Updates from May, 2010 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts

  • faolan01 4:39 pm on May 24, 2010 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , motorcycle   

    Adventure #5 – Rally Time 

    Adventure number 5 kicked off with a visit to Riverside Motorsports in Somerville Saturday, will last all summer and will include several other adventures along the way. While I was in getting my inspection sticker I picked up my Ducati Passport and first stamp for this year’s Passport Rally before taking a (very) roundabout route up to Beverley to add a second stamp at Eastern Cycle Ducati

    The New England Desmo Owners Club Passport Rally is, essentially, a friendly competition and excuse to get out and go riding all over the northeast. This is the second year of what we hope to keep going as a running (and growing) event. The rules are pretty simple: ride to as many of the participating dealerships and events as you can and get your passport stamped at each one. At the rally in September everyone turns in their passports and the person with the most stamps in each category wins. This year they’ve added another way to earn points by submitting pictures of our bikes with our passports in front of certain landmarks spread throughout the region. All in all it’s a lot of fun, and finding as many of the places as possible makes for great adventures. For last year’s rally I did a 3-day romp through 5 states collecting stamps as I went, and I’m planning at least 2 or 3 trips for this year.

    2 stamps down, a whole lot to go!

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    • yearof52adventures 11:56 am on May 25, 2010 Permalink

      that sounds absolutely amazing! what do these stamps look like? I like the idea of moto-adventure stamps!

    • blueskiesinva 7:25 pm on May 25, 2010 Permalink

      Don’t you love summer?! This sounds like such fun!

    • faolan01 6:55 am on May 26, 2010 Permalink

      Oh, it’s a lot of fun! The stamps are rubber stamps like you’d have in a real passport.

      **edit** finally figured out how to insert the pictures into the original post 😀

    • Ducky 10:45 am on May 3, 2011 Permalink

      What a joy to find such clear thinking. Thanks for potisng!

  • skywatcher 7:55 pm on May 21, 2010 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , bald eagle   

    Eagle’s Nest #5/52 

    I happened upon this adventure by a stroke of luck…

    While talking with a friend a few weeks ago, he told me about an eagle’s nest and promised, “Once the babies are bigger, [my wife and I] will show you.  If the nest is bothered when they’re too young, the parents will abandon them.”

    So.  This week I met them for the big visit, and we made our way across a field to a creek bed at the edge of the woods.

    I’m not sure what the eagle prerequisites are for real estate, but this pair had set up house at the top of a very scraggly pine tree.  Although large, the nest was not easy to find; you had to know where to look.  Once I was pointed in the right direction, I pulled out binoculars and was able to see a large black bird sitting in the nest:  Baby!  The adult eagles were nowhere to be seen.

    We moved west of the woods line so that we could get a closer look – and by “closer,” I mean that we were still a good 150 feet away.  This, however, was too close for Mama and Papa, who arrived out of nowhere.

    I can’t describe what I felt in seeing two bald eagles soaring overhead.  I was, and still am, awestruck.  They moved fast, and I had to anticipate their flight path in order to see them with the binoculars.  As I gave myself vertigo trying to follow them in the sky, my friend – a wonderful photographer – snapped frame after frame with his camera.  The eagle pair made “clicking” sounds and then resorted to a cry resembling that of a gull.  Clearly, they were upset and trying to chase us off… although my friends surmised that the adults may just be trying to ascertain whether they could “pick off the small one” (that would be me!)  Meanwhile, back at the nest, Junior knew his parents had returned and sat with his mouth open, waiting.  We didn’t stay much longer.

    As we crossed the creek and headed back uphill, the adult eagles followed us overhead to make sure we were leaving.  By the time we neared the road, they had returned to the woods.

    I’ve seen hawks, of course, and ospreys while kayaking – a Great Horned Owl even lives nearby – but this was the first time I’ve ever seen a bald eagle in its natural habitat.

     

    • yearof52adventures 4:07 pm on May 24, 2010 Permalink

      what an amazing and opportune adventure!

    • faolan01 4:45 pm on May 24, 2010 Permalink

      wow, that sounds great! the picture is beautiful, is it one of the ones that your friend took?

    • blueskiesinva 6:36 pm on May 24, 2010 Permalink

      Yes – he’s an incredible photographer, isn’t he?!

  • skywatcher 6:52 pm on May 17, 2010 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , dog adoption, puppy   

    Canine Commitment #4/52 

    Okay, so this adventure wasn’t on the partial list that I made public in my first post, but it’s something I’d been thinking about for quite a while.  The time was right, opportunity presented itself, and…yes, I adopted a puppy from the SPCA!

    Our nine-week-old addition is slowly but surely becoming acclimated, and I’m becoming used to having a “baby” in the house again – although I could do without these midnight trips to the backyard :-\  Lots of plans for my future hiking/camping buddy!

     

    • faolan01 4:41 pm on May 18, 2010 Permalink

      SO cute! Good luck with your new adventure buddy!

    • yearof52adventures 11:17 pm on May 18, 2010 Permalink

      What an adventure! He is adorable! Thank you for going to the SPCA, too!

    • Holly 11:25 am on June 4, 2010 Permalink

      Puppies are fun and the waking up doesn’t last forever. I’ve been fostering two puppies for a local shelter the last three weeks and I don’t know if I’ll be able to give them up. The reason I took them is after finding this website and realized that life is too short. Sometimes you have to be spontaneous and just do it. And it doesn’t matter what that is. I think we all really do regret the things we haven’t done.

    • blueskiesinva 1:53 pm on June 13, 2010 Permalink

      Update on my “little girl”: she’s an early waker (sigh) but she keeps her crate dry. A very sweet girl, and she went for her first swim yesterday – jumped in the lake and loved it! That’s my little retriever : )

  • abstractangel7 12:36 am on May 17, 2010 Permalink | Reply  

    Hi, adventurers! 

    Forgive me, I’m still figuring out how to use WordPress. 

    I’m excited about my newest idea for an adventure, so even though we’re supposed to post AFTER the fact, I’m sharing it first– I’m going to try and go to every Farmer’s Market in the Chicago area next week!  The list of daily markets was featured in the Red Eye recently, and I was trying to figure out which ones would be easiest for me to get to, when I thought….why not try and go to all of them?  Not this week, because it’s very busy for me, but next week I could attempt it.  Seems most of the markets are open from 7am-3pm, and I’d be able to figure out which ones I’m interested in returning to in the future.  I’m kicking off the week by attending the Eco-Fair at Navy Pier next Sunday, so this will be a good theme. (In addition to using whatever I buy for fresh nightly dinners!)

    I still need to come up with an adventure for THIS week.

    Thanks for reading this!   🙂

     

    • abstractangel7 12:54 am on May 17, 2010 Permalink

      EEK!! I just looked again, and most of these markets don’t seem to begin until the 2nd week in June!! I don’t want to just visit a couple, the point was to try and go nuts hitting them all in a week. So I guess this will be delayed until further notice…. thanks for reading anyway 🙂

    • yearof52adventures 7:45 am on May 17, 2010 Permalink

      BUT this will be a GREAT adventure for the coming weeks!
      You are so creative and lovely – I have no doubt you’ll think up something spicy for this coming week 🙂

    • abstractangel7 10:18 am on May 17, 2010 Permalink

      thank you!

  • ConstanceKW 5:02 pm on May 15, 2010 Permalink | Reply  

    Thanks to the inspiration of Kimberly an… 

    Thanks to the inspiration of Kimberly and others here, I’ve been thoroughly enjoying my own “quest” for 52 adventures, one of which includes starting and maintaining my own blog for one year.

    To date, I’ve completed 18 “adventures”. For more details, check out: http://www.2010adventurequest.wordpress.com

    1. Ate something I’ve never tried before – Fried Pickles!
    2. Attended a writing workshop – Story Studio Chicago
    3. Completed a 3 week Intro to Yoga Class at Chi-town Shakti
    4. Took a trapeze class
    5. Visited the Willis Tower Skydeck and the new glass shelves
    6. Attended a roller derby competition – Windy City Rollers
    7. Went on an “artistic date” – A sunrise stroll on the beach with my dog (in mid-winter)
    8. Attended my first Quaker service.
    9. Enjoyed a hot stone massage.
    10. Downed a shot of good tequila
    11. Parasailed in Mexico
    12. Cooked a complicated multi – course Greek meal.
    13. Did something (many things actually) non-basketball related at the Final Four
    14. Visited the Art Institute of Chicago
    15. Experienced a Reiki Treatment
    16. Made my husband’s and my favorite childhood recipes (Maid Rites and Mac & Cheese Casserole)
    17. Participating in a Read-a-thon and raise $1000 for charity
    18. Toured a famous Chicago cemetery.

    Thanks again, Kimberly – I’m loving the challenge!

     

    • yearof52adventures 9:46 pm on May 16, 2010 Permalink

      Wow! High praise! Your adventures sound amazing and I’m so glad to have you on board! Keep doing what you are doing. You are doing an amazing job!

    • abstractangel7 12:27 am on May 17, 2010 Permalink

      Sounds great! Thanks for sharing!

    • blueskiesinva 9:29 pm on May 18, 2010 Permalink

      I went to your blog – it’s wonderful!!

    • Jalene 11:37 am on May 3, 2011 Permalink

      Thanks for sharing. What a pelasure to read!

  • inkstainedangel 8:16 pm on May 12, 2010 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , ,   

    Adventures 1,2, 3, and 4 Oh my! 

    Not one, not two, but four adventures in one blog post!? Well, this is ground breaking! You’re just going to have to read more and enjoy. 🙂

    Adventure #1- The Garden

    This is my on-going adventure, and lately adventure is an understatement. The weather up here has gotten freakishly chilly, and most of the viney-plants that I planted earlier last month have all died. I have about two sugar pumpkins, a squash, and a cantaloupe left of six jack-o-lanterns, three sugar-pumpkins, three squash, three watermelon, and three cantaloupe. I have enough seeds, and enough time to re-plant, but right now its a mess. And because of the weather, all the seedlings I have inside perished from lack of sunlight. All there is left to do is persevere and try again! (And I have to tell my mom to stop buying new seeds, because I have no place to put them yet o.o)

    Adventure #2- Cooking Dinner for 8

    Holy crap! Eight people, and my mom tells me to cook?! I can hardly make Mac&Cheese from the box without help from my younger sisters!

    I wake up in the morning as my mom is getting ready to go to work and getting dinner started. She looks at me as she’s putting a couple of frozen lamb-shanks into a large black casserole tin. I look at the daunting mess of dirty dishes in the sink as I remember that I forgot to take care of them last night. But before I could open the dishwasher to clean up the disaster looming over my kitchen counter, my mom says,

    “We’re having shepherd’s pie tonight, and I need you to make it,”

    In my head I’m screaming my head off. Outside, my sleepy and groggy body manages to let out a “what?”

    “Can you cook tonight?” she asks. I look back at the dishes, and back to her and shrug. (More …)

     

    • yearof52adventures 7:46 am on May 17, 2010 Permalink

      Way to go lady! YOU are on a roll!

    • faolan01 4:49 pm on May 24, 2010 Permalink

      4 great adventures you have there! congrats on making the big family dinner!

    • Malerie 2:01 pm on May 3, 2011 Permalink

      Fell out of bed feeling down. This has brihtgeend my day!

    • Staysha 2:23 pm on May 4, 2011 Permalink

      Hey, good to find soomene who agrees with me. GMTA.

  • faolan01 11:44 pm on May 11, 2010 Permalink | Reply
    Tags:   

    Adventure #4 – Enabling Another Adventurer 

    I took last Friday off to adventure, and ended up going on a completely different adventure than I had planned. I had planned on spending that beautiful, sunny day out on my own kicking off a summer long adventure I have planned. I was all geared up, helmet in hand and walking to the door when I received a text text that changed my plans for the day. Taking someone out for an adventure of their own? Of course I was up for it!

    A friend had posted her list of adventures she wants to have this summer and I had offered to help with a couple, particularly helping her learn to ride her scooter and taking her on her first trip to a firing range. Friday was her only day off for the weekend so I got changed, grabbed my range bag and headed out to pick her up. When we got to the range I gave her a basic firearms safety overview, showed her how to load and aim a pistol and how the safety on it worked, and set her up with her first target. At first hitting the target at all was more a matter of luck than anything (as is the case for most people who have never fired a gun before), but with a bit of coaching and practice she improved a lot. By the end of the day she was consistently hitting the inner rings of the target and hit her first center-dot bulls-eye!

    We both had a lot of fun, and we each got to check an adventure off of our lists. I also sent her the link to The Year of 52 Adventures and encouraged her to check it out. She looked at my list and told me she wants to try dancing lessons as well, so it looks like I’m going to have a partner in crime for at least one more of the adventures on my list.

     

    • yearof52adventures 9:59 am on May 12, 2010 Permalink

      FANTASTIC! Adventures are so much better shared, aren’t they?
      Way to be an adventure liasion!

  • faolan01 12:00 am on May 11, 2010 Permalink | Reply
    Tags:   

    Adventure #3 – Catching up with an old friend 

    Technically this adventure began a few months ago when Lisa found me on Facebook, but it wasn’t until a few days ago that we finally got to sit down and talk face to face again. We met in 1993 and were close friends all through high school. We went to different schools and were a year apart, but because we dated each others friends we went to the same semi formals and proms. (Admittedly, I may have scared off one or two guys she had crushes on…ok, maybe 3 or 4…certainly not more than 5 or 6…)

    When I headed off to college in 96 we still got to hang out on the occasional weekend that I was home, and I went to her prom with one of her friends, but life and distance kept pushing us further apart. The summer of 97 we tried to hang out more, but summer jobs and life in general kept getting in the way. When we headed off to our respective colleges in the fall we both just seemed too busy with everything going on in our own worlds to be able to keep in touch and just sort of drifted away. The last time I saw her was December of 98. (More …)

     

  • skywatcher 9:26 pm on May 10, 2010 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , Nelson Rocks, Via Ferrata   

    Via Ferrata – #3/52 

    The alarm went off on Saturday morning at 6 am, and I was excited.  A friend had told me about the Via Ferrata at Nelson Rocks Preserve in WV, and I couldn’t wait to try it out.  My excursion planned for the prior weekend had been postponed because of predicted thunderstorms; apparently, it isn’t a good idea to be attached to a steel cable with lightning in the vicinity.  Go figure.  At any rate, I pulled the kayak off the top of my car, stopped for coffee and Kashi bars, and headed west.

    The Via Ferrata is a mountain climbing route relying on permanently installed steel cables; the climber is attached to this cable by harness and caribiners at all times, meaning that people like me, with little or no climbing experience, can complete the course in “relative” safety.  Still, if one slips, the drop can be from 5- to 10-feet…ouch!  Here’s a shot of the vertical ascent; the steel rungs in the face of the mountain are just visible:

    I arrived at a small reception building just as a climbing group was about to head out.  At that point, I was dismayed to learn that my scheduled hike had been postponed again…but no one had called to let me know.  Luck was with me, however; I was able to tag along with a group of four NYC adventurers visiting West Virginia for the sole purpose of climbing throughout their weekend.  I couldn’t have picked more enjoyable people to share the experience!

    Our guide gave us a safety talk at the base of the Via Ferrata and told us how to safely clip and unclip from the steel cable.  It felt very awkward in the beginning, but as the climb progressed, we all became more comfortable (and ambidextrous) with the skill.

    The experience was intense, and I found it to be both a physical and mental challenge.   As I returned my climbing gear, I felt a real sense of accomplishment – as if I’d joined an elite cadre of non-chickens.  Yes, there was a rush in taking a physical risk (and in the wind gusts that reached 30 mph); I’m sure that was part of the draw for me.  But how can something like that not leave its mark?  If I can climb the vertical face of a mountain, I can deal with pretty much anything life throws at me.  It was definitely an excellent adventure; I’ll be back for more.

     

    • yearof52adventures 10:05 am on May 12, 2010 Permalink

      Intense is an understatement! The wind gusts alone are extra spicy! This looks like so much fun. Congrats on undertaking such a difficult adventure!

    • faolan01 12:20 pm on May 12, 2010 Permalink

      Awesome! How high is the climb? Is it a one-day trip or a full weekend adventure? That’s great that you were able to join up with a group of fun strangers for this!

    • inkstainedangel 8:22 pm on May 12, 2010 Permalink

      Wow! That sounds amazing! I really can’t wait to get some rock-climbing done of my own, this just intensified my anticipation!

    • mary chris moore 9:15 am on May 13, 2010 Permalink

      Just wanted to share that I work for the Via Ferrata at Nelson Rocks Preserve and caught this thread as a Google Alert. Glad to hear the experience was enjoyable (despite a few initial glitches). We welcome anyone who is interested to come try it! It truly is a unique, thrilling and memorable experience and we are starting plans to have a Canopy Tour installed by this fall at the same location. You will be able to choose to do a treetop to treetop zip line back down to the start, or do the mile hike back down on foot. Ages 13 and older. By reservation only. We are in the process of getting our booking system online and electronic to help facilitate reservations and response time and we are trying to get the word out to as many people as possible. Any suggestions for appropriate/well-read publications for advertising would be appreciated!

    • jeindeer 1:07 pm on May 13, 2010 Permalink

      Wow, that is really adventurous even amongst the adventures! Congratulations!

    • blueskiesinva 9:59 pm on May 13, 2010 Permalink

      A zip line? Awesome! The Via Ferrata is only 2 1/2 hours away from me, so I’m definitely planning to return! Hope I gave an accurate representation; I tagged it on purpose : )

    • June 5:13 am on June 2, 2010 Permalink

      (testing message board)

    • June 5:24 am on June 2, 2010 Permalink

      I stumbled upon this site a month ago but never took the time to post, so now, here are several adventures I have completed and one I am in the midst of:

      1. Adventure #1 – Eating a MRE

      I had been curious about the Meals Ready-to-Eat (or MRE’s) used by the military and wondered what they were all about. I’ve occasionally seen them offered for sale and thought that keeping a few on hand in my emergency cabinet might be a good thing to do. At a group yard sale this weekend the marine-looking guy next to me was selling a few, so I went ahead and made a purchase of 8, for a dollar each.

      The heavy duty plastic packet was about the size of a squished loaf of bread, slightly heavier, and evidently contained several other smaller packets in it. I selected one marked “boneless pork chops” and opened the outer plastic bag to discover the remainder of the contents. There was a plastic packet marked “pound cake” that was flattened to the size of a large cookie and infused with calories totaling 280, a “vegetable cracker” slightly flatter than the cake, a packet the size of a pocket comb marked “cheese spread with jalapenos” (my eyes caught some bold print on this proclaiming it was “FORTIFIED.”) There was a box about the size of a thin pocket novel labeled “spiced apples,” another box of the same size marked “pork chop, chunked and formed, with Jamaican style seasoning and noodles.” The two remaining packets received my closest scrutiny.

      The condiment packet contained a heavy duty brown spoon, instant coffee, powdered creamer, sugar, instant lemon/lime drink mix, salt, a wet wipe, a small packet of toilet paper, and a teeny tiny glass bottle of tabasco sauce! The final packet was a chemical heater that could be activated with water. The directions instructed me to open the top of the plastic bag containing the heater, slide the plastic meat packet into this bag, fill water to a marked line, and finally placed the entire thing back into the pork chop box and wait for 15 minutes. I added the water and the packet began to bubble and then get hot. I stepped aside and allowed the chemical reaction to take place away from my delicate skin and eyes. After the 15 minutes were up, I removed the hot food packet and recalled that I once read somewhere that the remaining heat packet might be utilized by a person trying to get warm.

      The “pork chops” reminded me of canned pet food both in looks and perceived taste. (The following day my digestive system reminded me that the remainder of MREs should be reserved for only life or death situations.) In a nutshell, the cracker was good but the cheese had a strange texture; the spiced apples and cake both tasted good but were too high of calories for the average person; and the other items I didn’t feel the need to sample.

      Am I glad I did this, and what did I learn?

      Yes, I’m glad I tried this because it made me feel more capable of fending for myself, more empathetic of those who have to actually eat these things on a regular basis, and better educated about something I had a curiosity about.

    • yearof52adventures 9:52 am on June 3, 2010 Permalink

      June, feel free to join the group and post your adventures to the site as they surface. If you want to become an author, sign up for a free wordpress account and email me, Kimberlyhula@gmail.com to let me know!

      So happy to have you!

  • Kimberly Hula 4:37 pm on May 10, 2010 Permalink | Reply  

    You and Me makes fun for We 

    Jeanne Sparrow, of Chicago’s WCIU (The U) joined myself, and the lovelies jean Ann and Amanda (on her birthday!) on a Sky Deck Adventure!  You can see the footage here!

    You can also see some more choppy footage of the actual live broadcast, here.

    *Technical glitch FIXED.  Videos are dressed and ready for YOUR viewing!

     

    • faolan01 1:26 pm on May 11, 2010 Permalink

      the link here is broken 😦 (looks like there’s an extra http// in it) but the one on the Facebook page works. The Sky Deck Adventure and the interview were great! 2 news stories in a matter of days? looks like this is really catching on 🙂

    • yearof52adventures 9:53 am on May 12, 2010 Permalink

      Aye yi yi! Thanks for bringing this to my attention.
      The news stories were darling and we have a lot of fun doing them.
      I’m so excited everyone is in it to win it. Great job all!

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