Only I Would Get Lost in a Hospital

Alright, so after work I headed up to Orange to visit Miss Natalie and her new baby boy. I used my awesome new Garmin to guide the way because I wasn't sure where exactly the hospital was, although I had an idea. So we're nearing the establishment I thought was the hospital. The Garmin said that I needed to go about one more block and turn right, but I saw a parking garage and thought, "Well what does the Garmin know? I can just park here."

Mistake #1.

So I park, walk into the building from the parking garage and realize I'm in the Cancer Unit, so I figure since I'm on the second floor, I can just take the elevator down and go to the front lobby.

Mistake #2.

I take the elevator down and I'm back outside in the parking garage, but there are bear pawprints painted on the sidewalk and a sign that says, "Follow the signs for the Visitor's Shuttle". So I do. After a quick shuttle ride, I walk into what I believed to be my final destination.

Mistake #3.

Turns out I was in the entirely wrong hospital. I was in CHOC; I needed to be in St. Joseph's. The guy at the lobby desk told me to go outside, cross the street and look for the Lobby entrance right by the Emergency Room entrance. I walked, but I didn't realize that I needed to go AROUND the corner at the ER to find the Lobby entrance. Across the street, however, I did see St. Joseph Medical Plaza and a teeny tiny little door that said "Lobby Entrance" on a door there. So I went over there.

Mistake #4.

I go up and ask someone at the desk where the Maternity ward was. Oh, I'm in the wrong building! What I need to do is walk up those stairs, take the bridge back across the street, walk down the stairs and find the "South Lobby" entrance with a security guard. Found the entrance, but there was no security guard so I followed someone else inside and--miracle of miracles--I found the Front Entrance Lobby!!

I even ran into Natalie's in-laws and stepdaughters in the Lobby, as well, so we all went up to the room together. Benjamin is the cutest thing I've ever seen and has more hair on his head than any baby I've seen. I'll be going back tomorrow to spend more time with mommy and baby--although I'll be parking in the correct hospital this time.

I learned a valuable lesson tonight: Unless my Garmin says, "You have arrived at your destination", I will not presume to know better and forge my own path. Second lesson that I learned, I need a smaller Garmin that I can carry around on my person at all time to guide me to precisely where I need to be.

Tonight served as a brutal reminder of just how directionally impaired I truly am.