Do you enjoy getting lost?

[-]

spillingstars@reddit

I have dyscalculia and maps are useless to me. I moved from a tiny town to a big city after college. I spent some time driving around Denver and Northern California lost until I learned the landmarks. It doesn't bother me unless I'm late, but a couple of my passengers were so impatient.

I even found an amazing Thai restaurant on one of my ventures.

[-]

Vegetable_Morning740@reddit

While I enjoy GPS for all its benefits, I do believe it’s crippling the younger generations. I struggled to read maps , my brain is more a pop up book with directions, but I don’t FEAR getting lost , you find such interesting things .

[-]

Squirrel2358@reddit

My dad always liked the scenic route. We fell asleep until it was time for the ice cream stop.

[-]

WyndWoman@reddit

When I was younger, before cell phones, all maps were paper.

I moved a lot! When I'd get to a new city, I'd grab the map and get familiar with the town's layout, then I'd go get "lost".

I'd just drive around, start learning landmarks and places to come back later to check out.

I love getting lost.

[-]

South-Juggernaut-451@reddit

Grew up in Indiana back-roading. Still do that in LA County now. So freeing to not know where you are and be ok with that.

[-]

arodinpa@reddit

Yup still love to do that. I grew up on Long Island in NY and my dad had dozens of maps that I used to love to study. I always knew that if I got "lost" if I go north or south, I'd run into one of the many east west highways. So you were never really lost. I still have a usa atlas in my car.

[-]

NorraVavare@reddit

Yes, but both my parents are like that too. My son has high anxiety so he gets upset, when I do this. But I keep it small and am teaching him how to find his way. I also do not do it very often because scaring my kid isn't fun.

[-]

lemon-rind@reddit

Once I had kids and they were young, the thrill of getting lost evaporated. But nowadays I wouldn’t mind getting lost on a road trip with an old friend.

[-]

imafatbikeroadie@reddit

I do enjoy it. I am 60 years old, an avid year round cyclist (bicycle), and my entire goal is to just take of down gravel roads and wander, see things at a slower pace, enjoy wildlife that I may encounter. Too much predictability is soul crushing.

[-]

MowgeeCrone@reddit

I've been trying since 1993 and just when I think "where the fuck am I?", I turn a corner "ooooohhhIknowwhereIam."

Until the drive to Wollongong. Fuck me sideways, if I didn't head for the highest point in the hinterland and ended up in a BHP smelter opposite the ocean in my parked car weeping "I'm from the country".

I don't know what kind of mind fuckery went on with designing that little city but I've never not been able to get somewhere I could point at on the horizon. Which is why I consulted a map yet didn't bring it with me. Id get so close then hit a left turn only and suddenly the clocks start winding backwards. Snakes and ladders!

My mate who was also travelling to meet me, rang me in tears from the side of the road after being lost for so long she gave up and wanted me to come to her. That's when I was in tears pulled over, hoping she could come find me.

Anyway. We got to the destination eventually. We didn't go far for fear of getting lost. Spent an evening looking out towards the ocean. She disagreed. Had a ridiculous argument about if we were facing East or West. Ended up having a horrid time together. Left early and have never spoken since. Thanks for asking.

[-]

Affectionate-Map2583@reddit

Not so much getting lost, but sometimes I like to try to find a new way to/from somewhere by knowing I need to go generally south and east, for example. It might not be the shortest route, but at least it's not the same old drive every time.

[-]

UpDownCharmed@reddit

Definitely - finding new routes is like having hidden gems, in case traffic starts some other day - you have this other way

[-]

ButterscotchKey7780@reddit

I grew up riding my bike around town--day-long rides, just wandering around and finding my way back home--and one of the few good things about moving back to my hometown is that I can get out of pretty much any traffic jam because I know which side streets will get me out. Hardly anyone I know does this. They all would rather sit in stop-and-go traffic on the expressway than take the surface streets and get there at about the same time. I do not understand this at all.

[-]

Valuable_Tomorrow882@reddit

Yes. If I’m not in a hurry, I’ll take random side roads just to see where they go and then do my best to navigate back to somewhere familiar by aiming in a general direction.

[-]

Azerafael@reddit

I generally didn't mind but my 1st ever trip to London was what broke me. 1st hour i was ok and having fun seeing the sights. 2nd hour still ok. 3rd hour getting annoyed. 4th hour "where the f*ck am i ?!?".

Took me over 5hrs to find the damn hotel while trying to read the map and not run over everyone on the road.

[-]

Merkilan@reddit

I love getting lost, you find the most interesting things and people that way!

[-]

stuck_behind_a_truck@reddit

My early 20s kids were raised on road trips and back roads and “let’s see what happens if we go this way.” They are also perfectly happy to get lost (as long as they aren’t actually trying to get somewhere on time).

[-]

Ok_Afternoon_9682@reddit

I define “ lost” as you had a destination you were trying to reach by a certain time and you chose poorly and/or incorrectly in navigating the way there. What you describe we called “going for a drive” and I still do it. I make sure I have a phone charger and a decent amount of gas, but still love going for a drive. Best is when I’d take my son along and he would ask “where are we?” and the answer is “I dunno…right here I guess…” 🤷‍♀️

[-]

Longjumping-Pie7418@reddit

John Steinbeck once wrote, "I was born lost and take no great interest in being found."

I identify with the sentiment, and enjoy just driving down a road to see where it goes and what there is to see along the way.

[-]

Sensitive-Daikon-442@reddit

I loved getting lost! That’s how I figured out how to get around!

[-]

SummerBirdsong@reddit

I hate getting lost because that only happens to me when something (like illness) is interfering with my sense of direction.

I do like not necessarily knowing where I'm going and exploring new places. I like figuring out how to get from a to b via XYZ. That's not lost; that's just not found yet.

[-]

Pinchaser71@reddit

I can’t say I’ve ever really gotten lost as I always had a “Street Finder” due to my job. However back in the day the norm was to gather up the friends and just drive without any destination and just cruise. Gas was cheap!

I’m a fully convinced with how dependent the younger gens are on GPS…. If the satellite failed or crashed into the atmosphere. We’d have a record number of missing persons. Ironically most of them would be found driving in circles within 5 miles of their homes!🤣

Think I’m kidding? Ask anyone under 25 to point North. Most of them will be like “Uh…?” and the ones that guess right is only because they got lucky in a 1&4 chance. Few will be like “Sure, that way!” Try it and see, it’s hilarious!🤣

[-]

CitizenChatt@reddit

When I was a teen and we moved to Miami my new friend and I drove around and came upon South Beach. We thought we'd discovered a hidden gem. And a year or so later everyone else seemed to "discover" it too.

[-]

New-Egg-5944@reddit

I used to do this whenever I moved to a new town or state. I'd take a different route hone from work most nights trying to "get lost" and find my way home to my new house. Of course, this was before children so I had no responsibilities at home (other than a fully adult husband who managed on his own)

Once kids came I to the picture I had to pick them up from day care. My "getting lost" excursions were relegated to weekends or monthly adventures.

At 57, having lived in the same place since 2004, I rarely want to take "the scenic route" because it will only add time to getting where I want to be - at home, braless, in comfy clothes with my familiars at my side haha.

But thanks for the memories of those "lost" routes!

[-]

FutureMany4938@reddit

My dad. He'd make a turn I didn't recognize and I'd ask "Where are we going?" and he'd say "I don't know, I just want to see where this road goes." Takes me back.

[-]

SprinklesOriginal150@reddit

Ha! I love this whole thread! Who here has gotten so lost that you didn’t even know you were so far gone until you saw the sign indicating you’d crossed a state line? 🙋🏻‍♀️ Show of hands 😆

[-]

HeyKrech@reddit

my younger teen has a.chronic illness that makes walking around difficult (like walking to a friends house or around town). she spent a few years attending online school and she would get legitimately cagey. so we would go for random drives.

i grew up in the general area we currently live, so i know at least a basic idea of where we are 98% of the time, but its so amazing to take new roads and unusual turns for the fun of it.

i realized a good decade ago that my spouse NEVER does this. its so odd to me to always take the same paths to and from everyday destinations.

I've found some of the best places and roads simply because i drove on them. one of my favorite stops is cool cemeteries. i stumbled upon a derelict one where a small town used to be (now its a county park and farmland) because i drove past and stopped.

[-]

Ok-Local138@reddit

Getting lost is one of the great experiences in life. Many a great night in my teens and early 20s involved eventually having to find a pay phone to call someone (usually someone's older sibling or ex-boyfriend) to figure out where the fuck we were. Yes, it would never happen now. Kind of makes me melancholy.

[-]

sparky853@reddit

Never really get 'lost' any more, but definitely enjoy just getting on the motorcycle with no destination in mind, random turns, just ride the roads, enjoy the scenery.

[-]

Chzncna2112@reddit

I wish I could get lost. But everybody is always telling me where to go

[-]

Baggismeg@reddit

I still get slightly lost in my home town. Rubbish sense of direction and spatial awareness. But managed to navigate from North Devon to Cambridge with only my own written map instructions. No sat nav. Finding your own way is an important skill. Along with being able to be bored, eating without screens, talking on a telephone. God, I sound middle aged. God… I AM!!!

[-]

GlobalTapeHead@reddit

Yes. This is also how I learned my way around. Just drive, and figure out how to get back home somehow. I still only use the GPS if I am in a hurry and need to be somewhere on time, otherwise I just look at the map once and just go for it.

[-]

Embarrassed_Kale_580@reddit

I didn’t know there were so many of us. I love going on adventures and it has been too long since I’ve done it. My grandparents would always take us on drives, even when I visited when I was in my 30s. I don’t know many who still do this. But I’m starting it up again thanks to this post.

[-]

Lemmon_Scented@reddit

When we were teenagers we used used to go on “Adventures”. Basically we’d choose a direction and drive till we were good and lost, then figure out where we were and how to get home again. We learned our way around our little part of the world that way, and it’s stuck with me. I still take the wife and kids on the occasional Adventure.

[-]

SausageSmuggler21@reddit

I was coming here to post the exact same thing. The adventure of getting lost and finding our way home was such great entertainment in my teenage years. By my 20s, I had most of the roads in a 60 mile radius memorized to the point that I couldn't get lost anymore.

These days, when I'm driving my young kids around, we have the "map way" and the "dad way". If we're not on a schedule, we take the "dad way" and explore.

[-]

Striking_Earth_786@reddit

Those were the days...I also knew every single road for miles around-but the names of only about 5 of them.

[-]

EmmerdoesNOTrepme@reddit

Same!

I've been told I'm very good at giving directions...

But of you ask me what the roads you're going to be traveling are called, I can't say--because I'm getting you there by the landmarks you're passing, not the road names/numbers!

(It comes out of growing up in an area where the main roads were all numbered with the same set of numbers--27, 28, and 29, one set of roads were county road 27, 28, and 29, and the other were State Highway 27, 28, and 29...

So it just became The road between Alexandria and Osakis, the road to Sauk Centre, the road to Morris, etc

[-]

Aldisra@reddit

I see you, fellow Minnesotan!

[-]

EmmerdoesNOTrepme@reddit

Yep!😂

[-]

Striking_Earth_786@reddit

"So what you're going to do is head on down this road and take the first right. Stay on that until you come to an intersection that has no business being an intersection and turn left. If you see a sign for Oneida, just do a 180. If you see a sign for Cohocton, hit the intersection you just turned off from and keep on the road you were going until the next intersection. And if you see the sign for "bridge out", don't worry, there's an old access road to the right that'll get you around it that we used to party on all the time. It's a little bumpy, but quicker than any other way."

[-]

Scared_Wall_504@reddit

This is the way🤪

[-]

EmotionComplete2740@reddit

Same here. I had a friend of mine that lived about 70 miles from me and I could drive it no problem, if you asked me what roads we were traveling on I didn't have a clue.

[-]

LunaPolaris@reddit

I know the way visually but the street names get jumbled up. It's especially hard when the names all have a theme, like tree neighborhoods. There's Pine St, Alder St, Walnut St, Fir St, etc. I never seem to remember which order they're in so if I'm trying to give someone verbal directions it gets super confusing.

[-]

Significant_Ruin4870@reddit

Driving by osmosis. I can still drive right to that tiny town in my old county but I cannot tell you how to do it. I see the intersections in my mind.

[-]

HTLM22@reddit (OP)

Similar but different. When reading kids books at night there was "the real way" and "silly ways" where I would interject unneeded ridiculous detail. The kids definitely preferred silly ways. :)

[-]

Life-Finding5331@reddit

My dad used to do the voices.

[-]

Heritage367@reddit

So did my mom! She would do a deep voice for the monsters. Happy memories!

[-]

texan01@reddit

Sometimes in the car I’ll ask my kid to pick a direction, and to keep doing that at every intersection. It’s kind of turned into a fun game for him to see if he can get me lost and for me to let him learn how to orienteer.

[-]

aspenbooboo41@reddit

This is good parenting! My friend and I are in our 50s, lived in the same area our whole lives, and he still couldn't find his way out of a paper bag without GPS. If he's trying to tell me about someplace new he went and I don't know where it is I'll ask him a simple question like "is it north or south of here?" and he never has a clue. He uses GPS for everything and doesn't pay attention to the route other than to follow the instructions.

[-]

EmotionComplete2740@reddit

My sister is the same way. Gets lost coming home sometimes, been in the house over 2 years. I'm here gps lol. We used to take off down a back road and we'd come to a stop sign, well we left last time let's take a right this time. We didn't care where we ended up because we knew we could always find out way home.

[-]

texan01@reddit

I knew a girl that would get lost making 4 lefts or rights. She would routinely call me and ask me how to get somewhere because she couldn't read a mapsco either.

[-]

Due-Asparagus6479@reddit

That is different than being lost.

[-]

texan01@reddit

how? we're in unfamiliar territory, and while I have a very good sense of direction, I do occasionally lose my bearings and not be sure of where I am, there are a few towns that will absolutely confound my sense of direction, despite living in the area for all my life.

I'm the one my friends call before GPS was really a thing and talk them on how to get home.

[-]

Tap-Parking@reddit

Someone once asked Daniel Boone if he had ever been lost, and his response was: "I can't say as I've ever been lost, but I was once bewildered for 3 days." 🤣

[-]

Due-Asparagus6479@reddit

I see that as different than being lost. I am one of those people with zero sense of direction. I moved to a new city 9 years ago. It took me 6 years to feel comfortable driving without a GPS in my area of the city. I go on what I call magical mystical adventures with my family on the weekends, but without a GPS backup, I would be virtually housebound.

[-]

Safe-Comfort-29@reddit

I did this with my daughters as they were learning how to drive.

I'd fill up the tank, get in and tell them to drive.

[-]

Life-Finding5331@reddit

That sounds really fun. Good parent. pat pat

[-]

No-Concentrate-5644@reddit

every day I wish I could’ve grown up like this. my mum was way too strict and paranoid about kidnappers and snakes and all that. all i wanted to do was go out bush and find my way home again

[-]

SilentRaindrops@reddit

We did similar on our bikes when we were younger. We didn't get really lost lost but we would explore some part of our town that was not near our neighborhood. As long as we knew the main streets of our town we could eventually find our way back and if not, ask the gas station or convenience store cashier after loading up on pop and candy.

[-]

chzplz@reddit

I still this, both on my bike and on foot in big wooded parks.

But now I have GPS and AllTrails in my back pocket if I truly get lost. 😀

[-]

EttaJamesKitty@reddit

When I was 7 or 8 me and my friends would go on "lost walks". We'd just walk to the next community over, and the next, and the next. We'd find new woods to explore. We'd find new playgrounds. We'd intentionally try to get lost, but it never happened b/c I have a really good sense of direction and could always get us home.

I still love finding new places to explore. When I travel internationally, I wander. I make sure I know where my hotel is and then I just go. (And I use a paper map from the hotel - gasp - the horror!)

[-]

warrior_poet95834@reddit

This is how it started for me. Get on my bike or skateboard and start pedaling and find your way back, sometimes the looooonnngg way back.

[-]

Ill-Improvement3807@reddit

I'm a grown ass woman and still take adventures. Except now they are in Vietnam or Italy or New York City. The playground has certainly expanded. I've been to DC four times and the last three I didn't bother to plan anything. Just wandered around the city.

Unplanned adventures have led to some of my greatest times and biggest lessons in life. Sometimes you gotta go with the flow.

[-]

MommaBear354@reddit

We called those journeys! Because we usually got lost from smoking too much weed is besides the point

[-]

Cranks_No_Start@reddit

My wife and I still do that. Pick a road off into the boonies with no cell reception just to see where it goes.

[-]

LDawnBurges@reddit

Hubby (m 60) & I (f 55) still do it too. We love it.

[-]

zoot_boy@reddit

Yep, I enjoy a good adventure, just gotta be a little more careful these days.

[-]

witchbelladonna@reddit

I did this with a friend, took a long weekend and drove west. Stopped wherever we felt like it, saw a bunch of cool parks and historic sites. Ended up in Nebraska before turning around and heading back home to MI.

[-]

HTLM22@reddit (OP)

That's what I'm talking about!

[-]

RCA2CE@reddit

I love going to the park on my bike and meandering with ear buds in - just soaking it in

[-]

Dependent_Top_4425@reddit

I haven't had a car in quite some time but I used to love just driving with no destination. Country roads, windows open, music playing, it was great.Sometimes I would pull over to take pictures. I fear my anxiety has gotten the best of me to do any of that now.

[-]

ophaus@reddit

Oh, hell yeah. It's the only way to build a mental map. My daughter was notoriously difficult to get to sleep for naptimes, and I would drive around randomly for a snooze cruise... The only way to build a mental map.

[-]

Maureengill6@reddit

Getting lost is the best way to get to know an area so you don't get lost again.

[-]

jmeesonly@reddit

Between the ages of 8 and 14 me and the neighborhood kids would ride bikes for hours, and for many miles far away from our parents' homes, intentionally looking for places we'd never been before. Call it exploring, or "getting lost," or having an adventure. That was fun, and it was also building real problem-solving and navigation skills.

[-]

roughlyround@reddit

yes! I love a good Driveabout. Especially in my little sportscar.

[-]

Ornery-Practice9772@reddit

Fuck no

[-]

nationaladventures@reddit

always choose routes without highways

[-]

CatsRock25@reddit

I love getting lost and finding my way. It’s an adventure!

[-]

One-Safety5214@reddit

I’m not sure I can blame it on tech but definitely I love to get lost and so does my middle child.

[-]

butterflyinflight@reddit

I always called in Zen driving. I got really good at figuring out where I was going. And it was fun.

[-]

Nomad-Sam@reddit

I love getting lost. It’s my favorite part of moving to a new place.

[-]

Kpop_shot@reddit

If I’m on my motorcycle, I enjoy it a lot . I don’t enjoy it as much in a vehicle. Yall know gas has gotten expensive since we were in our teens . LOL

[-]

Iamoldsowhat@reddit

I hate getting lost. because it’s never like you describe, it’s always when I am running late for work or for an interview and nothing about it is cute or scenic.

and even when it was cute and scenic, I didn’t have time to appreciate…I went to grad school in long island and i still remember, running late for my exam, trying to manipulate those damn maps with one hand while driving with the other and nowhere to stop nobody to ask directions. it sucked.

maybe my kids hate getting lost too, but it’s because they heard me cursing at the navigation system all the time LOL

[-]

Jld114@reddit

I had the same experience as you. Nothing fun about it for me.

[-]

HTLM22@reddit (OP)

Maybe it is because I grew up rural. we had 20 acres in central Florida and there were infinite ways to get to any of the bigger cities. And I wouldn't do this for an interview, but just to get to where I was going.

[-]

Iamoldsowhat@reddit

my issue was for me, it wasn’t intentional. I would just get lost bc I have horrible sense of direction. if intentional it’s like a road trip more than getting lost for me

[-]

The-Rev@reddit

I get you on this. When traveling I use the interstate to get where I'm going, but the back roads to enjoy the trip.

[-]

justlkin@reddit

I have always hated it too. It was always a bad experience for me, similar to the reasons you mentioned. The worst time I remember was when I drove up to the biggest city in our state, separately from my boyfriend at the time, to see his sister and brother-in-law's new house. It was pretty late and dark by the time I was leaving and I have always had a hard time driving at night, especially then because I was only about 19-20, a very inexperienced driver. To top it off, my boyfriend and I had just fought and he was leaving with his family for a week's vacation, so I was really emotional and wasn't going to be able to see him for a while to smooth it over.

I'm also have an absolutely horrible sense of direction, especially in the dark when I can't see landmarks. I tried to remember how I got there, but within a couple of minutes, I was utterly lost. And I was utterly terrified because this was the bigoted city where I not only wasn't used to driving, but where crime was pretty well known and I wasn't in the best neighborhood. I stopped at one gas station, but I didn't understand their directions and the people there scared me. There were no nice well lit gas stations to be found. I drove in circles for over an hour just looking for the freeway sign. I was so relieved when I finally saw it. I know I had a map, but I was too scared to pull over anywhere to use it.

I probably made the neighborhood and situation out to be way worse than it was, but I was young and not used to large cities. So, yeah, I hate getting lost.

[-]

Jld114@reddit

No. I HATED getting lost. I got lost many times in my high school and college years because I have a horrible sense of direction. It was so stressful and scary. I was actually scared to drive for several years, and I think it was at least partially because planning my trips and getting lost stressed me out so much.

GPS has changed my entire life.

[-]

Some_Refrigerator147@reddit

I used to just follow a road to see where it goes. Used to love finding something I didn’t know even existed. I do miss that.

[-]

HerbertCrane@reddit

It’s probably because we were lost all the time with our friends, exploring the woods, the side streets, etc. We associate it with adventure. Maybe take them to explore the woods.

[-]

FlippingPossum@reddit

I tell my kids that I'm not lost if I can get back to wear I started. 😆

[-]

hooligan-6318@reddit

I'm never actually lost, I may not know where the hell I am, but if I have a working compass, I'm not lost.

Some of my funnest trips were while aimlessly meandering because I took a wrong exit/turn and didn't know where I was.

[-]

xcedra@reddit

As my great great a few times over grand parent Daniel boone once said (ish) I have never been lost. I have been bewildered a few times.

[-]

xcedra@reddit

It depends.

Am I heading to something with an appointment or a time limit? The. I hate it.

Dark road in the night? Hate.

Took a wrong turn going home? Going on an adventure!

[-]

WillieDoggg@reddit

Such a great life lesson here. Happiness isn’t found at the destination.

If a person can’t enjoy the journey of life, they likely will be miserable.

Gotta be somehow related to younger generations having higher rates of mental health issues.

[-]

gogozrx@reddit

For my 40th birthday I packed my gear, a tent, hopped on my motorcycle and set out. I had no destination other than I had to be back at work in a week.

I was in West Virginia (I've never been able to figure out exactly where in WV I was) and I turned off the main road onto a side road. it was 2 lanes with lines. then it was just a center line. then no lines. then it was gravel. then it was one lane gravel, and it was climbing. then it was really narrow gravel. then two track, and then it was barely a car wide, going up a steep hill - to the point that I would have had a hard time turning around. Fortunately I'm not very smart, so I'm standing on the pegs (ZRX 1100), driving up this crazy hill with gravel the size of softballs.

I got to the top and there was this beautiful field, and a rustic church (which was accessed by the nice paved road coming up the other side). I parked by the church, went inside, hung out in the cool quiet, drank a bunch of water from the fountain, left them a nice thankyou note and $5.

it's been more than a decade, but that whole thing is etched on my mind.

[-]

midgetlotterywinner@reddit

We got lost all the time. Who had time for maps? I had a Thomas Brothers map in my cars until the early 2000s for a last resort. Road trips with no expectations were immense fun in college.

My son just started driving and was upset over some directions Google gave him to go to our favorite taqueria. He texted me for directions to the location, so I gave him two streets e.g. "Take Washington to Hubert and you'll see it." But he literally could not understand what I meant. Like, he's a straight A student in honors and AP classes, almost fluent in a second language, and couldn't "get" what I told him. Of course he got upset when I started laughing at him and walked him through the simple directions.

"What exit do you take when you get home from school?"

"Washington."

"And what streets might you pass on the way home?"

"..."

"HUBERT, you ding dong. What direction might you need to take on Hubert to get to our favorite taqueria? The direction towards the vacant field and wetlands, or the direction towards businesses?"

"..."

"LEFT." Cue exasperation and frustration.

I think about all the times I got intentionally lost while traveling overseas; not always the smartest move, but I survived every time. Paying attention to the landmarks and street names so I could find my way back was survival. I'm not one of those technological luddites (I work in tech) but goddamn I think there are some critical life skills missing in the under-25 set. If the satellites go out (or become a subscription service for the All-High Ketamine Lord Musk) we'll have a generation of people lost in their own neighborhoods.

[-]

upsetmojo@reddit

I’ve lived in the same area so long I can’t get lost. Even when I think I might be I just keep going till I know where I’m at. My kids- in their 30’s hate going places with me driving. They freak the F out without some app telling me them exactly where they are. I did not raise them this way.

[-]

JJQuantum@reddit

I occasionally just get in the car and drive. I don’t use any maps software at all, just get in and go. It’s a stress reliever. Inevitably I’ll end up using Waze to get back home but on the way out it’s nice to just wander aimlessly.

[-]

NoIncrease299@reddit

Back in like '97 while in college at NCSU ... I decided over winter break I was just going to drive from Raleigh to NYC.

Was living in an apartment with a couple friends who'd gone home for the entire break and one night sitting around playing video games by myself, I was like "I'm gonna go to NYC tomorrow." That was it - that was the whole reason.

Next morning; packed some clothes in my backpack, hopped in my car and took off with nothing but a paper map to get me there. Got lost a ton and finally go to a hotel SOMEWHERE after like 10 hours or something. Explored the city for a few days (I was only 20 so it was mainly just sight seeing) then drove back home.

Pretty magical experience that had a big, positive effect on the rest of my life. In the years after my first marriage fell apart; found a lot of peace and solace in traveling quite a lot by myself. Prolly woulda never done any of that were it not for that first random ass drive to NYC.

[-]

Normal_Total@reddit

Wow! I'm very deeply happy to know I'm not the only one.

Yes! It felt like I was exploring, which I was. Unless it's urgent, I often don't use GPS. I trust my instincts and, most of the time, I'm right. When you do that, you find so much and learn so much about a place. It's so much more engaging, too, because I'll be driving and subconsciously noting landmarks.

"You see that sign that says Rib Tips? Yeah, fuck that, you don't want to go that way."

[-]

brookish@reddit

My favorite thing is a cross country trip on the blue roads (which without a printed map no one would know what that meant!). You can really see the US on those back roads; from the interstates everything seems the same.

[-]

BlueProcess@reddit

When I was a kid, our family used to like to go for rides in the country and sometimes my Dad would just go down a road to see what was there. I used to love that. My favorite times were when he would let me choose which way we went at intersections.

[-]

DeeDleAnnRazor@reddit

I just love it. I'm never even worried about getting lost. My dad always used to tell me "all roads lead to somewhere" and I took it to heart my entire life! I'm 59.

[-]

CoastalKtulu@reddit

I don't mind getting lost, as long as it's not East St. Louis at 1am.

Trust me, just NO.

[-]

Smooth_Beginning_540@reddit

I wouldn’t say getting lost, but I do like to wander and explore without a fixed destination.

[-]

Designer-Mirror-7995@reddit

This was dangerous for "some" of us. A wrong turn into the wrong area and your dark skinned self might not emerge unscathed, even in my City.
On the other hand, I 'learned' my City by just jumping on a bus or train and riding to the end of the line, wherever that might be. Depending on where it was, I'd either hop off and go 'exploring' (got stopped by uniforms SEVERAL times with questions of 'whatcha doing round THIS area?) or, wait for the next one without leaving the stop because the area made me too nervous.

On the whole it was fun and informative, but I remember one time hubs and I were driving (this was the early aughts) and took a "wrong turn" into an area with rebel flags in damn near every window in the run down little neighborhood. We noped out of there fast, reminded that some places aren't for "everybody" to just go traipsing through willy nilly.

There's still parts of the South (and some 'exclusive enclaves' in other regions) I wouldn't go 'exploring' in.

[-]

HTLM22@reddit (OP)

While my experience is on entirely different scale, there are definitely right and wrong places for getting comfortably lost.

[-]

Big-Significance3604@reddit

Man, we did it all the time growing up. I taught my husband the beauty of this. And we taught our kids. My 22 year old son with Autism still asks for us to go on drives together. We will get a drink at Sonic and off we’ll go! ❤️

[-]

ickibod@reddit

I was actually thinking of trying to get lost on a road trip this weekend. Bring a paper map to find my way back home after driving through some unknown backroads, see where I wind up.

[-]

OutrageousMoney4339@reddit

I love it! And if I can't find my way home, THEN I'll turn on the gps...

[-]

barredowl123@reddit

You’re speaking to my soul. It’s actually hard to go on unplanned adventures some places now. In 2012, I travelled solo to Scotland for a friend’s wedding. I spent a week and planned nothing other than the wedding activities. I just picked where to go, hopped on a train or bus, and went. I had no trouble finding transportation or lodging. In 2022, I went back with my husband and daughter (7yo) for a two week vacay. I badly under planned! We had an incredible time, but we had to make plans days or more in advance. I had to download multiple apps and plan out the whole trip in the first couple of days. It was still an incredible trip and adventure… but something was just lost. It makes me sad for my kiddo.

[-]

iam_iana@reddit

It depends on where and how badly I am lost. Taking a wrong turn and finding something new can be a lot of fun, but if I end up.losing hours out of my day it's pretty awful.

[-]

pcs11224@reddit

I am thoroughly disappointed that I can't get lost anymore. Even if I don't know where I am, there's a computer in my pocket to tell me how to get out.

I usually check to see where something is, then put the map away and try to find it myself.

[-]

hamshotfirst@reddit

Like, get lost, man.

[-]

Ex-zaviera@reddit

Not just your kids. I have a friend my age who relies on phone GPS so much, even when they are driving a repeated route. At what point don't you learn where you are and where to go next??

[-]

endlesssearch482@reddit

My GF drives me crazy when we hike because she has to have her app keep us on course at all times. I’m used to wandering a bit. I have a good enough sense of direction and if all else fails, I have Topo maps on my phone, but wandering about a bit is just good sport.

[-]

Cranks_No_Start@reddit

Years back and we’ve done this more than once we needed a new place to live.

Spent 6 weeks in a VW Westy and went 17000 miles around the country looking.

Years later again wanting to go I found a help wanted 2000 miles away in a state we’ve passed through but never lived in a moved.

That’s adventure

[-]

One_Hour_Poop@reddit

That’s adventure

That's a disorder. 😃

Just kidding. Or am I?

[-]

Cranks_No_Start@reddit

lol. I worked with a guy that bought the house next door to his parents. And has lived his entire life on the same block.

Now were talking disorder. lol.

[-]

One_Hour_Poop@reddit

Until we got married in our 30s, my wife lived in the same house she was born in.

I'm the opposite. My dad was in the Navy but even after retirement never got out of the "move every few years" mindset. Until i was in my late twenties i never lived in one place longer than five years. It was annoying having to constantly change schools. I have no roots!

[-]

warrior_poet95834@reddit

I’ve never been lost and seldom don’t know where I am relative to plus or minus a few minutes whether it be time to a destination or minutes of longitude and latitude. It’s kind of my super power that has no useful purpose, aside from not being lost or being on time.

[-]

happycj@reddit

ABSOLUTELY!!

It's the most enjoyable part of riding my motorcycle. I just point the front wheel in some direction and ride until I don't recognize anything anymore. (Getting harder to do, now that I'm in my 50s and have lived here for decades, but I can make it happen.)

"Let's see ... I know there is a lake to the east of me. There I can see two hills, and a gap in between... water flows downhill... I bet the lake is between those two hills over that way," then I work my way in that direction until I find the lake (or whatever).

I also take different routes to common locations (home, grocery store, dog park, etc.) just to explore and see different streets and get a little lost in neighborhoods I haven't been in before.

In fact, during the summer time, I found myself in the little bedroom community right next door to mine, and decided to just ride my motorcycle around that area. "Hey... i wonder where THAT road goes?" And I found a house for sale that my wife and I are thinking about buying!

Getting lost is fantastic. I love it.

[-]

SnatchAddict@reddit

The only way for me to mentally map my surroundings is to get lost. My wife hates it. She drives more than I do and so she has everything mapped in her head.

So when I'm by myself, I'll turn the GPS off and try and figure out ways to get to my destination. We also live in an area with very mild climate so I'm not risking anything by being lost.

[-]

Secure_Astronaut718@reddit

I traveled Europe like this with a couple of friends!!

We met in Italy for a 2 months trip, with no initial plans. We planned a rough itinerary and then went for it. We would head out in the morning with no set plans and just walk around and explore. It was so much fun!!

[-]

Own-Hope9134@reddit

I have always enjoyed getting lost. I pride myself on my ability to find my way back.

During my first visit to Chicago as a tourist last year, my cellphone battery died while I wastouring the Art Institute. Luckily, my hotel was not too far away. I remembered the landmarks along the way. That was a huge feeling of accomplishment to get back there with no smartphone help.

When I was growing up, my mother frequently got us lost while driving us around to our appointments or while running errands. I learned to pay attention, so I could always navigate for her to get us home.

[-]

kalelopaka@reddit

I used to love just driving, I wouldn’t know where I was going or where I was most of the time, but I found my way and many interesting places along the way.

[-]

damageddude@reddit

My children used to wonder how we got from A to B without me using GPS after a detour to C. I still occasionally go oh I should have turned at X and not Y but we're headed in the right direction so no biggie.

[-]

movingmouth@reddit

Yep. I still do this when I have time.

[-]

wolfysworld@reddit

I have absolutely no sense of direction and never have! No ability to recognize things I have seen over and over, like face blindness but it’s environmental blindness. I used to carry maps in my car, which I could read and navigate from but gps has been a godsend for me. If I ever said,”I wonder where this goes” to my kids they would all yell,”NO MOM, not again!”

[-]

GracieThunders@reddit

Lost is a state of mind, I was never lost if I had more than a half a tank of gas

I've driven 3 hours on a couple of lines jotted down on a matchbook cover

[-]

LordOfEltingville@reddit

I used to love doing that when I was in high school. My friends and I would pile into my rattling shitbox and just go.

I'd take random exits off a highway and ride around to see what was there. At some point, I'd realize I had no idea what town we were in and, sometimes, whether we were even in the same state. Then it was time to smoke a joint and get to finding out where we were and devise a way to get back home.

[-]

Jasons_Psyche@reddit

I do this every day. My husband and I work from home. We take a couple of hours for a late lunch and I have an algorithm for exploring. I assign a direction to numbers 0-9. For example, 0 is random direction, 1 is NE, 2 is NW, 3 is SW, 4 is SE, 5 is random direction, 6 is N, 7 is E, 8 is S, 9 is W. The last digit of today's date determines the overall direction. Then I use the car clock to decide which direction to turn based on the minutes. If it's odd, turn left (unless that violates the overall direction, then go straight), even turn right (same), or if it's divisible by 3, go straight. Once we are halfway through our alloted time, I set the direction to Home and continue until we get back. My husband still doesn't know I'm doing this in my head. He just gets a kick out of the ride!

Once I learned every route this could end up taking us on, I started adding more modifications, like use the first number of the date to pad straight decisions between turn decisions and so on...

[-]

JinxyMagee@reddit

I used to drive to relax or think about my ideas for papers etc (English Writing Major). I used to love to just go off and explore new areas.

I always would take the scenic route over busy highway driving. I would rather be driving in little traffic with new areas to see then being stuck on a highway in traffic.

I still go back to some of the little areas I stumbled upon back in the 1990s.

[-]

JustALizzyLife@reddit

I don't like being lost, but I do like to wander. For me, being lost is when I'm purposely trying to get to a place and end up having no idea where I am or how to get to where I need and that is stressful. Wandering is having no set destination and being able to enjoy the present with no concern about ending up in any particular place at any particular time. I used to just get in the car and drive for hours.

[-]

Lord_of_Entropy@reddit

After I got my first car in 1989, I would deliberately drive around town (then Pittsburgh) and get lost. I found a bunch of businesses that I would not have otherwise know about and I knew how to get from one end of town to the other via more than one route.

[-]

RabunWaterfall@reddit

My folks would load us up in the car to go look at houses in rich neighborhoods, specifically vacant ones. If there wasn’t a lock box, one of us kids would climb in a window to unlock the door. Who knows where we were, but we always had a map to get us home. Cheap, entertaining adventures.

[-]

Donmexico666@reddit

When I was a kid, mom would load us up in the custom cruiser at night for a secret mission. Translation get mcdonalds and drive around aimlessly lost till we all got tired. Never stopped exploring.

[-]

originalbL1X@reddit

Whenever I moved to a new town in the 90s, I’d get in my car and make random turns until I had no idea where I was and then just explore the city. I did this to learn a new city’s streets and find locales that I normally wouldn’t find.

[-]

marshdd@reddit

Moved to Boston area from out of state for first real job after college. Got lost A LOT. It's how you learn your way around. With GPS you don't have that experience.

[-]

Osinuous@reddit

Getting lost was how we found stuff to do. Heck, in high school we used to have a game if we saw those giant spotlights in the sky,, we’d go hunting to try to find what they were for. We found so many great places to go to that way. Now, my kids use Waze to walk home from school … down the street from our house.

[-]

One_Hour_Poop@reddit

I just realized, you don't see giant spotlights anymore. Anyway 9 times out of 10 it was a car dealership.

[-]

Osinuous@reddit

I don’t think it was ever NOT a car dealership. But we found some great places to eat while out looking.

[-]

ItsmeMr_E@reddit

No. I've never been a wasteful person, neither of personal time or gas.

[-]

HTLM22@reddit (OP)

Super interesting, because I definitely not think of getting lost while walking as a "waste of time". Exactly the opposite.

[-]

airckarc@reddit

I never enjoyed getting lost, but navigating unknown areas was a lot easier and less stressful. Outside of a few major cities, you didn’t have to deal with six lanes of traffic, and the amount of cars on the road now.

Sacramento was the big city for me— I lived over an hour away, up in the mountains. Even as an infrequent visitor and teen driver, I’d never really get lost because there were several main roads that I could use to reset. Basically, drive any direction for 10 minutes and you’d hit Watt, Arden, Sunrise… whatever.

But now, if I’m visiting Salt Lake City, the band aid lanes added to freeways and highways, the poor signage, and the huge number of vehicles makes driving without gps awful.

[-]

Nahuel-Huapi@reddit

I remember and friend and I got lost the first time we went looking for Sunrise Mall. Got laughed at at school.

I'm glad I got to enjoy cruising around Sunrise and Birdcage, briefly, before they banned it.

Funny how Boomers fondly recalled their adventures cruising, like in American Graffiti, but when our generation tried it, they banned it outright.

[-]

guano-crazy@reddit

Yeah, actually I do, if I’m not going anywhere in particular, that sounds like fun. I also have a glitch for when I stop in a small town for gas ⛽️, I want to drive around and look for a while. My wife and kids hate that lol

[-]

Smittles@reddit

I love it. I know my city so well because I would take lunch breaks and just go get lost. See new things, explore alleys and coast lines and seeing different populations in different neighborhoods.

[-]

Smilneyes420@reddit

We always called it a buzz cruise. Lots of great adventures!

[-]

AnastasiaNo70@reddit

Some of my best memories involve getting lost!

[-]

jerseycirce@reddit

Getting lost on purpose has always been big fun for me. My adult children freak out when I tell them I still do it, so I stopped telling them about it. You see the coolest stuff when you wander.

[-]

Nicolas_Naranja@reddit

I went to Costa Rica with my brother and all we had as far as plans was a rental car for 10 days. Did it the next year with my wife in Puerto Rico. I can’t imagine doing it now. You actually had to talk to people. This is pre-cell phone too.

[-]

auntiecoagulent@reddit

No. It makes me anxious, always has.

[-]

RabunWaterfall@reddit

Reading a paper map was a requirement in my family’s business. I loved looking at the atlas, diagrams in the phone book, etc. But getting lost is so much fun, if you have the time. That’s a day trip adventure on a shoestring budget. These days, gps is awesome. I like having it with me when I’m ready to be not-lost.

[-]

Scared_Wall_504@reddit

Musta got lost…somewhere down the line.

[-]

birdinahouse1@reddit

J geils band… Peter wolf use to come into where I worked a few times a week. My manager finally asked me if I knew of the j geils band. I’m like yeah. He’s like, there he is. I went up and shook his hand.

[-]

One_Hour_Poop@reddit

How confusing was it in the 80s to learn that the lead singer of the "J. Geils Band" was in fact, not J. Geils?

[-]

VividFiddlesticks@reddit

LOL, noooo, I hate getting lost!! I get lost CONSTANTLY because I have an absolute dogshit sense of direction. I am otherwise a normal and (mostly) competent adult human being but when it comes to navigating by the seat of my pants...I'm USELESS.

If I go somewhere new and pull into a parking lot from one street and then accidentally leave that parking lot onto a cross street, it's entirely possible I will have absolutely no idea where I am. I have no clue which direction I should go until I can find a landmark.

Once I know a place I'm fine, but going to someplace new gives me anxiety because I'm almost definitely going to lose my way at some point.

Having navigation in my car is a massive gamechanger for me.

I've lived in my city for 6 years and I still pull up addresses to places I go to all the time, because if I am going there from somewhere ELSE (not from home), I'm not sure how to get there from where I'm at.

[-]

One_Hour_Poop@reddit

I've lived in my current city for 25 years and know almost every part of it...but i don't know how to piece them together efficiently. If i don't use GPS to get from one part of town to the other, I'll often wind up going in a huge circle just to get somewhere that turns out would be much closer if i had started in the other direction.

[-]

Sheila_Monarch@reddit

I love it so much. As long as the tank has gas I’m fine!

[-]

Bucks2174@reddit

No. I don’t like getting lost. Big difference between being a kid and screwing around with friends ending up in who knows where. Vs being with my family in the early 90s before phones, and taking a wrong turn into a part of a city we DID NOT want to be in. I did that several years ago about 1 am. Thankfully came up behind a police car. Jumped out at a light and went up to his car, he literally told me “You should not be here. Follow me out” and led us back to the highway.

As for taking the “scenic route” I’ve never had the patience for that. I have places to be!

[-]

One_Hour_Poop@reddit

I'm getting "

gif

Clark Griswold winding up in the wrong part of town" vibes.

[-]

Skid-Vicious@reddit

Young people today couldn’t find their own ass with either hand and that’s with a GPS.

[-]

DrippyWillyMcSchlong@reddit

I love the backroads. They're slower and more dangerous, but they are so much more interesting . Since they are staring at their devices, the kids don't give a shit either way.

[-]

One_Hour_Poop@reddit

Since they are staring at their devices, the kids don't give a shit either way.

Have them look up from their devices and learn from you, both to get your sense of curiosity and adventure while also setting the world around them and learning how to get home without GPS.

[-]

adams361@reddit

We’ve spent a lot of time camping and exploring in areas of our state that have terrible/nonexistent cell service. Our kids are comfortable using paper maps because there’s no alternative. My daughter recently bragged to us that she was the only one in her friend group that knew how a paper map worked! What are these poor kids going to do in the zombie apocalypse?!

[-]

grayhairedqueenbitch@reddit

It usually gives me anxiety, but I have had some great experiences when I wasn't entirely sure where I was going.

[-]

phalanxausage@reddit

When I was younger & arrived in a new town where I would stay for longer than a few days, one of the first things I would do is get completely lost and find my way back to wherever I was staying. Great way to learn the lay of the land, learn the main arteries & landmarks, etc.

Younger folks not only don't do this but in general they don't care for exploring. I suppose having an object with answers to all of their questions starves the need. It's a shame. My kid & her peers can't find their way around the block. Furthermore, they never spent any time wandering the woods near the house.

[-]

One_Hour_Poop@reddit

I suppose having an object with answers to all of their questions starves the need

My kid is in high school now and I saw this trend coming when she was little and all the kids at a birthday party we went to were staring at their phones or tablets while the toddlers were playing with toys. I purposely raised her with the goal of not needing to be entertained by a screen 24/7. When she was growing up I would often ask "Do you want to watch TV or sit quietly?" Half the time she'd say "Sit quietly," and we'd just talk.

As for getting lost and exploring, while driving around near our house I'll often ask my kid if she knows where we are. She's got about a 40% accuracy rate ("The Harris Teeter is around the corner of you turn left"), but she's better than I was at knowing her city when I was her age.

[-]

RockChk71@reddit

When I was 21 I had some friends in a touring band. If they came within a day's drive I'd go see them. I had an atlas, and I would call information to get the club's phone number, then call to get general directions and ask what the closest hotel was. Then I was off on my adventure! To this day I'm the only one of my siblings to be able to read a map or figure out north. 😂

[-]

Winter_Afternoon3539@reddit

When I first started driving in 97 I would get lost on purpose all the time. That’s how I found how one city connected to another from backroads. I still use those routes to this day to get around traffic.

Even today I’ll take the long way home from work if it means I’m not sitting in traffic.

My oldest son (13) does not enjoy when we go for an impromptu cruise so ofcourse I’ll joke with him and say it’s a great time to go the scenic way.

[-]

jameyt3@reddit

I do this traveling. My kids seem to travel with crazy packed itineraries based on tons of research. It seems exhausting. I love just walking out the door and wandering.

[-]

F-Cloud@reddit

When I was a kid I loved taking the scenic route. Watching the world go by out of the window was fascinating. There was a sense of mystery about the places we'd drive past, wondering who lives in those homes, what an odd-looking building may contain, and the slightly eerie feeling of liminal spaces along the highwayside. To this day I love to drive just for the enjoyment of exploring and looking around.

My teenage niece on the other hand finds it unbearably boring. She has no interest in looking out the window and just stares at her phone for hours on road trips. That is, when she used to be willing to be in a car for longer than 15 minutes. She'll avoid long trips entirely now.

[-]

Tina45332@reddit

Every time I move somewhere new I get lost on purpose. It is how I learn about where I am living. I love it!!

[-]

KaraOhki@reddit

So glad it’s not just me. We’d pile in the car and just explore. It was a great way to discover hidden away restaurants, places to walk, historic sites (were in New England).

[-]

OneFortyEighthScale@reddit

I do love to explore. Makes me feel young again to go to new places, especially if they are outdoors and off the beaten path.

[-]

One_Hour_Poop@reddit

Only with the safety backup of GPS to bring me back to familiar territory. I occasionally do this with my kid; in fact we just did it last weekend. We'll be driving and I'll ask her, "Did you want to go to [local store/restaurant] or just drive around and see what's out there?" If she says, "See what's out there," then I leave all the driving decisions up to her, as in, when we approach an intersection I'll ask her, "Left, right, or straight?" We'll do this until she gets bored or if we wind up in a sketchy looking part of town. 😃

I only do this when it's me and my kid, my wife doesn't like "wasting time on nonsense."

[-]

DTW_Tumbleweed@reddit

No! It's utterly terrifying! I panic when there is roadwork detours that my GPS doesn't know about. I am one of those directionally dyslexic people who get lost turning out of the driveway.

[-]

kategoad@reddit

We often go on drives, and are happy to get lost.

Also, our first dance was Freedy Johnston's "You Get Me Lost."

[-]

ScorpioRising66@reddit

I still explore off the beaten paths.

[-]

Jcaseykcsee@reddit

My friends and I used to go for drives, we’d just head out and go north, south, or west and take as scenic back roads. Never had a map, no internet obviously. We lived in a small state so gets truly lost was virtually impossible. Drives to nowhere were my favorite thing to do!

[-]

LiamsBiggestFan@reddit

I have no sense of direction lol. I am actually awful, I couldn’t read a map if I tried. I even hate people stopping me in the street and asking me where a specific place/street is incase I send them to the wrong place. Not a driver but my daughter is and she has sat nav and google maps etc on her phone. Funnily enough my childrens dad has been a driver for over 40 years and he gets lost constantly it’s a thing with him and he has a sat nav and google maps.

[-]

AdGold205@reddit

We call it counter surveillance and my kids think it’s funny.

[-]

Okay_NOW_WhatSTP@reddit

I also hate getting lost, but I do like taking the scenic route now and then.

[-]

tkhamphant1@reddit

In November of 1995 we moved from upstate New York to Jacksonville Florida and every weekend for awhile my kids and I would get in the car and get lost. We always discovered something new and fun.

[-]

Reasonable-Proof2299@reddit

Theres a difference between getting lost in the country and the hood

[-]

REUBG58@reddit

100% agree. I'm even older than you. I'm also in a job that required me to drive all over my state, different town or city every day. It's how you learned to drive back then. When AAA Trip Tix came out, it was fantastic. My 24 year old son is utterly amazed when I drive new places without Waze. "How do you know how to get there?"

[-]

Judgy-Introvert@reddit

Finding a new and interesting route? Yes. Getting lost? Nope.

[-]

Visible_Expert9673@reddit

I have no internal compass or sense of direction. If I go into a department store and then exit by a different door, I’m lost. I bloody hate it.

[-]

DedInside50s@reddit

Don't go to Ikea! Took my daughter and I an hour to find the exit.

[-]

ThatMeasurement3411@reddit

Oh Hell Yes! Especially in a new city, kinda like “Street View”. Helps you to place yourself, and get to know the city better.

Also Parks. You’re on a trail, so you’re not really lost. Always carry a compass folks if you can’t trust yourself.

[-]

velnazzy77@reddit

I actually hate getting lost when having to get somewhere. However, if traveling or riding my bike, I don't mind taking derours or having a little adventure. I get very frustrated when I can find where to go and need to be somewhere.

[-]

Sugardustfairy@reddit

And how often did you take your kids on these kinds of trips with you, school, other family, or friends? I do not want to get lost, I enjoy adventures that end with me back in a safe area when I lay my head down. Getting lost on purpose vs on accident is not fun especially depending on gender,js. It also has a lot of different meanings. So really it all depends. And if your kids like their phones a lot, either sometthing is going on (some upsetting situation, etc) or lack of (attention, etc), thats a whole can of worms though😊

[-]

HTLM22@reddit (OP)

Well, we are all scouts and as family we do non-tech backpack camping. So we get ample opportunities to get a little lost. But not as much as I would like.

[-]

TakeTheThirdStep@reddit

I get the itch and sometimes just start driving to see where I end up. The risks are much lower than they used to be now that I can flip on GPS anytime I want, but it's fun to hold out for as long as I can and see if I can end up somewhere familiar.

[-]

Educational-Heron691@reddit

It was and still is one of my favorite things to do since my first car in 1992. I’ve had to scale back my adventures though due to the price of gas

[-]

foxwithnoeyes@reddit

I only miss it from my youth when I didn't mind sitting in the car for long periods of time and gas was still affordable enough to get lost.

[-]

Von_Bernkastel@reddit

I don't take trips, I take journey's I find them much more fun. And I am never late, nor am I early, I arrive precisely when I mean to.

gif

[-]

bjb8@reddit

One time our family took a trip, it was maybe an hour and a half drive into the next large city, since I knew where I was going I didn't bother to put it into the GPS, I just drove.

It drove my teenage son nuts. He couldn't grasp how I knew where to go.

[-]

matedow@reddit

Nope. I haven’t liked it since I was a kid, so I learned to read maps and figure out wheee I was. I do enjoy going new places and exploring connections between known points, but I always have a feel for where I am.

[-]

xJW1980@reddit

I live in a small community that is basically comprised of one square mile.

I still get lost sometimes … but at least I know where north, south, east, and west is 😂

[-]

DeezSaltyNuts69@reddit

I like to drive around to see which roads go where, but no I don't want to actually be lost to the point I have no idea where the nearest gas station would be

I still get up to date paper maps, because there are still dead areas where your phone or nav systems isn't going to work

[-]

therelybare5@reddit

When I first started working in Atlanta, I would take a map book of the city and purposely get lost and then use the map book to find my way back. It helped me to find traffic bypasses during gridlocks. Since Apple/Google maps seems to route you through every bottleneck, it was extremely helpful. On my 40th birthday, my wife was taking me to a secret restaurant to meet my family for dinner. She blindfolded me to keep me from knowing where we were going, but knowing the exits and whether they go up or down, I was able to give her a turn by turn commentary which made her frustrated to say the least!

[-]

mazopheliac@reddit

As long as I'm not pressed for time.

[-]

phlebonaut@reddit

Loved wandering aimlessly when I was younger. Now at 53, it just happens sometimes, and then I hate getting lost.

[-]

Advanced-Power991@reddit

I was never lost, I know right where I was at, everyone else was lost

[-]

45h8y@reddit

Used to try to intentionally get lost on Sunday drives in Kansas City. That’s how I stumbled upon Sauer Castle in 2010-ish. Researching and watching its journey back from the brink of destruction has been so enriching.

[-]

Miralalunita@reddit

Yeah no I don’t enjoy getting lost if I need to go somewhere. However that rarely happens because of Waze or Google maps.

[-]

birdinahouse1@reddit

I have no problem with taking the road less traveled. My wife however, she on drives from point A to B.

[-]

ted_anderson@reddit

I can't see myself taking pleasure in getting "lost" per se but there are times when I'll drive down streets that I haven't been on before just to see where they go. More often than not I'm pleasantly surprised when I discover that these otherwise strange roads lead to a familiar place.

[-]

fabrictm@reddit

There was a time when I enjoyed it. I think shit changed in our society today where stepping on the wrong person's property by mistake can get you killed. That and having children made me a way more cautious person.

[-]

Naive-Beekeeper67@reddit

I'm fabulous at reading maps...and i have a very good sense of direction. So i never got lost!

[-]

Oldebookworm@reddit

I love unplanned adventures 😀

[-]

CayseyBee@reddit

I dont “enjoy” it so much as recognize that it’s a thing and i see it as an opportunity. My husband is also genx and couldnt stand being lost. Luckily ive changed his mind. I always say i guess were going on an adventure.

[-]

Ineffable7980x@reddit

I like the scenic route, but I hate getting lost.

[-]

digdugnate@reddit

absolutely not, lol. my anxiety gets keyed up too much for me to enjoy something like that.

[-]

FunnyGarden5600@reddit

I can remember walking into a national forrest with friends. No map or compass. Got so lost in that forest so many times I stopped getting lost.

[-]

gino_rizzo@reddit

Lost? We are never lost. We take the scenic route

[-]

Spin_Me@reddit

I sometimes turn off the GPS and challenge my sense of direction. Oddly validating

[-]

New-Shine-418@reddit

I miss it so much, that sense of being pleasantly disoriented, driving down a back road and realizing “I’ve never seen this barn before or driven up this hill.” It’s a surreal feeling suddenly to be in an unfamiliar place and unsure of how to get back on the right road. Such a sweet feeling.

[-]

Justsomerandofromnj@reddit

30+ years ago when I first moved out of NYC to NJ a friend who was also a NY to NJ transplant but had been here longer drove me around to show me some spots. His advice to me was “drive around and don’t worry about getting lost. Just have a full tank of gas when you head out.” Best advice at the time.

[-]

Practical_Wind_1917@reddit

I still have all of my big paper atlas's. i still keep them in the truck behind the seat. you never know when you might need one.

To this day I still keep a state map in my glove box of mine and my wife's vehicles. Habits like that never die.

[-]

Any_Fish1004@reddit

I’m not lost, it’s an adventure/detour. Now shut up and enjoy ride and scenery or you can drive yourself next time.

[-]

TraditionalMorwenna@reddit

I got lost this morning, driving around my new town looking for other routes. Google maps will get you to the destination, but getting lost will help you find shortcuts, and cool places you will miss otherwise.

I once found the best little restaurant in a place called strawberry Arizona. I hate the interstate with all the carbon copy businesses every few miles, and the busy traffic. It's so synthetic and stressful.

I still enjoy small towns, talking with the cashier, and long drives to nowhere. I've driven across the usa so many times now, and each time I try to find a different route. Scheduling be damned. I'll get there when I get there. Journey > destination.

[-]

MyriVerse2@reddit

I've never gotten lost, even when being somewhere for the first time. I don't use GPS, Ways, or anything. Rarely even use road maps.

[-]

likeminipee@reddit

I'm a back roads king! I love trying new routes and seeing new scenery. Also, I HATE driving on the interstate! It's boring, far too crowded and full of impatient drivers.

[-]

kon---@reddit

As long as I've no where to be, I'm all about wandering around the place

[-]

colonel_pliny@reddit

My wife and I were talking about this on our last trip to Europe. We can keep our phones on airplane mode and make it around strange foreign lands with nothing more than the cheap map from the hotel front desk. Also, getting lost is sometimes the best part of the trip.

I survived off Thomas Guide for so long, that even now I just have to glance at a map and can remember it.

[-]

Sundae_2004@reddit

The only time this really sucks is when you’re with someone that doesn’t want to go back when they've missed a turn-off and you drive > 400 because they didn’t want to reverse a 4 mile error. :(

[-]

Master_Grape5931@reddit

I’m not a fan of wasting time, so no.

[-]

miscwit72@reddit

I don't blame kids today. The world feels a lot more hostel than it did when I was a teen.

[-]

Temporary_Shirt_6236@reddit

We once drove from southern Ontario down to Florida just for something to do. We knew we had to get onto the I-75 S at Detroit, but that was about the extent of our planning. We did get lost somewhere around Fort Meyers and due to some construction weirdness, kept going in circles for a bit. We christened that part of the trip the Bermuda Tarmac.

[-]

numberjhonny5ive@reddit

Love it.

[-]

Dillenger69@reddit

My dad used to do it all the time. I hate getting lost. It kicks up my anxiety, something fierce.

[-]

absherlock@reddit

My ideal vacation is to just plunk myself down in the middle of a city I don't know and start exploring. Not sure if this qualifies though, as I do always know how to return to my hotel/car.

[-]

_OggoDoggo_@reddit

I love just getting in the car and exploring. I think it stemmed from having a sense of freedom when we got our driver’s licenses.

[-]

racingturtlesforfun@reddit

Getting lost is how I learned my way around. I moved from a very small town to a very big city a week after graduating high school, and getting lost showed me the city and taught me how to navigate.

[-]

Due-Asparagus6479@reddit

I do not enjoy getting lost. Before map quest, I felt very isolated. Yes I can read a regular map, but I am directionally challenged. I got lost all the time, and for me, it was terrifying when it happened.

[-]

EmmerdoesNOTrepme@reddit

Yep!

I adore filling in "the blank spots" in the map inside my head, and figuring out alternate routes.

Especially necause i live in Minneapolis, so I'm inside a literal ring of freeways with only a certain number of ways under/over, and we're have the Mississippi that only has a certain number of bridges, too!

Knowing "the back ways" when the weather is bad & the freeways are an icy parking lot means getting home in one hour, or it taking 2-3 hours.

[-]

eventualguide0@reddit

Finding your way can be fun! I’ve discovered so many great neighborhoods in my travels by allowing myself to be lost.

[-]

UncleDrummers@reddit

I use to have maps and would drive everywhere but I really hate going around in circles but getting lost is how you really learn backroads or find some really cool places.

[-]

Shieldor@reddit

After I learned to drive, I was driving to my older sisters house, the next (big) town over. Got lost when I got to the town. I was probably driving around for 30 minutes, lost, and crying. I eventually saw a street I recognized, and figured out how to get there. I was probably 17. Anyways, ever since then I hate to be lost. I always figure out my directions before I go anywhere. I use gps, but I often don’t need it, if I’ve looked at a map prior.

[-]

godleymama@reddit

Yesss!! I'm reminded of that phrase, "Not all who wander are lost." I just love to wander.

[-]

saotomesan@reddit

For about the first year or so when I first started driving a lot in DC, I'd invariably miss a turn or make a bad turn and end up halfway across town, but in the process find a much better way to get somewhere else. "Ohhhhh, this is a great way to get to Arena Stage. Too bad I'm trying to get to Washington National Cathedral right now." :-)

[-]

Mercury5979@reddit

I love getting lost! The only situation where I don't want to get lost is if I'm on my way to an appt. and getting there is a time sensitive issue. In any other case, I like the adventure. Life's a journey, not a destination.

When my son is old enough to drive, I'm going to teach him to navigate with a paper map, and then maybe even do an exercise where I give him mediocre directions on a post-it note.

[-]

Life-Finding5331@reddit

After graduating college in 2003, my then gf and I drove from ct to co using paper maps.

Probably the last major trip I took using exclusively paper maps.

It was awesome. Side roads, small town roads, see a waffle house? Pull over. See am interesting looking town from the highway? Get off and explore.

Definitely a different vibe than point A -> point B

[-]

unmistakable_itch@reddit

Driving I don't mind but walking around I have more of a problem with. Especially in an unfamiliar city. For example, I was in Chicago for a concert last month and went out a different door than I went in. I walked quite a ways in the wrong direction before having to pull out my phone and figure it out. The walk and weather were nice in themselves but the anxiety of trying to find where I was going was unenjoyable.

[-]

HTLM22@reddit (OP)

Being an unfamiliar city at night has real risks. Most of my great memories are more rural and day.

[-]

Papa_Bear_08@reddit

A+

I purposely go out of my way to find new connections, hidden treasures, etc. However, I still also always figure out the most efficient routes as well - so I know them when I need them. Especially for routine trips.

[-]

witchbelladonna@reddit

Yes!! I absolutely love exploring roads I've never been down before. I definitely have the wanderlust. Dirt roads are my favorite cause I have to go slower, means I can enjoy the scenery much better.

I only beeline somewhere if I have an appointment and need to be at the destination by a specific time, otherwise I'm wandering my way to the location.

I live 40 minutes (via the expressway) from my mother, but take the back way up which turns it into an hour and a half trip. I've seen owls, eagles, deer, and bear by taking the side roads over expressway. Wouldn't trade that for the world.

[-]

Striking_Earth_786@reddit

Granted, we may have inspired a movie series about this (Wrong Turn anyone?), but getting lost is where finding the cool relics and developing cool stories comes from.

The little mom and pop shops specializing in something so random that it's almost either essential or a must-stop because it's so bizarre. Some of the old ruins from old civilizations or even the current civilization that is decaying. Shops or venues for hobbies. That cool "old person" who regales you for hours with stories of the area from long ago when you finally decide to ask for directions to somewhere you actually know.

[-]

HTLM22@reddit (OP)

Exactly this!

[-]

MusicalMerlin1973@reddit

I married a girl from Nova Scotia. I grew up in New England. When we first started making the oft trek to her parents a lot of the roads used were still two lane undivided going through some pretty awesome scenic country.

Every year Canada improved another section of road. Is it straighter, faster and safer? Yes. Is it boring af? Also yes.

We both miss it. Some of the old road is there to take but a lot was discontinued.

My early boomer dad had this uncanny ability to find his way without maps. I used to commute with him with my early internships on his way to his work place. Traffic would be awful, even with us on the side roads. A former good path would suck for whatever reason. Dad would notice cars taking some other side road, say, “I wonder where that goes?” And off we’d go. And make it where we needed to be. Still in time.

[-]

Xrsyz@reddit

You can’t truly wander unless you are at least a little bit lost. Being lost is the only way to find new places—to deviate from all of the well worn ruts we travel every day.

[-]

LaVida2@reddit

Have moved several times in my life. The best discoveries have been intentionally taking a road I have never traveled.

Me asking myself: “I wonder where this road goes…” is a win

[-]

Objective-Holiday597@reddit

We didn’t even call it being lost, we called it going on an adventure. I still love it.

I will leave my technology at home and just drive. It truly is very freeing.

[-]

Financial_Coach4760@reddit

I really do. I live to smell the flowers when I travel alone.

[-]

tdawg-1551@reddit

Back in the 90s in college, my friend and I had planned a trip home. We lived in neighboring towns and college was about 3 hours away, mostly interstate and a smaller highway for the last hour or so.

We got to looking at a map and decided to take two lane state roads instead. We figured that Hwy 56 went right by his house and hooked up with 5 which hooked up with 38, and we could get on 38 a half hour down the interstate.

Boy did that suck. Our three hour drive turned into 4 and a half. It rained, got dark, and the roads were very twisting and up and down hills. Barely hit 60 at any point. Might have been okay during the day with nothing better to do, but not very fun when you are wanting to get somewhere.

[-]

xjeanie@reddit

I have always been a scenic route person. I used to drive my father around in his last years. Routine appointments and such. I nearly always took a different route just because. He asked me once if I was doing it on purpose. I told him of course. This way we get to see all the new fancy developments popping up. Enjoy the rides instead of it being a boring chore. He used to marvel that I never got lost. No matter how many twists or turns I made. The whole knowing what direction I’m going has been fairly easy for me. Don’t know why but it is. Good memories.

[-]

omgkelwtf@reddit

Oh yeah, when we were teens we'd just take off. No idea where we'd end up. We discovered so many tiny towns and great people. It was so much fun.

[-]

Pinkbeans1@reddit

I lived in upstate NY. We went for a drive and ended up in Pennsylvania. We passed the sign, said oh shit, turned around and high tailed back upstate. I think we crawled home around 3 or 4am. No maps, just, I think we turned here…?

[-]

Sockm0nkey@reddit

When I was a kid my mom would do “Spotlight Hunting” on Friday nights.

Which meant we’d basically drive around Houston until we located whatever business had rented the spotlight that night*.

Pulling into the parking lot signaled victory, and elicited backseat cheers from my brother and me.

*We stopped this practice once 9 out of 10 spotlights were advertising for strip clubs.

[-]

xczechr@reddit

Enjoy is probably too strong a word for it, but I don't mind getting lost.

[-]

fridayimatwork@reddit

Yes but I don’t mind finding myself with the blue dot on google maps

[-]

No_Difference8518@reddit

I don't like getting lost, I do enjoy not knowing where I am going. And, yes, I still keep a paper map in the car.

[-]

sand-castle-virtues@reddit

You saw cool stuff when getting lost and I lost you wouldn’t have seen otherwise

[-]

Unable_Chard9803@reddit

The scenic route is the metaphor of life.

As a child I wanted to be a musician. In fact, I wanted to conduct a symphony orchestra just like Arthur Fiedler of the Boston Pops.

A bit later I was (and still am) absorbed by big band music. At first I wanted to play clarinet like Benny Goodman, but my orthodontist nixed that idea.

I ended up playing trumpet instead. In a way (far too long of a story to explain) I was supposed to play the trumpet and despite my parents skeptical attitudes I managed to make a living at it into my early 30s.

Unfortunately I didn't know in my youth what I know now. Although I had and realized a dream I was constantly afraid of loss or incompetence and that fear pushed me into a lifeline of fear and addiction which realized the losses I feared.

This put me onto the scenic route since 2003 and I have experienced far more and have met a wider variety of people and have been exposed to a greater range of ideas than I would've otherwise.

I haven't played professionally in twenty-one years, but I know for certain that music is still within reach even if I'm navigating there from the remote position of a veterans administration hospital sterile processing technician.

At 55 I've finally learned to let go of fear and make the most of where I am while still allowing myself the certainty of realizing my true purpose.

Scenic route all the way. Enjoying it is what keeps me feeling a vital connection to everyday life.

[-]

funkcatbrown@reddit

Getting lost, either just exploring around driving or walking or into anything is required for happiness. I spend a lot of time lost in things I love. It’s beautiful when you lose track of time or everything external to that exact moment.

[-]

brandrikr@reddit

“Not all those who wander are lost”, from The Riddle of Strider, LotR, JRR Tolkien. Most times, just venturing out and wandering around is infinitely more worthwhile than the final destination. There doesn’t even need to be a final destination.

I agree with you wholeheartedly. The younger generations need to have everything organized and laid out in front of them. Even getting my son to have the motivation to go out exploring is like pulling teeth. These younger kids can’t even navigate a few city blocks without putting something into Google maps. It’s really sad and concerning seeing how things have changed.

[-]

RedheadFromOutrSpace@reddit

Yes - we call it “going on an adventure.” When my daughter was young, she would giggle and have a great time as we drove around trying to figure out where we were. Our favorite thing to hear was “Hmm, I wonder where that road goes”.

[-]

RyansRustyRC@reddit

Always loved getting lost, still do. It's how I've always gotten to where I need to be and found the best ways to get there. I moved recently out of the city but still work in the city. Every week I take different routes (even if ever so slightly) either home or to work.

I take my kids (7 & 11) hiking quite a lot and we've discovered some hidden gem trails just by going down random dirt roads. Then while on the trail its a lot of . . . where does this go? My kids have a great sense of direction and am comfortable with them going out and being able to make their way back. I hope this resonates in life down the road.

[-]

jacksraging_bileduct@reddit

I did like to explore in the car, but I also knew eventually I would end up at one interstate or another, So i never really felt lost, just being somewhere I hadn’t been before.

[-]

rulerofthemind@reddit

When I first moved out on my own it was 1999 I had a 1991 Pontiac Grand Am and decided to take a random road trip, so I packed a overnight bag and a cooler of some food and drinks. I live north of Pittsburgh PA and ended up in Buffalo New York. Just took random 2 lane highways the whole way didn't care where I ended up at, I even went to Niagara Falls that day too. I never once thought I was lost because I was enjoying the freedom of being on the road

[-]

JackieDaytona__@reddit

"To be thrown upon one's own resources is to be cast into the very lap of fortune; for our faculties then undergo a development and display an energy of which they were previosly unsusceptible."

[-]

Reiki-Raker@reddit

Before kids I vacationed every weekend by getting lost with no destination. Just went adventuring and exploring to see where I’d end up.

Great memories! I think I’ll bring that back!

[-]

Sufficient_Stop8381@reddit

I still do that. Not so much get lost, but try to navigate unfamiliar cities when I travel without gps or my phone. I’ll usually look at a map online of the area prior to arriving and semi memorize it. It amazes my younger colleagues who would probably get lost in their own neighborhood without a phone. Just knowing the general geography and highway layout of a town and knowing north south east and west will do wonders.

[-]

zombie_spiderman@reddit

When I moved to the city pre-Google Maps, I basically just resigned myself to getting lost any time I went somewhere new, but it was always an adventure. I found my favorite bar that way, found my favorite hot dog stand that way...now I practically have the map on driving to WORK ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[-]

Coldfinger42@reddit

I love not so much getting lost but exploring new places and routes. I visited California last summer from the east coast with my kids. While driving between cities my 11-year-old decided to be my navigator and I just drove wherever he directed me. We got lost and ended up at a military facility by accident. It was hilarious and we still talk about how fun that road trip was.

[-]

Knight_thrasher@reddit

In my car yes, in a tractor trailer no

[-]

JAFO-@reddit

My father got lost a lot, when I got my license I made sure I had maps in the car. Big difference wandering around with no destination, than being in a high traffic area not knowing where you are.

[-]

WillaLane@reddit

I have had a map obsession my entire life. On childhood road trips I was always the navigator. One time my aunt had a medical appointment in another city a few hours away, she was annoyed that my mom brought her kid and I sat in the back and told mom where to turn and the entire time my aunt was questioning my navigation. She was always a C word and her daughters turned out just like her lol

I’ve lived in my area over 20 years now and if I ever get lost it’s probably a sign that I need to see a doctor lol

[-]

rulerofthemind@reddit

You're not lost until the gas tank is empty

[-]

Sintered_Monkey@reddit

I hate getting lost in a car. On foot, I really enjoy it, provided I can get un-lost, and I'm not in a bad area. When I moved to the East Coast, I was running a lot. Within a few weeks, I had learned every spot within a few miles.

[-]

wtfw7f@reddit

I did a small stint as a delivery driver. I was following the phone so not exactly paying attention to the turns. I would randomly say, “where the heck am I?” but then get to somewhere I recognized and then say, “ cool is that where this goes?” It’s a joyful feeling to feel lost but then it all makes sense.

[-]

Moody_GenX@reddit

I used to not care if I got lost. It was a way of learning new routes if it was a new location for me. But now I just get mad. Thankful for Google maps and Waze.

[-]

SissyWasHere@reddit

Nope, always hated it and had a lot of anxiety about possibly getting lost.

[-]

govnah06@reddit

Yes!! As long as there was enough gas in the tank, let’s go see what’s out there!

[-]

Helenesdottir@reddit

Wandering, yes, back in the day. Getting lost was never okay. It meant the risk of being raped or killed. I still have a gut level response to not knowing my safe path out of anywhere.

But I did enjoy taking the occasional side road.

[-]

salishsea_advocate@reddit

I agree. I loved and still enjoy wandering and exploring new areas. Getting lost, especially in a new city, could be dangerous even back in 80’s.

[-]

HTLM22@reddit (OP)

True. May be a a fundamentally different experience for women.

Getting lost in car is cool, but getting lost in like...a state park is pretty great for me, because you know there are boundaries. I mean, you can't get THAT lost. There are always clues.

[-]

Fritz5678@reddit

Loved getting lost! Just get in the car and go. Loved the adventure of not knowing what you would come across.

[-]

Haunting_Bottle7493@reddit

My "short cuts" always take twice as long. I'm good with that.

[-]

Silvaria928@reddit

Before GPS I once got lost in a big city while visiting another country. It was so exciting!

[-]

ElectricTomatoMan@reddit

Hell yeah. I would have a destination in the city and just head in that general direction. Always got there eventually. Also enjoyed just wandering aimlessly.

[-]

battletactics@reddit

My wife and I do this regularly. We'll head to a destination usually within two hours of home. On the way back we'll meander and just drive in the general direction of home.

[-]

The_World_Is_A_Slum@reddit

Yeah, man. I enjoy a good adventure.

[-]

seigezunt@reddit

Not all those who wander are lost …

[-]

bobj33@reddit

I like exploring.

I've always liked maps and geography since I was a kid.

I enjoy driving around on the weekend and just turning on different roads and see if this connects over to another road.

I've got a compass built in to the car so I can just keep heading in some direction until I get to a road I know.

If I really got lost I can just pull out my phone / GPS. I've got 20GB of offline maps stored on my phone so I just need the GPS signal not the cellular data signal.

[-]

dandellionKimban@reddit

Oh I love it. It's the best part of being in a new city.

[-]

RalphWastoid319@reddit

I still sometimes go down a road just to see where it goes or where it connects so I can get that picture in my mind. Never know when it might come in handy.

I remember the first time I broke out a paper map in front of my kids. I was looking for a state park and didn't have smart phone at the time. They just kind of looked at it and asked "What's that?" Never occurred to them that there were other ways to figure out how to get somewhere.

[-]

Moonglow_sunshine@reddit

I’ve had the same experience with millennial friends. We go in lots of trips and have gotten lost a few times. We had cell service and the car’s gps was still connected, too. And they were still low key freaked out. Such a weird phenomenon. Maybe it’s bc we spent our childhoods outdoors, unsupervised and unstructured.

[-]

Stevemcqueef6969@reddit

Yes, and especially in the middle of a treacherous snowstorm or in the middle Of the woods . The more life-threatening, the better. I once spent 2 days lost in the nj wilderness with my jack Russel terrier.

[-]

TheDreadedMe@reddit

Dont know if I enjoy it, but I usually dont mind it (unless I am tired of the assholes on the road).

[-]

NerdyComfort-78@reddit

I love an open road adventure.

[-]

sharkycharming@reddit

I don't mind being lost if I'm not in a hurry, have plenty of fuel, the weather is nice, and I'm not in a scary place (scary because of bad roads, bad traffic, or people smoking crack in the middle of the street, as sometimes happens when I get lost in my hometown).

[-]

Maleficent_Data_1421@reddit

All who wander are not lost

[-]

Beauphedes_Knutz@reddit

I have never gotten lost. When I didn't know where I was, I was wandering and discovering, never lost.

[-]

Befuddled_GenXer@reddit

Depends on where I am and whether or not I actually want to go to the place I'm looking for.

[-]

ColdKickin72@reddit

I love it! The unknown is exciting.

[-]

Imaginary-Card-1694@reddit

I remember moving cities and my mum bought a road atlas for my new city (so she could look up places I told her about and see where they were in proximity to my house). One night I was talking to my younger sister while driving home and commented that I was so lost. My style of navigation that evening was looking for city lights in the distance and heading that way.

Next thing I know, Mum has cranked out the atlas and is directing me which streets to turn down until I got to the freeway and could navigate myself. We still have a laugh about it.

[-]

This is an extremely expensive way to travel, but it's all discovery from randomness.

[-]

OldBanjoFrog@reddit

I used to, but lately, I just want to get off the road.