Zoom In, Zoom Out

When I was landing in New Orleans on Tuesday morning, I loved the chance to test my geographical knowledge of a city I have now spent a significant amount of time visiting. The curves of the Mississippi can make navigating New Orleans a challenge for out-of-towners, so it was exciting to be able to local certain landmarks and neighbors in the area as we began our descent.

On the occasion that a city’s airport is actually near that city, it’s a good feeling to be able to identify certain sites and appreciate a familiar place from a new perspective. As we began to near New Orleans, I realized that my two favorite ways to see both my favorite cities and new places are completely the opposite – from the air and on foot.

On several trips down to New Orleans specifically, I’ve had the chance to run in different parts of the city. When I visited with my family a few years ago, an early morning run that looped through some downtown neighborhoods left me a much better understanding of what was what and how it all connected. When I went back last summer, I was able to explore even more parts of the greater city, seeing things I most likely wouldn’t have had the chance to if I weren’t running it.

Seeing cities from the air can be the same thing. You see them in a different way – who knew there were so many pools around here? – and the big picture provides you with a much different feeling than when you’re up close.

I think about my relationship with Philly, a city I feel so connected to, but in a unique way, having not grown up there. I can easily think of a handful of routes I’ve run throughout Philly – our usual jams in Manayunk, running up JFK through Love Park and to the Art Museum, the Independence circuit, tackling the Ben Franklin Bridge, crossing the East Falls Bridge, the Kelly Drive loop – and I feel all warm and fuzzy. I am grateful that I have not only spent time doing things in these places, but having run them makes that connection stronger. While I no longer know all the curves of Kelly Drive, I am confident that running was an avenue for me to get to know the city better, both on a geographically surface level and on an I-love-everything-about-you level.

No longer living in Philly, I not only love going back, but I love flying back (especially since it means 10 less hours in the car). The airport is in the perfect location for me to see it all in one big, beautiful picture. While I know and love all the separate parts, when I see the whole city together as one frame, it feels like a deep, fulfilling exhale. I guess it’s hard to explain if you don’t love places like I do, almost like they’re people, but just as our relationships with people grow as we do more together, so do our relationships with places. Seeing them from different angles – by foot or by plane – can add to our appreciation, and deepen our love.