>> driving around aimlessly

Commuting to work? Couldn’t resist. Sorry.

Some cities are too big to cover by foot. So I set my GPS to route to home, and I just drive around a neighborhood randomly and when I get tired I follow the directions to home.

I did this in my home city of Chicago, and discovered so many new nooks and crannies and interesting streets that I would never had occasion to traverse. I also learned where major streets ended eg Michigan Ave.

20 years ago I enjoyed this too. But today I can't imagine burning fuel as a past time activity. It even makes me angry thinking others still do this.

You might want to temper that with a sense of proportion.

Typically downtown locations are quite compact and it doesn’t really take a lot of gas (or electricity as the case may be) to drive around the city once in a while.

Also I imagine very few people actually do this.

Cruising. See American Graffiti

Not quite - cruising, at least AIUI, is more about being seen and seeing people. more of a performance than just letting yourself get lost in the world.

I've never understood the word to have that connotation of performance.

One time I went on a drive and only took right turns and only when I felt it might be interesting. Ended up in a suburban area I'd never seen before and discovered a restaurant from a chain in my home state that I didn't realize was here.

Getting just a little bit lost, and enjoying the scenery on the way. It can be very relaxing if you don't panic about needing to be somewhere.