Microadventures

[Estrix]

Microadventures or microadventuring is an idea I encountered for the first time a few months back, and now with a small child (13 months) I figured it was a brilliant idea to keep some adventure in my life (and to keep my wife and I from going mad[er]). With this being the last gasp to 2016 I figured it was the perfect time to share this idea, and that NF was the perfect place to share it.

 

A microadventure is...well a small adventure lol. There seem to be a number of definitions floating around, but basically it's about breaking out of your routine and hitting at least a small refresh button. Making the most of the hours outside of work. They're typically pretty short, 30min to a weekend really. I guess they're about getting out and doing something, and getting a little out of your comfort zone. And discovering cool new things.

 

Some examples of what other people have done:

- A single nights camping in nearby wilderness after work, just in a bivvy bag

- Walk 100km (or 50, or 20)

- Climb a mountain even if its a small one

- Travel to work by another means. I read about a guy that found a skateboard and went everywhere on it for a month just as a change of perspective and to do something different. I really wish I'd now been just that bit more adventurous when I had the idea to kayak to university!

- Wild swimming

- Taking a bus/train all the way to the end of the line just to see

- Go stargazing

- Join an activity group of some kind and meet new people, do new things

 

Some people did more crazy/mad/awesome things like hang out with a homeless person for 24 hours, invite a stranger to dinner, pick up a hitchhiker (I do that anyway lol). If you google around you can see it.

 

You get the idea. Here are some of the things we've done as microadventures and some of the plans for the new year:

- We took up geocaching (which could be a thread all by itself)

- Visiting famous/historic buildings (National Trust for the other UK people here)

- Walked to the highest point in our area (more than once now)

- Stargazing

- Spontaneous coastal road trip

(for 2016)

- Found an archery range nearby so we're off to do that

- Walk a ridgeline nearby to collect flint to try our hand at knapping

- Learn to freedive

- Travel to a place to hike/camp/pan for gold

- Walk to the source of a river nearby...well it's long so we have to drive then walk or it would take a week or more

- More stargazing

- Wild swimming when summer rolls back around

 

So I'd been keen to hear what other people think of this idea, I think it's a brilliant way to break up the monotony that can set in with the work/life routine, and to hear other peoples ideas/lists for microadventures...so I can steal any good ones Lets get out there and do some fun/mad/mad-fun stuff for 2016

 

[Elastigirl]

Very fun idea. My husband and I are empty nesters. I love the idea of micro-adventures. I don't want to be a couple who just sits around and watches TV all the time. We love geocaching, and I count that as a microadventure. So fun to just go out hiking and searching for caches. Yesterday we were at the beach, and we had it almost to ourselves.  We have an archery range nearby, and going stargazing sounds fun. 

What is wild swimming?

[Raincloak]

going prospecting sounds good.  I meant to do that this summer and didn't get around to it, but next year I will.  Here's a few more I'd like to do...

 

- Go into an ethnic grocery, buy something you can't identify, then come home and try to eat/cook it.

- I went digging in an English friend's driveway with a metal detector, hoping to find Roman loot.  I found the hood ornament of a car that'd been rusting on the spot 40 years ago... maybe I'll try again this year

- Make s'mores with an unconventional heat source (I wanna try a magnifying glass and/or a solar oven)

- Make flaky pastry from scratch.  Once.

- Join a soccer team

- take cello lessons and play in a group

- sell a story

- get a big cardboard box, make a fort and spend the afternoon in it

- run a marathon

[Estrix]

Very fun idea. My husband and I are empty nesters. I love the idea of micro-adventures. I don't want to be a couple who just sits around and watches TV all the time. We love geocaching, and I count that as a microadventure. So fun to just go out hiking and searching for caches. Yesterday we were at the beach, and we had it almost to ourselves.  We have an archery range nearby, and going stargazing sounds fun. 

What is wild swimming?

 

I love geocaching, partially because I like to have a little "mission" when I need some motivating out the door!

 

Wild swimming is basically swimming anywhere outdoors that isn't a pool. Lakes, ponds, rivers, even the sea. I found a pretty nice pond near my inlaws while out geocaching I might try out in the summer.

 

 

going prospecting sounds good.  I meant to do that this summer and didn't get around to it, but next year I will.  Here's a few more I'd like to do...

 

- Go into an ethnic grocery, buy something you can't identify, then come home and try to eat/cook it.

- I went digging in an English friend's driveway with a metal detector, hoping to find Roman loot.  I found the hood ornament of a car that'd been rusting on the spot 40 years ago... maybe I'll try again this year

- Make s'mores with an unconventional heat source (I wanna try a magnifying glass and/or a solar oven)

- Make flaky pastry from scratch.  Once.

- Join a soccer team

- take cello lessons and play in a group

- sell a story

- get a big cardboard box, make a fort and spend the afternoon in it

- run a marathon

 

I am totally and unashamedly stealing metal detecting and making a cardboard box fort! You'll have to keep us posted on how selling a story goes though

Also tempted by unconventional heat source cooking next time I go camping.

 

In other news I've added "drink wine from every wine producing country", which turns out to be most countries, to my list. I expect this to take awhile but hoping to find some hidden gems. Got a bottle from Macedonia today, not to bad, very drinkable...and yeah that's as far as my tasting notes go

[pureleeawesome]

In other news I've added "drink wine from every wine producing country", which turns out to be most countries, to my list. I expect this to take awhile but hoping to find some hidden gems. Got a bottle from Macedonia today, not to bad, very drinkable...and yeah that's as far as my tasting notes go

 

I'm adding this to my Life Goal.

 

I currently have try all forms of edible meat/insects on there. Maybe I can try and pair a wine to each type of meat?

 

 

I love the idea of microadventures!

 

My (potentially lame) suggestions:

 

1. Use public transport and get off at a spot you haven't explored before.

 

2. Star gaze

 

3. Sleep outside for one night, even if it's in your backyard. Helps to have a small tent and no rain

 

4. Go for a walk/run at a time of day you normally wouldn't.

 

5. Go without electricity for a night. Or a whole day

[Estrix]

I'm adding this to my Life Goal.

 

I currently have try all forms of edible meat/insects on there. Maybe I can try and pair a wine to each type of meat?

 

 

I love the insects idea! I've eaten a few, but if you find any good insect/wine pairings 1) let me know and 2) write a book

 

Also, there are NO lame suggestions I've seen quite a few people who have micoadventures that include getting off at a stop you normally wouldn't or riding to the end of the line just to see where it is. The camping, even just in your garden is cool as well If you're having problems getting a tent you could look into a bivvy bag, much cheaper and even more outdoors lol.

[Girl-Meet-World]

This is such a cool idea!

 

Something similar to the Geocaching is an app called Ingress, though I disliked the GPS useage on that type of thing (as it drained my battery and I am also mildly paranoid) but I've heard good reviews.

 

As for the bus thing, that might be slightly more appealing if all the buses here didn't stick of weed. But hey, show me where the pleasant public transport is, without the loud music blaring from the back.

 

I definitely want to try the camping the back garden again. When I was younger, we used to do it, but then we outgrew the tent, and we never really took it back up.

[Girl-Meet-World]

[Frost of the Gloaming]

Let's Go Exploring!!!!

[Estrix]

http://thenextchallenge.org/beginners-guide-wild-swimming/

 

 

I have some triathlete friends in Massachusetts who would often train in Walden Pond [yeah, THAT Walden Pond ... which is really a small lake]

 

I was lucky enough to grow up in a warm country where this was pretty common. But in the UK it's much less so, probably because all the water is cold ALL the time. So I fully expect to freeze doing this.

 

 

“It’s not an adventure until something goes wrong.†-Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia

 

I also agree with this, many of my favorite adventures start when something went wrong. I swear it's half the fun

 

This is such a cool idea!

 

Something similar to the Geocaching is an app called Ingress, though I disliked the GPS useage on that type of thing (as it drained my battery and I am also mildly paranoid) but I've heard good reviews.

 

As for the bus thing, that might be slightly more appealing if all the buses here didn't stick of weed. But hey, show me where the pleasant public transport is, without the loud music blaring from the back.

 

I definitely want to try the camping the back garden again. When I was younger, we used to do it, but then we outgrew the tent, and we never really took it back up.

 

A few friends have told me about Ingress, I keep meaning to look into it. I'm fairly paranoid to, but I figure if some one really wanted to track me my entire phone is a liability anyway so I may as well enjoy it

[Book]

Hmmm. This is a very cool idea, but I want some time to think about it. Replying so that it shows up in my thread.

[Maggie-Miau]

Once, when I was very young...probably less than five, actually...my mom took me in the car and we just drove around, nowhere in particular. Of course, I don't remember most of it anymore, but we arrived at this little shop and, while there, acquired a stuffed Winnie-the-Pooh that held a (fabric) flowerpot with (felt) flowers in it, as well as a little bag of forget-me-not seeds. Somehow, we also arrived at not mentioning this trip, or at least where we'd gone, to anyone but each other.

 

It's been several years now, obviously, but we still make occasional reference to our 'secret adventure'.

 

There was also an instance where we went, the whole little family, to some place...it might have been Florida...and stayed in a hotel, went to a show, and we called that our Secret Vacation.

[Estrix]

Are wetsuits not allowed? Or do they expect you to go all Tarzan out there?

If I was expected to only wear boardshorts & ride barefoot, I'd have never made it as a Surfer

Wetsuits are allowed...I just expect myself to go as Tarzan as possible To be fair I have a full 5mm semidry for scuba diving, but without the thinner articulating pieces around the joints it's pretty damn hard to swim in lol. But 5mm of neoprene does mean you won't drown.

[Elastigirl]

We were without power for almost a week last Summer

 

Not as much fun as you'd think, but definitely an adventure

So were we. I tried to think of it as an adventure to keep myself from getting grumpy about it. And it was better than losing power in the winter when you might freeze. 

 

I kind of think it is fun when you lose power for a night, and you have to play board games by lantern light. After that, it starts to lose about of the fun .

[Raincloak]

A lot of my friends go without electricity for 25 hours a week, every week of their lives.  It's called keeping Shabbat.  They also avoid lighting fires, doing any kind of work or crafts, cooking, buying and selling, and pretty much everything else that day.  (What's left is praying, eating, socializing, singing and dancing, playing board games, reading, going for short walks, and taking care of kids.  And sleeping and sex.)

 

I think everybody ought to try it once in a while.  Turning off the juice is healthy.

 

A while ago I read an interesting book called "The End of Night" which was all about light pollution and how it's altered not just human life, but the entire ecosystem. By now just about everyone's on board with true daylight being good for your health, but not many people understand why it's important for humans to spend time in the dark.