maps in my head

I spent most of last year having absolutely no idea where pretty much anything was in Galesburg, so this year, I've been working on filling that gap in my knowledge. In furtherance of this aim, I've done a bit of browsing on Google Maps, as well as a good deal of walking and riding my bike around town, and I feel like I'm getting fairly proficient with the basic layout of the town and its main streets. I don't have quite the extensive knowledge of the different areas that I can claim in Huntington, but then again, I haven't lived here for most of my life either. Although I must say, Galesburg is much easier to figure out than good ol' H-town—almost all the streets follow the same basic grid, and the street signs have numbers like the county roads at home as well as the names, so you can always figure out where you are relative to the square.

I'm also getting better with the street names, and knowing which streets are where. I've pretty much got the area around campus down pat, and I have at least a vague mental picture of pretty much everything north of Main St. My goal for the rest of the year is to flesh out this knowledge, as well as figuring out the southern half of town (although there's not as much there, and that's also where the sketchiest parts are, so I may not spend as much time on that part).

Partially in furtherance of this pursuit, and partially just because it was a gorgeous afternoon, I went on a bike ride today. I stayed pretty much around the residential area north of Main St., mostly in the historic section, and the sun was shining and the leaves were brilliant and it was just a really nice day. I enjoy riding my bike pretty much anywhere, and Galesburg is nice, because a)it's hard to get lost, and b) it feels very friendly to me; it seems like I always see somebody who smiles at me. And nobody's honked at me yet. Seems like there's always some asshole who doesn't know how to drive yelling or honking at me when I'm riding around at home. Usually in the S. Jefferson St. area. Jerks.