Riding the bus to the end of the line

I love lists. Every kind of list. And when I find a good tip in a list, I want to share it. So here is my latest favorite list tid-bit:

Ride the bus to the end of the line.

I found this travel related tip in Real Simple magazine (also see the full list on their website). The author points out that this isn’t safe or advisable everywhere, but even taking the local bus a few stops outside your set travel area or “area of familiarity” is fun.

The picture at the beginning of this post is from a time when I took the bus to the end of the line (or pretty close to the end). Doesn’t it just scream “endless possibilities”? I studied abroad in Scotland during college and I made it point to travel throughout the country as much as my academic schedule and bank account allowed me. Some of my favorite adventures happened when I just got on the bus and saw where it took me. This particular picture is from a beautiful Friday afternoon that took my flatmate and me to the edge of Edinburgh on the shores of the Firth of Forth. We packed a lunch, grabbed our cameras, and let the bus lead us to the edges of the city we were living in for a semester. The firth was gorgeous and the houses, monuments, side streets, and people we saw along the way were a whole new side of Edinburgh we never would have known had we not took an afternoon adventure.

Edinburgh is an amazing city, and I highly recommend spending a week or two there if you get the chance (plus you have fairly easy access to other cities and towns in Scotland by train and bus). I loved that I had the chance to explore this city over the course of four months. Much of that exploration was by way of the local bus system and walking. Looking back on the experience makes me want to explore the Twin Cities more than I have in the past – to be a tourist in my hometown. I’m the type of person that likes to know where I’m going and I almost always try to memorize the route I’m going to take to get there. But I think I’ll heed the travel advice above and spend an afternoon seeing where the bus (or maybe my car, I don’t always trust Metro Transit beyond getting downtown and back) takes me. Maybe I’ll discover a new part of the cities I never knew existed. Stay tuned…

Even if you can’t make it across the pond, try riding to the end of the bus line in your city. Get out of your familiarity zone! You will not regret it (especially if you happen to find a beautiful spot to relax, clear your mind of life’s crises, and enjoy the view).