Cartophile Heaven
A few days ago a became a proud member of the AAA not AA (not yet atleast :D). This had much less to do with that I now have a car but more to do with their map policy. As a member of the Automobile Association of America you are entitled to unlimited number of maps of cities, states, regions of North America. It was terribly hard to resist the temptation of telling the lady at the counter, "I want every map you have." I just love reading maps.
A map helps quantify the distance travelled. It gives each place a frame of reference. A trip from Ann Arbor to Chicago is not just that. It becomes a trip through all these places, Jackson, Battlecreek, Kalamazoo, Michigan City, Gary. I can see myself as a blip on the map moving at 75 miles/hr across the interstate.
That the sensible reason. The other reason is the way maps are folded. It is quite an interesting problem on how to best fold a large piece of paper. The map fold is the most efficient. Why?
For a person with an insatiable Wanderlust, the map is your scoreboard. Looking at one you can say, "Been there done that".