Atrios says…

I always found it truly bizarre how nice the weather is but how difficult it was to enjoy it.

Of course you can enjoy it, in the planned physical activity sense. Go hiking! Go to the beach! But it isn’t integrated in your day to day life in any sense because you’re in your car.

He’s linking there to a Matthew Yglesias post about how, ironically enough here in the U.S., all our walkable cities are in areas with not so wonderful weather most of the time, whilst out in parts of the west and southwest where the climate is great for walking most days, the cities are designed mostly around the automobile.  But that’s because they came of age at the same time the automobile did.  The old eastern cities remember the days of horse traffic. They are walkable, because that’s what most people in them had to do when they were busy becoming cities.  There weren’t any cars.

I actually walked in to work today…an achievement of sorts.  I’ve been…reluctant…to leave my car at home ever since I bought it.  Partly it’s for fear that a Mercedes-Benz all alone in a quiet city neighborhood is a target.  But mostly its I haven’t wanted to let pass any little opportunity to drive the thing, I’m still so bedazzled by it.  The sane thing to do with gas prices being what they are is let the car sit and walk to work.  That way I save gas for errands and pleasure driving.  And also, a lot of one mile each way trips is hard on a car.

When I got up this morning the sky was bright and sunny and blue like it is almost all the time in southern California but seldom here in the Mid-Atlantic states except briefly in spring and fall.  It was Pleasantville weather.  Much as I’m still in New Car Love I knew I’d be nuts to let it pass by and not enjoy the walk to work.  There are people in this region who would kill to have the commute I do.  And…it was a lovely day.  We just don’t get many of those here.  So for the first time since I bought the car, back in October, I left it home.

Soon it will be sweltering summer again and I’ll be driving in to work anyway, for the car’s AC, so I’m not a dripping mess of sweat soaked clothes by the time I get to work.  Tomorrow they’re calling for rain so I’ll probably drive.  But from now on I think I can let myself take advantage of the nice weather when it comes, and start walking to work again.  Actually, walking has been an integral part of my day to day life ever since I learned the trick. I walk to the store…I take a walk around the neighborhood I live in most days.  I’ve done these things ever since I can remember.  I bought the house I did because it was within walking distance of where I work.  The closest I’ve ever come to practicing a sport was wilderness backpacking.  I love to drive, but I am a walker.  It’s only been lately that I’ve been driving this much.