Photo: Twitter / @A320Lga
Many people started gardening, baking or even raising poultry in the backyard at the onset of the health crisis, when almost the entire world was forced into lockdown. Others solved puzzles to pass the time, picked up new indoor hobbies or resolved to finally get overdue stuff done around the house.
This guy, a 19-year-old sophomore at the Harvard University, is driving across the United States. To be more precise, he’s “driving” across the country, in inverted commas, because he never left his Brooklyn, NYC apartment, yet he’s making his way to hometown Seattle.
Even if he could have left New York, he still didn’t have a car and he didn’t want to risk anything by venturing out of state, he tells MotherBoard. So he came up with the idea of “driving” on Google Street View, from New York to Seattle.
The journey started on June 19 and it’s still happening right now, at the moment of press. By this time, the world had already been in lockdown for almost three months, so you’d be excused to assume Schultz was bored out of his mind to undertake such an “adventure” and go public with it on Twitter. After all, here was a guy who sat at his computer and clicked on Google Street View, slowly making his way to his destination, one click at a time.
But Schultz tells the same media outlet that this is more research work than a project to fight boredom. Each day, for 30 to 60 minutes, he studies the roads and the scenery on Google Street View, and documents his most interesting finds on Twitter. He takes large detours and mostly stays off the interstate. By going off the beaten path, he’s able to study in detail the industrial, transportation, and energy infrastructure in each area.
One month into the journey, he’s only made it as far Minnesota, which is not surprising, seeing he’s in no rush to get to Seattle and the detours he’s taking. He says he never imagined this undertaking would turn into this “gigantic thing,” where he has people joining him on the trip, offering comment, advice and feedback.
Though Schultz initially said he was “driving” on Google Street View, he’s now come to the realization that he couldn’t actually call what he’s doing a “road trip.” There is escapism in it, for sure, but it doesn’t compare to the feeling of actually driving a car through all the places he’s seen so far.
“Street View definitely loses you something, even if it’s just the smell of the air,” he explains. “Driving by a paper mill has a smell. You lose that smell.”
But it’s better than nothing.
Even if he could have left New York, he still didn’t have a car and he didn’t want to risk anything by venturing out of state, he tells MotherBoard. So he came up with the idea of “driving” on Google Street View, from New York to Seattle.
The journey started on June 19 and it’s still happening right now, at the moment of press. By this time, the world had already been in lockdown for almost three months, so you’d be excused to assume Schultz was bored out of his mind to undertake such an “adventure” and go public with it on Twitter. After all, here was a guy who sat at his computer and clicked on Google Street View, slowly making his way to his destination, one click at a time.
But Schultz tells the same media outlet that this is more research work than a project to fight boredom. Each day, for 30 to 60 minutes, he studies the roads and the scenery on Google Street View, and documents his most interesting finds on Twitter. He takes large detours and mostly stays off the interstate. By going off the beaten path, he’s able to study in detail the industrial, transportation, and energy infrastructure in each area.
One month into the journey, he’s only made it as far Minnesota, which is not surprising, seeing he’s in no rush to get to Seattle and the detours he’s taking. He says he never imagined this undertaking would turn into this “gigantic thing,” where he has people joining him on the trip, offering comment, advice and feedback.
Though Schultz initially said he was “driving” on Google Street View, he’s now come to the realization that he couldn’t actually call what he’s doing a “road trip.” There is escapism in it, for sure, but it doesn’t compare to the feeling of actually driving a car through all the places he’s seen so far.
“Street View definitely loses you something, even if it’s just the smell of the air,” he explains. “Driving by a paper mill has a smell. You lose that smell.”
But it’s better than nothing.
I've decided I'm going to drive from Seattle to NYC on Google Streetview. Have been considering this since quarantine began, but am now finally biting the bullet. Trying to get in 30-60 mins a day until I reach. Will post periodic updates here. Here's my starting point: pic.twitter.com/97SPk4mh52
— LGA_A320 wants a bailout for cities and states (@A320Lga) June 19, 2020
New rule: I will not drive on the correct side of the interstate...ever, if I can avoid it. pic.twitter.com/xvtNd0rBW3
— LGA_A320 wants a bailout for cities and states (@A320Lga) June 19, 2020
You could write a whole book on the wide variations in American highway overpasses pic.twitter.com/fHVdYAl2R0
— LGA_A320 wants a bailout for cities and states (@A320Lga) June 20, 2020
Crossing the Bad River. Note the irony pigment in the water -- we still are very much in an iron-rich area. #SEANYC pic.twitter.com/XvlUNdRVWk
— LGA_A320 wants a bailout for cities and states (@A320Lga) July 15, 2020
Google News