with the return of the school year
comes the return of our outdoor adventure days.
—
“we could have never loved the earth so well if we had had no childhood in it.”
-george eliot
Sep30
Category Archives: adventure
Aug30
down the rabbit hole.
walking through the city
i noticed
a lot of people
dressed differently
than the usual weekend attire
how fun to discover
that people from all over
of all ages and stages
had come to town to be part of
an ‘alice in wonderland’ immersive experience.
also fun to imagine them crossing paths with the families
who might be nervous
dropping off their child at the uni
visiting our city for the first time.
“what kind of city is this?!”
“this wasn’t in the brochure.”
“do you think they’ll be safe here?”
and this was only day one.
—
“when I used to read fairy-tales, I fancied that kind of thing never happened,
and now here I am in the middle of one!”
-lewis carroll, alice’s adventures in wonderland/through the looking-glass
Aug27
on the water.
beautiful and enlightening experience
kayaking through detroit’s canals
that i never knew existed
with detroit river sports
then paddling into the detroit river
bounded on either side by the united states and canada
learning history and tales of
bootlegging, river islands, mansions, auto barons, inventors, and boatmen
finishing with a lovely relaxed dinner
canal side
at coriander kitchen and farm
fresh farm to table fare
all in the heart of the city.
—
“if there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water.”
-loren eiseley
Aug4
wilding.
back in time on a summer’s day
when your parents thought
you and your friends of all ages
were just pedaling around the block for hours
but in that time you really
explored abandoned houses and those still under construction
built your own underground fort
jumped in the mud to see if it was quicksand
left your socks behind
met a new kid
balanced on a a board going over the water to get to the other side
found a golf ball
explored the gravel pit
rolled down a hill backwards
shared snacks that fell in the dirt
had the best day ever
every single day.
—
“keep your children wild, don’t make them grow up too fast.”
– brooke hampton
Jul24
lost in translation.
reminiscing about my visit
to beautiful ireland
six years back, in july
how we found our way around the country
oh, we did a few turn-arounds here and there
as you can see above
but somehow we always ended up where we were going
eventually.
even with directions asked and kind answers given
regional accents, local advice, and lore
thrown in for good measure
it could be a challenge at best
‘”oh, just go over the hill for a bit, turn at the old barn, you’ll see a huge green field with hills, and some sheep, and then a pub, they don’t have the best sandwiches but stop in for a pint, say hi to seamus for me if you see him, he’s a good lad, he just had that one thing that wasn’t really his fault, and all is forgiven, and oh, don’t turn by the church, go past it, there’s no sign, but you’ll see a big rock where john’s shed used to be before it burnt down in that fire in ’79 when everything was so dry, and take a sharp turn there….” – and so on.
whether bumping along on a sheep path, sharing a two-way road with one lane, or driving half in a hedgerow
we found all the places we wanted to be
and discovered so many surprising and magical places along the way.
“going in the wrong direction, but making really good time.”
-cheri huber
Dec6
up for a stroll?
The longest road in the world to walk is from Cape Town (South Africa) to Magadan (Russia).
No need for planes or boats, there are bridges.
It’s 22,387 km and it takes 4,492 hours to run it.
It would be 187 days walking non-stop, or 561 days walking 8 hours a day.
The route passes through 17 countries, six time zones and all seasons of the year.
—
“all walking is discovery, on foot we take the time to see things whole.”
*-hal borland
*Harold “Hal” Glen Borland was an American author, journalist and naturalist. In addition to writing many non-fiction and fiction books about the outdoors, he was a staff writer and editorialist for The New Yorker.
—
credits: united humanists
Jun24
best gift.
on an adventure on glen lake
—
“actually, the best gift you could have given them was a lifetime of adventures.”
-lewis carroll
May23
playing the odds, you win some……
(supposed to be here)
back in the day
when i was a waitress
going to school
training to be in the travel industry
i was on call for my restaurant in michigan
but i also had to be at an airline travel class in dallas
my restaurant had very recently said
absolutely no more days off for anyone
too many people were calling in sick or with excuses
so
according to my optimistic rationalization style math and logic
knowing the staff
having no other plan
odds were 50/50 at best
i said nothing to my restaurant
crossed my fingers
flew to dallas
made the fateful call-in from the lone star state
amazingly
the staff had all shown up that day
for the win!
p.s. don’t try this if you are a doctor
(actually was here)
—
“never tell me the odds.”
-han solo
—
Mar21
digging.
grandie j and friends have been busy building a bunker fort
every digging tool, even the snow shovel, is in play
lots of work and fun ahead.
—
“hold the fort! i am coming!”
-william tecumseh sherman
Oct26
raised from the earth.
happy discoveries
we found our way in and out of the corn maze
by following the grandies through the rows and fields
then found hot air balloons
followed their colors
past the moon and the trees
saw their beautiful flight and landing
all on an afternoon spent among things raised from the earth.
—
“imagination is to love what gas is to the balloon-that which raises it from earth.”
– letitia elizabeth landon
I didn't have my glasses on.... 