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Random Road Trip Recap

Happy Monday to everyone. This weekend, Mrs. BBspot and I traveled on our Random Road trip. It turned out great. We used a four-sided die (d4) when there were more than 2 routes to decide upon and a coin for the others. We didn't have any hard and fast rules when we started, but developed some as we drove deeper into the trip.

Near our starting point is the intersection of 2 highways 23 and 94 with convenient N (1), S (2), E (3), and W (4) options. I proposed that we eliminate the "east" option on our first roll, because I wanted to avoid the morass of highways around Detroit. Mrs. BBspot vetoed this idea and she promptly rolled a 3 (east) for our first direction. At this point we had to turn around and go back home to get our passports, because starting in Michigan there's always the danger that we'd end up in Canada. (see map at end of post for a look at our final route)

I was a bit miffed at the first roll, but headed east anyway. Approaching 23 Mrs. BBspot rolled a 1, which turned us north. Phew, I preferred moving away from Detroit. At our next intersection she rolled another 1 and kept us going North on 23.

Unfortunately, randomness pointed us back toward Detroit when she rolled another 3 and we headed east on 96. Mrs. BBspot started getting a little perturbed at my disappointment in her rolls.

I started the trip hoping we would end up in an interesting cool location we had never visited before, but so far the rolls took us along familiar pathways. With each roll, we'd talk about where we could end up in the direction we were heading, which at this point wasn't too interesting.

At the intersection of 275, 5, and 696, she rolled another 1, which turned us toward the north again. Fortunately, 5 only went a couple miles to the north before ending. At this point we decided to continue heading north into we ran into another highway to roll another direction. I did the best I could trying to point us north, but curving roads caused by the small lakes in the area had me turned around quick.

I told Mrs. BBspot to fire up the GPS, so we try to keep heading north. After driving through some beautiful wooded neighborhoods we ended up in the town of Milford, MI where the streets were crowded, because of some festival happening. We contemplated stopping but decided it was too early in the journey to finish.

Finally, with the help of the GPS, we turned onto a road that went north for more than 1 mile. This road brought us to Highway 59. We rolled the dice, and headed west.

Highway 59 intersected US 23 and a roll of the die made us head south. This would put us back to the exact same spot we were just at a half hour earlier. At the next intersection (23 and 96) we had already traveled in 3 of the four directions it could take us. At this point we agreed on a rule that prevented driving on the same section of the same road twice. This rule made our choice easy. We were heading west on I-96.

There weren't any decisions to make until we reached Lansing, but once again the die kept us heading west. This would make the next decision point in Grand Rapids, Michigan, but before we reached that point, we decided to call it a night.

We pulled off near the Grand Rapids Airport and found a Holiday Inn Express to rest for the night. It had taken us four hours to drive what would've taken two, had we not left things to chance. Both of us didn't mind a bit. The excitement of not knowing where we would be heading next was the whole point of the trip.

The next morning we awoke to a torrential downpour. The weather radar showed a storm front that covered most of Michigan's lower peninsula. We headed off and soon had to make another roll. I was hoping to keep heading west or north, but Mrs. BBspot's roll put us on a road that would take us south. At this point, she handed me the die and said, "You roll from now on." I did.

Thankfully, we had one more chance to head north, a coin flip put us in that direction then another coin flip put us back on 96 west. The next coin flip put us on 31 north, which parallels Michigan's west coast. There weren't any decisions to be made, as no major highways intersect 31. Around lunch time we were near Ludington, Michigan and decided to make this our first destination.

Ludington is a small town on the Lake Michigan coast. Signs on businesses read, "Welcome Fisherman!" We didn't come prepared for fishing, but we did come prepared to find a good lunch spot.

I popped up Yelp.com on my Palm Pre and found The Old Hamlin lunch spot. After a short wait, I ordered a club sandwich on their homemade white bread, and Mrs. BBspot ordered the beef and cheese sandwich (featured in Rachel Ray's magazine in 2007!). After loading up on grease, we took a stroll through the artisan's market set up in a city park. Then we headed north to the state park. We found an open spot on the shore, parked along the road, climbed down the dunes with our folding chairs and relaxed by the shore.

The sun appeared from behind the clouds from time to time, and the wind kept the sound of waves filling our ears. Mrs. BBspot quickly fell asleep, and I spent my time watching a seagull that planted itself near me. After a short walk and a quick swim we packed up the car, and headed back to 31 North (our point of departure from the random route).

We kept heading north on 31 until we reached Manistee. We followed the signs to the Little River Casino and Resort, but decided against staying there for the night (we didn't want to get all smoky in the casino). We headed back to town found a grocery store and a nice beach to have a picnic by.

After eating and relaxing on the beach some more, we decided that instead of spending the night in Manistee, we were going to drive all the way home. We took a more direct route home, and by 10:30 PM we pulled back into the driveway of BBspot World Headquarters. Relaxed and happy at where fate had taken us.

We decided that we needed to take a trip like this every year. We decided it might be better to drive to a different starting point next time. Maybe head to Toledo, or Brighton, just to give us a better chance of ending up somewhere new.

I highly recommend take this kind of trip sometime in your life. You may have to use a different set of rules depending on the highways and by-ways in your area. Let your mind wander to the possibilities of where you could end up. Don't be disappointed in where randomness sends you, like us you may end up turned around on your next roll of the die to a better direction. Most of all, have fun.

That's all for now. Stay geeky!