Back when gas was a beautiful, lovely, blissful memory at $1.50 or less per gallon, I enjoyed nothing more on a Sunday afternoon than to get in my car and just go. I'd take the roads either previously untraveled, or partially traveled, and just follow them out as long as I could with the time I had, or until I found a road that I knew connected somewhere.......
Today, I was scheduled for a hair appointment about an hour from the house. The hairdresser is an old high school friend, and I am in need of some highlights, so I thought I'd give someone I knew a little of my business. We got some mixed signals, and she had a family emergency anyway, so we're going to reschedule. But in the meantime, it was a great opportunity to just go "joy-driving"!
What is "joy-driving" you may ask? It's when you hop in the car with nowhere in particular to be, go, do, no set time frame to complete anything in........ basically, just finding joy in being and seeing. So from the town where I was supposed to go, I ended up taking the road by my grandparents' graves (and had I not had a more "pressing concern" I'd have stopped for a while). I went into the next little town over, which I rarely visit, but it was nice to go there. I could have traveled four or five different ways to get home at that point, but I stuck to the main road. Once I got back to the next largest town in that area, I decided to go home yet another way that I rarely travel...... well, that, and I also had a bright idea to look for a bakery outlet store. I have become quite enamored of the new sandwich thins, and thought it'd be a great way to pick some up for a good price. I found a store, picked up the bread, and then stopped for lunch. (For thoughts on lunch, see my Weighty Matters blog).
From lunch, I turned onto a road I'd been meaning to travel for quite some time. Amazingly enough, it took me not far from where I would have come out anyway, had I stuck just to the main road..... actually, it carved off a good bit of it. And now, I have another connecting road, if I ever find myself out joy-driving, and can't figure where I am........
Such a gorgeous day and a lot of fun!!!
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1 comment:
Hmmmm -- that whole activity rings awfully familiar.......
I did pretty much the same thing today. There's nothing like joydriving (or "joyriding") ... and often the stretches between towns allow the mind to defragment and cleanse.
My favorite kind are those where I have no set plans - just where the spirit moves me to go. Lately I've found myself exploring a lot of the SC Lowcountry -- so much to see up there. And so much yet to see (New Ellenton is still on my to-do list).
Roadgeekery? I think it's far broader than that; you never know what you'll see. It might be an old store or old signage, sure ... but it might be a church with odd architecture ... old movie theater with original '30s marquee out front ... classic drug store ... 1800s water tower ... anything!
That's the best part: surprises lurking around the next bend.
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