In these days when many of us are house-bound it can be fun to travel the world using your mouse. Google Maps’ “street view” option allows you to have 360° views of most places where you can take a car or hike – roads, viewpoints, etc. It’s fun to go house hunting, preview a road trip route down to the location of the gas stations and McDonalds, or visit places you’ve heard about but don’t have a clue what they really look like. It’s voyeurism to be sure, but a fun and not destructive kind.

If you’re not familiar, just open Google Maps to some location of interest, then look on the lower right hand corner for a little “yellow person” icon. Using your mouse or forefinger (it’s really easier with a mouse and a big enough screen) drag the icon to some street location for the “street view” of that place. You can rotate the image through 360°, or use the little directional arrows in the street to “walk” the view in whichever direction you choose. You’ll get the hang of it quickly. Note this is a lot more difficult on devices like phones or small tablets, but still doable.

If you want to share an image or email a link to someone, click on the three vertical dots at the upper left corner and choose “share or embed image” and copy the url that appears. It’s fun and simple.

Google’s coverage of the world is pretty amazing. Here are some examples of places you can tour.

Bo-Kaap District, Cape Town - https://goo.gl/maps/9epX2k4v6u4sGpFa7

Quebec City - https://goo.gl/maps/hPE4qBMHX73tSBNM8

Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, Australia - https://goo.gl/maps/sP579NFJWLiCpJpK6

Lau Pa Sat Food Court, Singapore - https://goo.gl/maps/3PhL4jaxoSpFBvBHA

Glen Etive, Scotland - https://goo.gl/maps/3C3LQFc9LEr68bEH6

Reine, Norway - https://goo.gl/maps/ccmSiWoYVJZWCZBQA

Argentina – Chile border - https://goo.gl/maps/eY3o9FdMQfpMK26m6

Enjoy!

I once found myself at the local car wash...

Where I was born: Plac Kaszubski, Gdynia https://goo.gl/maps/LuJpDKNbhafUtyEaA
Lived here till I was 7. First floor, two windows on the right, two rooms, shared bathroom with another family. https://goo.gl/maps/bEx8HsUT4LTUKfpP8
My dad bought a house, built the stone wall and fence, still straight and true after half a century.https://goo.gl/maps/N5uZjPAVdpock5ZK8
My school (take a walk to your left) https://goo.gl/maps/1uVdbXpPez1QvY9U9
We move to Lagos (Apapa), Nigeria. Formerly Dakar Rd. Remarkably, almost looks the same as it did in 67, minus the wall capped with broken glass, TIA; this is Africa.https://goo.gl/maps/w79ocsUzZ2ySeawB6
My first school in Apapa, Corona School, only went there to learn English.https://goo.gl/maps/5XLBLiwFjtygBa8w5
Passed through those gates numerous times. No change since the late sixties. My daily commute to American International on Victoria Island involved a trip across the Lagos harbor in a company motorboat ( My father was Chief Pilot)https://goo.gl/maps/5XLBLiwFjtygBa8w5
Our last house in Apapa, https://goo.gl/maps/toXv8zbBLEYHiM4f7
Our apartment in Gdynia, currently my mom's place. https://goo.gl/maps/ixC4AyijZUBHia9E7
My younger daughter's current apt in Brussels.https://goo.gl/maps/nVMBBZ1JJCusXJu58

Where I was born: Plac Kaszubski, Gdynia https://goo.gl/maps/LuJpDKNbhafUtyEaA
Lived here till I was 7. First floor, two windows on the right, two rooms, shared bathroom with another family. https://goo.gl/maps/bEx8HsUT4LTUKfpP8
My dad bought a house, built the stone wall and fence, still straight and true after half a century.https://goo.gl/maps/N5uZjPAVdpock5ZK8
My school (take a walk to your left) https://goo.gl/maps/1uVdbXpPez1QvY9U9
We move to Lagos (Apapa), Nigeria. Formerly Dakar Rd. Remarkably, almost looks the same as it did in 67, minus the wall capped with broken glass, TIA; this is Africa.https://goo.gl/maps/w79ocsUzZ2ySeawB6
My first school in Apapa, Corona School, only went there to learn English.https://goo.gl/maps/5XLBLiwFjtygBa8w5
Passed through those gates numerous times. No change since the late sixties. My daily commute to American International on Victoria Island involved a trip across the Lagos harbor in a company motorboat ( My father was Chief Pilot)https://goo.gl/maps/fqbiwAqoMsCC3P3h6
Our last house in Apapa, https://goo.gl/maps/toXv8zbBLEYHiM4f7
Our apartment in Gdynia, currently my mom's place. https://goo.gl/maps/ixC4AyijZUBHia9E7
My younger daughter's current apt in Brussels.https://goo.gl/maps/nVMBBZ1JJCusXJu58

Lagos in the early seventies, video by my Swedish friend, Sven. He is now a musician in a band (Synliga) that will be touring Brazil this summer. All the band members are blind., Sven lost his eyesight in his late teens.

Synliga:

Fascinating cdnyul. Did they bring back good memories? Most of my homes (all really) have been in suburban northern California or in rural Oxfordshire England so I mostly look at places I've visited and have fond memories of . . .

Air traffic today.
You can zoom in on a plane symbol, and get the flight data, type of aircraft, destination, etc.
Regardless of the virus, these are amazing times .

https://flightaware.com/live/map

A few places where I worked over the years...

San Francisco - https://goo.gl/maps/vdfB1aAMsTEwZnuz9

Glasgow - https://goo.gl/maps/b36u1HRZaCj4ZTWg6

Anchorage - https://goo.gl/maps/mTxwwfYBpVcc8GeB8

King Cove, Alaska - https://goo.gl/maps/sd6NR8jWA3hWnLvF9

Seattle - https://goo.gl/maps/j5d1AESUZPxKQQNa8

Alaska looks lovely.