With the summer solstice having just past, I felt the sudden need to make the most of these long summer days. It made me think back to last year, when I went with a group of people, some I’ve known for a while and others I had just met, to go do some good ‘ol urban exploration.

We drove an hour out of San Francisco, somewhere in the Bay Area, to begin our adventure. At the time, California was at the tail end of the drought, and there were some dried up waterways that beckoned us to cross.

We walked back and forth under the bridge to an explosion of art and color; each concrete slab like a gallery wall.

We then crept to our next destination.

We found ourselves looking over a large open expanse.

Just us and wide open space.

Save for several old jalopies — their golden days long gone.

We walked in the quiet, dusty and sometimes smokey building. Creeping between the light and the dark.

Giving us the opportunity to find beauty in decay.

So we just took it all in.

Its the times like this these that remind me to be bold, make new friends, and explore!