Built-in Mapquest

[tugrik]

One of the few mental abilities of mine that I'm proud to have is my sense of physical space and navigation. It has many upsides. The most useful is being able to translate maps to physical space with only a cursory glance-over, so I can end up in weird places and find my way around quite easily. I don't know if this was a learned behavior or just something that 'came with the package'. My earliest memories of it were back as a 5-year-old in the Los Angeles area. My mother used to get lost in the 'burbs around La Mirada and Anaheim and I could always steer her home, even from a few dozen miles out. It also helps me feel more 'at home' within a very short amount of time, which helps on vacations or during all the childhood moves my family went through.

There is one rather big downside, though. Once I've been somewhere a few times I get a very solid and visual 'mental map' of the place. I can think about going somewhere and easily wander the path in my mind, seeing all the sights. Why is this a downside? Well... it makes me lose interest in wandering after I've been in one area too long. As of October 23rd this year, I've been in the same area for a solid 10 years, a stark contrast to the move-every-two-years of my youth. I've pretty much 'used up' this area.

It's not so much that I have wanderlust going on. It's just that on a day like today that's perfect for a motorcycle ride (clear, cool, quiet, sunny and no responsibilities) I find the thought of going somewhere local just, well... drab. Been There, Done That. Just thinking through the possibilities, from the coast and monterey up to the city, or even out through the central valley and up into the sierras -- I can visualise the whole ride and realize there's really nothing new to see. I'd end up doing the roads at a metered pace and treating it like a task instead of a break or enjoyment.

What I want to do is tromp through the deserts of Arizona and New Mexico, or wander the curvy, tree-lined roads of the Ozarks in Missouri. Maybe rent a Harley and circle the big island of Hawaii (they only rent Harleys there if you're curious as to the brand choice). The kind of things that are terribly non-local and therefore not doable over a simple weekend. I just find it mildly grump-making that simple wanderings have to be Vacations(tm) and not just something you can do after work or on weekends for the sole reason that I've pretty much used up most of my local area experience. I feel like I'm in some kind of silly RPG game and I've filled in all the hex-grids on the map. No great unknown or "Here Lies Dragons" left.

Then again -- this may just be an early boring Sunday morning doing the talking. With luck the sense of adventure will return later in the week.

Comments

[jumpyfox.livejournal.com]

I know what it's like going for a ride and feeling like there is nothing new to see. Part of the problem is the eastern half of the U.S. pretty much looks the same no matter where you go, but the other problem was I had pretty much explored that side of myself. It was just the idea of driving and going somewhere that was really cool to me, but now that journey is done, and now I have to do something else. I kind of wish I knew what it was.