A.R.M. ([info]kinkyturtle) wrote,
@ 2008-04-30 01:47:00
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Google Maps just needs one more feature...
Well, crap. It seems Google Maps will give me driving directions from one place to another, and it will let me make custom maps with various points marked on them... but it won't let me combine the two.

I know it's a bit early to be thinking about Midwest Furfest, but I will be visiting Chicago next month and checking out the new MFF hotel and surrounding areas. In the meantime, I decided to use Google Maps to search for convenience stores and restaurants.
HERE'S a custom map I made showing the new hotel and various useful places around it. You'll see a few more if you zoom out, and if you zoom waaaay out you'll see the two places I plan to stop for the night on my three-day drive up to the Chicago area in November.

HERE is the route I plan to take.

Dunno why I can't see both these things at the same time.

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[info]strredwolf
2008-04-30 11:05 am UTC (link)
Google Earth?

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[info]linnaeus
2008-04-30 12:31 pm UTC (link)
Neat map! A few of the icons seem to be a little off though-- the Speedway is about half a kilometer south of the map shows. Also, I haven't passed by them for a while, but I'm pretty sure the White Hen Pantries north of the hotel have changed into 7-11s. Still useful nearby convenience stores, but the tasty Wawa-like made to order deli sandwiches have been replaced by endlessly rolling hot dogs.

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[info]kinkyturtle
2008-04-30 09:23 pm UTC (link)
Yeah, that's the trouble with using Google Maps... not everything is perfectly up-to-date, or even perfectly positioned. I'll be looking forward to checking out the area in person next month!

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[info]linnaeus
2008-05-01 01:50 am UTC (link)
Nifty! By the way, what brings you to Chicago? If you end up with some free time, let me know if you'd like to get together for dinner.

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[info]kinkyturtle
2008-05-01 03:20 am UTC (link)
I want to do three things there:

1. Visit Chicago and do some sightseeing when it's not the dead of winter.
B. See the Hyatt one last time.
Third: Check out the new place ahead of time.

And that sounds great! I'm flying in on Tuesday, and I'll be available the evenings of Tuesday, May 13, and Wednesday, May 14. (Then on Thursday I make the all-day drive to Columbus.)

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[info]linnaeus
2008-05-12 01:24 pm UTC (link)
Hey, that's almost now! Is there anyone in the Chicago area you'd like to dine with? I can poke some people and put something together if you like. By the way, what's a good email address for you? I'd like to pass along my cell phone number so you can reach me if you like.

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[info]kinkyturtle
2008-05-12 06:40 pm UTC (link)
Um... I'm not really clear on who lives in the Chicago area.

My email address is kinkyturtle
[ignore this line, which is just here to confuse robots]
at
[same with this line]
comcast
[and this line]
dot net.

Don't wait too long to respond! I'll be leaving the house first thing tomorrow, and I don't know what sort of email access I'll have after that point because I haven't yet experimented with getting email on my new laptop.

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[info]linnaeus
2008-05-13 12:03 am UTC (link)
Sent! :)

See you soon!

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[info]duncandahusky
2008-04-30 01:03 pm UTC (link)
To add to Linnaeus' comments:
The strip mall on the northeast corner of Deerfield Road and Milwaukee Avenue actually has quite a few useful things, including a Panera, a Quizno's, and a Chase Bank. A little north of that, at Aptakisic Road and Milwaukee has Lincolnshire Commons (Barnes & Noble, Cheesecake Factory, Cold Stone Creamery, Noodles & Co., and more) and Lincolnshire CityPark (Wildfire, Big Bowl, Red Robin, Champps, Jamba Juice, and more).

Also, don't discount the restaurants in the Westin itself (featured collectively on this crappy Flash-laden site). Osteria di Tramonto is the Italian place with entrees that run $15 - $25, and Tramonto's Steak and Seafood is the (excellent) steakhouse, though much more pricey, with entrees from $20 - $40. That's more of a destination dining place, like the Brazilian steakhouses and such. There's also the self-consciously hip RT's Lounge which features a sushi bar ($7-8 nigiri, $6-9 maki, and an impressive, if spendy, array of sakes).

Osteria also does breakfast (think $9 pancakes and $11 omelets - pretty standard hotel restaurant prices).

Finally, it's worthy of note that at the corner of E. Lake Cook Rd. and Weiland Road is a Target, a Wal Mart, and a Sam's Club.

We're just starting to gather information for the this year's shiny new Restaurant Guide. There's a lot of interesting small local places near the hotel that need to be investigated and reviewed - we're going to have a lot of fun with it, I think!

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[info]kinkyturtle
2008-04-30 09:24 pm UTC (link)
Ooo, I didn't even think to search for places like malls or Target. This was mainly an exercise to satisfy my own curiosity. :} I'll definitely look forward to seeing the restaurant guide!

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[info]kinkyturtle
2008-04-30 10:42 pm UTC (link)
Also, it's not a matter of discounting the restaurants in the Westin so much as not wanting to pile a bunch of markers up at one point. Wouldn't be very useful. :}

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[info]thecanuckguy
2008-04-30 10:09 pm UTC (link)
I kind of wish I could have multiple trips, or lines, on there. I'm trying to collate a master map of all trips we've taken, Canamania I is proving to be a tricky map, I can't use a traditional "plot a map from point A to point B" because most of the trip was done by train, and Google Maps assumes travel by road. If I do by line, I've found the line gets way too big, computer stalls mercilessly the bigger the line gets. And I"m not sure if I can have multiple trips plotted on the same map.

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[info]xydexx
2008-05-01 09:19 pm UTC (link)
Have you tried TopoRoute?

It uses Google Maps, but you don't have to actually follow roads.

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Let's see if this works.
[info]xydexx
2008-05-01 09:06 pm UTC (link)
KT's House Of Yig-Ped! Open 24 Hours!
Exhibit 1: Using The Internet As A Big Toy


If this works, the above map should show a route from Verplanck, NY to Montrose, NY passing by KT's House Of Yig-Ped (indicated with restaurant icon) fictionally located at 298 King's Ferry Road, Montrose, NY 10548. You cannot order takeout from KT's by dialing (914) 977-2000 because that number doesn't exist and neither does KT's; it is accessible only in another dimension.

Log in to Google Maps and use the "My Maps" tab to create your custom places, assign them icons, etc. I just used your MFF 2008 map and plotted a route from Buffalo Grove, IL to Wheeling, IL and it worked.

Edited at 2008-05-01 09:26 pm UTC

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Re: Let's see if this works.
[info]kinkyturtle
2008-05-01 11:27 pm UTC (link)
Yeah... but you apparently had to make a screenshot of it in order to show it to anyone else.

Maybe I should have been clearer, but what I was hoping for was a way to bundle both the location markers and the route into one URL. Like, "Hey, click THIS LINK" and people will see the route and the hotel & restaurant markers on one map.

I can tell from the email notifications I've gotten today that you were apparently trying to do that, without success. :}

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Re: Let's see if this works.
[info]xydexx
2008-05-02 05:55 am UTC (link)
I can see how that would be handy, yeah. I was hoping it would save the route and points of interest when I clicked on Link To This Page, but it only seems to do the map.

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Re: Let's see if this works.
[info]kinkyturtle
2008-05-02 07:07 am UTC (link)
Which is exactly what I was complaining about. :}

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