ADVENTURE DAY

 If you know me, you probably know that I rarely take a day off “just because”. This random day off goes against my typical motto…"Not feeling great. Tough it out and get to work”, “Have things you want to get done, do it after work”. Not always the best motto, but somehow its been hardwired into my DNA.

The odd times that I do take a day off are almost not worth it. Work like a madman for 2 days prior only to work like a madman 2 days after I return….all for one day off, rarely seems worth it.

But last week I broke the mold.

You might remember a post from a week or two ago explaining how I needed an “adventure vacation” to take my mind off of the daily grind and get back to neutral. 

Embarrassing as it is, I temporarily forgot that I am super fortunate and live in a place that has adventures all around. Once this realization was made, it only took about 2 seconds to decide to take a day off.  

So, I planned an adventure day.

Here was the criteria used to determine what to do:

•      Do what I want, when I want
•      Do things that are “adventurey” and that bring me nothing but joy

 And that’s just what I did.

The day started with a cup of coffee from one of my go-to gas stations then continued to the woods to turkey hunt. Although I didn’t get one I did see a couple in the distance. At least I know there are still birds out there.  Which is reassuring this late in the season.

Next up was a trip to the barbershop. I love this place and everything about it. The cold beer in the fridge. Han-solo, the shop dog. The jokes and stories. The good dudes who work and hang out there. And the great vibes and energy.

After getting a fresh cut and topping off on good energy the adventure day continued.

Next on the agenda was meeting up with the Friday Club. (This is a group of buddies that met Friday afternoon to have a quick drink and decompress from the week before heading onto whatever weekend activities lay ahead.)

This was the first time (but not the last) the Club mobilized. We headed out to Buffalo Creek for some mountain biking and camping.

Despite my best efforts, words are not going to fully explain how awesome this part of the day was.  So, I’m going to keep it short.

The bike route was overall mild but challenging enough to make me feel like I earned the beer I had after. I was proud of myself for successfully completing some technical downhill parts and I can feel my skill level catching up to my confidence level, which is a very good thing.

Camping with my buddies was just what my soul needed. Even though it rained a bit, it didn’t dampen (see what I did there???) the fun. We had a fire, didn’t start a forest fire, and just relaxed. It was amazing.

The biking and camping were so successful the Club has decided these activities will be added to the agenda on a more frequently basis.

For your viewing pleasure, here are some photos. 

Club members tending the fire at camp and doing their best, "look scary" pose. 

Clouds. 

Camp and a bike in a tree. 

Above camp on a rock that we hung out on for a bit. There is also a rainbow. 

A club member pointing out the rainbow, in case you didn't see it in the above pic.