Tag: friendswhoadventure

adventure

Bricks & Alpacas

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Bricks remind me of strength. Bricks are the basic foundation for many buildings and / or empires. Bricks would be the last thing I thought about carrying around today yet I am so excited I had such a great opportunity with a brick.

You see, the brick is representative of a challenge from my adventure book. As odd as the instructions appear when read, the more fun that can be had ahead. How one interprets the assignment leads to the adventure itself. We started by naming our bricks. Mine was named Flash as a brick doesn’t move fast. Another was named Richard or Dick for short. Chase was named as well as Ash. Little Ash has a backstory. She could be short for Ashley or Asher making her gender neutral. Also bricks are represented in fireplaces as is ash. Brittani with an I was named in honor of Brittney Spears and the brick she is. Below is the first outing with our brick family as we set out for the day of fun adventures.

The girl gang is loaded with bricks today. A weapon? A stepping stone? An item to build with? For today it’s about the adventure and memories we create with our bricks. A strengthening of our relationships. Our travels start by car so the bricks are packed in a bucket with tissue paper for protection as well as flair. Off to eat brunch we go. Will the restaurant give us a high chair for our little brick family?

The bricks were involved in photos ops and shenanigans as the day progressed. From poses at the restaurant to a visit to an Alpaca farm. There was never a dull moment.

The bricks will find their final resting place in a pasture on our family farm while we head off to make more memories without the weight of the bricks. The giggles will be present for years to come as we pass by the bricks in their new spots on the farm.

As I close out this brick post i’ll now leave you this smiling Alpaca who posed for me on our field trip. This gem of an animal smiled bright with its stained teeth and grass-colored face. It was so funny to share this creative pose. So soft and fluffy yet such a hot mess up close.

What started out as a brick adventure ended up including an educational agri-tourism component allowing me to learn about Alpacas. It was a pretty cool experience and I won’t ruin the surprise by giving away the details of my Alpaca experience but I will share some photos for fun.

Because who doesn’t like a creature with hair as cool as this?

friendship, giving

Lucky or Unlucky

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Was it a lucky book?

Was it an unlucky wooden book?

Perfectly sized to fit the most amazing surprise. A neatly crafted wooden delight. A treasure chest of sorts. A wooden book filled with 50 cash surprises. Scratch. Scream. Sigh. Giggle. The battle of numbers is on. Will there be any winners? Will there be a big winner? Will there be disappointment or celebration? Time will tell. Take a look inside my treasure filled box.

I am in the processes of scratching off 50 scratch cards in honor of my 50th birthday. Such a fun and creative gift I received today.

The lucky number 8 struck after a few duds. Eights across the board as if I hit the jackpot on a slot machine. To my surprise it was just a one dollar win but multiplied by five makes it a whopping $5.00 win. For now I will pause on a high and begin my scratching again later when I may feel a little luckier.

Here I am again. The original scratch yielded $2.00. The second scratch off added $5.00 in wins. Will I make it over the initial investment at the end of the scratching? The shavings pile on the floor is adding up. The next round of scratching was a good one. Five singles doubled for $10.00. Then the next one has a wild card for instant win of $20. Rounding out the total to $37.00. Will I get over $50.00?

I have made it into the positive. Sitting at $55 with a few more scratches to go. My arm is a little cranky from scratching but it’s been a good time passer. Finally I sat down for the last few scratches just after 9pm. I had to move to a butter knife for scratching as my coin seemed worn out. I was hoping for a big win but ended up with just another dollar.

50 cards. $56.00 in winnings. Net result is positive $6.00. Nothing major but it showed me winning is possible even though I don’t make a habit of buying scratch offs unless it’s a holiday or I’m giving a gift of some kind.

Today I decided to pay it forward and bought the meal for a cute elderly couple at a local breakfast shop: 91 and 85 years young the couple was. I made them smile as they did me. My winnings were passed on today. Kindness and karma go hand in hand. I am thankful for my life, my friends and my good fortune. Never lose sight of how valuable it can be to pay it forward in some way.

Lucky or unlucky was the title of this post. This was of course referring to the scratch offs, however over the course of the day I really got a chance to see and feel how lucky I am every day as I sat back and enjoyed a day with some great friends.

Feeling lucky is how I choose to wrap up this post. Until next time….

challenges

Food Pong

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Most people have heard, observed, or played beer pong at some point in their lives. Some may remember more details than others. I’m also sure there is a kids version of pong but today’s twist is food pong.

Same red solo cups. Same instructions. Only instead of beer there is a mystery snack or something that may have been liquid but is now frozen or jelled. Such a scary game to play when you don’t know what’s in the solo cup. Will you like it? Will you puke? Only time will tell.

First up I got Wickle Pickles. I had to eat a couple of these, but they had a nice zing of spice that lingered. Then came the nacho kale chips that were supposed to taste like Doritos but I’d say it was closer chalky dirt. Up next was vodka-soaked gummies which were pretty self-explanatory but not a good accent to the other items.

A little alcohol-infused gummies didn’t settle my tummy for what was next. Birthday cake flavored peeps. So much sugar sitting in my stomach on top of the mess already loaded in there. If I wasn’t already to quit, out came the wasabi peas. I don’t even eat wasabi with my sushi, making this a hard one to stomach.

Now that I have played food pong or pantry pong, I think I would recommend beer pong every time. It seems more logical to choose the simplicity of beer and get a hangover vs feeling like you want to vomit for the next few hours.

in the end, this was fun, gross, and adventurous all at once. Stay tuned for my next adventure post to see what kind of trouble will lurk on the months and weeks ahead. 

adventure, friendship

Biloxi, Mississippi

2chicksandapen

The stage is set for Biloxi, MS in spring of 2022. The first official road trip booked for the RV but who knows if it will actually be the first trip actually taken in it. Yes that is a mouthful but so true. Seeing that I am spontaneous I may opt for another quick getaway before I adventure to Biloxi.

No matter what trip I choose and when, I’m hoping for a positive experience but it could be a shit show/learning experience. The preparations have been in the works for some time, thus I can only hope we are really ready to tackle our new travel lifestyle with ease. If hope doesn’t work out then I will try to exercise patience and show grace as needed. 

Practice makes perfect, they say. Well we are practicing as much as we can before we extend our travels outside of 8 hours from home base. I’ll be holding my breath to avoid flat tires. I’ll be crossing my fingers that I don’t forget to pack a vital item. I’ll be positive in dealing with emotions of others in confined space. I’ll be thankful my dogs get to be roadies, but hoping they can hang like champs.

New cities.

New mode of transportation.

New adventures for me and my travel mates.

New memories to catalog in the photo reel.

Let the journey to the unknowns begin. Let the travel mates enjoy the experiences that are cast upon them. Let me live many days to enjoy the sunrises and sunsets with everything I can squeeze in between. 2022 travels are underway. Where will I go?  How many states will I park in overnight? How many states will I pass through? Which destinations will I choose to blog about? 

Cheers to adventuring.

adventure

It’s Time to Roll

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Rolling out on a plush set of new wheels is my newest project or vision. It’s 2022 and I decided to try some new things, see some new places, meet some new faces and fill up my memory bank with a bunch of adventures. I’m aiming for 50 new-to-me adventures this year and of course I will blog about a few as time passes or maybe while I’m passing time in my RV.

Off I went to get me a motorized recreational vehicle. Not too big and not too small. Just the right size for a long weekend or a short trip. Small enough fit into a national park but not too small to make me feel like a sardine in a can. The first trial run is set on the calendar to make sure I’m packed and stacked with the essentials and operating efficiently so I can enjoy my trips wherever the road takes me.

My Amazon cart is filling up with the wish list items, the need list items, and a few recommendations from friends to be a road warrior of sorts. A-camping I shall go. How many states will I adventure through or to? Who will I take with me? How many photos will I share? Will a be a camping enthusiast or will I just give camping a go?

Nobody really knows, including me. The point is I’m giving it a try. I’m taking a leap of faith. I’m dumping my piggy bank out to say adventures will pay more dividends than the going rate of interest at the bank. Don’t wait. Today is here. Tomorrow is never guaranteed. 

The wheels are rolling. The mind is flowing. The adventures are about to be growing. If you are an avid camper, van life extraordinaire shoot me a reply and let me know what you recommend for my must haves for my new temporary home on wheels.