That's what I do. I have no trouble with map reading or directions.
I used to orient myself according to landmarks (i.e. "right at the Wawa"), but when you do most of your driving through the woods with Wawas popping up here and there, every road looks alike, and you're forced to pay attention to route numbers and street names as a matter of survival.
It was my luck to stop in town and ask a resident how to find a place, only to get directions like, “Drive down the road a piece and then turn left where the old school house used to be.”