This activity gave me a great excuse to get outside for some fresh air (something I often forget to do, working from home) and explore parts of my neighborhood that I hadn’t visited before. The environment I explored had both familiar and unfamiliar elements and landmarks. I was more conscious of details around me, since this exercise was about the experience rather than than the destination. Once I reached the final stopping point, I used my sense of direction to find my way home, which was also a fun exercise.
Given that I was exploring a suburban environment and park trail, most of the things I noticed were elements from nature, interspersed with human interruptions or structures. I underestimated the amount of time this exercise would take (I assumed 30 minutes) but didn’t notice time passing because I was busy walking and sketching. I was surprised to realize, when I got home, that I’d been out for over an hour. I discovered new parts of my neighborhood, observed a lot of goofy animal activity, and got some sunshine.
Sidebar: Toward the end of my walk, I was stopped by an older man with white hair and glasses who turned out to be a retired graphic designer. Perfect, right? He saw, from a distance, that I’d been sketching and was dying to see my map. After he left, I added him to the map.