It's Halloween: Give Blood

You think of Halloween and you think of scary stuff like blood and vampires and, of course, treats! Why not combine all of that into a nice community service activity?

According to the Red Cross, "...virtually all of us will face a time of great vulnerability in which we will need blood." Yet, they report that very few of those who can give actually donate.

Does the thought of giving blood make you nervous? Perfect! This IS a blog that encourages you to expand your comfort zone and it IS Halloween! So click here to find a donation location near you. You'll be conquering your fears and, best of all, the Red Cross staff always gives you a treat when you're done.

Happy Halloween!

Timely Attractions

Uptake Attractions Blog has three timely posts for this week. Click below to learn more about haunted corn mazes, the best baseball museums between the World Series cities, and lovely fall drives in Minnesota.

Top 10 Ways to Get Scared in a Corn Field

Top 10 Baseball Museums from Philadelphia to Tampa

Beautiful Fall Drives in Minnesota

Win an African Safari (with wine tastings!)

Comcast is giving away an 11-day African safari luxury package, which includes world-class hotels, private tours, wine tastings, an elephant adventure.... Who says adventure can't involve luxury? Click quick because the contest ends November 17. Enter here.

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday Liz!

Dig This: You Can Drive a Bulldozer for FUN!

Admit it, you've always wanted to drive one of those huge earth-moving machines. You aren't alone. Dig This, the country's first heavy-equipment play area, gets almost 50% of it's business from adventurous women. The Steamboat, Colorado-based, company has opportunities for individuals or groups (adventure clubs!) to take control of excavators, skid loaders and bulldozers for a half day or a full day of fun.

The folks at Dig This will make sure you're well trained so don't worry about having previous experience. Prices range from $250 for a half day with the skid steer loader ("the sports car of heavy equipment") to $650 for a full day with the excavator and bulldozer and lunch.

But wait! There's more! Dig This just announced plans for a new Excavate and Exfoliate program; an adventure, lodging and spa package that combines the big toys at Dig This with the spa at the Steamboat Grand Resort Hotel. Watch this space for details....

Images courtesy of Dig This

Ghost Hunters Wanted: Become a Paranormal Investigator

TAPS (The Atlantic Paranormal Society) has become famous as the Sci Fi Channel's Ghost Hunters investigative team. The show always offers some spooky fun but for a more 3-D adventure TAPS offers Paranormal 101 classes.

According to their web site, "Paranormal 101 will prepare you for an investigation. This course will cover everything from the initial client email through the investigation to the resolution." The next class, the only one this month, is scheduled for October 26 at the Colonial House Inn, Yarthmout Port, MA. Most classes are held at the TAPS office in Warwick, RI.

Don't have time for a class? Can't get to New Hampshire or Rhode Island? TAPS' Grant Wilson has written an article on launching your own ghost hunting career. For TAPS' library of articles on everything from buying haunted objects to fairies to demonology FAQs, click here.

Woman Goes to the Wolves: Has TV Show to Prove It

This just in from Animal Planet:

British wolf expert Shaun Ellis, famous for living like a wolf among wolves, may be just short of becoming a wolf himself. What's kept him from really going to the dogs? His other true love—Helen Jeffs. Helen is Shaun’s fiancée, but when it comes to the wolves, she is still a novice. That is all about to change. Beginning Tuesday, October 21, at 10 PM (ET/PT), LIVING WITH THE WOLFMAN follows Shaun and Helen as Shaun attempts to bring his two loves together -- making Helen the first woman ever to live with wolves.

Ellis is known for his unprecedented experiences embedded in a wolf pack. By studying the behaviors and social structures of these canine creatures, Shaun hopes to promote a greater human understanding of wolves while helping to regrow wolf populations. For years, he has been sleeping, eating and brawling with a pack of captive wolves at Combe Martin Wildlife Park in Devon, England, successfully infiltrating the pack and becoming its peacemaker.

In her journey to become accepted by Shaun’s pack, Helen must face her fears and get closer to these wild animals than most people would ever dare. She goes to extremes, changing her diet and hygiene habits in order not to disturb the wolves’ keen sense of smell. Once inside the pack, Helen has to growl, bark and bite her way to authority (literally), all under Shaun’s guidance. She comes uncomfortably close to the wolves as she defends her place on the carcasses of prey and even regurgitates her own food into the wolves’ mouths all in hopes of becoming part of Shaun’s mission.

Some women are adventurous and some women are ADVENTUROUS!


Photo courtesy of Animal Planet

Meteor Shower Tomorrow Night

Here's a quick backyard adventure for those of you with minimal light pollution. The annual Orionids meteor shower will be streaking overhead tomorrow night, October 21. Settle into a comfy chair (and a warm sleeping bag) in the pre-dawn hours and watch 10-15 for shooting stars per hour. For a better show (but possibly cooler conditions), the Geminid display on December 14 should feature around 75 meteor streaks per hour and the Quadrantid shower on January 4 may grace us with 100 meteors per hour.

Meteor showers peak on a specific day but meteors can be seen in the night sky a day or two before and after the peak.

Looking for a little more background on meteors? Click here for Sky and Telescope's Meteor Primer.

And The Winner is....

I put the names of all commenters into a paper bag this morning and pulled out one. The winner of the fabulous Halloween Treat Package from Bizarre Foods is....Ikkinlala! (Yes, edible crickets can go to Canada.)


Ikkinlala, I'll put your crickets, DVD and autographed picture in the mail on Monday.


For those of you who are desperately unhappy that you won't have crickets for Halloween, you can purchase some from the same place that packaged the Salt N' Vinegar Crick-ettes included in the prize. Hotlix.com offers crickets in Bacon & Cheese and Sour Cream & Onion as well as chocolate covered ants and worms, scorpion lollipops, BBQ Larvets, ant candy, worm candy...you get the picture.

Great Adventure Resource: the REI store near you

If you haven't been to REI.com or your local REI store recently you may not know that it is a veritable plethora of adventure advice, ideas and trips. Let me take you on a little Internet adventure over to REI.com...

If you click here, you'll land on REI's store locator page. Click on any state and you'll be given a page of store locations. To the right of the store name and address you'll see a link for "events and more," which will take you to a list of classes (geocaching, orienteering, etc), events, presentations, community service opportunities and more. Some activities are free and some activities have a fee.


Click here and land on REI's "Expert Advice" page. You'll find articles on using your GPS, fixing a flat on your bike, selecting a tent and much more.


REI also offers adventure trips for women. Click here for a list of trips in the US and Latin America. And, don't forget that REI is sponsoring free clinics on dressing for outdoor activities until December 4 (freebies at the clinics, too!). Click here for more information.

Since this site has so much to offer adventurous women, I'm adding REI to the list of helpful links on the right side of the blog.

Build a House with Habitat for Humanity

Did you know that by the end of this year, women will have built more than 1,400 homes for Habitat for Humanity? I don't mean that there was a woman here or there, I mean that the women of Women Build created those homes.

Women Build, part of Habitat for Humanity International, began in 1998 and has spent the last decade working to eliminate poverty housing. The program has a variety of hands-on ways for YOU to get involved. Training is available so a lack of construction experience is not a problem Click here to learn, work, and contribute.

I think this would be a fantastic opportunity for any adventure club.

Edible Cricket Giveaway: Perfect for Halloween!

Bizarre Foods and the Travel Channel has sent me some Halloween treats that I'm going to GIVE AWAY to one adventurous reader.

First up, a very small box of edible crickets. To be more precise, they're "Salt N' Vinegar Crick-ettes" but they're the real thing. Second, is a Bizarre Foods DVD (a 2-DVD set), and finally, an autographed picture of host Andrew Zimmern.

If you're unfamiliar with Bizarre Foods, the program features chef Andrew traveling the world in search of culture and the most unusual local foods. Many of his culinary discoveries may have you squirming in your seat as he's licking his fingers and telling you how delicious that fresh (insert animal part here) is when it's prepared like this. It's a fun show and the DVD will be a nice touch for any Halloween dinner party.

Speaking of dinner parties, click here for a recipe for Hot and Spicy Chicken Feet, also courtesy of Bizarre Foods.

So how do you win this fabulous Halloween prize package??? Just leave a comment on this post and a winner will be selected at random next Saturday. I have to wait until Saturday because I'm spending the week at a convention where I'm promoting healthy food. (Good thing Blogger let's you pre-schedule posts.)

In the mean time, if you want more immediate gratification, you can catch Bizarre Foods on the Travel Channel on Tuesdays at 10pm.

Adventurous Woman: Colleen Fant Blogs About Her Experiences at a Health Clinic in Ghana

I've been reading this intriguing blog for weeks now. Colleen Fant, a recent graduate of Northwestern University, packed her bags and moved to Ho, Ghana in August 2008 to be a public health worker at the HOPE clinic. Colleen will live in Ghana until next June and is spending those months sharing her thoughts and experiences with readers back home. Her insights are interesting and frank and encompass, as she says, "the good, the bad and the ugly." You can share Colleen's adventure here.

Take a Segway Tour: it's the most fun you'll have all week!

Last weekend my adventure group spent a beautiful day touring Washington, DC on Segways and I have to say that if you haven't tried a Segway, you should put it at the top of your adventure list.

What's a Segway? Imagine you're standing on a small platform with a wheel next to each foot and bar with hand grips in front of you. A Segway has only two wheels but balances beautifully with the help of hidden gyroscopes and motors that I won't attempt to explain. The result is that you simply apply more pressure to the front of your feet to roll forward. To stop, shift the pressure to your heels. To turn, you shift your body weight to the left or right.

Our three-hour tour started in the office. We signed release forms, handed over a credit card for a damage deposit (returned in full after the tour), watched a brief safety video and then moved to an alley for a few minutes of personal instruction. I think we all spent about three block getting used to the machine's sensitive nature and speed and then suddenly we realized that we didn't have to think about what we were doing. Driving the Segway became so second nature it felt like it could read your mind.

Our tour took us down sidewalks, along the National Mall, and past all the most famous DC attractions and crowds of tourists. We stopped once to stretch our legs but honestly no one wanted to stop at all. In fact, one of my team kept saying, "I don't want to get off!"

Segways can cruise along at about 12 miles per hours making them a hot trend in law enforcement and, of course, the tourist industry. To see the Segway in action, click here. To take a guided tour on a Segway near you, click here then go to "guided tours" at the very top of the page. You'll find links for cities across the US and around the world.

I spent $70 for three hours and it was money very well spent!

Belly Dancing

Over at the Mommy-Muse Blog there is a nice post about belly dancing for women who are expecting or who have just had a baby. This is probably something you want to discuss with your doctor if you're pregnant but it does sound like a lot of fun.

Adventurous Treks: Get In Step!

When is walking an adventure? When that walk is one of the 50 best hikes on the planet.
The Adventure Blog had a nice little review of the Sunday Times' (London) article, The World’s Best Treks, from a grade-one pub stroll right up to a grade-five yeti hunt. Ranked by difficulty, the list of great hikes spans the globe with walks for novices and athletes alike.

When is walking an adventure? When that walk is one of the top 10 hikes in the US.
TrailsTV.com has posted their list -- in no particular order -- of the 10 best treks in the States.

When is walking an adventure? When it gets you to change your routine and try something new. Next time you go to Google for directions, try their WALKING option and get across town in a whole new way. Visit Google Maps for directions and look for the little drop-down menu below the destination's address box. You can choose " by car" or "walking."

Do you regularly walk your city? Want to know how your area ranks compared to the rest of the country? Check out Walk Score. This site ranks 2,508 neighborhoods in 40 U.S. cities according to their walkability.

Just for Fun: Mr. Owl Talks about the Tootsie Pop Sweepstakes

My favorite month is dedicated to candy and all those fun things that come out at night. So I can't think of a better way to welcome October than with Tootsie Pops and the Tootsie spokescreature, Mr. Owl.

AWB: Thanks for stopping by Mr. Owl. I have to say I've been a fan of yours for years.

Mr. Owl: Thank Youhoo.

AWB: I hear Tootsie Pops is challenging people to find out how many licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop. Is that correct?

Mr. Owl: Yehhhheesssss

AWB: I also understand that you have some great prizes for contest winners. Each month five people will win a year's supply of Tootsie candies AND there's a grand prize of $50,000!

Mr. Owl: Yehhhheeessss

AWB: This contest is running until July 31, 2009, is that right?

Mr. Owl: Yeehhheeesss

AWB: I know you have to fly, Mr. Owl, but one final question before you go. How many licks DOES it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop?

Mr. Owl: Let's find out..(unwraps Tootsie Pop), one...twoHoo...three (crunch!). Three!

AWB: Well thanks for stopping by Mr. Owl. I'll let readers know that they can enter the Tootsie Pops "How Many Licks" Sweepstakes by clicking here.

Image courtesy of Tootsie Roll Industries