This week has been full of detours. One of the joys of house-sitting is getting to discover new places. Taking little side roads has led us to some beautiful and fascinating places we didn’t know existed.
I’ve lived most of my life in Sydney. Danita has lived her entire life in Sydney (with a reasonable amount of overseas travel for holidays).
Between us that’s over a century of Sydney living. (Isn’t that a bit of a weird statement? I often see businesses promoting themselves as having something like a hundred years of experience because they’ve got 5 partners who’ve been in the industry for 20 years each.)
Anyway, we’ve been in the one city for quite a while and only now we’re discovering parts of Sydney we often visited and drove through but had no idea were there.
During the week I had a couple of meetings and so for convenience travelled to them on my motorbike.
Coming home, it was a beautiful winter’s afternoon – cool but clear and sunny.
So, rather than travel the normal route along the main arterial roads I went for a bit of a ride. We’re living in Mona Vale at the moment and so, instead of going down Mona Vale and Barrenjoey Roads (the ‘normal’ route) I went via Akuna Bay (aka Aruna Bay) and Church Point.
If you’re focussed on getting to your destination adding a few kilometres diversion may not seem the smart thing to do.
However, it’s a stunning drive and I recommend it if you’re looking for somewhere gorgeous for a bit of a break.
Our other detours were simply turning off and going through suburbs we’re used to, and thought we knew, using different routes.
This led us to see amazing houses in the back blocks of Galston, McMansion city behind Mona Vale and lots of fascinating and interesting places we never knew existed.
One of the things suggested to keep off dementia and brain deterioration is doing things differently:
– brush your teeth using the other hand from the one you normally use
– drive a different way home to and from work
– vary your daily routine
These simple actions are said to have a marked impact on keeping your brain active and healthy.
How well do you know your suburb? Go for a drive around your neighbourhood taking special care to go down roads you haven’t travelled before.
Once you’ve got your suburb sorted you can expand your horizons to the next suburb and even further out into your city.
Even in a relatively small city I’m sure you’ll find fascinating places you never knew were there.
Once you do, how about sharing them with us 🙂