I’ve been so close to the Bronx River my whole life, yet never of the existence of a trail that runs alongside it. I walked the trail with my friends during Thanksgiving break, and it was an interesting experience. The Bronx River Parkway is a major roadway that’s heavily used, and it’s right next to the river. Although there was a lot of traffic while we were on the trail, I was easily able to tune out the noise from the cars. I find it amazing how rivers can so easily create an environment in which we get lost in our thoughts.
While I was having a conversation with my roommate about his hometown, La Jolla, he mentioned something about living on the coast of California that I thought was really interesting. For context, he was about to leave for New York City, and I was telling him about its grid pattern and how it’s quite simple to navigate. He then mentioned that he always figures out directions to places in La Jolla based on their position along the coastline. He thinks about which way he has to drive in relation to the coast. I certainly use “checkpoints” to help me figure out directions in my hometown, but I think it’s very interesting that he uses the ocean for this purpose.
