By Matthew T. Eng, Offbeat NOVA
Everybody has a specific type of parking lot they stop at on a regular basis. This is no normal slab of concrete and parallel white lines. You do not park your car there to shop. You are not there to pick up food. You are there to simply be there and think. Your car is on or off, depending on the weather. The car is idle, but your mind is moving. I call these locations “Thinking Lots.”
I have a thinking lot. It’s on the corner of Hayfield and Telegraph Rd. in Alexandria. It’s the perfect distance between my home and my job. Some mornings, if I have extra time before I need to be in, I will stop my car at this lot, roll the windows down, and drink coffee for a few minutes as I watch the cars go by. I often look around and find that I am not the only one that does this at the lot on the corner of Hayfield and Telegraph. Several cars, scattered about and equidistant to each other, have the same idea in those early morning hours. I have companions who also regularly frequent my own thinking lot. I must assume they would think the same of me. On some mornings, I will find a gentleman in a green truck taking phone calls and a man in a blue sedan leafing through what looks like paperwork. Mr. blue sedan will often pop out for a cigarette before hitting the road, likely to Interstate 95 or the Richmond Highway corridor.
I truly cannot overstate how amazing it is to have a place to collect your thoughts. To be outside, but inside. To have a shared experience of quiet contemplation or work catch-up is truly a blessing. If you don’t have a thinking lot, I strongly urge that you find one. I’ve always been interested in the utility of parking lots and their actual use vs. the intended use. For this particular lot, the major businesses in the small shopping area take up a relatively small footprint to the number of spaces provided. It’s perfect.
So you may ask yourself: What makes a good thinking lot?
- Primarily off a major road or access point. Nobody needs to go out of their way, right?
- A large enough lot that you can have at least 6-8 spaces all around you free from another car. Granted, this will likely only happen early in the morning or late at night.
- Is there something to look at while you are thinking? For me, the road in front of me provides endless entertainment.
- It is best to find a lot big enough to park in with as little traffic as possible from other cars. I have gotten a few stares from people in my time using the lot, but nothing to dissuade me from continuing to use it.
So find your lot. Park your car. Sip your coffee. Eat your lunch. Scream into your steering wheel. Take a power nap.
Do you have one already? I’d love to know where it is in Northern Virginia. I’m always down to find an auxiliary lot. You know, just in case.
Offbeat NOVA 