I'm over in the USA right now, and it never ceases to amaze me how much walking is seen as a non-option. Paths are often just not there, or end in carparks, or just... end. Google Maps is somewhat aware of it so when you ask to go somewhere by walking it generally takes a crazy amount more distance. Sometimes it's been right and my ignoring the advice forced me to walk all the way back to avoid probably being arrested crossing a major freeway going over a river, but generally it's possible to just follow the path of cars. It's often a bit dangerous as you need to trust cars more than you'd like, but when it's a case of 1 hour vs 10 minutes, sad to say, I'll often pick the more exciting route.
Looking forward to going home at this point!
