Betchya Didn't Know (pt. 1 of 5)

(This is part 1 of a 5 part series of getting to know little known facts about me - some of these you may already know, some you may not)
I take side streets
If you have never had the privilege of going on a ride with me, well then you're missing out. You will no doubt see parts of the city/countryside that you never knew existed. Now, you may argue that it might take me longer to get from A to B, that I can't drive as fast, or that the streets are too narrow to be purposely driving on them. Well I say to you Mr. Naysayer, "yea, I will indeed continue in my quest of taking side streets."
I do this for 2 distinct reasons:
1. I always, always, ALWAYS get stuck at red lights - ALWAYS (Paige can testify). If you have ever been in the vehicle with me you will understand where I am coming from. I often have many things going on and quickly need to get from here to there in a relatively short amount of time and I swear that the stop lights of the world have a conspiracy against me getting anywhere without having to stop, its true. So to counter their plot I simply avoid them. I take side streets so that I don't have to interact with the stupid Red-Light Army that is out to get me.
2. I seek adventure, exploration, and oddities. I love discovering things. I do this wherever I am, not always intentionally, but usually this is true. This past summer I earned the nickname 'Adventure Steve' because of how I was always wondering off and exploring the new places we were at (Plus I even own a pair of adventure shoes!). I take side streets so that I can discover the rawness of the place I'm going through. I also love things that are odd and out of the ordinary. As a kid I was totally into Ripley's Believe It or Not and things of the sort. And I still enjoy stumbling upon weird and unusual things - and how could you do that if you stayed on the main road the whole time? You couldn't. You just couldn't. I mean think of where all of the weird stories that you hear in the news take place...not in the main cities, they always take place in strange, off-the-beaten path places. Yes, it may take longer. Yes, it may seem silly. Yes, I may have to stop way more often for squirrels, children, or little old ladies - but these are small sacrifices when it comes to the opportunity for exploration.
Now you know.