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Sometimes in life you find yourself in the most random situations. These random adventures always find me or I find them, some for the good, some for the bad and some for the funny. It's not an everyday experience or is it?

Traveling to an unknown city or place is hard enough, let alone navigating public transportation. Well, I'm always up for an adventure. However, it's usually a bit more planned.

I was in San Jose, Calif., for the Blogher conference, and people recommended that I go to Santana Row. It's a great outdoor shopping area full of restaurants and cafés. Hello, shopping! I was on it! I had time while I was waiting for my friend's flight to come in. I figured I would scope it out, shop and find a place for us to have a delicious lunch.

I showered, got dressed and left the room. I had read on the Fairmont Hotel's web page that Santana Row was about three miles from the hotel and a shuttle was available. I asked the concierge how to get to Santana Row, and he told me to walk to the end of the block for the bus. I didn't think much of it since there were four hotels at the end of the block. I guess I thought it would be a shuttle bus for all the hotels in that area.

I waited for the shuttle bus to come, and I got on. The driver said, "$2 please" in broken English. I said, "Do you have change for a 10?" He said, "No, do you want to buy a $10 pass?" I said, "No," and he responded, "Just get on." Since I'm a fabulous listener, I did just that! I turned the corner and walked farther onto the bus. There was no turning back, or getting off.

Oh, boy! This was in no way a "shuttle bus" for the hotels. It was the city bus. The CITY BUS!

All the seats were filled with passengers of all shapes, sizes, ages, and I stood out to them as a stranger. It was obvious I didn't belong, and I had no clue where I was going.

As I looked around, waving my $10 bill and asking if anyone had change so I can pay for my bus fare, no one spoke up. They just looked at me as if I was some kind of cute and adorable alien from a different planet.

I thought, "Wow, these San Jose people are so rude. No one has change? Seriously?" So, I asked again, "Seriously no one has change for a $10?" I mean I wasn't asking for anyone's first born! I was asking for change for my $10 bill. Finally, after my third time asking the fellow passengers, an older women spoke up and said, "That's gonna be hard to find change for, sweetie!"

I slowly looked around the city bus, looking carefully and not too long at anyone. No one understood me in my quest to find change for my $10 bill. They weren't being rude; they couldn't understand me. I was an alien to them. They were just people trying to survive in this world. Just like I was trying to survive on the CITY BUS!

The bus drove down the street, stopping to pick up and drop off passengers. The bus was completely full with only standing room left. I was lucky enough to find a seat next to a homeless woman with all her bags and a shopping bag full of toilet paper rolls. Bless her heart. Each time we stopped to pick up passengers, I asked the newest passengers like a broken record as they walked by me for change for my $10 bill. No one had change.

Finally, a gentleman with dirty clothes and hands, some facial scrub, and broken English handed me the $2 bus fare. A total stranger who couldn't speak English placed the $2 fare in my hand. I was shocked that a perfect stranger would give me money. I said, "Thank you so much sir, but I can't take your money." He didn't understand me and kept trying to get me to take it, but I couldn't. I could tell he worked hard for his money. I was shocked by his kindness to help a total stranger who didn't need his money. I didn't ask again for change for my $10 bill. I figured I would just buy the $10 pass and leave it with the driver in case someone else didn't have the $2 fare.

And, just then, the mom, dad and a toddler girl sitting across from me reached in their wallets and gave me the change I needed.

Kindness! I was amazed that strangers would go out of their way for others. At the next stop a gentleman in a wheelchair and his caregiver got on the bus. Four people had to get out of their seats so the gentleman could board. No one complained or said a word. They just got up and moved. One of the uprooted passengers was an elderly woman with a cane who was traveling with an elderly man. I got up and gave the woman my seat. She smiled, thanked me, touched my hand and said, "Don't get old, dear. It sucks."

And the next few stops went just like that. Kind of like musical chairs. People got on and people got off - and the kindness for others was amazing. I had no clue I was getting on the "City Bus," but I'm glad I did. Kindness still exists in the world, sometimes in most random places. But if you keep your eyes and heart open, you'll find it.

And that makes me happy!

- Sarah Honey

Sarah Honey is a writer, blogger, adventurer and "queen bee," who writes the popular lifestyle blog, Thank You Honey: Adventures in Mommyhood.