It is approaching 10 P.M. on a cool Sunday in April. The scene is Chicago, but it has also been New York, Rio, D.C., or any other place I've been lucky enough to visit.
My iPod is on, earbuds are in, Band of Horses is playing soundtrack to the rhythm of the city, but the volume isn't drowning out my surroundings. I've said goodnight to friends. I am alone and exploring the unfamiliar. Just the way I like it. I am night walking.
I am experiencing the real city. Not the one dominated by 8-5 professionals. The one with friends escaping bars and restaurants. People being their true selves. They are unencumbered by the rigors of meetings and deadlines. Right now, they are being true. I wish we could always be this way. Wishful thinking on my part.
The homeless prepare themselves for a long night. Traffic is quieting. Sidewalks are no longer competitions. For blocks, it is only me. Some think it is foolish for me to walk city streets alone at night. To them, I've never felt more alive. This here, this scene is why I travel.
I duck in/out of bars. I glide quietly into an overlit supermarket. A late-night snack and a soda, as I begin to make my way to a temporary home. People laughing. Doors darkened by smokers. The pulse of the city has shifted, but it still beats. My heart races, because this experience is worth remembering. It is so simple, yet so powerful. There is nothing quite like a night walk in unfamiliar surroundings.
Thanks for entering my world,
-Nathan