Take Your Kids on a Farming Vacation
Want to have a blast this summer doing something a little different than the standard summer activities? Why not try taking your kids to a local farm?
There, your children can learn about agriculture, biology and chemistry in a real world setting. They can learn how fertilizers work, how plants grow and how their food is really made.
There will be all kinds of animals on the farm. There'll usually be chicken and/or cows. In addition to the animals on the farm that are part of the business, many farmers also keep dogs and other pets around. It's a fun environment for kids to make many animal friends.
Don't think you near a farm? Think again. Even cities like New York or Boston have farms just a few dozen miles away. Think about it - big cities have to get their food from somewhere. Yes, a lot of food is imported or frozen. However, every city also needs a supply of fresh foods. Those come straight from a nearby farm.
A Few Different Kinds of Adventures to Choose From
Many farms will have one-day adventures you can go on. It might include a tour of the farm, a little bit of horseback riding, helping out with picking fruits and an authentic farmer's meal at night.
If you want to get even more involved, you can stay on a farm for a longer period of time. Think of it like summer camp, except on a farm.
You and your child can stay at the farm for a week or two. You can play together, learn together, pick fruits together, play with animals together and eat together.
Some farms have very structured stay-in programs. This is particularly true of farms near big cities, where summer stays are a big attraction.
At smaller farms, you might just be helping out around the farm informally and just be a temporary member of the farm's family.
How to Find Local Farms
Some of these farms also have stay-in programs for kids and parents. Some don't, so make sure you check the farm's description carefully.
You can also just pop by your local farmer's market or do a Google search for farms near your city. Make contact with the farmer(s) and inquire about a summer stay.
Some farms don't charge for summer stays if you're helping out. By and large, however, farms treat farm stays as an attraction of sorts and charge accordingly.
This kind of adventure isn't for everyone. But if your children like the outdoors, like animals and like outside the box experiences, this could be the perfect experience for the whole family.
Take Your Kids Museum Hopping This Summer
Taking your kids on a museum hopping trip is a great way to spend time with your children while broadening your kids' horizons. Many museums are not only educational, but extremely fun for kids.
In any major city, whether it's New York, London, San Francisco or Paris, there are going to be at least a handful of museums you can take your kids to. If you're in a smaller town, you might have to take a road trip.
Here are some of the different kinds of adventures you might go on with your kids.
The Joys of the Science Museum
What's amazing about science museums is how they take complex principles and turn them into fun adventures.
Instead of explaining sound waves in wave form, it's explained in sand. Sound is blasted into the sand, which forms waves in real time.
Instead of explaining the theory behind lasers, museums get kids excited by letting them pop balloons with lasers or showing lasers burning through paper.
Science museums demonstrate important scientific concepts in a fun and interactive manner.
Art and History
Art and history museums can be a mixed bag for kids. Some kids love it while others hate it.
If your kids are younger, you might want to skip the art and history museums. If your kids are older and have an interest in art or history, these can be a great choice.
Along the same lines, if your child is older, you might consider taking him or her to a re-enactment if there is one nearby. A re-enactment is where a real historical scene is played out again by actors.
It helps bring a sense of reality to history.
Dinosaur Museums
Dinosaur museums are quite common. If your child has never seen a life-sized T-Rex or seen real dinosaur bones before, it can be a real treat.
Wax Museums
Wax museums aren't really educational. They're just extremely fun for kids to be around.
In a wax museum, you'll find many wax statues of famous actors, musicians and political figures that look exactly like their real counterparts.
Your kids can take pictures with life-sized Jackie Chan and Tom Cruise replicas. Kids can get very excited.
These are some of the many different kinds of museums you can take your children to.
If you're planning on visiting a lot of museums, it pays to figure out which are the free days. Often times it's Sunday, but it could be different depending on what city you're in.
Involve your children in the decision-making process. Take their wants and concerns into consideration and make the decision of where to go as a family.
Summer Is the Perfect Time for a Garage Sale Hunt
One fun summer adventure that can also end up saving you money is to go on a garage sale hunting spree. You'll find all kinds of things at a steep discount. Sometimes, you'll even find things at a garage sale that simply can't be bought anywhere else.
Summer is the season of garage sales. In winter, nobody wants to be sitting on their front porch for hours and hours. In summer, however, people are more than happy to hang out in the sun or in the shade and chat with people all day.
This is a quick and easy way to spend a day on your own, with kids or with friends.
Where to Find Garage Sales
The first place to look is your local newspaper. Look in the classifieds section.
Make sure you also check the church section, as churches will often have church sales and post it in the church section instead of the classifieds section.
Check Craigslist if you're in the USA, or Craigslist if you're in the UK or Australia. People will often go online and post a notice about their garage sale either in the community or events section.
Check your local grocery store for flyer boards. This is a very common place for people to announce garage sales.
Tips for a Great Garage Sale Hunt
The neighborhoods you shop in will affect the kinds of goods you receive. For example, if you shop in an artsy neighborhood, you can expect to find paintings and handmade clothing. If you're in a posh suburban neighborhood, you could expect to find appliances or maybe vintage goods.
Be quick - most garage sales only last a day. If there are other people around, look quickly and pick things up before someone else does. Don't assume that you can come back later in the day to grab something, as someone else will probably notice it too.
One good tip is to pick up anything you might want to buy and just carry it with you while you're shopping. If you don't want it, you can put it back down. This way, someone else can't come in and pick it up before you.
Bargain - garage sales are not the place to pay full price. That's especially true if you're buying two or more items. If you're buying two pieces for $7, ask if they can offer $12 for both.
Open every case. Don't just assume that because a CD is marked "The Beatles" that there's an actual Beatles CD inside.
Use your fingers to inspect items, rather than just your eyes. Your fingers will spot chips and rough edges that your eyes wouldn't see.
Going garage sale hunting is a great way to spend a summer afternoon or two. You can pick up amazing deals, talk to some interesting people and enjoy driving around in the sun.
Spend Your Free Time This Summer on a Road Trip
If you have a few extra days this summer, one great way to spend your time is on a road trip. Taking a road trip is a fantastic way to broaden your horizons, and see your neighboring cities and states while soaking in the summer sun.
You'll have tons of amazing conversations with the people with you in your car. You'll get to listen to great music. You'll get to spend a lot of time outdoors and meet a lot of amazing people.
So how do you plan for a summer road trip?
Start by Prepping Your Car
You're going to be putting several hundred, if not several thousand miles on your car during a road trip. Make sure your car is ready before you set out.
Get an oil change if one is due. Replace the car's fluids. Notice if your breaks are skidding or weak and get that fixed if necessary. Notice if your car is making any strange noises. If so, have those looked at.
Before going on a road trip, it's probably a good idea to sign up for roadside assistance just in case something happens.
Planning the Trip Itself
Start by planning your destinations. Try to include both mainstream tourist destinations as well as places off the beaten path. Sometimes it's a good idea to just show up at a city and see what happens.
Plan the actual roads you'll drive to get to your destination. Again, try to get a mix of both highways and country back roads.
Plan where you plan to sleep each night. Of course, plans can change and you can end up at a different motel. But it still helps to have a plan to start with.
Buy a couple different maps of the area(s) you plan on driving. Having different maps helps, just in case one is a little off.
What to Bring with You
The most important thing you need to bring to a road trip is copious amounts of great music. That, and great company. These are the two things you can't really get on the road.
You'll want to bring a lot of snacks. Make sure you also have garbage bags, as there's going to be a lot of trash generated from all the food wrappers and drink bottles.
Bring sunscreen. Driving in the sun, even with shades and sun blockers down can still cause a sunburn.
Conversational Games
If you have conversational lulls during a road trip, one great way to pass the time is through conversational games.
For example, the "Three Truths One Lie" game, where you tell three truths and one lie and the other person has to guess which is the lie, is a great one.
Lookup conversational games and play the ones that excite you most when there's a break in conversation.
Going on a road trip is a great way to deepen friendships, see new places and enjoy the summer sun.
Solo Summer Camping - A Relaxing, Refreshing Experience
Summer time is one of the best times of the year to turn off the computer, step away from work and immerse yourself in nature for a few days. Going camping solo allows you to spend some time with yourself. It can be very centering and refreshing.
First Time Camping Solo?
If you've never gone camping solo before, it can be a slightly scary proposition. It can bring images of getting attacked by bears or getting lost in the woods.
The reality is, this kind of thing rarely happens. That's why it makes the news. By and large, the "horror stories" you hear about just never happen.
That said, if you're nervous, you can take a few safety precautions.
First, tell a friend when you expect to be back. If you don't contact them within a certain time, they'll know to be worried.
Carry a phone with you. If you're not going too far off the beaten path, you should still be able to get reception.
Always carry a first aid kit in case you get injured. Make sure you have water purification pills just in case you run out of water while you're out there.
If it's your first time camping solo, take it slow. Don't go off into the middle of nowhere. Keep your trip short and camp in places frequented by wilderness lovers. Don't go to secluded locations until you're comfortable camping on your own.
How to Make It an Unforgettable Experience
Bring some music with you. Walking around a forest with nobody around you while listening to your favorite music can be an incredible experience.
Bring a journal. At home, it can be very hard to set aside the time to properly journal. While you're out in the wilderness, there's nothing but time. It's the perfect opportunity to reflect on your life.
Bring a camera. Take pictures of all the incredible things you're witnessing and show them to friends when you get home.
Make friends while you're out there. Other campers often have amazing stories to tell. People from all walks of life leave their usual selves behind to come and enjoy nature in the forest.
That said, still try to avoid bringing expensive cameras or music players that cost an arm and a leg. It's rare, but it's possible to get robbed by other campers.
If you want an adventure this summer, why not try camping on your own? It's a fantastic way to recharge and reflect on your life. Step outside the box of being in a city and enjoy the refreshing sun. If there's a lake near you, you can even enjoy a great swim in the middle of nature.
Plan a Romantic Summer Picnic in Your Local Park
One of the best ways to enjoy the summer sun with your loved one is by going to a nice, romantic summer picnic in your local park. A summer picnic will allow you to spend some relaxing time with one another, with nothing else to do but enjoy nature and each other.
Here's how to plan the perfect romantic summer picnic.
What Should You Bring?
Bring a plastic tarp and put your blanket or towels on top of the tarp. Wet grass can make blankets damp or even downright wet if there isn't a tarp underneath them.
Bring enough water. One of the biggest mistakes people make with picnics is planning out the food carefully, but not bringing enough water.
Bring outdoor dinnerware. Don't bring anything that could break if knocked over. That means no glass plates, no crystal glasses and so on.
Bring a small cutting board and a knife. This helps with a lot of things, from cutting bread to cutting fruit to just being an extra makeshift plate.
Make sure to bring sunscreen. The last thing you want is to come back from your romantic getaway with a painful burn.
Take mosquitoes into consideration. If you live in an area that has mosquitoes, bring some bug spray to prevent these little creatures from ruining your big day.
Setting the Romantic Mood
Try to arrive at an off-peak time so you can find a semi-shady area to lay out your picnic.
Set the mood by bringing a bottle of nice wine. Perhaps you can also try setting the vibe by bringing a small music player and playing some romantic music.
An Added Bonus: Make It a Surprise Picnic
Want to really add to the sense of romance? Make it a surprise picnic.
Just tell your loved one that you've got something planned, but don't tell them exactly what you plan on doing.
Figure out the food, the drinks and the location on your own, then surprise your loved one with an amazing picnic experience.
This works well at night if you want to make it a candle-lit dinner in the park.
For Added Fun.
For added fun, bring a few toys! Bring a Frisbee or a ball to play with. Maybe bring a board game or two to play with your loved one. If you're going to be out for a while, maybe bring a book or two for the both of you.
Going on a romantic summer picnic with your loved one is a fantastic way to take in the summer sun while spending time with each other. Make sure to check the weather, plan different activities and plan different kinds of foods before you go.
Organize a Water Gun Fight with Your Kids
Want a really fun, outdoor activity that your child and the whole neighborhood can participate in? Try organizing a large water gun fight. In addition to being fun, it can also help your child develop organizational and leadership skills at an early age.
Help Your Child Make It Happen
If your child is excited about the idea of doing it, make sure he (or she) knows that it's his project, not yours.
That said, your role is to help your child make sure everything goes smoothly. Sometimes, you may need to lend a helping hand.
It's important that even when you help out, your child still feels like it's his project. This helps build a sense of success when the event goes off well.
Inviting Other Kids
A big part of developing social skills and later in life professional skills is the ability to get other people excited by your own ideas.
Later in life, that comes in handy when managing projects, finding a job, looking for investments or doing anything in the professional world. As a kid on the playground, it helps make friends and helps build confidence.
Some kids will be able to get others excited about a game without any help. Other kids might have a little trouble. If your child has problems coming up with how to get other kids interested, help out.
Tell your child to start with his or her friends. Contact other parents you know and ask if they'll bring their kids. Together with your child, create a poster and post it on your school's bulletin board.
Organizing the Game Itself
As for the game itself, help your child go through the process of planning out the day.
Some kids might just want to run around shooting each other with water guns. Other kids might want something more structured, like a "capture the flag" water gun fight.
If your child wants to do something more complex, help him figure out all the rules. Use the internet to help come up with game ideas.
Food and Other Aspects
If a bunch of kids are getting together for a water gun fight, that probably means a lot of other parents are going to be there as well.
Instead of just making it a water gun fight, it can also be a BBQ or a picnic in the park. It'll be a great chance to get to know other parents, as well as your child's friends.
Try to give your child as much independence to organize the event as possible; however, you should probably handle the food. Give your child the opportunity to focus on just one thing.
Co-organizing a water gun fight with your child is a fantastic way to cool down in summer, have a ton of fun and help your child develop social and organizational skills all at the same time.
Five Different Kinds of Summer Retreats for Relaxation and Growth
If you've been feeling a little stressed in your life, why not take this summer to go on a retreat? A retreat can be anywhere from a few days to a few weeks in length. It'll help you recharge, help you relax, help you learn about yourself and allow you to enjoy nature all at the same time.
Here are five different kinds of retreats you can embark on this summer.
A Health and Spa Retreat
A health and spa retreat is perhaps the most relaxing and rejuvenating of all the retreat options you could choose.
Usually these retreat centers are located in nature, separate from the rest of society. You'll usually be asked to turn off your phone so you have no contact with the outside world.
You get to enjoy delicious and healthy meals. There will usually be yoga classes, massages and often saunas. It's a retreat dedicated purely to joy and relaxation.
A Meditation Retreat
A meditation retreat is much tougher. It involves sitting, standing or walking for many hours at a time, simply experiencing the present moment.
On meditation retreats, people often have profound realizations about life, who they are and what they want to do. Some retreats have a no talking rule, while others are very social.
A Yoga Retreat
Are you a fan of yoga? Do you find that stretching your body and deepening your breath helps you relax and find your center?
If so, you might want to consider a yoga retreat. These retreats consist of a lot of different activities, with a focus on yoga. You might do five sessions of yoga per day while socializing, cooking and doing various other activities for the rest of the day, for example.
Spiritual or Religious Retreats
The majority of meditation and yoga retreats are religion-neutral. However, if you're religious, you might want to consider going on a religious retreat.
For example, go on a Christian Retreat if you're Christian. You can discuss the Bible with others, pray together and deepen your relationship with God together.
If you're Buddhist, you can meditate together, study Buddhist texts together and learn more about Buddhism together.
Go on a Vision Quest
This is perhaps the most intense of all the retreat options discussed in this article.
A vision quest is when you're taken to a remote location, like a desert or a forest. You're left alone there, with no food. Usually you're there for a period of three to five days. You'll be given a flare and/or radio for use if there's an emergency, but otherwise will have no contact with others.
Not eating food puts you in an altered state very quickly. You'll then be able to use this intensely lonely and focused state to think about your life. It's called a vision quest because people often use these vision quests to try to figure out exactly what they want to do with their lives.
These are five different kinds of retreats you can go on this summer. Some are relaxing, others are introspective while others are extremely difficult. Which one(s) call to you most?
Experience the Joys of Diving This Summer
Want to do something new this summer? One great adventure you could embark on is to take a diving course. Not everywhere has good dive spots, but you'd be surprised at how common diving is. Even if you're in a state surrounded by land, there may be lakes, basins, rivers or even flooded bunkers where you could dive.
Diving is an incredible experience. You're underwater, surrounded by a multitude of different creatures all around you.
It's completely different than going to an aquarium. While visiting an aquarium allows you to see the fish, it doesn't allow you to interact with them in their natural habitat. When you dive, you truly feel like you're part of the ocean.
How Much Does It Cost?
Getting your certification can cost anywhere between $400 to $800, depending on your location. This is the most expensive part of diving.
Once you're a certified diver, you'll be able to go on dives for as little as $40 to $100, again depending on where you are in the world.
What's the Process Like?
The most important aspect of learning to dive is learning the equipment and safety.
Navigating the underwater world is quite safe once you know what you're doing, but extremely dangerous if you don't.
Getting your certification takes between three to five days. In the process, you'll learn how to use all the gear, usually in either a swimming pool or in shallow water. Your instructors will teach you how to clear your glasses underwater, how to prevent yourself from getting lung injuries and how to avoid getting hurt by underwater creatures.
Upon completing the program, you'll be a certified diver. You can dive anywhere around the world with your certification.
How to Find Places to Dive Near You
One way to find dive spots near you is to just head over to Google and type in "Diving" followed by your state. For example, "Diving California" or "Diving Texas."
You can also try looking up dive shops on PADI's website. PADI is the largest scuba diver certification organization.
Make sure to call the dive shop before showing up. Often times you need to make an appointment. Some dive shops only do dives for certified divers and don't do certifications themselves.
Diving for Couples
If you're going on a summer vacation as a couple, diving can be a magical experience.
Holding your loved one's hand while you encounter a friendly shark or swim among glowing plankton will be a memory that you'll both cherish forever.
While underwater, all communication must be non-verbal. Being in this space with your loved one can really deepen your bonds.
Diving is a great way to cool down and experience a wild adventure in summer, all in your own back yard.
Experience the Joys of Diving This Summer
Want to do something new this summer? One great adventure you could embark on is to take a diving course. Not everywhere has good dive spots, but you'd be surprised at how common diving is. Even if you're in a state surrounded by land, there may be lakes, basins, rivers or even flooded bunkers where you could dive.
Diving is an incredible experience. You're underwater, surrounded by a multitude of different creatures all around you.
It's completely different than going to an aquarium. While visiting an aquarium allows you to see the fish, it doesn't allow you to interact with them in their natural habitat. When you dive, you truly feel like you're part of the ocean.
How Much Does It Cost?
Getting your certification can cost anywhere between $400 to $800, depending on your location. This is the most expensive part of diving.
Once you're a certified diver, you'll be able to go on dives for as little as $40 to $100, again depending on where you are in the world.
What's the Process Like?
The most important aspect of learning to dive is learning the equipment and safety.
Navigating the underwater world is quite safe once you know what you're doing, but extremely dangerous if you don't.
Getting your certification takes between three to five days. In the process, you'll learn how to use all the gear, usually in either a swimming pool or in shallow water. Your instructors will teach you how to clear your glasses underwater, how to prevent yourself from getting lung injuries and how to avoid getting hurt by underwater creatures.
Upon completing the program, you'll be a certified diver. You can dive anywhere around the world with your certification.
Diving for Couples
If you're going on a summer vacation as a couple, diving can be a magical experience.
Holding your loved one's hand while you encounter a friendly shark or swim among glowing plankton will be a memory that you'll both cherish forever.
While underwater, all communication must be non-verbal. Being in this space with your loved one can really deepen your bonds.
Diving is a great way to cool down and experience a wild adventure in summer, all in your own back yard.