I love the idea of a journey to somewhere and yours turned in a really cool and refreshing one, it looks :)
On a much smaller scale, there have been times where my girlfriend and I just picked the car and drove for 20-30 minutes towards an almost random destination while looking for a place to explore! It's always so fascinating when you see something unexpected or unusual and you know that that was exactly what you where looking for... somehow!
I like the thought of stumbling into something new or interesting by accident when wandering about like in my post and how you and your girlfriend do it. It's a little adventurous and the unknown can be exciting too.
Yup, I 100% agree: the feeling that comes whenever you find a new quite and less known place is always so nice! And sharing it with someone you love make it even better :) and if at the end of the adventure there's an ice-cream, well, that's gg! ahahah