What Fun Thing Have You Always Wanted To do? (Non-difficult child)

HeadlightsMom

Well-Known Member
Question -- What fun thing have you always wanted to do?
(Must be COMPLETELY free of any difficult child connection or any worries.........just YOU?). What are your favorite fun memories or favorite fun things for the future?

Most of mine involve travel (Italy in April!). Yes! I'd love to go on Safari in Africa. I'd love to travel to Spain (Fly into Barcelona, trek down to Madrid, then Seville, then hop the ferry over to Tangier, Morocco -- yes, I've mapped this out....I have plans!).

On a smaller scale, I'd love to swim with dolphins (found that too pricey, but will bite the bullet on it one of these days!).

About 10 years ago, I knew I'd always wanted to have a giant whipped cream pie fight. Made it happen in 2004 and 2005! And I was 43-44, mind you! BIG FUN! I emailed everyone I knew, and turned out about 50 others I knew wanted to join in. YES! Found a park which ok'd it, and added giant water balloon fight afterward (a neighbor even rigged up a shower on the back of his pick-up truck for us to rinse off the goop -- which doesn't reeeeally rinse off for about 2 days! LOL!). I even brought some of the Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) clients I worked with in wheelchairs who wanted to come.......slathered 'em royally with whipped cream and they loved it! I'm tellin' ya, this even cost very little money, was easy to do, fun for all ages (we had ages ranging from 5-55) and even our dogs joined in. It was a highlight in my life I'll never forget. Cheap, easy, possibly never laughed so much in my life!

So, I've covered the expensive and complicated, to the cheap and easy. The fun stuff is all there for our taking!

If not now, then when?



 

HeadlightsMom

Well-Known Member
PS -- I left out that I'd love tickets to the Super Bowl in 2 weeks! LOLOL! Ain't happenin' this year.......but one never knows about next year! :D
 

Scent of Cedar *

Well-Known Member
I must not be very fun.

I have been trying to think of something fun that I do. I realize the only fun things I do are weird. Like, I take ballet or karate or Tai Chi classes.

Yoga. I do yoga.

No team sports.

I really do love those things, especially when you first begin and you don't know what you're doing and you have to really work to get it. That's what I like.
One time, I took a 4 credit college level online algebra refresher just for the fun of it, just to see if I could.

The most fun I ever have is staying on the beach with husband. Note I did not say with girlfriends. husband and I leave one another alone. That's how we like it, except for husband.

Who would ever have believed we would have party animal kids.

How they even knew what a party was is beyond me.

But we like to walk on the beach for miles. Oh, wait. That was just me.

I am the one who likes to walk the beach for miles.

I am afraid I am not a very fun person. I think this might really be true. No wait. I have it: I conversate.

Okay. We are onto something, here. We will go to a lecture series (I know just the one!) And then, we will have wine and coffee and talk all about everything in the world and it will be the most fun evening ever.

Whew.

I pulled that one out of the barrel in the nick of time.

Cedar
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
I'm a loner by nature who loves nature and solitude and peace. A big trip with others while they laugh loud and drink and go to clubs is not my dream. Would I like to travel? If so, only if we could travel not as tourists, but its unlikely we ever will. I would consider the biggest gas buying a big RV and traveling coast to coast and stopping at camp sights to get to talk to the down-home people who travel cheap and rough, like I'd like to do. In between, we'd visit the kids. That would be my biggest dream :) Truly.

I am happy with my life.
 

DazedandConfused

Well-Known Member
I've always wanted to zip line. So, I have two planned this year. The first one is in July when husband and I take a weekend trip to Catalina Island (a very small island off the coast of Southern California) and when we take a new years cruise to Mexico.

husband and I rarely travel because of finances and difficult child-related issues. But, they're both adults (living at home),we want to do somethings while we're relatively healthy. My mom will supervise to make sure the house is okay.

I've always wanted to learn how to ice skate. Time was the issue. But, once I'm finished with my masters, I'm going to look into adult lessons. We have a relatively new rink in our area.
 

HeadlightsMom

Well-Known Member
Cedar -- Oh, I think you're plenty fun! I wish you were around to teach me better yoga techniques! I just started doing yoga a couple of months ago (beginner's yoga) and I'm not terribly flexible in some joints. Have you done yoga for years? Are you a master? Even though I'm not good at it and know little about it......I think it's wonderful!

Yeah, can't help it....... I am into team sports. Like, BIG time. I like to play 'em (tennis, basketball, softball teams all through school), and to watch 'em (baseball, football, hockey, you name it). Love watching the Olympics, too! Took up target archery in 2006 (recurve bow) and love it. But, hey, I like individual sports, too --- snow skiing, XC skiing, and hiking mountains (which I'm also not good at).

Cedar -- You took a 4-hr college credit algebra refresher just for the challenge on purpose? You go, girl! That's impressive! You like a challenge! I consider that an athletic mindset in the best way! And, by the way, I hear ya on the party animal kids...... husband and I are not even remotely party animals (well, we like fun, but neither of us likes the bar scene or drinking, drugs, etc). But lecture series would be fabulous! What subject matter, Cedar? What interests you most?

And, by the way........... Cedar, you "conversate" fabulously well! I love "virtually conversating" with you!
 

HeadlightsMom

Well-Known Member
MWM --- Hey, that's fantastic that you know what brings you the most fun! Oh, oh.....and I do know how much you love football! :) And exploring nature is tremendously fulfilling. Do you like mountains, beaches, or desert/rocky areas best? And traveling that coast-to-coast trip across the continent sounds fabulous!

Dazed --- Zip line is awesome! I've done that twice, too (in NC & in CA). Was nervous both times.....made husband go first both times! LOL! (we parasailed in Puerto Vallarta about 10 yrs ago and I made husband go first there, too! Ha!). Ya know, I've never been to Catalina Island. Have you been there before? I hear it's just terrific! When you get the chance to go, please tell us all about it. Don't they have some reef snorkeling out there? And to where are you cruising in Mexico? Ice skating! What a fun idea! Hey...........what Master's degree are you pursuing?

Dazed --- If I may be so bold as to ask...... Is your health ok? Your mini-bio says, "Surviving hope my health holds."

Dazed --- Love your avatar for this site. Looks like you've gotta have more cowbell! (ah, the SNL classics!) :)
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
HLM, yikes! How could I forget football?

Going to an actual game is not on my bucket list...too cold here. Going to a SB may be fun, if we ever get there again...lol. I'd LOVE to meet Aaron Rodgers and Clay Matthews...lol.Wouldn't be too shabby to meet Randall Cobb and Jordie Nelson either, even Eddie Lacy. And I do think he's good. I just don't think he's in superstar status yet. I hope he gets there. Another wish that can't come true is I wish I could fire Ted Thompson (Packers Head), Mike McCarthy (coach), Dom Capers (defensive coordinator...he REALLY socks) and the coach of the special teams who name eludes me, but he is absolutely horrible!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We'll never get to the SB with them in charge as they will never take any chances and you don't win the SB by being scared to be daring.

I have learned to really bond with the simple things in life and am sort of a minimalist. Somebody's huge mansion, gorgeous car, and designer clothes do not make me feel envious. I really don't need much to feel content :)
 

HeadlightsMom

Well-Known Member
MWM -- I don't know how you could've forgotten football! I gasped aloud when I didn't see it on your list! LOL! :D I love your football spunk!

I'm kinda mixed on attending games. We go to many baseball games (Mariners) - they're cheap and easy (not to say that I'm cheap and easy). ;) But football games are expensive and insane. For baseball, we usually sit in the cheap seats ($10/game) and bring binoculars. Whereas, for football, there are no cheap seats! husband and I looked at Seahawks tickets and they were $260/game STANDING ROOM ONLY! Puhleeeeze! Not happenin'. I have been to a handful of Seahawks games since the 1970's (Vikings x2, Broncos, Chargers?). Enjoyed it, but what a hassle. I like crowds at times.....but only for so long. husband likes them less so than I, so I respect his wishes on which events he's up for.

Ya know, I've heard lots of scuttlebutt lately about McCarthy's choices in that playoff game. Not going for TD on 4th down when they're on the 2? I'm not a fan of the kind of cautious play-calling, either. I didn't like the Seahawks during the Holmgren years (I keep forgetting Holmgren was a Packers man before Seahawks!), either. I like Pete Carroll for just that reason. He's just one of the guys and I think he brings out the best in them for taking chances. Do you think GB will "can" McCarthy?

As for minimalism in material, husband and I are very similar. We are not wealthy. We are thrifty with most of our life choices (including downsizing our house a few years ago, cutting our mortgage in half.......why? So we can travel more!). We live a very basic life, otherwise. We have economy cars, are jeans and t-shirt people (or sweats), and live budget shop. But travel is a priority for us, so we try to go as many places as we can and lodge/eat inexpensively as possible. We budget shop for our travel, too! I only lament that "standby" and "bumped seats" aren't available very often these days!

FYI -- Designer clothes (which look wonderful on some people) are meant for the long and lean. I'm quite definitely the short and stout! LOL!
 

KTMom91

Well-Known Member
Travel...I want to go to South Dakota for Laura Ingalls Wilder Days and see Mt.Rushmore. Actually, I'd love to get an RV and drive cross country, stopping in Portland to see Miss KT, of course. I want to go back to St. Augustine...we were in FL for Son #2's college graduation but Hurricane Alberto rained on my parade, so I didn't get to see anything besides the lighthouse.
 

Jabberwockey

Well-Known Member
Lil and I went to Italy for our 10th anniversary and had a blast! She had never been outside the continental US before that and I've been all over the world due to being in the service. Not many places left I really care about going. Greece would be nice. We've heard the island of Santorini is beautiful. We both want to go to Ireland and will do so within the next five years or so. I've always wanted to go to Australia just because.

Honestly though, I'd just like more time to be able to participate in the SCA again. Our difficult child issues have kept us from being able to play for the last several years. Sorry, just occurred to me that most of you have NO idea what Im talking about. The SCA, Society for Creative Anachronisms, is basically a medieval reenactment group which is world wide. I wont go into a lot of detail. If you're curious go to http://welcome.sca.org/ for more info. I do the heavy weapons fighting and we both participate in archery. There are several LARGE events around the country that we haven't been able to attend yet and would love to be able to go. One is called Pennsic and it hosts approximately 15,000 participants every year. Pennsic is an SCA "war" where the different Kingdoms get together and generally have a blast!. Every Kingdom hosts a war every year but there are three or four in the US that are huge! But not just the wars either. I want to be able to go to the local events much more regularly. Local meaning Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, and Iowa.

Here is a link to a YouTube video of one of the battles at Pennsic.

Two football games I want to see as well. The Super Bowl, dont really care who is playing. Just want the experience one time. Just once though. I dislike crowds. The other would be the Cowboys game in St Louis every November although I may be beat on that one for a while if they move the Rams back to California.
 
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recoveringenabler

Well-Known Member
Staff member
My fun almost always involves traveling. I get it in my head I want to go somewhere and then I start to plan it. I am really good at finding 'deals' and ways of traveling which are not costly. In fact, it's become a challenge to me to be able to figure out ways to do it as inexpensively as I can without forfeiting comfort.

My husband has wanderlust like me and as I mentioned before, he is the BEST traveling companion. We both love to go anywhere, a ride to the next town, or across the world, it doesn't matter, as long as we are together and traveling.

When I was 39 I went to Peru. I was able to get in to Machu Picchu at night during a full moon. We rode the rapids, saw ancient sites, traded trinkets with actual head hunters in the middle of the jungle, went on the Amazon River in search of the elusive pink river dolphins, stayed in the jungle at a beautiful remote camp which had rain water barrels on the roof as your shower........ visited temples in Cuzco, went on an archeological dig where we were given permission to take away what we found, I got to hold a baby ocelot (she peed on me, but oh well, I think it's good luck) we attended a shaman ritual and the shaman did a healing on me........IT WAS AWESOME.

I went to Greece for 6 weeks, sailing around the islands. We met a Greek man in Athens and we hired him to take us around in his sailboat and we all became friends. It was a dream trip......drinking that thick Nescafe which the Greeks seem to drink all day long...... it'll keep you jogging in place for days.........drinking Ouzo till you can dance like Zorba...... eating shrimp cooked right out of the ocean at a table with your feet dangling in the water.......diving in to the crystal clear Aegean.......seeing the Parthenon, wow........my all time favorite experience on that trip was meeting guys who were taking folks out on this remote beach from a beach start to a full swing para sail in this gorgeous cove........$10 American money. I would go up, cruise around for 15 minutes and then they would drop me as gingerly as possible on the beach, I would hand a guy on the beach another $10 and off I went. I did that for an entire afternoon, up and down, up and down. It was crazy fun.

When my daughter was about 12, I planned a river rafting excursion for a weekend on a River in No. CA. It was mothers and daughters. A weekend trip with a guide, sleeping in tents along the river, riding the white water ( a tad scary at times too!) an adventure we could all share. I was the only one who didn't pop out of the boat........sheer will and fear...........the kids dove off of cliffs into clear water, we told stories over a fire while roasting marshmallows.........it is such a fond, delicious memory.

Your whipped cream fight reminded me of doing that in college when I was working at a restaurant and one evening after the guests all left, the bartenders and the wait staff all went in the kitchen and retrieved those large cans of whipped cream and we all ran around the restaurant just hosing each other down and laughing hysterically........I can still remember what my hair looked like later, but geez, we laughed so hard we were crying. We all had to show up the next day and clean it up, wow, what a giant mess, but it was so much fun.

My wish/plan is to go to as many of the places on my travel list as I can while I am still in good health. I too want to go to Spain, Barcelona and Morocco, keep me posted on your travel plans HLM, maybe we can meet up! An African safari is up for me, as well as Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, China, Singapore, Japan.............a lot of places. I've been to Italy, England, Scotland and France.......next is Germany, Austria and Switzerland. I've been a lot of places, but there is so much to see, so much I want to experience while I still can. I have wanderlust and a strong sense of adventure......... time to take off!

HLM, thank you for this fun thread, this wonderful trip down memory lane and the reminder that there is still so much fun to be had out there.

Gotta sneak this in since granddaughter is technically not a difficult child..........OH boy, my granddaughter just called and we "face timed" as she showed me the new house that she and 8 other kids rented. 3 blocks from the ocean, in a beach town in southern California, where mostly 18-22 year olds live. What's not to like? She will start her Sophomore year there. She's in a dorm this year. What fun to go on a remote trip through her first real home as an adult, waving to the other parents there and to the other kids..........she is off the charts excited and I loved going along for that ride. Her joy is my joy........it brings my heart a special kind of intense love to see and hear her so excited.

Thanks, this was a lot of fun. :yes:
 

Lil

Well-Known Member
Italy in April!

What Jabber didn't say is we went in April! :D It was AMAZING. We were supposed to do 7 days in Rome, 5 in Belgium and 5 in Paris. We never left Italy because the day we were to fly to Belgium was the day the volcano in Iceland blew and grounded all the air traffic in northern Europe. Somehow, no one felt sorry for us, being stuck in Italy. LOL We ended up spending almost 3 weeks in Italy before we got a flight home from Rome.

I want to go back, take a month, start in Venice and go all the way to Sicily. No real Itinerary, just rent a car and drive from one end to the other. I loved Italy that much.

We hoped to go to Ireland this year, but I don't expect that to happen. :( We'll get there though. My great grandfather came from Ireland and my mother always wanted to go.

Like Jabber said, Santorini would be wonderful. I've been told it's the most beautiful place on earth.

There are a few places I'd love to see that I know won't happen. Egypt and the Middle-East, for obvious reasons, won't be happening. :( I'd like to see Bangkok and Nepal. I doubt those will ever happen. I'd like to go to Mardi Gras...and Burning Man (I think I could have been a hippie in another life)...Jabber would never go to either I think.

Realistically, there's so much of the US we haven't seen! I would love to take a month and just drive...see parts of the country I haven't seen...and parts the Jabber hasn't seen. He's never seen the Pacific Northwest, which is my favorite part of the country. I'd love to go to Key West and up the eastern coast, which I've never seen. Maybe someday when we're old and retired we'll be those folks in the motor home you see tooling along down the road.

On the non-long-trip front, I'd just like to do about anything! We haven't done anything in so long...that trip in 2010 to Italy was the last real thing we've done. I would be happy to just go to some local SCA events this summer. Maybe take a canoe trip...just an overnight and down a river. Heck, I'd even go to a football game. ;) I want to go fishing! We actually joined a sportsman club a year ago, with archery and firearms ranges and a stocked fishing pond...no license needed...and we have gone ONCE to the pistol range! That's it! I have a bow I've never shot! I want to play paintball! I played ONE time, for our son's 13th birthday I think, and it was SO much fun...we actually bought paintball guns. We have NEVER used them! I just don't know why we don't do things, except we work too many hours and once our son started acting out...well, he never wanted to do anything and we couldn't comfortably leave him alone.

And now I've annoyed myself. :thumbsdown:
 

SeekingStrength

Well-Known Member
Mine is also travel, travel, travel. husband and I are retired and .....money is tighter than when we worked. That is OKAY; I don't regret retiring. But, I would love to travel a lot more than we do. Right now, all that is booked is a trip to Atlanta in May. Hopefully, a trip to San Francisco after that. I found a blog about motorcycle trips in our state and we are driving one of those routes (no motorcycles for us) this weekend.

As others have said, husband is the best travelling companion. We have so much fun seeing new places. We have had great trips that we are tempted to re-do. But, we do not because there are so many new places to go. When we visited Ft Walton Beach in September, it was the first times in months I had not felt tightness in the back of my neck. That told me a lot. Get me AWAY and the stress disappears. Different cultures are the best.
 

HeadlightsMom

Well-Known Member
Omg! I am loving reading all of your posts on this thread! So many fabulous places to go and things to see and do! Where do I begin?

KTMom91 -- Great stuff there! I tell ya, that RV-across-the-USA stuff sounds so fun! St Augstine, FL........ We were there last April (while Lil & Jabber were in Italy, apparently!). Last Spring we did FL, GA & SC. Been to them all before, but relatives in SC, had not been to Savannah, GA nor Cocoa Beach, FL before. Plus Kennedy Space Ctr -- loved it! Tell me, what route would you take to cross the country, KTMom91?

Lil & Jabber --- Hey, hey, now! We all gots ta talk before husband and I head to Italy! Give us your April tips! We're staying within walking distance from Vatican City and want to hit all the hot spots (2 wks). Will head down to Naples/Pompeii and maybe hike Vesuvius a bit? Did you do any of those? Tell me, did you do the Amalfi Coast? Wondering if that's too far or worth it in 2 wks? Did you find public transportation easily navigable (we always try to take public transportation....buses and trains)? Jabber, you've been around a lot, haven't you? Love, love, love that!

Jabber -- I have bunches of friends who participate in SCA. We do Ren Fest's, but not SCA. Sounds fascinating, though. Tell me, were you a big D & D player?

Lil --- I love your post! I just love recurve archery! Still got my bow, but now that we're back in the city (we used to have acreage out in the country with plenty of room to target shoot), we haven't gone (4 yrs now?). I have gone gun target shooting before, but not really all that familiar with it. Again, when we lived rurally, we had a pellet gun we used to target shoot with. I've fired real guns (.22 and .357), but am no pro and think I should take a gun safety class. I'm not really a gun person, so the gun safety class seems all the wiser for me. ;) But paintball? Why didn't I think of that? Now that's on MY list, too, Lil! (I do love me some sporting Lazer Tag games, though!)

RE --- Maaaaaan, girl you get around! Where do I begin? Machu Picchu? Spectacular! It's VERY high on husband's Wish List (we like ruins anywhere!). Headhunters, ocelots, rafting, rituals and archaeological digs -- utterly fantastic! And love your experience in Greece! Funny......I was just picturing Zorba as you spoke! Tell me, did you get to throw plates at a wall and dance arm-in-arm with others in high-spirit? Zoiks....now I need to add throwing plates at wall to my Wish List. :D And clearly we are whipped cream pie fight compadres! And a BIG CONGRATS to your granddaughter on her new place!

Jabber -- Mardi Gras, Burning Man.........Oh yes! We've done The Oregon Country Fair several times. husband used to work there, so we camped in the woods for the weekend and had access to the after-hours "events". Let's just say they were "colorful". :D

 

Tanya M

Living with an attitude of gratitude
Staff member
husband and I love to travel. We've had numerous trips to Mexico and on one trip we snorkeled through a Cenote. That was amazing!! Belize is also another favorite where I swam with nurse sharks and giant manta rays. We also have explored several of the Mayan ruins and zip lined.
I love the Caribbean and would love to explore all the islands. St. Croix was where we spent our honeymoon. :couple:
The first week of March we are going to Antigua.

Last year we went to Italy for our 25th anniv. It was such an amazing trip. I planned everything. husband and I are not the "tour guide" kind of people so I know planning well equals a good trip. We flew into Venice and spent a few days then took the train to Florence, another few days there then took the train to Rome. I fell in love with Gelato
:icecream:
When my husband turned 50 I surprised him with a trip to Lake Powell. I rented a 50 ft house boat. That was a great trip. I think I could live on a houseboat in Lake Powell.

We also love sports. When we lived in Colorado we went to many Broncos games. There is something about being at a live game!! I also went to several Rockies baseball games. The CEO of our company would buy tickets and pass them out at work. We would leave work early, grab some lunch then go to the game. Great times. Now that we live in N. Illinois we can go into Milwaukee or Chicago for games. I have yet to go to a Packers game. I'm hoping that I might surprise husband (major Packer fan) with tickets for a game this coming season.

We also love short little trips that are a day ride in the car. We have plans to start taking more road trips to explore parts of the country we haven't seen.

One really fun trip was to Calif. did some deep sea fishing and ate what we caught.

Been to Mardi Gras (throw me something mister) that is a crazy time!!

So much more traveling that we want to do. I would love to follow in the footsteps of my parents who traveled all over the world and would be gone 3 months at a time.

What a fun thread this is.

:hawaii_girl::picture::playingball:
 
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