We all need a bit of adventure in our life. You may not be a rock climber, a hiker, or a skydiver for adventure, but I tell you, you can plan an adventure day. Plan a day at least once a month and bring back that excitement and joy to your life. Here we go. Plan 12 Adventure Days a Year.
How to Start Adventure Days
First, my husband is the big adventure guy in our house and he is the one making the plans. These adventure plans are big and small and once and sometimes twice a month. I go along for the ride that day.
My husband planned a giant adventure in life by having us quit our jobs, sell our house, and take a 120-day traveling sabbatical. We visited the Middle States in our car and stayed in Airbnbs. See this blog for more details. Traveling Sabbatical.
The thing about adventures is one needs to plan them or get ideas. Eventually, I started coming up with adventure days and inviting friends. If you don’t plan it, you won’t do it.
12 Adventure Day Ideas
What you do may or may not be limited to various things you like to do.
- Hiking, walking, or biking- It will be easy to list all the trails you want to try if you like hiking or biking. If you need a babysitter- schedule it ahead.
- Concerts– Maybe you like concerts. List all the places with free and paid concert events and find the weekend or night that works. We went to a free outdoor city Orchestra concert downtown and asked if we could sit near a couple. We made a great connection with the couple and two years later we are still visiting each other’s homes a few times a year and calling them friends.
- Garage sales or thrift store- If it’s garage saling- set aside time with family or friends for garage sales. I used to plan every Saturday of Mother’s Day weekend for a garage sale adventure in a town one hour away with my girlfriends. We got great deals and my husband made Mother’s Day presents with the kids.
- Farmers market- This may be something you do weekly or even monthly. Go to another town for this too.
- Beaches- in the summer going to the beach is perfect to do with friends or family. Go to your favorite ocean or lake beach, or try new beaches. We tried a new Minnesota lake each week to stand up paddleboard in.
- State and County fairs and festivals happen most of the year so find the dates and write them on the calendar. We have done a lavender farm, maple syrup, kite, and sunflower festivals This June we went on a Floyd Artisan Trail and stopped at a honey farm, printing craft, and organic farm. We checked out all kinds of arts and crafts in the area.
- Explore a new city. Since my husband and I moved to a new state we had many weekends where we booked an Airbnb in a new area and adventured in the city for a short or long weekend. Or take a day trip if it’s within 2 hours. We still have a list of cities we want to visit in North Carolina and Virginia.
- Go strawberry or blueberry picking, make a dessert, and invite friends or neighbors over.
- Explore your city or town with shops, restaurants, and parks.
- List all the State Parks close by your area and adventure to the state parks you haven’t been to before.
- In the fall season- take a couple of hours to see the leaves take pictures and have lunch.
- Amusement parks are always fun with the kids or grandkids. Do this in the summer for outdoor parks or go to a water park in the winter. Hotels even have water parks. We used to buy a day pass at our local hotel waterpark to plan a family adventure on a budget.
Who to Adventure With You
Adventures can be done with your kids, husband, neighbors, small group, or friends. Garage sale with your friends, go to the beach with your family plan a city trip with your husband, or do everything with your husband and family. You can decide.
When I visited Minnesota in July I planned a morning of garage saling with my Mother-in-law and family. I miss garage saling in Minnesota and I know this is one of my mom’s favorite things to do.
Most of my adventures are with my husband because it’s easy to plan. You know that person you can adventure with, so start planning.
Get a Plan/Set a Goal
The key is to plan. Look at the year and calendar and list what you want to do once a month. You will have 12 adventures.
Plan them out for the year or the season so time does not slip by. Pin the weekend down make reservations if needed and go. Sometimes you can be flexible with a Friday or a Saturday based on the weather. Sometimes it only happens once or twice a year so don’t miss out.
We just found out there was a Firefly weekend in North Carolina and we missed the deadline to sign up, so we will mark our calendars and it will be on our list for 2025.
In June I started planning to meet friends in November who live 7 hours away. We will meet halfway for a day or two to connect again. This is an Adventure.
When we planned to go to the sunflower festival, the first year it rained so we didn’t go. The next year we went in the morning the first day we could go, and by afternoon it was raining. We were so glad we made a plan and watched the weather.
Why Adventures?
- When you adventure you can experience joy by getting out of your routine.
- You can spend quality and fun time with family, or friends.
- It provides you with good memories.
- You can get some great pics.
- It may give you time to relax especially, at the beach.
- You may find a new hobby from it. (We started planting and harvesting lavender after visiting the lavender farm.)
- It may allow you to meet a new friend or find a new city you love.
- You will also get outdoors and enjoy the sunshine and nature which is good for your health.
- There is always something new to learn.
Tips to Start Adventure Days
- Plan, Plan Plan
- Plan an adventure at least once a month.
- Get your adventures on the calendar
- Find a babysitter ahead of time to plan your adventure or take the kids with you.
- Invite others to adventure with you for more joy.
- Take turns planning the adventures.
- Try some new adventures.
- Don’t always pick Friday nights, try different days of the week.
- Some adventures can be free if budget is a concern.
Finally, get 12 adventure days on the calendar for a half day, a whole day, or a weekend. Just start- you will love it.
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