Our day trip to Campinas didn't turn out quite as well as expected. The drive up was beautiful and we didn't get stuck in to much traffic. The plan was to stop first at the Campinas LDS Temple and take a picture and walk around for a few minutes and then continue our trip into Campinas and see a few of the local tourist destinations. But about 3 miles from the Temple Eric's phone went completely dead and it wouldn't charge!!! So we were without GPS. Luckily the Temple is on a hill and I was able to see it from the freeway and we made it to the Temple. We spend quite a bit of time at the Temple trying to get the phone to take a charge and turn back on. Finally we decided it wasn't going to work and since we didn't know where we were going we were going to have to go straight home and hope we made it without a GPS. Eric asked the guard at the guard house for directions back to Sao Paulo and we started back home. We had to go away from the Temple to get on the freeway going the right direction and at the Returno there was a Sams Club. I made Eric pull over and we went in and bought at GPS. Usually I am not a big Sams Club fan. I have to say Costco has my heart, but today Sams Club really came through!!! Eric was going to get us a membership, so we could buy the GPS, but he couldn't remember our CPF number and they were stored on the phone which we still couldn't get to turn on or charge. The store manager was super nice and gave us a one day pass. Which saved us $30 USD. We ended up with the GPS, some water, ice cream and gum.
My biggest fear was that we burned up the battery in Eric's phone and it wasn't ever going to work again. That is actually what happened to Eric's first droid. He loves his droid and it has worked down here in Brazil much better than my iphone, because I can't put a chip in my iphone, but he is already on his second phone and the last one died using google maps too. Luckily when we got home and plug it into a wall charger it started working again. Yeah!!!!
As for getting the GPS I think we might have made it home okay, but a GPS is much cheaper than a new phone and I am not sure his phone can take much more travel:)
The funny thing about the GPS is that everything can be in English except the out loud directions. The only options are Spanish or Portuguese. At first I thought Eric just couldn't set it right, but after looking at it myself that is true. So I guess I am going to get good at the word for left and right in Portuguese!
The good news is that because it can go in the window it's much easier to see the visual directions, and Eliza thinks watching the car move on the map is like a race car video game. So it seems like a win-win right now.
It is very strange vulnerable experience to be in a foreign country with no map or GPS. I am so glad we saw the Sams Club and that we made it home safe and sound.
The view from the car on the way.
The Campinas LDS Temple is very beautiful! It's much larger than the Sao Paulo Temple and is located on a Hill outside of the city. It also has a nice complex of Temple Housing, Distribution center, Cafeteria, and changing rooms located next the Temple. I am sure that some people come from quite a distance to attend. Friday was a National Holiday and the place was very busy:)
Spending some time "sledding on Temple Hill" waiting to see if the phone would charge.
Success at Sams Club. Gretta and Eliza really like these cool escalators that hold the carts on the belt.
Success! Although this trip cost more than Eric expected:)
Carli sure likes ice cream:)
So does Eliza. She loves these honeydew ice cream popcicles which is ironic because she won't eat honeydew.
Gretta wanted a chocolate one.
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