The route I take to work doesn’t have much room for alternatives. I walk up the stairs from my bedroom to the kitchen, make a U-turn from the kitchen to the dining room, walk through the dining room and take a left into my office. I don’t often visit clients, and the one client meeting I had this week was to an office I had never been to, so while this was a route I hadn’t ever travelled, it wasn’t an alternate. I did note while driving to the client, as I do driving anywhere I haven’t been before, that I had to pay more attention to signs and the road, and don’t remember much other than the indicators I needed to watch for to get to the location. I suppose this is interesting – the observation here being I was most keenly aware of the route and not the details of the route – but since the assignment was to note what I noted on alternate routes, I figured I needed to intentionally take different paths to the gym and target, the two “normal” destinations in my weekly routine.
I’m pretty familiar with the city, so taking alternate routes meant more taking paths I’d been on but wouldn’t normally choose. Since I knew the way each time I took an alternate route, different from the experience of going to a new location as described above, I was more keen to take note of the “details” of the path rather than focusing on the logistics of getting to my destination.
Having lived in the city for the majority of my life, I find it interesting to watch the neighborhoods transform through the years. On one occasion while driving to the gym, I took Marshall/Lake Street and noticed that what was once a tanning salon is now a café called Black, which touts being a “Coffee and Waffles” bar. I found this an unusual, but sensible combination, and made a mental note to “office” there some afternoon. Waffles for lunch sounds delightful!
On another occasion I decided to get off one light before my usual turn and take the back roads through the neighborhood. I was surprised to when I landed two streets further than where I expected to end up, and discovered that the restaurant on the corner “near” my house was actually much closer than I had associated it in my mind! I also discovered a small community garden, and some houses similar to mine which were for sale. We plan to move next spring, and I think it would be helpful at that time to drive or walk through the neighborhood to see what houses are selling for at that time!
In general I found that while I thought I would be anxious taking alternate routes as I assumed that they would take me longer, I found that the drive time was actually comparable to my normal route, and in one case actually quicker – although that could be in part due to traffic at the time of day I normally drive. This latter example of when I take my “normal” route despite potential traffic is an prime example of how we are creatures of habit. As I’ve mentioned in some of my journals and reflections, I tend to “get lost in my head” while driving and am often on auto-pilot on the road. Being a bit more aware of the traffic and the road, I might actually save myself some time – and reduce my risk of running through traffic lights…