Personally, I’m partial to location, location.
Trees. Love me some dense forests, shaded paths, little bits of creeks, but it’s all down to the trees for me. I am lucky enough to own my home and it won not because the house was perfect but because of the five mature oak trees in the backyard.
Anywhere that’s free of light pollution.
I just wanna look at the stars dammitCoffee shops and pubs when they are cozy and have that atmosphere of life.
A workshop.
All those tools with dedicated reasons for existing. All those improvised tools that are highly specialized. All the scraps and leftovers saved for some unknown day in the future. The whole vibe is opportunity to create.
Love about everything outdoors around here, but the swamps are special. There’s one right down the street where I kayak. Teeming with life! Bugs are no issue once you get a few feet from shore. The dragonflies do not allow anything alive over the waterline.
If you really drill towards the back, there’s a monster rookery of some kind. Great Ibises I think? Hoping to spy a gator some day. There almost has to be one in there given the size of the area and food supply. Tried looking for eyeballs one night, nada.
Anyway, it’s peaceful. My wife and I have tied our kayaks together and just floated in the night.
Downtown of a small town in the middle of winter, late at night when nobody’s around. Cold enough that the snow squeaks under your feet as you walk, but no wind at all. Just the memory of the smell of sub-zero air makes me think about a destination with warm walls a nice cup of hot tea waiting for me.
College campuses. They almost always make me think that’s what utopia would be like.
yeah that’s really true
A nice old style pub, preferably with a horseshoe shaped bar. Just something peaceful for me about a nice old style pub.
On a frozen ocean or on the shore of a frozen ocean in the middle of February during the coldest night of the year with a cloudless moonless sky.
I got to see this once when I went to see family up on James Bay. I went out with them for a ride on a winter road and at one point we just parked in the dark with a view of the horizon. It was so cold the temperatured dipped to past minus 40! We were in a half ton truck and we parked, stopped, turned off the lights and stood outside for a while. I couldn’t believe the amount of stars we saw overhead. Stars twinkled down everywhere down to the horizon in all directions. The Milky Way was an obvious band across the sky (not as dramatic as time lapse image but still obvious to view).
At one point I realized I was so mesmerized by the image that I became almost afraid and self conscious of it all. I literally realized I was standing on the edge of the planet and it made me realize that space was not that far away and if gravity failed for whatever reason, I would just float out into it all. The coldness, the light and stars and the stillness just made it all feel like I was actually in space.
I’ll never forget that place. It was amazing.
I’m drawn to places that feel forgotten, where time seems to stand still. The emptiness and absence of people create a rare solitude, and these spaces feel like snapshots of a different era. I love seeing nature gradually reclaim what was once built by humans. It’s a reminder of nature’s persistence, quietly reclaiming what we left behind.
Above all, I enjoy the disconnection. These places exist outside the rush of modern life, free from obligations and deadlines. Stepping into them feels like entering a different reality, one that’s both familiar and alien at the same time
Storm drains under the city. Started exploring them in the 90s and only stopped in recent years. Great for photography and a super fun hobby for someone who fucking hates people and likes being in total solitude lol. There’s a bunch of online communities for it where I used share my photos and such. Even created a legend of sorts in Tulsa with a big ass project of painting the coordinates for every tunnel entrance in the city. It’s called the drain atlas.
Anyone looking for a fun but semi risky hobby check out draining.
I met a guy named Sam Pate. He was a radio man and was live during the JFK shooting. He said that at that time the drains were big enough for a person to easily slip into. He said the real shooter escaped that way and was on his way back to Chicago before Oswald was arrested.
I explored the hell out of those drains! I grew up in Dallas. They’re way more than easy enough for a person to fit through. You could fit a damn car through them. They’re actually a pretty famous tunnel in the draining community. Dallas is where I started my draining career lol. I’ll have to dig up some photos of that drain and show you some time. If I remember correctly we called it elm Street tunnel. It was caked in deposits as it was so old. Even had stairs in it, was really strange. Surprised I never put that together. We used to smoke weed on the grassy knoll and then explore the tunnels…
I really like airports. I’m not entirely sure why, but I think it probably has to do with the complex design and (hopefully) focus on a good traveler experience. Good airports have to have an easy-to-follow layout, but the amount of things to be discovered in an airport is also oftenvast and plentiful. I also just really love the architecture and interior design of my local airport.
I love libraries. I used to spend a lot of time in them when I was a kid. I still have my 16 digit library card number from when I was a kid memorized.
Empty places where you can see the horizon but there is no evidence of humanity. It makes me feel the vastness of time, or like I’m outside of time in a way. Its hard to describe but I find it peaceful and it makes me appreciate being alive.
