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Microadventures

~ Kat ~ 2 Comments

Lately, I’ve been contemplating ways to integrate adventure into our everyday lives.  It has been sixteen months since we have returned from our year away and I am realising how important it is to me to explore, discover, learn and grow.  At the same time, I really appreciate the stability of our life here in Ptown.  
More and more, we are hearing about and discovering new ways to build adventure into our lives without having to wait for the next trip overseas.  A few months ago I came across the idea of microadventures, coined by Alaistair Humphreys. 
The idea is also referenced by many others, including Annie Raser-Rowland who has written a book called Frugal Hedonism.  I haven’t read the book yet, but I heard an interview with Annie on The Slow Home Podcast by Brooke McAlary just this week, which was full of aha moments for me.
Basically, the premise behind all of this is that adventure is a state of mind.  We are conditioned to believe we need to seek what is new and novel, and we are frequently told that the way to get there is by spending, consuming and escaping our everyday lives.
But what if we could feel that way simply by taking a moment, looking around, being present and appreciating the opportunities we have to be adventurous everyday.
Mr B and I have had a crazy few months – busy during our work days and on the weekends too.  This is something that would usually send me spinning and spiralling and into “I’m exhausted” thoughts.  But for some reason, I have found this busy period far more manageable that I have in the past.  I think it is because I am seeing some of the activities we have been doing differently.  I have been embracing these activities as opportunities for “microadventures” – mini breaks full of discovery, fun and joy. 
A microadventure can be anything that breaks the circuit of your routine – it could be taking an extra day off and going camping for the weekend, finding a new local hike, choosing a different restaurant for a weekend breakfast or even driving a different way to work and stopping somewhere for a coffee. 
We have been down south a few weekends in the last couple of months and I have posted a few pics below.  There’s nothing super crazy special about this stuff. Just quiet time with friends and loved ones, enjoying the beautiful landscape in WA.  Now that’s my kind of adventure. 

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The quiet life 

~ Kat ~ Leave a comment

LA was awesome. We flew in from Denver after a very delayed Spirit Airlines flight. First on our agenda was to pick up our rental car – which involved a hectic shuttle bus to the car rental depot followed by an extravagant insurance upsell from a customer service representative. Now that we know what it’s like to drive in LA, the insurance we purchased was an EXCELLENT move, except it meant that we couldn’t rent a GPS for our visit to LA and San Diego. Eep.

Nevertheless, we ventured out to the car park, only to find there were no cars available. Hilarious. After a short wait we were on the road (and guessing how to get to our accommodation). Surprisingly we managed to navigate our way downtown (thank you Google for saving our offline maps of the city) and arrived at our accommodation really easily. The AirBNB we stayed in was amazing; it featured a gorgeous view, a pool, gym and a friendly security man who helped us figure out how to open the lobby door.

Highlights of our time in LA included visiting and being part of the FRIENDS Central Perk set, going to a historic Dodgers vs Cubs baseball game where the Cubs’ Jake Arrieta threw a ‘no hitter’ against the Dodgers (the first in his career), stumbling upon a movie set on our walk to The Last Bookstore and eating at The Pantry where our waiter dropped the c-bomb. LA, you’re one crazy beast.