I began the project from my front door, driving around the neighborhood and taking the turns at intersections of the street. Before my adventures, I mapped out the journey online to see what turns I would have to take when. Translated the directions with L, R, along with street names then began.
I’ve often complained about the sameness of my community. The houses look like carbon-copies of each other in rectangle-shaped houses with abode tile roofs. It reminds me of a uniform at a private school but focusing on the details, I could see small differences. Several families have painted their homes in different colors aside from the usual tan palette. One house painted itself with brown walls and darker shutters, which clashed with the rest of the neighborhood’s lighter palette. During the journey around Capitol Way, I reached another housing complex. While there’s sameness among the houses, they show distinctions when I reach another building project. Some of the newer complexes have smaller lots, more details in the housing facade, and darker palettes. Driving down Jamboree I could see the running trails, wide road, and fast cars. Irvine boasts itself to being one of the safest cities in America. It’s not a bad place for residential life. The most uncomfortable part of my journey came at the end where I made several loops inside the last neighborhood. The streets were named the same as each other, Amberhill to Amberhill, leads confusion for the new visitor, but the dead ends and cul-de-sacs tell me new visitors aren’t really expected.
Overall, the experience opened my eyes to new areas in my neighborhood. Often in commutes to destinations and rarely taking the time to get “lost” even with random directions. I’ll finish with a quote by J.R.R. Tolkien, “Not all those who wander are lost.”