursing the search company, I started walked back toward Walsh Tarlton. At least that was a known point, a place I could get a bus from. I looked at my cell phone, and looked tantalizingly at the phone number of one of my ex-teammates, ready to call him up and howl into the phone, "I'm loooooost!!!!!" But I didn't, and thought I might as well see out the end of the adventure. Besides, I remembered seeing a McDonald's on the way, and thought I might ask them where 3001 Bee Caves Road was.
The walk back to Walsh Tarlton wasn't as pleasant as the walk down it had been. For one thing, I was worried about never seeing home again (I tend to get rather melodramatic at such times). For another thing, it was all uphill, so my calves were beginning to ache slightly, as I walked back. As I reached the end of Rollingwood Drive, I saw a busy, major road that looked suspiciously like Bee Caves. I reached the road and looked at the sign there, and felt my jaw hit my feet with a thud. It was Bee Caves. Somehow, I'd managed to take a wrong turn somewhere along the way. Kicking myself mentally all the way, I began walking in the direction I'd seen on Google Maps. It was a terrible road to walk on, no sidewalk of course, and, in fact, not even any grassy shoulder where I could not get run over by a passing car, of which there seemed to be plenty.
As I crossed 3010, I saw what looked like a commercial complex on the other side. If that's 3001, I'll scream, I thought to myself.
Of course it was.
I couldn't really scream without being locked up somewhere for disturbing the peace, so I had to be content doing it in my head, and tried to cross the road, looking, for all in the world, like a scared rabbit. I finally managed it, and walked up the complex, which again sloped upward alarmingly. I was sure I was late -- the welcome time was 8:30 am, and it was getting on for 9 now. I walked up the road cautiously -- and saw one of my ex-teammates there. I almost flung myself on him with a cry of joy.
I was later mollified my knowing that all my teammates had got lost on their way to the place. So I wasn't the only one! All the same, it was a new experience -- and an interesting one.