There were long walks and long days. They didn't have an itinerary and, even if they did, it wouldn't really tell them where they were going.
Jesus had compellingly invited each of them to "follow" him. Each of these men chose to go after him for their own reasons, but they did go after him. Mile after mile, city after city, sermon after sermon they stuck with him, with every day being drawn into something more than being a learner, but being astonished by their Master's life.
Jesus' words were authoritative and full of grace. He seemed to open up and new kind of world for them when he spoke, one they had seemingly forgotten. The way he came close to the untouchable leper and sat down to dinner with society's rejected ones demonstrated a heart that was extraordinarily free to love people sincerely.
This is not the way they would have gone if they had chosen where they were going. They would have comfortably stayed away from those Jesus spent time with and would probably never have missed the experience.
Though Jesus took them to places and people they would not have gone to otherwise, that wasn't the ultimate goal of what it meant to follow him. He wasn't merely after their obedience, he was taking them into his heart. By inviting them to stay with him he was daily demonstrating the core of who he is: Jesus heart was the wellspring of his life.
These men were invited to follow Jesus so they they could know his heart...and their hearts be transformed in the process. (By the way, the same is true for us)