Untether yourself with the route-less GPS compass

We prefer the open road, even when in the city. Setting out and exploring our surroundings reminds us that the bodega and work happy hour are not the only places to go for a beer on a weekday evening. But with daily routines and readily available path-specific navigation, the time for casually wandering towards any destination seems lost — along with discovering a new hole-in-the-wall Spanish joint or Nashville-inspired dive on your way. The minimalists at art and design studio CW&T have taken a page out of the local peddlers' book and stripped down direction-giving to a simple (electronic) finger point. With iPhone app Crowsflight, search for a destination while out over your data connection, or take yourself "off the grid" and load it up before you even set out. Once that is determined, allow the GPS to guide you on a full-fledged walking tour that will surely unearth some neighborhood treasures you didn't know existed.