mattlistener

Class got out early, and I got back to the hotel at 4pm. Too late for museums etc, but I didn't want to see another movie or spend another evening on the computer.

So -- found my address in Google Maps, switched to satellite view, zoomed out until I saw mountains. Recentered there, zoomed part-way in, and dragged the map around until I found an interesting feature (a reservior in a completely undeveloped valley). Switched out of satellite mode to find the name of the one road that went through the area, then got directions to it. Drove 30 minutes through rush-hour traffic, then another 30 minutes seeing no more than 2 cars and NO INTERSECTIONS at all -- just mountains and trees and birds and long windy 1.5 lane road. Felt very much like the highlands of Scotland.

Ate my dinner in a deserted park near the valley bottom, and on the way out met a wild turkey madly ruffing out his plumage for his girlfriend, while standing in the middle of the road. Said girlfriend was in a field nearby, eating wildflowers and ignoring the display entirely. He got off the road as soon as I got out of the car (peds are more dangerous than vehicles?), but he did leave a couple feathers for me. :-)