You travel with the hope that something unexpected will happen. It has to do with enjoying being lost and figuring it out and the satisfaction. I always get a little disappointed when I know too well where I'm going or when I've lived in a place so long that there's no chance I could possibly get lost.
We can always find something to be thankful for and there may be reasons why we ought to be thankful for even those dispensations which appear dark and frowning.