Events and Adventures takes to the skies! On the bucket list of so many is jumping out of a perfectly good airplane. SKYDIVING! It’s also one of the things that can be so hard to get yourself to do. Sometimes it takes gathering yourself up, getting in a group of friends and just saying “what the heck..I’m doing it” If you have never done it, it can be hard to believe just how hard it can be to step into a plane and take off knowing that the only way down now is out the door at 10,000 feet or more. You almost have to tell yourself to NOT listen to the voice in your head that is getting louder and louder saying “ WHAT ARE YOU DOING” and just think of something else … like a shopping list or what’s in your Amazon wish list or anything to keep your mind off the idea that you are soon going to be free falling out of a plane. Then once you DO actually get out of the plane it’s so amazing, and you want to get back in the plane and do it again.
Just another day at the office with Events and Adventures at a truly amazing kayaking event at a little lake in the middle of Vancouver. Despite major traffic and transit delays somehow every single member always has a great attitude and can’t wait to kayak to the middle of the lake and sit and chat for an hour. Of course we have little races and get some exercise but it is really about the chats and companionship no matter how hard the day was. We laugh and joke and then go out for some more at a nearby pub. It was a beautiful day and a splendid way to end it..with all of our E&A friends.
What a week…Unless you’ve been stuck in the vegetable room at Costco you know it’s hot outside here in Houston. When it’s this hot out we here at Events and Adventures love to get wet! After a week of amazing events that included skeet shooting & a huge softball/kickball cookout; the party barge Sunday was a welcome escape from the flames. Flips, jumps and dives into the cool water were a fun escape from the upper deck where the wild ones were gathered. We’ve got an August loaded with fun events topped off by the big Labor Day Adventure at the end of the month. August is an awesome month to join Events & Adventures, with so many fun events to look forward to.
Last Sunday marked a milestone for a small group of member’s from our Events and Adventures Vancouver when we went Paragliding. Despite waiting for the clouds to dissipate while building anticipation, we all got to run off a perfectly good mountain, to soar like eagles. It’s pretty amazing getting to see people burst through personal boundaries and see them do things they never thought they would ever be able to. Standing atop Mt Woodside on the weekend, and waiting for those perfect winds, we all did just that. The last two flights of the day weren’t the most perfect landings, but we made it, and flying over the Fraser river and taking in the sights, even doing some crazy aerobatics, made the day all worth it. I can’t wait to fly again with my single friends at Events and Adventures!
I’m a big soccer fan. I watch, I play, all of it. So when I heard there is a new sport that is soccer based I was in! We played Foot Golf for the first time. I’d never even heard of it. It’s like golf but with soccer balls. We arrived at the golf course and everyone paid a nominal fee to get on the course. We had our own soccer balls (or you could rent them) got out score cards and headed to out T’s. We had 3 groups of 6. We teed off from the ladies line and aimed for the green. This a LOT harder than I thought it would be. In soccer we have to get it to another person or in the general direction of the goal. On the golf course it was way easier to aim way off from our target. Getting it into the 3 foot diameter hole was a hard! We laughed and talked a little trash as to how everyone’s aim was at the beginning. Towards the end we were all aiming better (some better than others!) When all the groups gathered after out game we went out to recharge and decided we really like this new sport of Foot Golf!
Santana Row is a beautiful place on a summer afternoon. It’s especially beautiful while sitting on the grass listening to beautiful live opera! San Jose Opera came to The Row to give a free outdoor performance. We had a great group of people who brought blankets and snacks to hang out and have an opera picnic. The performers were amazing, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I only wished I would understand what they were saying! However, at one point the song “If I were a rich man” from Fiddler on the Roof came on as an example of America Musical Theater & I LOVED it. The audience really got into it! Our group started clapping along and singing the words! Afterwards we headed to the quaint little wine bar and got to know each other. The best part was at the wine bar where we discussed all the places we would like to travel and some of the weird paranormal places you could go… There are so many cool places to travel to!
Events and Adventures Minneapolis had our first outing of Foot Golf this past weekend, the new sport that is “sweeping the nation”! As we were waiting in the club house waiting for everyone to arrive, we were debating on if it’s still called a “tee time” or if it should be a “kick off” or “punt time”… as we split into teams and sent the first one off, we were figuring out our strategies and anxious to see what was in store for us. The first group “kicked off” and we watched as they made their way closer to the 21 inch cup… We heard some cheers as a surprising kick went in along with some “Ahhhhh’s” when the ball didn’t go in… then it was our turn to try! We each placed our ball on the tee box as it was out turn and made a running kick, much like the “Happy Gillmore” in the movie, just without a club! And as we made our way through the course and laughed and cheered each other on, we realized at the end of the round, that it doesn’t matter what we do because we get to do it with friends! AND something we normally wouldn’t have tried! We can’t wait until our next round of Foot Golf! FORE!!!!!!!!!!!!
Paint the top 3 inches or so blue. Then paint this white in circular motions, that darker blue and blend in green like this. (Ding!) You are concentrating too hard! Breathe. Take of drink of whatever you have. Breathe again. Mix in a little white. Ok, in this corner star with the tan. Break time, let it dry a few minutes, grab a snack, refill your beverage and socialize. This is really going to be a painting when I’m done! During our break we check out each other’s paintings and steal ideas of how to make our a little bit better. We all know who the real artists are. We laugh about how this blank canvas we were given is turning into an actual painting. By the end of our 2 hour session we all have a real painting we did without numbers or special paint. Some will hang in their home; others given to family as gifts (Mom’s like home made gifts no matter how old we are) and others will be regaled to hang in the laundry room or closet where only the artist sees it and thinks I made that!
The Dallas Aquarium with single friends is a great way to spend a most muggy summer day. We had a great time and the Aquarium here has lots of animals too. No whales, seals or dolphins but they make up for it by having quite a few different types of animals too. We all talked about if you could have any pet what it would be. Who wants big scary pets and who wants amphibians. Many people you’d never guess what their interests are. It’s interesting to learn more about my new friends. We had a great day. Next month we are going to the Zoo to check out their animals and feed some too!
We had a chance to tackle the rapids on the St Louis River this past weekend! We carpooled up north on 35W, just 15 miles shy of Duluth, and all met at our launch location in Cloquet. We each had our own little adventures on the way up in anticipation of the big ones we would have in just a couple hours… when it was time to go, we all got our life jackets and a paddle and went to our assigned rafts… on the grass… hmmm what?? Ok, I guess they had to explain a few things before we went out on the water… probably a good thing! Ha! Then we finally got to set our rafts in the water and paddle out… practicing our together-ness with each stroke and getting the teamwork thing down. When we finally got to the rapids, it was a shock of how warm the water actually was compared to the 68 degree air! Some of us got soaked… ok, ALL of us got soaked with the waves spilling into and over our rafts, filling our rafts up to our seats with water… it’s like we were sitting in a pool! But as soon as we paddled through that last rapid, it was all smiles and laughter and an accomplishment of no one actually falling OUT of their raft! Anyone up for singing some “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” in a round? Good times as always with Events and Adventures!
