this past weekend i spent a lovely weekend in LA. if there is one thing i learn upon going back home often, is that it's constantly changing, neighborhoods are seeing a boom of parks, green spaces, walkable streets, and public transit is becoming more accessible and frequent. my dad works in the field of landscape architecture and always has a new space to share with me that he had worked on. i always say "everything i know, i learned from my father" and in this case, it's definitely true that my interest in urban development comes from him. if you ever get a chance to visit L.A. take a walking tour of downtown. it's the most exciting place to see historical buildings, new parks, and life happen.

it's raining, it's pouring, and i walked the day away. i have a thing about walking, it's always been my thing since i was a little girl, i would openly refuse car rides because i wanted to see things: houses, parks, gardens, neighborhoods, or stop by the library or coffee shop for some hot cocoa. 

walking is one of my favorite activities. and lucky for me i have a dog i love walking everyday. there is always something new for us to discover or friendly dogs and people to meet. when i was recently visiting my family in l.a, i took a day to discover and walk through downtown l.a, i was disappointed with the lack of parks or garden squares to observe people or even just to sit and rest. the bay area has me really spoiled with these sorts of amenities and well, i just cannot live without them now. there's a sort of relaxing and observational enjoyment in being able to walk in one's city and be surrounded by its greenery.

i read an article recently on the lack of walking in America recently in the Slate, stating that walking has been "engineered out of existence." perhaps for most of America, this is true, suburbanization has planned these cities to be car dependent but i find it a strange concept and myself lucky to have such amenities to walk to.

i guess such days when walking in the rain is necessary, it gets one thinking about how cities or towns inform our movement, travel, health, accessibility to services, and enjoyment of the places we live in.

walking is food for the heart, body, and mind. sometimes i don't mind journeying on foot, sometimes it's a nice break from riding the bicycle to get a different perspective.