People start getting cabin fever this time of year here in North America. Well, the people who don’t live in sunny Southern California, at least (don’t hate me).
With cabin fever comes the insatiable urge to start planning your spring and summer. We are a forward-thinking bunch, aren’t we?
So with that, I’m curious what you have cooking. Anything big on the horizon? Please do share.
I’d like to bounce ideas off each other, swap insider knowledge, and really just find out what you crazy kids are up to.
Here’s what I’m hoping for this spring/summer:
1. Scale Mt. Whitney, if we can actually get a permit this year
2. Raft the Salt River in Arizona
3. Snowboard in Chile or Argentina. Better yet, both.
We do have one long-term plan we just started working on:
1. Around The World! (We haven’t told our family yet. Good thing they don’t read my blog.)
Have at it friends.
eric murtaugh 
We are going to explore the Albanian coast this summer.
Sounds like fun! Any idea how long you’ll be in Albania?
No, we haven’t made any plans yet. I know we are heading for Croatia first and then go to Albania.
Sounds like a great time! Have fun! Hopefully we get to see a post about it afterwards.
You will see lots of posts about my trip to Albania! But right now, I am in Denmark for a week.
jet skiing in Coney Island (or New York Harbor), climbing at the Gunks, surfing, road trip to…hell I don;t know…anywhere, really, possibly camping (which I’ve never done before), stand-up paddleboarding
And looking for more suggestions. My seasonal email to the band of like-minded idiots is going to be going out soon…
“My seasonal email to the band of like-minded idiots is going to be going out soon…”
Perfect. I send and receive those exact same emails.
Sounds like you have a fairly busy summer lined up, dude. Think you’ll stick to the East Coast for the road trip, surfing, camping and SUPing?
You’ve never been camping before? Seriously?
-Road trip will probably be of the “jump in the car and drive thataway for 3 – 4 hours” variety.
-SUP will be a few after-work trips to the guy that rents them in NY harbor (because I get a wicked case of the giggles from doing stuff like that in the middle of NYC).
-Surfing will be out on Long Island (seriously – I need to develop a much better skill set before I start taking it out on the road!)
-I forgot to add kayaking, hopefully up the Hudson a bit, although the last time I went was in a preserve near Miami.
And I left off the big one – hoping to bungee jump in Portland
Seriously, never been camping. Just never came up…
I would totally dig SUPing in the NY harbor. Love kayaking, too. I’m a little torn on bungee jumping, but what the hell, might as well give it a shot. Have you been before?
You seem like the camping type. Guess I was wrong.
Don’t you have a few concerts coming up, too?
Never done bungee before. Tried last summer, which turned into probably the strangest email conversation i’ve ever had…
Right now, I have Van Halen in Indiana next week, then I think 3 in a week in April…
But there should be some good stuff coming around that I’ll catch as it comes up…
Let me know if you’ll be passing through NYC, we’ll do the SUP.
Hi,
Summer is just about over for us here, it’s the first day of Autumn on the 1st of March.
This summer of course like a lot of Aussies, we went to the beach a heap of times, had some lovely picnics in some beautiful National Parks, which we have in abundance here, with some beautiful walks to waterfalls etc., Hubby flew up north to do some deep sea fishing, other than that unfortunately no extra time off from work.
You know what’s funny Mags is I mentioned “North America” because I was thinking about you. Glad to hear your hubby went fishing! I remember you telling me about that. Did he catch anything? Do you two have any plans for the fall/winter?
I really need to get to Australia.
Hubby is a shift worker so we are not yet sure when he’s holidays will be this year, unforunatley we don’t get to decide. 😦
He only caught 2 fish, but they had a fantastic time which is of course what it is all about. 😀
You would love OZ, the problem is the size, there are so many great places, picking one is the hardest,
of course I could be bias. 😆
After reading this I feel like the most lame person in the world. I think I need to trade places with a young adventurer. Actually, my 50th birthday is July 26th. Any suggestion?
Oh, come on! They’re plenty of lame people in the world! Chances are highly unlikely you’re the lamest. Ha!
I have a ton of suggestions! It all depends on what you like to do. Do you enjoy being outdoors?
I love the ocean but I don’t like boats because I get sick. I like being outdoors but I’m not sure how hard core I could go? I was thinking Mt. Kilimanjaro maybe? Have you ever climbed it? I was born in Africa so that could be an interesting idea?
I’ve never been to Africa (and I’m hoping that changes soon), but I have a feeling Mt. Kilimanjaro might be a little too hardcore for what you’re looking for. Check out the comment from John Phillips below. He has a few great ideas for you.
All I know is that I will spend some time outside in the sun!
Nothing wrong with that! In fact, I’m headed that way right now.
Not quite summer (October), but we are doing 3 weeks in Spain and Portugal, no tours, just us and the train system. I would suggest that type of adventure for A Gripping Life. Not quite crazy, but a blast. The people you meet and the things you can do. There will be camel riding on the Canary Islands in this trip somewhere. I’ll will be 58 in September and have no intention of quitting anything. As far as summer, likely a bunch of short trips into the Rockies. Lots of trails and cool places to see.
Wow! Talk about a great trip, John. That sounds like a lot of fun! You sure do know how to travel. And great point with your suggestion for A Gripping Life. It doesn’t always have to be crazy when it comes to adventure. Go with what you’re comfortable with, right?
My wife and I love going to the Rockies. We went backpacking in Rocky Mountain National Park last summer. Good times.
This sounds like a lot of fun, really! Great suggestion. I’m going to look into it. I’ve never been to Spain or Portugal and I’m all for train travel. Thanks John Phillips! I’m on it!
People helping people. It really is a perfect world.
We are they type that first, like to travel alone. Then we can do what we want. Second, we always meet people (Aussies and Canucks get along great haha). We also like to do B&B types of places and use a place as a base. Last year we spent a week in Sorrento, doing day trips into Pompeii, Capri, Ravello, Poisitano and Amalfi. A great week.
Wow, sounds like you got an awesome summer planned!
Me? Hong Kong, Phillipines, Korea. A 4-day canoe-portage trip at Killarney Provincial Park. And potentially an 8 or 9-day hike in Killarney in September 🙂
Dang! You think my summer sounds awesome? You’re going to Hong Kong, the Philippines, and Korea! I’m jealous. How long of a trip is it?
I read your post on Killarney. That place looks really cool!
Lol I do think your summer sounds awesome!
The Asia trip is for about 3 weeks. I love Hong Kong and it’ll be my first time in Korea (I am Korean). The Philippines has some of the most beautiful beaches in the world, so I’m excited about that.
Thanks for reading the post. It’s so amazing there, I just can’t truly express how much I love it there. Hey, have you ever been to any national parks in Canada? Once I am ready to take a break from Killarney, I’d like to go on a backcountry trip to one of our national parks.
Super jealous. I’m sure you’ll have a blast!
Nope, I’ve never been to any national parks in Canada. I really want to check out Banff. Which parks are you thinking about?
Guess what…your family does follow your blog…quite religously as a matter of fact! Kudos to you and your plans!
Busted! Thanks for the support, sis.
Yeah, I gotta check out Banff too, I’ve seen beautiful pics 🙂
I don’t have any national parks in mind yet, I’m actually not entirely sure what’s out there as good options for backcountry camping. I like to mix it up with canoeing and portaging and I don’t think all parks have that??? I’m afraid that once I start getting into researching/planning mode it will become an obsession where nothing else in life will matter anymore.
I love this stuff 🙂
Personally, I love maps. So I know exactly what you’re talking about when you say researching/planning can become an obsession. I can easily waste way too much time pouring over a map of an area we’re headed to. You should see my collection. Don’t even get me started on Google Earth. Yes, I am what you might call a dork.
Haha! Yay, I’m not the only one =P
Dorks are cool. Especially if maps are involved 🙂
Man, where is my map??? I’m so sad 😦
You need a map. Contour lines are so cool. I bet there’s a badass map of Killarney out there somewhere. We need to find it.
Hey, I noticed you’re a fan of the NFL. Any team in particular? If it’s the Bears, we can no longer be friends.
LOL. Okay, first of all you need more “Reply” buttons in your comment section =P
Yeah, I had a badass map of Killarney, contour lines and all. And it was waterproof 😦 Will need to make a trip to Mountain Equipment Co-op and get another one. Do you guys have MEC in the States?
Yaaaah, I love NFL football. Greatest sport ever invented by mankind 🙂
Baltimore Ravens is my team haha. Why not the Bears?? Who is your team?
I think the equivalent of MEC in the States is REI. I’m a huge Packers fan myself, so the Ravens I can live with. The Bears suck. Everyone knows that. Ha!
Haha. The Packers haven’t grown on me yet so I can’t protest your decision or give you the nod of approval =P
You should just root for the Packers. You’ll be a better person for it. It’s a fact.
Lol. I don’t really see how I could get any better haha! =P
Thailand, Vietnam, and one other country in the area. Open to suggestions on a third.
Nice! How long are you going for?
2 weeks. Still contemplating whether I should do one country really well or do a 3 city “sleep on train/plane” trip
I’m a big fan of slow travel, but “seeing it all” has its advantages, too. What about doing one week in Thailand, the other in Vietnam?
By the way, Eric, I hate to tell you this but I tagged you! All the instructions are on my post. Feel free to decline if you don’t have time for it. I’m sure the WordPress police won’t hunt you down! haha!
The WordPress police are at my door. They’re armed with really scary pocket protectors overflowing with scary pencils and slide rules. I knew this day would come. What do I do?
Eric, you are a cool dude! Adventure abounds with you! I can’t wait until it’s warm enough to go to the lake and go boating, swimming, hiking…I love a big ole roaring bon~fire…
Now if we could only convince my wife I’m a cool dude. For whatever reason, she’s not buying it!
Boating, swimming, hiking—I’m in! There’s nothing like a great day on the water, that’s for sure.
Speaking of water, it looks like No. 2 in my plans for the spring/summer (Raft the Salt) is a no-go. Boo. Maybe you should make room for two in that boat of yours.