Street View; Useful Function

I'm the first to admit that I can't use maps and often struggle following directions to any location. I also find that I can't effectively visualize the route when trying to even figure out how I need to get to a certain place. I've used google street view to wander around the streets of Tokyo and some parts of Europe from the comfort of my steel computer chair. But, I recently used street view in combination with google maps to find a local destination. Wow! What a difference these visuals make. It's all very simple, I know exactly where to go because I just viewed where to go. Without this additional view, I had know idea where this place was (it's only 8 minutes away). I now find google street view as both an interesting visual experience but equally as impressive as a visual function for non-map readers like myself. The integration of street view with google maps (there is a small camera icon you click on beside each step in the directions) is a simple but powerful tool.