[Blindtlk] Walking Straight Without a Shoreline

[Brandon Olivares]

Thank you for your reply.

The parking lot is probably a couple hundred feet long. The only landmark is a pole after you’ve crossed the street. After I hit the poll, I know I have to turn 90° to the left. After that is the difficult part with the wide open parking lot.

There is a street to the left, with a good bit of traffic. I’d not say constant, but at least every 5-10 seconds there is some traffic.

Finding the building itself is easy. Once it gets close enough, I can…hear it I guess, if that makes sense.

All the cars are too the right, pretty far over I think as I’ve never run into any of them.

I think you’re right that it’s going to be impossible to stay within the lines. It is good to recognize that I think. As long as I stay out of the way of any cars coming into or out of the parking lot, I should be fine.

Thanks,
Brandon
On Apr 26, 2014, at 8:50 PM, Lloyd Rasmussen <lras at sprynet.com> wrote:

> There are a number of things you are not describing well enough for us to give you good advice.  Is the distance across the parking lot a hundred yards or 50 feet.  If 50 feet and the parking lot has a cement surface, you could tap your cane and get an echo from the grocery store building.  How full or empty is the parking lot when you are crossing it?  In which direction are the rows of cars (and the little curbs that mark the center lines between two rows of cars (parallel to or perpendicular to the path you need?)  Does a street run parallel to the direction you need to travel, on your left or right, and does it have enough traffic for you to judge what direction it is running?  Are there sounds from your side of the grocery store (delivery trucks, shopping carts, outdoor P A system announcements, etc.)?  Can the slope of the ground or the direction of the sun give you any clues?  None of us is likely to walk within the lines in a large, open parking lot.  Instead, the objective is to find the grocery store, going from one landmark to the next to the next.  Sometimes, when covering longer distances in open spaces, you will get a better understanding of the environment if you walk fast rather than slow.  Travel is not necessarily easy, but it can be empowering when you can go out and do things on your own.  I have been using a long cane for 53 years and using my ears for outdoor travel for about 65.  Go for it!
> 
> 
> 
> Lloyd Rasmussen, Kensington, MD
> http://lras.home.sprynet.com
> -----Original Message----- From: Brandon Olivares
> Sent: Saturday, April 26, 2014 7:41 PM
> To: Blind Talk Mailing List
> Subject: [Blindtlk] Walking Straight Without a Shoreline
> 
> Hello,
> 
> I’ve been learning the route to our local grocery store. Most of it is easy, but the last part is somewhat difficult. After I cross the street, I turn left and have to walk through a parking lot for a while,then the building comes up. Once I’m to the building, it’s easy, but there are no distinct markings showing where to walk. There are painted lines on the ground, but nothing else.
> 
> I didn’t know if anyone might have any ideas of how one might tackle something like this, or perhaps it is just a matter of practice. Any help would be appreciated.
> 
> Thanks,
> Brandon
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