What's so far been the most unexpected journey you've been on in real life?

[KL70]

What's so far been the most (serious and/or humorous) unexpected
journey you've ever had in real life ?

[Mari]

I don't really do 'unexpected'. Interesting question though.

[GrayMouser]

Ahem...

Senior high school in Vancouver, a friend had a fight with his girlfriend and decided to drop out of school and asked me if I wanted to hitchhike to Calgary with him - sure, I said, went home that afternoon and left a note for my Mom and Dad..."Don't worry, i just decided to quit school and hit the road... " (age 16). Came back a few months later.

Drunk one night in college, one guy threw a beer bottle through a bank window (serious act of economic protest- cough, cough) so we decided the only solution was to do a two hundred mile midnight road trip to see a friend in Kamloops

Another night. a guy showed up at a house I was living in in Vancouver, said he was broke, and wanted to sell his car for $200.I bet him the car couldn't make it to Ft. St. John (about 900 miles)- he said it would, so I took the bet- called him from Ft. St. John and told him to keep the money- found a job there the next day.

Then there are unexpected swerves...
Sitting on a Greek island in 1972, waiting to head out on the Ol' Hippie trail to India, when somebody at the taverna said the road through Sudan to Ethiopia had re-opened. Went down the Nile and spent two years in Africa instead of Asia.

[The Gaffer]

Good Lord, what a dull, uneventful life you have had GM.

By rather pedestrian contrast I went to Paris on a whim once. This necessitated a manic drive across country to get my birth certificate to get a passport before the Post Office closed on Friday night to be able to get the ferry the next day. Had to drive 120 miles, pick up the certificate, drive to the post office and get to the front of the queue in under 3 hours. It wasn't relaxing.

One time I was passed out at my mate's house in London and missed my train, also to France. Decided to fly to Lyon instead, which was the nearest airport. Was getting absolutely screwed for a ticket and figured out it was only going to cost me ten quid extra for First Class. So I thought screw it and got blootered on champagne from the Departure Lounge onwards. First Class followed by the TGV, speaking perfect French all the way. No bother.

Sobered up pretty quick when I saw my girlfriend's face, turning up as I did 6 hours late.

[Jonathan]

Wow, Graymouser You didn't keep your feet when you stepped onto the road, did you Tell us more!

Two summers ago some friends and I rented a car and had a road trip along the French and Italian riviera. Last stop was Milan. We were supposed to drop off the car in Milan that evening, but well, we had time to drive to Bergamo just a few miles away.
Just as we left the autostrade to enter Bergamo, we decided that it would be much cooler to see Venice. Problem was, Venice wasn't exactly in the vicinity. But if we stepped on it, it should be feasible to get there, spend an hour or two and return the car on time. So we made an illegal u-turn and cars horned as we veered onto the autostrade again and drove east.
Our speed-sightseeing of Venice became the highlight of the entire road trip. And we returned the car in Milan with 15 mins to spare