Getting Lost in a Map

Maps fascinate me. I admit, I sat here for the past hour {with a migraine and small green dots seeming to appear all over the screen} scrolling through Google Maps. I looked at the distance between where I am now and where I’d like to go, where I am now and where I used to be, and studied names of towns I’ve never heard of. What started off as me looking at the state of Vermont, later turned into me scrolling over the blue ocean, studying Cuba and its distance to islands I’ve been to.

{via}

What is it that fascinates me so much?

Maybe it’s the fact that every little state above is SO different from the other and even more different than lands across the ocean.

Maybe it’s the fact that there are so many quaint towns that I’ve never even heard of before that each have their own culture and customs and stories.

Maybe it’s the memories I’ve made in so many of these places.

Maybe it’s the possibility of new memories being made in places where I’ve yet to set foot.

{A map of films. Shout out to my high school in Remember the Titans. Just sayin’}

I also admit that sometimes I will go on Google Maps and take that little orange guy {you know, the one who will take you to street view} and will randomly drop him anywhere in the U.S. In case you’re wondering, right now I’m in the middle-of-nowhere North Dakota. Although it’s not live, it kind of gives me the chance to “go” places and see what communities and landscapes are like in other parts of the country. I’ve even been to Canada via the orange guy!

Some may think it’s strange, but it’s my way of “exploring” when I can’t actually go and explore. There are times where I have spent an hour or two doing this. It usually ends with me looking up real estate in places I’ve come across but that’s a post for another day.

But, I just get completely enthralled. I wonder what the homes, terrain, and streets look like in these unknown cities. I wonder if the people have accents and how they spend their days.

You’re probably wondering what sparked all of this. Well, last night at dinner, Whitney and I were discussing travel/moving and it really got me excited and determined to see more of this country and more of this world. There are foods waiting to be tasted, sights waiting to be seen, fragrances waiting to be smelt, and many, many pictures waiting to be taken. Until then, I’ll have to explore these places from afar.

So, I invite you, when you get some free time, to get “lost” in a map for a while. Explore. Find somewhere new. Find beauty in the unknown.

Where have you found yourself looking on a map? What places fascinate you?