A week after I spent the weekend at a state park, I had the urge to go out for a walk a short trail since the weather was nice. I live in a metropolitan area, so the option for any decent trails are sparse and the ones we do have usually barely qualify as one. But I didn't want to drive nearly an hour to my nearest nature preserve, so I sucked it up and decided to try a local city park.

The entire time walking, I had mixed feelings. As a kid, I loved public parks for what they were. But now as an adult who wanted to go for a walk and escape into nature, I felt a bit frustrated. At no point was I not within a few hundred feet of a building. While it was nice to see the community gather together outside, it felt so crowded and it didn't help that a family was blasting music at a kid's birthday party. In the end, the only thing I felt like I took away from the entire experience was that I had long stretch of road that I was able to walk, but even then it wasn't ideal as I had to stop to cross roads at lights and crossing.

The harsh reality is that for most people though, this is all they know and in a way all they really need. Even becoming the slightest of /out/ is like a curse, especially as a yuppie, as you realize that you're trapped within a concrete jungle and essentially stuck there. I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to leave the city, but this alone is enough to make me jealous of those who live far away from them.

What's your opinion on public parks? Do you have any suggestions for me for "feeling /out/" in the suburbs?