An Easy Way to Go Camping More Often

Do you like camping but don’t get to go often enough? Just can’t find the time to get away? Here’s some good news, you don’t have to! Grab your gear, set up in your yard and you can go camping any time. Have to be at work in the morning? Set the alarm on your cell phone, make coffee and breakfast on your stove before heading inside for a quick shower, then head off to work.

These backyard excursions can provide valuable experience. With shelter near at hand, you can test out new gear without fear. New stove or type of food? Go in and rummage through the kitchen if it doesn’t work out. Want to see how well your gear stands up to the rain or cold? Go test it! If you get wet or cold, go inside.

There is no worse time to find out your gear isn’t working than when you’re out in the field, relying on it. Can you set up your tent quickly, even in the wind? What about taking it down during a lull in the rain? Being able to do so has saved my wife and I from getting thoroughly drenched a couple of times; this is a skill that we honed with practice. Through testing at home, we know that we can sleep comfortably in our hammocks on a 35°F night. When sleeping in the tent, we know which of our pads are the most comfortable. Through practice, we know our favorite meals and how long it takes to prepare them. When you use your gear at home you can use it more often, testing it thoroughly and learning its quirks, which will enable you to have a safer and more enjoyable camping experience.

Don’t let time be an excuse anymore. You can have a great time camping, right in your own back yard. Literally!

3 Paths to Culinary Adventure

Want to introduce some quick excitement into your daily life? Would an easy culinary adventure fit the bill? There are three simple ways to do this. Three easy things that fit easily into your daily schedule while spicing it up. Without further ado, here are three quick culinary adventures you can try today:

1) Try something you don’t think you will like.
If you haven’t tried it, how do you know you won’t like it? Try it with an open mind and adventuresome palate and you might be pleasantly surprised. This adventure is simple; choose something that you do not think that you will like and give it a try. I do not suggest forcing yourself to eat it as a whole meal, or even the main course. A small portion as a side is enough. If you don’t like it after a bite or two, large amounts of it are not likely to improve its taste. (Don’t forget that this can be a beverage as well as food.)

My suggestion for this adventure is to make it a total experience as much as a tasting adventure. Go to a fitting setting for whatever you are trying. In this way, the focus is not as much on the food as the whole trip. If then you end up being correct about not liking the food, the adventure continues, un-spoiled by the tasting attempt.

Personally, I tried some Guinness. I have yet to find a beer of any kind that I like, and had no great expectations for this one. While exploring Dublin on foot, I decided to head into the Temple Bar and give it a try. What better place to try an Irish beer than an Irish pub that opened in 1840? (The Guinness brewery was closing soon and I couldn’t make it in time for a tour, so they were out of the question.) I ordered a pint of Guinness and then managed to find an empty stool. The first sip wasn’t too bad, better than I expected. About halfway through the glass, however, I came to the conclusion that I still am not a beer drinker. While I did not enjoy the beverage, I enjoyed the experience. I will return and try something different while enjoying the live music, which was fantastic.

2) Re-try something you don’t like.
Over time, your tastes change. You might have loved mac-and-cheese as a kid, but can’t stand it now. Or you hated asparagus but now enjoy it. Every so often it is worth re-trying things that you used to dislike. This easy adventure involves just choosing something that you did not like the last time you tried it, and giving it another chance. As with the first adventure, I recommend trying only a small portion, definitely not as the main course.

You may want to alter some things from the last time that you tried it. Perhaps a new cook (different restaurant), or a new recipe is what you need to begin enjoying it. Last time it might simply have been overcooked,or under-seasoned. You might have had a portion of lesser quality, so you may want to pay a bit extra when you purchase your raw ingredients if you are making it yourself.

My wife is not a fan of seafood. She has tried it a number of times throughout the years and simply cannot stand it. Recently, some friends invited us over for dinner, and we did not realize until arriving that they had prepared tilapia. I assured her that she could have my side dishes and I eat her fish so that she would not go hungry. Bravely she sampled a fillet, and found that she enjoyed it. She even had seconds! This unexpected culinary venture was successful due to a number of variables: new type of fish, new chef, and a new recipe. She is still not eager to order fish as her meal, but she is willing to give it a try in the hopes that she finds more that is to her liking.

3) Try a new version of something you do like.
In case your previous two adventures did not turn out as well as you hoped, this one is almost guaranteed to be good. Everyone has their favorite foods, here’s your chance to enjoy one of yours. Simply pick one of your favorite foods and try a new version of it. This can be as simple as going to a different restaurant than normal and having it there (made by someone new, perhaps with a new recipe), looking up recipes and trying a different one from normal, or finding a new version of it at the store. Unlike the previous two adventures, I do recommend a generous helping this time around. Eat up and enjoy!

This was a simple enough adventure for me. While out shopping, my wife and I picked up some Irish Sausage links. For supper we fried them up, scrambled some eggs, made some toast, and topped it off with some orange juice. Those sausages were delicious! (Not that any of it was bad.) The entire meal took only a few minutes to prepare, and will definitely be repeated on a regular basis.

Feed the Fowl

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I have not yet found a city that did not have a body of water full of waterfowl in it somewhere. Mallard ducks with iridescent heads, majestic swans and… you know, geese. Sometimes these are ponds tucked away inside of a subdivision, in the middle of a local park, or they are the local boat ramp leading to a larger body of water. If you don’t already know where they are located, you can take an afternoon and explore, searching them out. You might be able to ask around and find someone who can lead you in the right direction.

No matter where you find them, these birds love to be fed. Fortunately for us, they make for a cheap date. Bread and water, as a matter of fact, and they supply the water. You don’t need much, a few left-over slices, a moldy loaf (I’d probably recommend throwing away the moldy parts, though), some out-of-date stuff from the store. I have never had too much, and have little fear of ever doing so. If you are at a park, they might have candy machines that dispense feed for $0.25.

You can always tell when they have been fed before, as they will flock towards you. (We were once trailed half-way around a pond by about 50 ducks, even though we had nothing to feed them.) This is quite handy, as there is no chasing them down. All you have to do is appear at the water’s edge, stand still for a few moments, and then begin serving dinner.

Simply pinch off a piece of bread, toss it near the waterfowl and watch them dine. They will dive after the bread, making sure it does not go to waste. (Though I have tried, I have not yet managed to find a duck who catches bread as it falls toward them… even when it hit them in the beak.) If your ducks are on land, you can carefully feed them out of your hand. Simply place the food in the palm of your hand and lower it down to their level. They will grab it with their beaks. Try not to move as they do so, or they might inadvertently pinch you (which can be frightening for children).

If you’re looking for a quick and simple adventure, feeding the fowl might just be the ticket. It can be calming, enjoying the scenery and seeing the beautiful colors of the birds themselves. Great photo opportunities are offered. It neither costs a lot nor does it involve a lot of traveling. Once you have found a great location or two, you can repeat as often as you wish.

Now go out, find your fowl, and enjoy the dinner!

See How Easily You Can Become an Explorer

Have you ever really explored where you live? Do you know what treasures can be found tucked away in the back of the shops that line the streets? If you are asked for a restaurant recommendation are you familiar with the local eateries where the servers know everyone and the food really tastes home-made? Have you ever really explored the park or discovered the local art gallery?

It always amazes me how much you can find when you head out on foot, especially in areas that you normally drive through. The slower speed enables you to see things that you easily over-look when driving by, especially because when on foot you are not as distracted as when you are driving. Since you are exploring, you can take the opportunity to visit that shop you always thought “looks like a neat place to visit”.

It doesn’t matter if you live in a large city or a small town, there are surprises to be found everywhere. The small town that I come from has an art gallery on the court square, chock full of local art. You would never find it driving, though; I discovered it while walking.

Perhaps you would be more interested in a different type of local information. Every community has some surprising tidbits of history tucked away in its past. Not only is the history there, but so are the markers. I’m always surprised by the events that happened in the most random locations. (There was a B29 bomber that crashed in July of 1945 less than 10 miles from the house I grew up in.) You can search out these markers and learn more about a local past.

If searching out history is your thing, not only can you seek out monuments and markers, but you can seek out the very foundations of your town. The city where I am attending school has dry-stacked (no mortar) stone walls that are over a century old lining some of its roads. Some of the buildings match the walls in age. It’s always interesting to discover these pieces of history that are still in use today.

Don’t hesitate to take a longer look at places you think you know. You might have over-looked something in the past, or something might have changed since you last visited. It seems that every time I visit the local park there is something new (or new to me). Perhaps a different bush is in bloom, progress has been made on the new walking trail, or I get to see the sunset framed behind the trees.

You will work up a pretty good appetite while exploring. Continue seeking out new things as you prepare to dine. Try a new eatery; some of the best food I’ve had came from the most unlikely-looking places. If you’ve already been everywhere, visit a familiar place but sample a new dish. How can you say who has the best burgers in town until you’ve tried them all?

You might not be able to explore your whole community in a single afternoon, and that is probably not a bad thing. You can start every trip at a different place, view things from a different angle, and continue to discover new secrets about your home.

A 5 Year Old Took Me on an Adventure

My niece took me on a series of adventures this weekend. A simple camping pad from Wal-Mart became a roller-coaster ride and then transformed into the three pigs’ house. The big bad wolf came and “blew the house down” (over and over and over!) By spending a couple of hours following chasing her imagination we had some wonderful adventures.

Roller CoasterAs much of a stinker as she can sometimes be, my wife and I always look forward to spending time with our niece. Her delightful disposition and natural creativity, coupled with the simple playfulness that comes with her age makes our times together nearly continual playing and games.

Little Pig's HouseShe brought the camping pad out and asked me to roll her up in it. I did so, and then lifted the end of it, quickly unrolling her (roller coaster). She loves that! It works best if you keep their arms straight down to their sides. Eventually I got tired and we switched to building a house out of the pad. It is a simple matter to stand it up on end, wrap it around her as she sits down, and then cover her with a blanket. Then I get to play the part of the Big Bad Wolf who comes and Huffs, Puffs and Blows Her House DOWN!

Of course, the playing did not stop there. We migrated out to the garage, discovered a box large enough to play in and spent nearly an hour focused on the box. Later in the day we headed outside with the camera and took a number of photos. I am pretty sure that my niece is going to be a model, or a photographer. She absolutely loves being on either side of a camera, and is a natural. Pictures of her come out wonderfully, and she’s already better with a camera than I am.

It is very easy to come up with excuses to not play with my niece. “I’m too tired,” “I have a headache,” or “I have some work to finish.” No excuse is worth missing out on the irreplaceable time spent together. I don’t actually need a nap, rarely do I have more than a mild headache, and work can definitely wait.

Sometimes it is easier to avoid what you really want to do than to get started doing it. It takes a lot of energy for me to keep up with my niece, but it is always worth it. If you are blessed with time to spend with children, take full advantage of it. Time flies by, don’t let it slip through your fingers. Your adventures might be imaginary, and your guide might only be a couple feet tall, but the memories will last a lifetime.