Notes on the Importance of Spontaneous Road Trips

Yesterday I went for a spontaneous road trip, a couple of hours inland, to a small country town called ‘Moore’. My favourite part of any road trip is watching out the car window as the scenery changes. The landscape slowly changes and the palette of life shifts. Below I have written some notes on the importance of spontaneous road-trips, I hope you enjoy.

The Importance of a Spontaneous Road Trip:

★ Road trips allow for one to ‘unlock’ new parts of ‘the map’

I notice I can get caught up in the mundane day to day, I can easily stay at home or if I do leave the house I get caught up in the same routine. The same cafe. The same conversations. The same route. Since the pandemic I haven’t travelled much, I miss that feeling of discovery and the confidence that comes to you when you’re in a new surrounding. For me going for a quick ‘Sunday drive’ a few hours in one direction can get me in that head frame. My eyes are taking in the new. New colours, new roads, new birdcalls. I literally feel like i’ve ‘unlocked’ more of ‘the map’.

I must remind myself that to refresh my mind I must see new things.

★You never know who you could talk to

When in ‘travel’ mode the self is more curious and confident. Yesterday I found myself talking to strangers and eager to stop at random shops and historical signs that I wouldn’t usually in my own hometown. Everything felt fresh and new and I couldn’t wait to take it all in. I had many conversations with shop owners and random bystanders stopping in for a takeaway coffee.

I must remind myself that it feels nice to be apart of conversation.

I must remind myself that living with curiosity is a life well spent.

★ Ask yourself- how can I make this into a quest?

Quest- The act of looking for seeking. The search for something.

‘The quest’ is something that’s been on my mind lately. Anything can be a quest if you choose it to be, and a road trip is the perfect time for that, it is new land after all.

Some examples of how you could add ‘quests’ into your road trip:

• The quest to find the best hot chocolate in this remote town

• The quest to find the best slide to slide down.

• The quest of picking every colour of flowers.

• The quest of photographing every pink thing you see.

I must remind myself that I can take this ‘quest energy’ and put it into my day to day life, oh what a fun life it will be.

★ A shift of perspective

A shift of perspective is all we need sometimes, and being curious in a new location is a quick start to that. A shift of perspective activates ideas and creativity. Throughout the day I had many new thoughts and projects that I wanted to come home to create. Once home the road trip doesn’t leave you, the feelings of curiosity and refreshed eyes linger and you now see your daily life in that light.

I must remind myself that if I feel stagnant it’s because I haven’t moved.