Walk to the Mailbox

Before I moved to Riverside, I consulted Google Maps extensively. From Google Maps, I could see my future apartment complex (with the red roofs). I noticed it had a lot of buildings, but scale is such a relative thing. I figured our apartment complex spanned about 3 city blocks. And the closest mall was only about 12 blocks away.

Little did I know that a California block doesn't quite correspond to a block in Minneapolis. 12 blocks in Minneapolis was about a 20 minute walk. Here, it takes 15 minutes just to walk to the mailbox.

To get to my mailbox, I must first walk past my scary neighbor's apartment and her furiously barking dog and then climb down a flight of stairs.

Then it's on to the never-ending sidewalk. This first part of the trip is usually the most treacherous because it is so narrow. On the left is a row of tall, scraggly hedges covered in creepy blue poisonous berries. On the right is my favorite neighbor, mostly because I can see inside her apartment. She decorates with surfboards and has a Boston Terrier.

Then, it's on to the open plain. When the sidewalk forks, I turn left and then walk for about 15 minutes.

Just when I think I cannot look at one more yellow apartment building or peek through another set of mini-blinds, I reach the tennis courts. This is where me and Chad pretend we can play tennis. The building behind the court is the fitness center, which we'll see to a moment. And to the right, just beyond the picture frame, is the Big Pool.

The Big Pool is basically two pools -- one outside and one inside this building. You can swim between them. The Big Pool is supposed to be heated but it isn't. I guess Californians think it is too cold to swim in the winter so no one does. Except Chad, as you will see below.

When I leave the Big Pool area and continue towards the mailboxes (towards the fitness center) I pass the grill station and yet another pool. You know, just in case the Big Pool is full.

After all that, I will finally reach the mailboxes. I actually had to ask where my mailbox was. There is another mailroom the size of this one plus additional boxes outside. Even though I'm sure it's a lot of work, we have a lucky mailman. His only job is to deliver to this apartment complex.