We should all get together and do something. We should go on an adventure of some sort. Here are some ideas. What are your three favorite? Let me know what you think.
Running with the bulls in Pamplona – July in Spain. Queebs has already done this and is up for doing it again. If we plan on going in 2010 (the year we all will be 50), we’ll have time to rent a place in Pamplona. Maybe we can spend some time in Barcelona, Madrid, and/or the island of Mallorca.
Visit Denali National Park in Alaska – From everything I’ve read and seen, Denali is fantastic. I know of a couple of places to stay in/near the park that are really off the beaten path. In the summer you can go hiking, mountain climbing (within reason), and fishing. In the winter you can go dog mushing, cross country skiing, and attempt to stay warm, all in the shadow of Mt. Everest.
One Week in Manitoba – I know of a company that will fly you (there are no roads) in to a remote location in Manitoba, BC, provide all of your provisions, and leave you alone for a week. At the end of the week, they fly back to pick you up. In between, you spend your time next to a beautiful lake and you don’t see another soul (except the ones you came with) the entire week. Only available in the summer.
Canoeing the length of the Mississippi River – I’ve already mapped it out. This is something I’ve always wanted to do. We’ll start at Lake Itasca in Minnesota (the headwaters of the Mississippi) and we won’t stop until we hit the Gulf of Mexico. An alternative to going the entire length of the river is starting in St. Paul, MN and ending in St. Louis. The Saint-to-Saint tour.
Canoeing the length of the St. Johns – Another river I’ve always wanted to canoe the length of (sorry for the poor grammar) is the St. Johns in Florida. It’s a very different river than the Mississippi. For one thing, it flows south to north. It’s also much shorter. And for most of the time you are on it, you feel like you’ve gone back in time. We’ll start at the remote and swampy Lake Hell ‘n Blazes (only accessible by airboat) near Palm Bay and we’ll spend the next several days paddling next to gators and through Old Florida-style wilderness. We’ll cross several lakes on our journey, finally ending in Jacksonville. This would be a great trip for October or November.
Circumambulate Wisconsin – Sticking primarily to bike trails and side roads, we’ll walk in a big circle (or something resembling a circle) around Wisconsin. Again, I’ve already mapped it out. Every good Australian does a walkabout. This could be our walkabout.
A week of baseball – Let’s rent an RV (mine is being sold even as we speak), and go from stadium to stadium watching a baseball game per day. A different stadium each day. Different teams each day. And a steady diet of stadium hot dogs. It would be fun.
Buy a baseball team – This one is more attainable than you may think. For $30,000 we can purchase a franchise in the Central Illinois Collegiate League, a summer college woodbat league. I’ve investigated this one to death. If you want to own a baseball team and have some fun, this is a great way to do it. If you want to make a lot of money, there are better ways to spend your money. But if we all threw in $10,000 - $15,000, we could have a lot of fun. We’d have to hire a GM (maybe WFB could be the GM. He doesn’t work in the summer and he has experience). The best location available is in Bloomington, IL right now. I’m on a first name basis with the commissioner of the league. Let’s do this!
Hike the Appalachian Trail – The Appalachian Trail begins in the mountains of north Georgia and traverses North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, and New Hampshire before finally ending in remote Maine. We could all take sabbaticals (or quit our jobs) and spend the summer hiking. What a great idea!
Drive the Pan American Highway – We’ll start in Chicago (or wherever you want to start) and head south into Mexico. We’ll pick up the Pan American Highway in Laredo, TX (the start of the original Pan Am Highway) and continue south through Mexico, Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama all the way to the Darien Gap. The road continues south of the Darien Gap in Columbia, but we’ll need to be heading back north. After all, we still have jobs.
Set the speed record driving from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska to Key West – There’s not much point in doing this adventure except to say that we set the record. The current record is just over 99 hours. We can do better than that. During our journey, we’ll get to see parts of Alaska, Canada, and several other U.S. states. Of course, there will be no time to stop to enjoy any of it. But it will be worth it when we are hoisting a cold one on Duvall Street in Key West celebrating our new world record.
Kayak the Virgin Islands – This is more of a vacation than an adventure, but we’ll be spending our days kayaking from island to island in the turquoise waters surrounding the American Virgin Islands. At night, we’ll enjoy the freshest seafood available as we camp on the beach. Sounds romantic. Choose your partner early.
Sail the Caribbean – We’ll rent a boat (with a captain and staff). We’ll sail wherever we want and we’ll do whatever we want. We can swim in the Caribbean, fish for bonefish, go diving, and visit several countries all in one trip. The wives might like to come along on this one.
Go to a Dude Ranch – We could recreate City Slickers. During the day, we’ll ride through the western wilderness on horseback, rounding up cattle and generally being cowboys (I always wanted to be a cowboy). At night, we’ll rest our tired butts by the campfire eating juicy steaks, drinking cold beer (except for those of us who no longer drink), and we’ll sleep under the stars (or in a comfy creek-side cabin, whichever you prefer). Maybe we’ll even find Curly’s Gold.
Canoe the Boundary Waters – We’ll start our adventure in Ely, MN and then canoe into the wilderness. The deeper in we go, the fewer people we’ll see. There are no roads out here, so we’ll be on our own. We’ll paddle and fish during the day and sleep out under the stars at night. Just a group of men out in the wilderness being men.
Fish for Giant Blue Marlin in Cabo San Lucas – We’ll head south to Cabo with one goal in mind: catch a giant blue marlin. Our days will be spent out in the open waters of the Pacific on a rented fishing boat (complete with capitain and crew). On days when we’re not fishing, we can kayak with the whales in the Gulf of California. At night, maybe we can go to Sammy Hager’s place and drink Cabo Wabo Tequila (except for those of us who no longer drink).
Attend baseball fantasy camp – As a youth, I was not a very good hitter. Perhaps I’ve improved. The only way to truly find out is to head to Arizona in February to attend the Chicago Cubs fantasy camp (Suck it up, Bodie. You can do this). We’ll spend our days out in the Arizona heat (it’s a dry heat) with former Cubs like Randy Hundley, Billy Williams, and Jody Davis. At night we’ll enjoy a drink with former Cubs like Randy Hundley, Billy Williams and Jody Davis. Catch the ball. Throw the ball. Hit the ball. It’s a simple game. Come on guys, we’re not too old/fat/out-of-shape for this. Chicago Cubs Fantasy Camp. What could be better?
Go to racing school – Strap yourself in behind the wheel of a race-ready Ford Mustang at Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama. You’ll have an expert driving coach teaching you the ropes as you prepare for the ride of your life. It’s fast. It’s fun. It’s a great adventure.
Whitewater Rafting in the Grand Canyon – We’ll run the Colorado River through the scenic and historic Grand Canyon. The Grand Canyon takes on a whole new perspective when you’re viewing it from the bottom up. We’ll camp along the river at night and enjoy a wild ride on the river during the day. Trained guides will lead us through the Canyon and will prepare our meals. All we have to do is have fun. A couple of days in Las Vegas on the way home will be the perfect capper to our trip.
Kayak the Florida Everglades and then fish the backwaters of the Florida Keys – The title says it all. We’ll start our adventure in the mysterious Florida Everglades where we’ll kayak among the alligators and mangroves. Then we’ll head to the Keys where we’ll charter a couple of skiffs that will take us out on the shallow water flats. We’ll fish for tarpon, snook, and bonefish during the day and at night we’ll relive our adventures while enjoying dinner on Florida Bay one night and the Atlantic Ocean the next.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
I am scheduled to go to China with Emma for 10 days ay the end of March so I guess I would prefer something toward the latter part of 2009 and would probably have to avoid the lond distance road trips. If you guys actually are interested in doing Pamplona in 2010 we would prbably need to start planning it now. The places to stay there are pretty limited and get booked way in advance. I am open to suggestions.
Queebs (and everyone else) -- I'm not sure if we'll get around to doing any of these things (although I hope we do). For now, why don't we just figure out which three interest us most. If you have something you'd like to do that isn't on the list, throw it it. Right now, all I really wanted to do is get the ball rolling and do a little brainstorming. If we all (or some of us) have interest in one (or more) things, then we'll see if we can pursue it.
Post a Comment