The Year of 52 Adventures

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faolan01 11:44 pm on May 11, 2010 Permalink | Reply
Tags: 4/52 ( 15 )

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 is discussing. Toggle Comments
- 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!
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faolan01 12:00 am on May 11, 2010 Permalink | Reply
Tags: 3/52 ( 18 )

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: 3/52 ( 18 ), 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, June, blueskiesinva, and 4 others are discussing. Toggle Comments
- 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!

42.347618 -71.100288

yearof52adventures and faolan01 are discussing. Toggle Comments
- 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!
abstractangel7 12:16 am on May 9, 2010 Permalink | Reply

Time to Get Back on the Horse
Unfortunately I fell off the adventure wagon a while ago. Probably got sick or busy or something like that. But I’m looking forward to starting again! My upcoming adventures are each longer than a day, but I’m counting them as adventures nonetheless. One is for the whole month of July. I’ll be taking an intensive class, 8hrs/day, to become TEFL-certified. (Kim, this is probably what you have, to have taught English in Japan?) Wish I could travel the world, but since I have young kids I want to see if I can become an ESL teacher here in Chicago. Maybe for refugees? I don’t know, but I’ve gotten kinda burnt out on being a drug counselor. Too much to write here…but it may be time for a change. From volunteering as an ESL teacher I already know that I love it, and want to learn more!
Another upcoming adventure will be taking my kids to Costa Rica in August. Navigating a foreign country for a week is sure to be full of many adventures, not to mention the ordeal of just getting there in the first place with a couple of shorties with limited attention spans. 😉
Past adventures (since I just started contributing to the blog) include: Learning how to knit, traveling to San Diego, attending a medieval-themed wedding, learned how to use a sewing machine, Lasik eye surgery, and lesbian speed-dating. I think there were a couple more, but I can’t remember right now. Funny, I lived my life like this before this year, so I’m remembering other “adventures” but they’re not associated with this project.
This past week I ended up getting a cold, so I had to postpone my adventure: cooking (and eating) cactus! Cacti? Whatever. It’s another thing that isn’t an adventure to a lot of people, since they sell it in the grocery store and SOMEbody must be buying it, but for me it’s something new. My ESL student told me how to cook it and I promised her I’d give it a try. Wish me luck!

Hope everybody has a wonderful day! Keep up the great work… I like reading the posts. 🙂

yearof52adventures and faolan01 are discussing. Toggle Comments
- faolan01 10:17 pm on May 11, 2010 Permalink
  
  working on a TEFL certification? quite an adventure indeed! best of luck with the certification and becoming an ESL teacher. Are you going to write up some of the other adventures you’ve had? I’d especially love to read about the wedding and I’m really curious about the Lasik since I’ve been thinking about it for a couple of years.
- yearof52adventures 10:05 am on May 12, 2010 Permalink
  
  So happy to have you back! I want your adventure post REPLETE with pictures from Costa Rica (swoon!).
Kimberly Hula 9:40 am on May 6, 2010 Permalink | Reply

There is no I in adventure
Wow! Check out this darling news segment on some fellow adventurers. Their enthusiasm helps me to get out and adventure every week.

Kudos to jean Ann and Jackie!

http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news.aspx?id=164251

42.347618 -71.100288

faolan01 and mjperry1 are discussing. Toggle Comments
- mjperry1 2:39 pm on May 6, 2010 Permalink
  
  Love this! You guys sounded so erudite!
- faolan01 1:23 pm on May 11, 2010 Permalink
  
  love it!
skywatcher 10:13 pm on May 4, 2010 Permalink | Reply
Tags: 2/52 ( 22 )

New Places, New People #2/52
The word “adventure” has gotten me thinking lately – and I’m a great one for over analyzing. The word seems ubiquitous on the Internet, and I wonder why. What is it we’re all after? I’ll admit I’m a little bored with my life right now – it’s too settled and too predictable. It isn’t that I’m not thankful for all that I have (two fantastic teenagers, nice home, stable income, etc.), but it just isn’t…enough. What’s important to me right now is to seek out new experiences…shake things up…step outside my comfort zone. I don’t necessarily need to make waves with every adventure – but I can sure as heck make some ripples.

Which leads me to last weekend. Without going into a lot of detail, I’ll say that I took a my longest bike ride ever on a new route. It was not without its challenges (which included a big black dog named “Rambo” – but let’s not go there!) I will also say that the lovely hills of the Virginia Piedmont seem a lot more scenic when one is riding down.

The following morning, I joined a group of total strangers on a Habitat for Humanity fund-raising hike. The trail was beautiful and the people I met were fantastic. (Meeting new people is definitely at the top of my list of adventures; I don’t know how, as an introvert, I can crave social contact so much, but that seems to be the way it is!) Finally, I took my kayak out on a lake I’d never visited before. It was very windy but sunny and warm…and I’ll confess that I spent more time aimlessly floating around than I did paddling!

Exciting? Not really…but what a great weekend!
abstractangel7 1:47 pm on May 3, 2010 Permalink | Reply

Hi, everybody!
Ok, so figuring out how to post on here was an adventure in itself. Now that I’ve managed to do it, I thought I’d introduce myself.

My name is Jackie, I’m 28, and I live in Chicago with my two boys (aged 5 and 6). I’m unemployed, and not ashamed to admit that I love it. I know it won’t last forever, but I’ve gotten to know myself, been able to spend much more time with my kids, and done things I could only dream about having the time to do when I was working. When I AM working my typical title is, “Substance Abuse Counselor”.

This challenge to complete 52 adventures really appealed to me because in a sense it was how I tried to live anyway- experience new things/people/places, but not as conciously. It sounds kinda morbid, but I’ve always felt like death is right around the corner. It makes me want to live life to the fullest, tell people how I feel about them while I can, go out and do things while I’m blessed enough to be healthy and able. At first, my adventures-on-purpose didn’t seem exotic enough when I started to check what everybody else was up to. My first adventure? Learning to knit. But it’s so individualized, anything can be an adventure to anybody, and there are no limits or rules (other than maybe not to purposely harm anyone).
To me it’s an individual journey of growth and self-discovery, shared with others and I want to thank Kim for this great idea. It’s good to meet other like-minded people unafraid of LIVING. Doing what excites you, what scares you, what reminds you that you’re alive. And what a beautiful thing that is.

I look forward to reading the posts and sharing my own on here. Have a wonderful day, everybody!

jeindeer is discussing. Toggle Comments
- jeindeer 1:09 pm on May 13, 2010 Permalink
  
  Welcome on board, Jackie! I think living life to its fullest is a great way to live it 🙂
mjperry1 3:24 am on May 3, 2010 Permalink | Reply
Tags: 8/52 ( 9 )

Adventure 8 – being honest with the internet….and attaching my name to it.
Initial disclosure. This posting isn’t so much about an adventure as it is about the concept of adventure. Second disclosure. I don’t consider myself a writer as such. I can write things, certainly … subject verb object … and it generally works rather nicely. I even use things like metaphors and similes. But a writer in the real sense of the word – the sense of being able to communicate profound human truths in interesting or perhaps pithy ways … this is not something I do in a written form. But tonight I’m going to make the attempt. Because tonight is my birthday. And I’m slightly drunk. And I’m alone. And if we combine those three things into a single metaphor, you kind of have my life.

Now, I’m not actually depressive. I’ve been through counseling, and I’ve worked through most of my issues, and I’m really in a pretty good place in my life. I think. But as I face the big 2-8, I can’t help but feel a certain sense of “I’m an adult now.” Which is so damn scary. (More …)

faolan01, Jean Ann, yearof52adventures, and 1 other are discussing. Toggle Comments
- blueskiesinva 10:15 pm on May 3, 2010 Permalink
  
  Your post is brave and inspiring. Don’t worry about being an adult (whatever that means). I’m about halfway through this life now, and I spend very little time thinking about what I’ve “accomplished.” It’s more important to, as you say, “plunge in and live life from day to day.” Happy Birthday!
- yearof52adventures 11:17 pm on May 3, 2010 Permalink
  
  I’m so proud of you. I can’t wait for forthcoming adventures!
- Jean Ann 3:19 pm on May 5, 2010 Permalink
  
  Thanks for referencing Our Town. (And no, I wasnt in Our Town, I tried out, and didn’t get cast.)
- faolan01 12:48 pm on May 11, 2010 Permalink
  
  This is very courageous! Thank you for sharing this adventure with us, and happy birthday!
faolan01 12:30 pm on April 30, 2010 Permalink | Reply
Tags: 2/52 ( 22 )

Adventure #2, Sunrise
Today my adventure was the result of accident and circumstance rather than planning and intention. Today I got to do something I only manage to do once every few years.

Today I sat out on the breakers and watched the sun rise over the Atlantic.

There have been many, many times when I have been out all night and not gotten home until the sun had risen. It was much more common in high school and college, but it still happens from time to time now that I am “grown up”. But of all those times that I was awake when the sun came up, either because I had already woken up or because I was still up, I have only sat and watched the sun rise less than a dozen times. Every single time I have been amazed. If you live on the east coast, or near enough to the east coast to make this a possibility, do yourself a favor and head down to the waterfront some morning to witness the ocean being lit on fire by the rising sun. Watch as green turns to yellow and orange and red and revel in the breaking of a new day.

lyds and yearof52adventures are discussing. Toggle Comments
- yearof52adventures 4:28 pm on April 30, 2010 Permalink
  
  what a lovely adventure to stumble upon. I’m in hot pursuit of a sunset this weekend!
- lyds 6:59 pm on April 30, 2010 Permalink
  
  What a beautiful description of another of God’s most colorful artwork.