I like old fashioned paper maps. Spread one out and study the area surrounding your home. Look for thinly populated areas and squiggly lines. Avoid freeways. Look for border areas between states or countys, winding rivers or mountain ridges. Search out the hinterlands. At this point you may settle on a general area to explore today, or not. Then, before heading out, check the current surface wind speed and direction and the forecast for the rest of the day. (Windy is a good app for wind and weather information.)
At the end of your driveway, turn right or left; depending on your whim of the moment. If undecided at this point, turn into the wind. (I prefer to ride without a windshield, "naked" as it's called, because I prefer clean, quiet, non-turbulent air around my helmet; riding into the wind is a bit more fatiguing than riding with a tailwind so if the windspeed is signifcant I like to spend the first part of the ride with a headwind so I can savor a sweet tailwind on the homeward leg.)
As you proceed away from your driveway, make a point of looking around; savor the moment, settle into the environment, embrace the day. When you come to an intersection, slow down and consider the possibilities it offers; should I turn right, left, or proceed? Well, what feels right at this moment? Follow your instinct. Where does that road go? What is the likelihood of encountering traffic at this hour? Which road will lead me to the experience I'm seeking today? If none of the possibilities presents a clear answer I choose to head into the wind.
Early in the ride, close to home, I know where all the roads go and the riding experience they offer. As I get farther afield I may encounter intersections that offer roads as yet unridden. Does that road look appealing? Wonder where it goes? Is this the day to find out? Yes or no, flip a mental coin, ride on. If unable to decide, recall the wind forecast; generally, if convenient and somewhat reasonable, meander upwind.
When more or less half the time alloted for this ride has elapsed, I begin to gently turn crosswind for a bit and eventually downwind. If this has been a good ride I may actually not be too sure at this point exactly "where" I am but usually at least know the general direction of home, so I begin to head that way. If it has been an exceptionally good day and I have obtained the nirvana state of being "lost", I may consult my phone for directions to a gas station or to a road that I know will take me home. An app like Maps with Me with downloaded maps works when out of cell range, so even way back in the hills it will suggest a general direction to head.
As I journey towards home, relishing the tailwind, I check the hour, mentally compute the approximate time enroute and adjust my routing so as to arrive in time for dinner with my patient partner. Works for me; YMMV.