This is a weird one, but grocery stores for cultures other than my own.

For one, there’s SO MUCH cool shit and delicious foods I never even knew existed. I think the biggest factor though is it’s the closest I’ve ever gotten to actually traveling. Can’t afford the real thing.

While I also love their restaurants and cultural events, there’s something about being served or attempting to showcase major cultural highlights in some event that kills the authenticity of the experience.

In their grocery stores, I’m surrounded by that same culture, but none of it’s about me: the other shoppers don’t give a fuck about me, the staff only interact at the checkout… and other than that it’s just me and a can of… some kind of sauce? I can’t read it… but some elderly Asian woman just grabbed two of them and the rest of her cart is filled with what will undeniably become an amazing meal… fuck it, I’ll give it shot!

The drinks and junk food too are also usually a safe option to find something both very different from what I’m used to and very tasty.

Definitely spent more than a few bucks on things that weren’t… eh… compatible with my palette, but finding out is part of the experience.

Idk. Weird thing to get excited about, but it’s a good time.

Anywhere that’s free of light pollution.
I just wanna look at the stars dammit

Coffee shops and pubs when they are cozy and have that atmosphere of life.

The woods, at night, near a creek or river that also doesn’t have a ton of frogs. IDK why, really. It’s just the kind of place I always think of when I think about where I want to be.

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.

FusedLocation, it’s just easier to work with.

Personally, I’m partial to location, location.

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.

College campuses. They almost always make me think that’s what utopia would be like.

A nice old style pub, preferably with a horseshoe shaped bar. Just something peaceful for me about a nice old style pub.

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’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

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.

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.