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Events & Adventures members at sporting events like the San Jose Earthquakes!
San Francisco, Santa Clara

Sporting Events with Events & Adventures

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Sporting Events are uber-popular with our members!

Sporting events are a hot commodity with Events &Adventures in the Bay Area.  Whether it’s football, baseball, hockey, or soccer, we love to attend them all!  Last weekend, the Santa Clara and the San Francisco clubs attended a soccer game at the new Avaya Stadium in San Jose.  This new sporting arena is home to the largest outdoor stadium bar in the country, and is also known for its “edible garden”, which carries an assortment of apricot, plum, and cherry trees.

This evening’s weather was perfect and the conversation was plentiful.  We all enjoyed the first half of the game from the bar which was located about ten yards from the field.  Once we had our fill of food and drinks, we ventured over to our seats to watch the second half of the game.  The crowd’s energy was contagious and we all joined in to cheer on the San Jose Earthquakes.  After the game came to an end, many of us decided to keep the party going and ventured off to downtown San Jose for some drinks and dancing.

Like most weekend events, it was a night to remember.  Many members wrote a great review about the experience and shared their desire to return to the stadium to watch another soccer game.  No matter what the occasion, Events & Adventures does its best to cultivate an environment that’s light-hearted and fun for everyone in attendance.  You don’t want to miss out on our other upcoming sporting events!

e&a winery tours with Events & Adventures Vancouver
Vancouver

Winery Tours with Events & Adventures BC

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Winery tours were on the agenda this past weekend for the members of Events & Adventures Vancouver.

This past weekend, Events & Adventures Vancouver crew went on winery tours around the lower mainland.  The weather has been up and down going into the fall season, but we were lucky to have such a beautiful autumn day. The leaves were turning red, the breeze was cool, and the sun was shining as we ventured out on the tour.  We decided to take a limousine bus so we would arrive in style, and indeed we did as it was equipped with its own sound system, lights, and chilled water.

The host of the day brought breads with balsamic and oil to snack on in between stops, and everyone brought snacks to share, as well. We had the option to stop for lunch, but we wanted to make the most of the winery tour.  Our first stop of the day was Vista Doro, where we sampled reds, whites, and a port, plus we got to sample their own mimosa recipe (made from a blend of their wines).  They also carry a wide selection of preserves, which we also sampled and were so good we couldn’t leave without taking some with us.

The second stop of the day was Township 7, and there was a private party going on when we arrived.  They had live music that really set the mood, and the atmosphere was wonderful. We stopped and took pictures by the vineyards after the sampling was over.  The third stop of the day was Backyard Winery, a personal favorite, and was packed with people!  The atmosphere was brilliant and the description of their wines made you wants to taste every single one. This winery has been recognized for many of their wines and won multiple awards (even gold).

Our fourth and final stop of the day was The Fort Wine Company, and the building was quaint and adorable. They served us fruit wines that were sweet, making it a very different experience than the other wineries that we visited previously.  We finished off with a mini tour throughout Fort Langley before heading back into the city.  It was so nice to be able to get out of town a little bit and enjoy a day in the countryside with other great members of Events & Adventures Vancouver!

e&a wine tasting and grape stomping with Events & Adventures Bay Area.
San Francisco, Santa Clara

Wine Tasting with Events & Adventures

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Wine Tasting with the singles from Events & Adventures is just minutes away.

Just a few miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge is the world famous wine country of Northern California, which includes over 500 different wineries.  Napa and Sonoma are only a short drive away, and it’s now harvest season, the time of year when all the vines are filled with grapes and you can smell the wine fermenting in the air.  What better time to pay a visit for some wine tasting!  But this year, instead of spending a weekend just wine tasting, Events & Adventures got down and dirty by actually making some wine the old-fashioned way—stomping some grapes!  Several Napa Valley wineries offer experiences to truly write home about, including mushing the grapes with your feet Lucy and Ethyl-style.

Events & Adventures members got to stomp grapes, taste wine, and take home a t-shirt with their grape feet imprint. So how do you Grape Stomp, you’re wondering?  Well, for all of you looking to Grape Stomp before the end of the season here are five things you need to know.

  1. Plan Your Outfit Accordingly

Don’t let anything get in the way of winning, including your clothes!  The main event of a grape stomp involves trying to mash out as much juice as possible with your feet.  This process can be quite messy, and you’ll end up with sticky grape juice all over your legs.  Resist the urge to wear your cutest maxi dress or a new pair of pants and stick with something that you’re comfortable getting messy.

  1. Get Creative with Your Clothing

Speaking of outfits, plan your group’s costumes ahead of time, as most grape stomp events give prizes to the best and most creative costumes.  Team apparel can range from matching t-shirts to full-blown costumes, and creativity always counts!

  1. Stay Hydrated

This may be our most important tip of all! The majority of grape stomp events take place outside in August and September, when temperatures in Napa Valley often exceed 90 degrees. Grape stomps are usually held at a winery, and there is often plenty of wine available for tasting as well. So drink up!

  1. Bring Your Camera

This is an event that you’re going to want to document, so bring your camera (or cell phone) with you! Some favorite shots from previous events include pre and post-stomping photos, group costume shots and, of course, action shots during the stomping.

  1. Have Fun!

Diving into a barrel of grapes and making a mess with your feet isn’t something you get to do every day, so make the most of it! Get messy, stomp as fast as you can and don’t forget to have fun.

Events & Adventures in the Bay Area makes it easy to find fun new things to do, like grape-stomping!  If you don’t feel like you’re experiencing to the fullest, give us a holler and find out why hundreds of other singles join us for great events like wine tasting every single week.

Spain trip with Events & Adventures
Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Minneapolis, Phoenix, San Francisco, Santa Clara, Seattle, Travel Events, Vancouver

World Travel with Events & Adventures

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The only way to sum it up our visit to Spain is to say that Events & Adventures really does world travel well.  This wasn’t a trip where we were on a clock throughout the experience; there was a great mixture of planned tours and free time.  We started our adventure at JFK in New York, getting some quick introductions to the over 40 people who were taking part in the trip.  And believe it or not, someone was sweet enough to bring everyone homemade cookies!

world travel to spain

Events & Adventures members from around the US and Canada visited Spain!

After landing in Madrid, we got to stretch our legs with a quick tour of some of the city’s most famous sights, before taking a break to enjoy a welcome lunch that offered a staggering amount of delicious traditional Spanish cuisine.  Our first full day started with a tour for the presidential palace, which was spectacular.  We then journeyed to the ancient city of Toledo, which is thousands of years old, and got the chance to get lost in the labyrinth of tiny streets that wind around the historic town.  Dinner was a casual five-course party with several small plates (tapas) before our entrees. We learned the hard way we would have to pace ourselves with the food here because they just keep bringing it out!

We headed to towns ancient towns of Avila and Segovia. The Roman aqueducts are still soaring over the town.  How can the residents just go on about their day when they have such spectacular history all around them?!   After we returned to Madrid we refreshed ourselves and headed out to a popular bar area for a Tapas crawl.  The bars here are more like pubs, not clubs—because those open way later.  Each bar we tried different luscious small dishes, and we loved how everyone shares!

We packed up from Madrid and headed to Bunol, where the residents were preparing for the Tomatina Festival the very next day.  It was such a cute little town. We spent our afternoon and evening touring and eating in this historical city by the sea.  The next morning was the beginning of the adventure that is the world famous Tomatina Festival—probably the world’s largest annual food fight.  Security was tight.  To make sure no one got hit with anything other than tomatoes we couldn’t bring anything in.  Twenty thousand people packed the long narrow streets before the dump trucks just started unloading as they drove down the street, and at the starting pistol—it was pure madness.  Goggles were the best idea ever—as long as you kept them on!  It was so exciting, and everyone was there for the fun of it, not to kill other with these little red bombs.  As much as we laughed, it was best to keep your mouth closed though!  After the ending pistol the fire department and locals brought out hoses to wash everyone off.  There is nothing like experiencing world travel by being involved in the local culture.  Getting smashed tomatoes out of hair proved to be the most challenging part of the whole trip.  Even playing in the warm and relaxing Mediterranean Sea didn’t get it out.

world travel to spain

Barcelona was the final hotel location for our world travel to Spain.

We took a tour of what is probably one of the biggest promenades you’ll ever see, and thousands of people were out for an evening stroll.  The shopping, food, bars, and views of the Gothic neighborhood were everything you’d expect it to be.  Small lanes that are no wider than one car have little bars and restaurants around each turn, with people spilling out into the lanes.

It wasn’t long before we got to witness La Sagrada Familia, one of the most incredible cathedrals in the world—and they are still building it!  Every tiny detail has a meaning, and the colors the stained glass creates and projects into the building are breathtaking.  Designed by several architects, the most influential being Gaudi, it has different styles in throughout the construction.  Afterwards, we had an amazing tour of Park Guell.  It was the original planned neighborhood.  At the time it was too far out of town and too expensive but for a handful of the super elite. Gaudi’s influence could be felt everywhere we went, and he managed to translate beauty even in the unusual, as everything he produced appeared to be curved and wavy.  His mosaics were everywhere and they were beautiful, even the monochromatic ones.  World travel can expose you to so many wonderful things you might have otherwise never seen.

Monserrat Benedictine monastery is a historical and religious jewel. Hidden up, up, way up in the mountains, disguised by the hills, how’d they build this gorgeous place?  There are still monks there and a school for boys!  So after our tram trip to the ‘top’ of the mountain (there’s a small chapel and alter up even higher if your legs can get you there), we went to the coolest place ever for another never-ending lunch—a traditional hacienda (ranch house) that was turned into a restaurant.  We learned the traditional Spanish way to drink wine and had never ending courses of family-style food (again).  People were stuffed before they brought out the chicken, traditional sausage (which tasted like Texas BBQ!), and meats.  We HAD to get to the winery so dessert was taken to go—Biscotti-like biscuits and fresh fruit!

Speaking of wine….  We had a tour of the most amazing winery I’ve ever seen, and I live in Northern California.  This was not a regular winery; it was a huge commercial business that makes great wine.  It was simply amazing.  The tram we rode had headset options for six languages, though we didn’t use them since it was a private tour.  Stories of the wineries founding and growth were projected on walls that lifted up so we could see the barrel storage.  We got to walk down the original storage cellars below ground. They told and showed us how they produce spectacular “healthy” wines that don’t harm the environment.  Using solar power the facility is almost entirely self-sustained!  Everyone was impressed before we even started the tasting and got to try four different delicious wines.  I imagine the wine drinkers were ready to move in.

Our last day of this world travel tour was spent visiting the ancient cities of Figueras and Girona.  Girona is a medieval city with narrow streets, castles and ramparts.  Figueras is another historical city that is such for a different reason—Salvador Dali.  The museum made of his birthplace was a trip in the madness of a truly brilliant artist.  The amount of art in so many different mediums was staggering.  Our farewell dinner was a little different since it was in the Catalonian style.  Less meat, meat, meat, more little flourishes on the dishes, but still way too much food.

The trip and tours were truly awesome, but getting to see people from the other E&A Clubs was like gathering of old friends while making new ones.  There were so many people I wanted to spend more time with but the time slipped away so fast. We’ll stay friends through social media until we meet again on our next world travel trip, maybe even on an in-between trip to visit friends!  We talked about the Amazon trip next month and Cuba and China trips already scheduled for next year.  I can’t wait to join my Events & Adventures world travel friends in our next exotic destination.

world travel to spain

Night Kayaking with friends at Events & Adventures
San Francisco, Santa Clara

Night Kayaking with Events & Adventures

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Night Kayaking Under a Full Moon – Extraordinary Excitement with Events & Adventures

Night kayaking is not something many people have experienced, but everyone with a love for the outdoors definitely should!  While kayaking has been featured as a competitive sport in the Summer Olympic Games since 1936, night kayaking is a new twist on an old favorite. So in the Spirit of Rio, Events & Adventures members in the Bay Area grabbed paddles and took on the Bay under moonlight for a kayak venture unlike any other.

Our members were dazzled by the serene and beautiful surroundings of the Bay, with both the moon and city light playing off the water.  “This is the most incredible trip you can do in the Bay Area at night! As you paddle along the San Francisco waterfront, you’ll be mesmerized by the beautiful city lights,” said Monica, one our great San Francisco members.  “It really adds to the ambiance as the sun sets and the moon rises.”

It was a magical experience as the full moon lit up the water and we could see animals swimming underneath our kayaks!  Seeing these animals made us feel like we were really connected with our environment and experience.  On nights of a full moon, time seems to stand still as it casts a mystical glow on the water.  Our kayaks coasted across the Bay, following the arc of the rising moon while we laughed and tried to keep our balance so no one fell in.

Events & Adventures gave our members the opportunity to be adventurous on a Friday night, instead of heading to a bar or restaurant they bonded with members and worked together to create a memorable experience.  There are many more of these experiences coming up; in a way, Events & Adventures turns the extraordinary into the ordinary!

trampoline dodgeball with Events & Adventures Phoenix
Phoenix

Dodgeball Competition Heats Up in Phoenix

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Dodgeball is no longer just a kids’ game played during gym class in junior high with the jocks teasing the nerds.

Nope, dodgeball is now an adult game played for fun in leagues across America, and last week we decided to get it on right here in Glendale, Arizona at Jump Street.  It’s a great way to spend time with your friends while getting in a competitive workout, so the members of Events & Adventures Phoenix did battle five-on-five—with the added twist of blending in a trampoline to raise the stakes, and insanity level. We picked our teams, decided our strategies, and summoned our inner Patches O’Houlihan!

Even if you were never very competitive before, that part of you will reveal itself when it comes down to deciding who will be the last man standing after a game of dodgeball.  The good news is that no matter how hard a ball is thrown even a direct hit on the chest does more stinging than any real harm.  It starts out with members of each team lining up on the base line and charging to center court on a whistle or clap to pick up as many of four balls as possible to be thrown at the other team. But first, each team must retreat behind the free throw line before attempting to hit an opponent.

Some teams will have a certain technique, while others will not.  The most common strategy is to target the other team’s best player and whip several balls at him or her in a coordinated barrage, presuming the player cannot dodge them all.  It took me several times to figure out how to actually dodge the ball rather than attempting to catch it flying at me.  When a team is ahead in the number of players remaining, another tactic is to pick out an opposing individual and bull-rush him until he is tagged. Play continues until one team is out of players.  Teamwork will win more games than rogue individual play.

So how does the trampoline factor into the dodgeball game?  Well if you’re able to go out and enjoy any activity when you’re laughing at yourself after repeatedly falling down, then you’re the perfect candidate to attempt this workout of a game on a trampoline!  At the end of the night, not only will your thigh muscles and arms burn from a good workout, your sides will probably hurt from all the laughs.  Trampoline dodgeball is definitely a lot more fun than just working out the gym.

As famed dodgeball coach Patches O’Houlihan once said, “If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball.”  So next time you want to try it, join Events & Adventures for an intense and hilarious round of dodgeball!

Being silly at Events & Adventures Vancouver
Vancouver

Spend Canada Day Weekend Right With Events & Adventures

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Happy Canada Day!

Here at Events & Adventures in Vancouver, our Canada Day weekend started off with a bang!
We began with a potluck picnic (where desserts were the main course), played Frisbee, threw some balls around, listened to music, and spent some time with old friends and also made new ones.  We had a friendly competition of Canada Day trivia and finished off our night with an amazing fireworks display.

The next day we set off bright and early on an adventure to paddle board on Jericho Beach. The sun started shining about 20 minutes before we got into the water and the conditions were ideal. We had two instructors who were fantastic hosts and showed us what to do and what not to do. After a two hour lesson we felt like experts. We continued our Canada Day weekend with ice breakers and games on Saturday night. We got to meet all the new members who recently joined our Events & Adventures family and hang out with our old friends, too. We also enjoyed Bingo, Cards Against Humanity, Jenga and much more.

Sunday was all about cycling; we hit up a beautiful trail and got some exercise. Our wonderful host Katie (who knows all about the best sights in town) gave our members quite the tour. It was sunny during our Canada Day weekend, but forecasts say that the coming week is going to be a rainy one. Thankfully we have a slew of indoor activities planned, showing that when you join Events & Adventures there’s always something to do regardless of rain or shine.

Singles group event with Events & Adventures Santa Clara
Santa Clara

Ways to Spend Holidays in Santa Clara

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Why spend holidays alone when you’re guaranteed to have a great time with wonderful people as a member of Events & Adventures? Some of the biggest Events & Adventures holiday bashes happen on Halloween, New Years, Memorial Day and of course, the 4th of July. This year the San Francisco and Santa Clara Clubs combined their efforts to create a series of events that offered something for everybody in the during the long holiday weekend.

The San Francisco events manager created an event called “Floatopia” to give our members a unique way to spend the holiday. At this event, members floated down the Russian River in inner tubes and afterwards we continued the celebration with drinks at a brewery. Then on the evening of the 4th, San Francisco put a catamaran trip on the calendar so that members could enjoy the spectacular San Francesco fireworks show from a front row seat on the Bay.

In between these events we offered the members a classic All-American 4th of July BBQ with hot dogs, hamburgers, and a friendly softball game that ended with an epic water fight! While a good portion of our members were there to play, our games are so much fun some members showed up just to watch and cheer from the sidelines. The skill level of members varied. There were some members who played weekly in their own leagues and then members who didn’t even know the rules of the game. One of our members actually moved to the United States from England very recently and had never played baseball in his life.

One member was so unfamiliar with the sport that he ran all the way to first base with the bat in his hands; another member hit a home run nearly every time he was at bat.  Someone even played in flip-flops and still managed to run like the wind to first base. But the members on the sideline cheered regardless of the skill level exhibited. Proving, once again that Events & Adventures is truly about making sure that everyone has a good time.

Once the game was done everyone headed back to our reserved picnic area that was all decked out in festive reds, whites and blues. Everyone mingled and relaxed while we fired up the barbeque. We ended the night with a water balloon fight where we all got to let out our inner children. With 200 water balloons and more than a dozen water guns supplied by Events & Adventures, we waged a war for the history books! So if you want unique ways to spend holidays and a chance to meet great new people, reach out to Events & Adventures, the staff and members are happy to tell you all about their experiences.

Fun event with Events & Adventures San Francisco
San Francisco

Celebrate your Next 4th of July With Events & Adventures

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The second President of the United States, John Adams, said the 4th of July “Ought to be celebrated by pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other”. Events & Adventures members did just that, and we did it by both starting new traditions and by celebrating the classic ways.

We started our weekend with Floatopia…and if you’ve never given it a try, you should reconsider! It’s a few hours floating down the Russian River with drinks in hand. The river is very shallow, and during this amazing summer day the water was warm and the drinks were cold. Events & Adventures members met in the heart of wine country, attached all our tubes together, turned up the jams and floated four miles down the river to a local brewery where we hopped onto shore and all enjoyed the evening an evening full of great food and great company.

We kept the amazing weekend going with America’s favorite past times: softball and barbecue. The dogs and burgers filled the air with amazing smells while members stood up to the plate to test their skills. The warm day ended with a water fight leaving everyone laughing.  But what’s Independence Day without fireworks? When you live in the Bay Area, there is no better way to see fireworks than from smackdab in the middle of the water itself. Members boarded catamarans and cruised around enjoying champagne and snacks as they watched the sky light up.

One of our members was quoted as saying, “It was an epic 4th of July, I’m glad I spent it cruising on the adventure boat with the Events & Adventures crew!”  It was truly an amazing 4th of July weekend, and we got to spend it with some of the nicest people you’ll ever meet in Northern California!

 

 

Escape game and other fun events with Events & Adventures Bay Area
San Francisco, Santa Clara

Join Events & Adventures for Things to do in Silicon Valley

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As a single person in the Silicon Valley, you know you have to work hard. But what do you do after your work day is done? Watch TV? Go to a bar? Go on another shot-in-the-dark date with someone that you met online? Well, here’s what singles in Silicon Valley who are Events & Adventures members do in their spare time.

We laugh.

This summer we attended a hysterical murder mystery dinner and two fun escape rooms. We have an evening at ComedySportz, a pool party at Raging Waters at our own private cabana and a sleepover at the Monterey Bay Aquarium coming up this summer, so there are still plenty more laughs to be had.

We are entertained.

We watched a marvelous production of the play Chicago, had tailgate parties before soccer games and went to a Pitbull concert.

We hike.

Our hikes have taken us to see the seals at Anu Nuevo, a winery in the hills and through the grand estate grounds of Filoli.

We sing.

Our members have taken center stage at Dueling Pianos shows and many of us share a passion for music and karaoke, which is always even more fun when you’re with Events & Adventures.

We learned.

We took classes on how to make sushi and ravioli from scratch. We learned a new sport called Jingafit, took an introductory scuba lesson, made gorgeous aromatic candles and we’re even going to take a human figure drawing class!

We mingle.

Nothing’s more relaxing than hanging with a dozen wonderful friends at some of the best and most unique lounges, sports bars and restaurants in the area.

We play.

We play sand volleyball, disc golf, flag football, glow-in-the-dark soccer and softball. And this summer we’re looking forward to an inner tube water polo tourney, trampoline dodgeball and indoor skydiving.

If this kind of lifestyle is what you’re looking for, join Events & Adventures in the Bay Area and you’ll be living a life you love in no time.