My mom isn’t the most tech-savvy person I know nor does she have the best sense of direction, but she does love her iPhone. I’m beginning to think she loves it more than she loves me. Certainly there isn’t a son-replacing app out there…right?

I had the opportunity to beta test the app, ScoutAtlas, before it’s official release. At first I thought the app would only be useful for remembering where I parked but I soon realized it was more than just a simple app.

Here is a description of the app from the developer:
This app helps you save your location, keep a list of your favorite places, and share these coordinates with your friends. You could save the location of your parking spot as you exit the car. You could save the location of a small, secluded spot on the beach. You could save any location you want and with the power of Apple, find your way back to it easily. While looking at the map, you will be able to see how long it takes to get to each of your favorite places. Scout for different locations and store them in your atlas, ScoutAtlas.

So without further ado, here is my experience with ScoutAtlas and how the app brought me closer to my mom.

This past weekend I went to visit my mom in San Francisco and we went shopping at quite possibly the largest mall I’ve been in: the Westfield Centre in Union Square. I’m quite surprised Google doesn’t have a map for this gigantic jungle of a mall. After our usual sightseeing adventures in Union Square, my mom and I went our separate ways to do our own shopping and planned to meet in an hour. Instead of frantically finding my lost mother I simply sent her my location from ScoutAtlas and she found me within record time. I saved our meeting location as: “Mom and Son vs. the Jungle”. Nice try, mall.

Upon finishing our retail escapade we had planned to have a picnic at the beach since the weather was nice out. We picked up some tea and sandwiches on our way out of the mall until I realized…I forgot where I parked! I’m usually a stickler about remembering where I park, but I suppose I was enjoying my time with Mom that it completely slipped my mind.

As we continued walking, my eyes wandered around Union Square as I intently searched for my car while my mom continued talking about how excited she is to put on her large sun hat and shades while enjoying the ocean breeze. Her conversation was short-lived, as she knew I was lost. She looked over to me and asked, “Do you know where your car is, son?” I responded, “Hmm…maaaybe.” She then proceeded to take out her phone and showed me the ScoutAtlas app, with my parking coordinates, and said with delight, “Silly boy, what would you do without Mom.” Ok mom, you got me this time. I saved her location as: “Mom knows best”.

We arrived at the beach and I remembered to save my parking location this time. My mom prepped herself in the mirror with her shades and hat while I prepped our beach equipment. As we walked toward the beach there was a rift in the sand that separated into a lower elevation. It was the perfect spot to sit, feast, and watch the sunset. I named this last special location as: “Wouldn’t trade this moment for the world”.

Perhaps visiting mom isn’t so bad when technology is making our lives easier. Aside from taking Instragram selfies with my mom, I am sure ScoutAtlas will continue to come in handy when we see each other again for Mother’s Day.

I hope you all have a happy Mother’s Day and continue using technology to turn simple tasks in our everyday lives into magical moments worth sharing for a lifetime.

Try out ScoutAtlas for yourself and share your moments below. My mom and I would love to hear about them 🙂