Adventure Hike
Sep. 11th, 2005 07:26 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
livingdebI was running out of day and still hadn't exercised. I had hoped I would jog, but I was in the mood for a nap, so I compromised on a walk.
I decided to check out my neighborhood's Yard of the Month. I found the neighborhood newsletter cleverly stored in the recycle bin, but then I couldn't find the map I like to leave on the living room shelves. I have maps in my desk and in my car, but I decided to make an adventure out of it by trying to find it with no reference to any map. If I failed, I would still have gotten some exercise and maybe learned a bit more about my neighborhood.
So, it was the 1400 block of some British-sounding street. I live off the 1300 block of a British-sounding street, and I'm pretty sure all other such streets are north of me, so it was just a matter of getting to the 1400 block (actually the 1500 block because the relevant street doesn't come all the way through), then turning north and walking until I found it or got tired of looking. I've been walking in my neighborhood since I moved here (nine years ago), so I have a pretty good feel for the part near my house.
I could think of two possible problems with this plan. First, my part of the neighborhood is designed on a grid, but this all changes not too far from my house. When I go on my walks, I tend to avoid all the non-grid parts.
And that's because of the second possible problem: of all the people I know, I am the one third most likely to get lost. I have excellent spatial skills and can hold pictures in my head, but I have zero sense of direction and I'm not good at stacking. By stacking, I mean that if you have a list of directions like turn left, then right, then right, then left, I am likely to forget one of the steps.
The good news is that everything went exactly according to plan. And this is the case even though I went to areas where I never walked before. The award-winning yard was a straight shot from my house, but since it was only 15 minutes away, I snaked through the neighborhood a bit on the way back. And still I didn't get lost.
The other good news is that I saw what might be Robin's favorite-looking house in our neighborhood. I also found a street that has a sidewalk. Shocking! And I walked on the sidewalk. Luxury living!
The award-winning yard was nice, too. And so were a lot of other yards. And I learned (for a few minutes anyway), that the order from my house of the "Ridge Streets" is: Ridgemont, then Ridgehaven, then Northridge.
I decided to check out my neighborhood's Yard of the Month. I found the neighborhood newsletter cleverly stored in the recycle bin, but then I couldn't find the map I like to leave on the living room shelves. I have maps in my desk and in my car, but I decided to make an adventure out of it by trying to find it with no reference to any map. If I failed, I would still have gotten some exercise and maybe learned a bit more about my neighborhood.
So, it was the 1400 block of some British-sounding street. I live off the 1300 block of a British-sounding street, and I'm pretty sure all other such streets are north of me, so it was just a matter of getting to the 1400 block (actually the 1500 block because the relevant street doesn't come all the way through), then turning north and walking until I found it or got tired of looking. I've been walking in my neighborhood since I moved here (nine years ago), so I have a pretty good feel for the part near my house.
I could think of two possible problems with this plan. First, my part of the neighborhood is designed on a grid, but this all changes not too far from my house. When I go on my walks, I tend to avoid all the non-grid parts.
And that's because of the second possible problem: of all the people I know, I am the one third most likely to get lost. I have excellent spatial skills and can hold pictures in my head, but I have zero sense of direction and I'm not good at stacking. By stacking, I mean that if you have a list of directions like turn left, then right, then right, then left, I am likely to forget one of the steps.
The good news is that everything went exactly according to plan. And this is the case even though I went to areas where I never walked before. The award-winning yard was a straight shot from my house, but since it was only 15 minutes away, I snaked through the neighborhood a bit on the way back. And still I didn't get lost.
The other good news is that I saw what might be Robin's favorite-looking house in our neighborhood. I also found a street that has a sidewalk. Shocking! And I walked on the sidewalk. Luxury living!
The award-winning yard was nice, too. And so were a lot of other yards. And I learned (for a few minutes anyway), that the order from my house of the "Ridge Streets" is: Ridgemont, then Ridgehaven, then Northridge.