I have had quite a bit of free time as I was laid off from March - September. And while I am happy to have my income source back, I do miss the freedom of not living by a work schedule. I have been exploring areas close to home such as Christmas Tree Pass, Grapevine Canyon, and some abandoned areas/towns near by.

Awesome! (But sorry to hear about your layoff.)

I live in the San Francisco area, and just to get out of the house, we have been exploring areas around us more than we ever have. And I think with the fires, we have renewed appreciation for places like Muir Woods.

I live in the Boston area and have been exploring more close to home (and just over the border into the edges of New Hampshire and Maine).

One of my favorite new walks is a loop a friend and I have been calling the "critter walk" since there are often fields filled with animals, some rescues, some not.

walking a loop, Topsfield, MAA friend discovered a walk in Topsfield, MA that sounded like a "must do" to me. We walked it together earlier in the week and I returned today with my camera. It's about 11 miles from home, and ...www.cake.co

I'm lucky to be relatively close to the ocean since I find walking by the water to be calming. Here's a photo from a recent walk at the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge.

photos.smugmug.com

We've stayed pretty close to home, exploring local museums and historic sites.

More local exploration...

I visited Salem, MA to see the new murals installed in The Point neighborhood in October.

new murals in Salem: Punto Urban Art MuseumI received an email from the North Shore Community Development Coalition in late October that included an announcement about new murals in Salem. > Over the past three weeks, the twenty (20) ...www.cake.co

I've also been exploring trails close to home. This was taken along the Shawsheen River while walking one of the AVIS trails.

photos.smugmug.com