I Just Tried Paintball (or "Why I'm Covered in Paint")

How much fun can you have with $37.50, a specialized weapon, a creepy mask and 500 paintballs? Turns out, quite a bit!

This past weekend, some members of The League of Adventurous Women visited Paintball-Sportsland in Frederick, Maryland where we had PERFECT weather for our four-hour blast fest.  When I say, "perfect," I mean that the day was warm enough to be comfortable but cool enough to wear a couple of layers for padding.  I've heard that being hit by a paintball can leave a welt or decent bruise.  The two shots I caught on my knuckles and the one that smacked into my elbow supported the claim. However, my vest, sweat shirt and sweat pants protected the rest of me pretty well.

Paintball mask before...

...Paintball mask after

Undoubtedly, most important part of anyone's protective gear is the creepy mask mentioned above.  Since the guns were shooting little green projectiles at about 198 miles per hour, you really could shoot your eye out and those masks turn out to be wonderful protection.

So here's how the day unfolded: My group of adventurous women joined the throng of guys (many in their teens) to pay the basic fee for rental and four hours of play time.  The rental included a gun (powered by compressed carbon dioxide), the mask, and a big bag of green balls--each encasing a blob of bright orange paint.  The play involved quite a few (I lost track) 15-minute scenarios in various locations including a "village," a "fort" and the woods.  The players (there were approximately 34 of us) were split into two opposing teams.

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Each game started with general instructions, a command to remove the "barrel plug" and safety then, "GO!" From that point on, the job was to hit as many opposing players as possible without being hit.  It was a combination of fun and adrenaline rush. Twice, I was hunkered behind a barrier while several players shot at me from different directions. Paintballs splattered all around, bounced off the ground, exploded on trees and rained paint all over me. In most games, a paintball or two hit their mark and then I'd be out for the remainder of the game.

Advancing in the village

Though the entire point is to "kill" one another, safety was stressed by the referees. Violating the rules earned you a black mark on your wrist band; three strikes and you were out for the day.

All in all, it was an exhilarating, and surprisingly exhausting, day.  At less than $10/hour, it was a bargain to boot.

Protecting the fort

Team Hoodie takes the woods

One final note: Paintball is a game and knowing that I could walk away after being "killed" by paint made me bold.  Having so many people trying to kill me made me very thankful that I don't live in a place where these rounds could be real. It also caused me to think about the men and women whose jobs routinely place them in harm's way. My thoughts are with all of you this Veteran's Day.

Visit a Psychic!

Back in January, the League of Adventurous Women added "visit a psychic" to the annual to-do list and today was the group's big day.

Psychics are always interesting but our organizer, Pam, added to the experience by arranging for our group to spend the morning having brunch and bottomless mimosas at Ben's Next Door (the modern addition to DC's historic Ben's Chili Bowl).  In between bites of Ben's famous fried chicken, waffles and chili fries, we took turns visiting the Zodiac Reading Room a few doors away.

Our reader, Victoria, who offered both palm and tarot card readings, came up with some startling observations, secret predictions and a bit of advice for the coming months. We're all marking our calendars with the important dates she mentioned and have decided to return in six months for a follow-up visit.

This is a terrific October adventure if you have an open mind, a spirit of fun and, did I mention the bottomless mimosas?




Image credit: CARDS
© Imre Forgo | Dreamstime.com

Be the Adventurous Woman on the Flying Trapeze!

I was one of those kids who often dreamed of flying through the neighborhood with arms outstretched and hair blowing in the wind.  I never thought I could make that dream a reality until I discovered Trapeze School New York.  This past weekend, some members of my Adventure Club and I took to the air at TSNY's Washington, DC location and had the time of our lives!

TSNY offers a choice of indoor or outdoor classes. Our group was split between the two options and found both to be enjoyable.  Our 2-hour beginning trapeze class started with the instructors cinching very snug harnesses around our middles, a 10-minute talk about the basics, and a brief demonstration. Then, it was time to climb.

I clapped and yelled when my friends took their turns on the platform but I'll admit that after chalking my hands and scaling the trembling 29-foot ladder, my enthusiasm started to wane. I had to take a breath and remind myself that I was doing this for FUN.

I stood in the middle of the platform, two ropes clipped to my harness, toes dangling off the edge, leaning out into space (Hips forward! Shoulders back!) and grasped the surprisingly heavy bar with my right hand. My left hand had a firm hold on the platform's support structure. The bar pulled me out, away from the platform so letting go of the support and grabbing the bar with two hands was a real mental effort (thanks for holding onto my harness, Scout). Bending my knees and hopping into the void was downright unnerving.

I was worried that my grip was too weak, and surprised by how physically hard it was to pull my knees up over the bar (it was a piece of cake in 4th grade) and how emotionally difficult it was to release my hands and hang upside down. It helped to have an instructor yelling commands: "KNEES UP! HANDS OFF! ARCH! LOOK AT YOUR HANDS!, HANDS ON THE BAR! KNEES DOWN! LET GO!. ( The delay between ears hearing and body doing did NOT help). What surprised me most was how rattled I felt when I finally dropped to that net and flipped to the ground. My heart was pounding and my head was spinning, BUT, it was so...so...cool!

Flight number two was a little easier, the third was easier still.  Each turn took each of us closer to our ultimate goal for the day -- being caught. Watching all the other fliers, I could see that timing was everything. Waiting for that split second of weightlessness at the top of the swing means you aren't fighting gravity when you try to change positions.  I never managed to get the timing right but at least I learned what I was supposed to do.

At the end of the 2-hour class, we had taken five turns each on the trapeze and all agreed that it was well worth the money and the time it took to get to the school. In fact, most of us signed up to fly again before we walked out the door.

If you want to be the adventurous woman on the flying trapeze, TSNY has schools in DC, New York, Boston and Los Angeles.  The cost is $55 for two hours (plus a $20 one-time registration fee).

If you want to see this flier in action (briefly), click here.

Photo credit: S. Anderson, video credit: G & D Stewart

Inner Tube Water Polo: Oh, Yes You Can!

My friend, Anne, was interviewed recently about her inner tube water polo team. She sent me a link to the TV broadcast and after watching the clip I was so inspired that I contacted my county's recreation office to press for an inner tube water polo league of our own.

What I like most about this goofy sport is that the inner tube is the great equalizer. As one of the the women in the clip states, even if you are an athlete, you aren't an athlete in an inner tube. The second best thing is that teams can compete outside during the summer and move to indoor pools the rest of the year.

Click here to see KECI-TV's story about a sport that may become near and dear to your heart.

Learn to Shoot

One of my Adventure Club's favorite activities was the firing range. Several in my group grew up in hunting families or have had military training with firearms but for me, this was a first. I found the challenge of learning to control a deadly explosion to be intoxicating.

Our evening began when we made a group reservation at a local indoor range. Seven of us arrived, signed in and were led into a room lined with gun cases. Behind the locked glass were firearms of every size and type -- antique pistols, police handguns and hunting rifles through military weaponry. There, we watched a safety video and took a written gun safety test. Then we were lead to a case with 9mm handguns, Glocks, (the 9 millimeter refers to the size of the bullet) and each woman received a surprisingly heavy weapon and an unloaded clip. Up to this point, the experience had been a little intimidating. I'll admit that most of us were uncomfortable with our firearms. Many of the women held their guns like they were holding a dirty diaper -- with three fingers and at arm's length.

Leaving the gun room we were given safety goggles and ear protection (think '80s stereo headphones) and escorted into the firing range itself. The range is so loud that it's behind two sets of glass doors. In fact, once you've passed through the second set, conversation becomes very difficult.

The range is set up a little like a bowling alley for individuals: station at one end, long "alley" and your target at the opposite end. Just like in bowling, you DON'T enter that alley area.

We began by choosing a station -- each person had her own firing area that was separated from the others by a floor-to-ceiling wall and separated from the target by a small counter space. A paper silhouette of a man hung from track that ran along the ceiling. The paper silhouette -- the target -- could be positioned at any distance chosen by the shooter. We reviewed how to load a single cartridge into the clip, how to hold the gun correctly, how to use the sights to aim, and then we fired. I was expecting the kickback but was surprised by the blue flame from the end of the barrel and the force with which the spent shell was ejected from the gun. After the first few rounds, the surprise wore off and we were filling the clip and filling our targets with holes. One member traded in her Glock for a Smith & Wesson revolver (think Old West). I tested that one myself and didn't want to give it back.

By the time we had each finished a box of ammo we felt comfortable and much more confident. No one walked out of the range holding her pistol diaper style! (Though we were cautioned to wash our hands thoroughly-- to remove all the lead residue.)

All told, after we paid for instruction, range time and ammunition, the cost was about $75 per person. I don't want to own a gun and I don't want a gun in my house but the I loved my time at the range and the experience was totally worth the expense.

To find a shooting range in your area, click here for the NRA's National Registry of Places to Shoot.



Image credit: K. Briggs / P. Farrell

Backyard Adventure for Bird Lovers

Daily Green is reporting that this weekend is the 2009 Great Backyard Bird Count. A joint venture between Audubon and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the GBBC is a four-day event that calls on the public to help capture a snapshot of birds across the continent. Entertaining, educational and FREE, this project takes as much or as little time as you want to invest; anywhere from 15 minutes to the whole weekend. This could be a fun event for your Adventure Club -- maybe add a little side trip to Starbucks to help you rise with your feathered friends.

You can read Daily Green's article here or you can fly right on over to the GBBC's site here.

Image: RESTING PIGEONS© Radu Razvan Dreamstime.com

Women Go on Grand Dog Sled Adventure in Alaska

Dog sledding through the Alaskan wilderness might sound like something other people do but for two California women, Terry Craig and Linda Finkel, it's going to be reality. Craig, a retired teacher, and Finkel, a retired secretary, are gearing up for a snowy adventure that includes watching the Iditarod finish, drinking martinis from glasses made of ice, and six days of mushing and camping their way across the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). They plan to leave cozy California in March but you can read all about their trip right now. Click here.

Try Taiji (Tai Chi)

Monday I wrote about wushu as an umbrella word for Chinese martial arts and focused a bit on the "external" art of kung fu. While it's dramatic, fun to do and very fun to watch, the fast-paced art might not be your style. Another option in the wushu family tree is taijiquan, also known as tai chi.

Tai chi is known as an "internal" martial art meaning players use mind and body together to produce soft, highly-coordinated moves that are as effective against an opponent as those of the more explosive external styles. It is said about tai chi players that one ounce of effort can move 1,000 pounds of force. It is also said that a tai chi master is steel wrapped in cotton. (It is also said that it takes a very long time to become a tai chi master.) At this point, you may be thinking, "Wait, I thought tai chi was that slow-motion exercise that the elderly do in parks." Well, it's that too.

Depending on your instructor, tai chi may be taught strictly as a slow exercise or it may be taught as a traditional martial art where the martial application of each posture is practiced against an opponent. In both cases, tai chi players practice "the form," transitioning through a series of postures, slowly, softly and without stopping. Doing the form will strengthen the legs, improve balance, increase circulation and focus the mind. Click here for the Mayo Clinic's article about tai chi's health benefits.

There are a number of different tai chi styles including the oldest, Chen, and the most popular, Yang. Chen is characterized by low stances and explosive movements while Yang style is the known for continuous soft movements. Finding the style and instructor that are right for you may take a little work. Visit schools, take sample classes, talk with instructors. As a long-time tai chi player, I can tell you it's worth the effort.

Click here to watch Kelly MacLean doing a beautiful Chen routine.

What to Do for Inaugural Weekend

Are you an Obama fan? How about Lincoln or Poe? Abbie over at AbsTracked has some great ideas for this very exciting weekend.

It's Time for Scuba Lessons!

If you live in a cold climate, you’re saying to yourself, “There is no way I’m going to start diving in January! That’s an adventure I’ll save for a 90 degree day.” Well, here’s another way to look at it. Learning to dive in the winter months means 1) you escape the after-the-holidays blahs, 2) you’ll be able to dive when you head to Florida or the islands for Spring Break 3) you’ll be in an indoor pool having a great time!

To get us all started, I asked Trevor Foulk, Travel & Training Director of Atlantic Edge Dive Center in Gaithersburg, Maryland (USA) to answer a few questions about scuba lessons. If this Q&A leaves you wanting more information, Trevor says you should e-mail him and he’ll do his best to help (see the bottom of this post). Now that’s service!

Trevor: It is a very, very rare person that learns to dive and thinks, “That was a waste of my time and money.” One of the most common messages I hear from students that have gone off and done their first dive trip is, “That was a life changing experience.” A lot of would-be divers have built up a barrier in their minds that getting certified is going to be hard, but it’s a lot easier than most people think.

AWB: What can a novice expect to learn at a beginning scuba class?

Trevor: In an entry level course, students will learn the basics of diving broken out into two main categories: In-water “diving skills” and classroom-based “dive theory.” The two most important in-water skills new divers learn are how to clear their masks and how to control their buoyancy underwater. As most snorkelers can attest, getting water in the mask can really be a pain. Add to that the fact that, when diving, you’re underwater with no way to simply dump the water out and you can see why clearing the mask is so important. The other key skill is buoyancy – that is, the ability to control whether you are floating or sinking. Divers want to achieve neutral buoyancy, where you are neither floating nor sinking, but rather gliding effortlessly through the water. This skill is kind of like riding a bike – it’s difficult to get at first but once you get it it’s easy to perfect. It is an important skill to learn to get the most out of your dives and also be safe.

In addition to these in-water skills, there are some technical aspects to most courses that cover nitrogen absorption in the body. These are taught in the classroom-theory section. Breathing compressed air causes the body to absorb nitrogen. There is an acceptable amount of absorption that can happen with no ill effects and we have to keep our dives within those limits. We have what we call the Recreational Dive Planner, which allows us to plan our dive times and depths to stay within safe limits of nitrogen absorption. Learning how to use it is another important aspect of the course.


AWB: What are the problems faced by most beginners?


Trevor: The problem faced by most beginners is simply acclimating to the “newness” of diving. Like the first time on skis, the first time with a golf club in your hand or the first time doing just about anything, it just takes some time getting used to having a tank on your back, fins on your feet and a mask on your face. The entry level certification course is specifically designed to acclimate new divers and put them in a position to be safe, happy divers when they get out on their first dives.


AWB: How many diving hours are required to earn a certificate?


Trevor: The amount of hours varies by dive shop. We run a fairly condensed course, which is about 4-5 hours of home study, a two-day weekend module that covers the class work and the pool work, and then another two days for the checkout dives (done in a lake or the ocean). Other courses are done over several weeks or months. This is one aspect of diving that has a very large degree of variability depending on the dive shop and the instructor that students choose. I encourage new divers to look around and find the course that most meets their needs.


AWB: If one doesn’t live near an ocean, what other options are available for diving practice?


Trevor: There are diving opportunities everywhere! When most people think of diving, they think of warm blue water with a myriad of colorful fish swimming around them, but there is much more to diving than just that. While only a lucky few get to live close to warm-water reef diving, everybody lives near some kind of diving. Throughout the country there are lakes and quarries that have been turned into diving parks with sunken attractions like boats, school buses, even planes and helicopters to explore. Most navigable lakes (like the Great Lakes) offer some outstanding wreck diving. Even lots of rivers offer cool opportunities to dive (though these are often not for beginners). There are even opportunities to dive that you would never think about, like in aquariums and other “man made” bodies of water. Our shop runs Guest Dives at the National Aquarium in Baltimore, which is a truly unique diving experience!


AWB: My readers are scattered across the country and around the world. Is there a web site that will help them find scuba schools in their areas?


Trevor: There isn’t a consolidated web site that organizes the best places to learn to dive. It’s truly a thing where new divers need to do their homework; there are so many course options, scheduling options, etc. A quick web search will yield the dive shops in the area and the next step is to visit their websites and see how they do their courses.


AWB: Is there anything that one should look for in a good diving school?


Trevor: There are a couple of things to look for when choosing a dive shop. There are many certifying agencies – PADI, NAUI, SSI, and SDI, among others – but PADI is by far the largest. All certifications are generally accepted, but last I heard PADI had more registered shops than the other agencies combined, so all else being equal a PADI shop is a good place to start (although it’s not to say instructors from the other agencies won’t offer an excellent course). Most shops require students to buy some gear (generally mask, fins and snorkel) before the course starts, while others don’t (my shop, Atlantic Edge, for example doesn’t require students to purchase any gear) so if that is important to you it’s another thing to check out. Beyond that it’s just finding the course with the schedule that meets your needs. Many people prefer the condensed schedule, but there are those that prefer the longer more detailed course, so find a shop or instructor that offers you what you need.


AWB: If you have any questions, Trevor has offered to help you find answers. You can e-mail him at trevor@atlanticedge.com

Image courtesy of Atlantic Edge Dive Center

Adventure Boot Camp

It's January, so naturally we all turn to thoughts of self improvement. Yeah, yeah, that just means getting rid of that layer of protective fat we all acquired over the holidays (or earlier : ). Well, this is an adventure blog so we've got to find an adventurous way to get fit.

Here's a fun article from the St. Petersburg Times about women who joined an Adventure Boot Camp where the motto is, "Be the star of your own reality show." According to John Kent, the leader of an Adventure Boot Camp in Florida, "Participants can expect to lose 5 to 12 pounds, 3 to 5 percentage points of body fat, and 1 to 3 inches in the waistline during each four-week camp."

The article focuses on the women of Kent's camp so to find an Adventure Boot Camp near you, click here and you'll be taken to ABC's official list of camps around the world. This might be a great opportunity for your whole adventure club!

Beginner's Guide to Winter Camping

I'm trying to get caught up on all the great blog posts I missed over the holidays and I found one to pass along to you. The Adventure Blog has a post about winter camping for beginners. Click here to read their synopsis of the winter camping article from Backpacker Magazine. Check out the comments for a few more tips.

Catch the Meteor Show Last Night?

I hope some of you were able to see the meteor shower over night. I went outside around 5:45am and logged about 25 minutes in the backyard. My winter coat, blanket, lawn chair and I counted 14 strong shooting stars and a few tiny streaks -- and that was two hours before the prime viewing time. The peak must have been quite a show!

Meteor Shower Tonight

Tonight, technically the hour or two before dawn on January 3, you may be lucky enough to witness a stellar show. The Quadrantid meteor shower can produce 1-2 meteors per minute during its brief but exciting peak. Those of you in the western US and Canada should grab your warmest gear and get ready for a grand backyard adventure. According to an article on MSN, "maximum activity this year is expected on 4:50 a.m. Pacific Standard Time." For East Coasters like me, the peak will be after sunrise.

To learn more about the Quadrantids and read the complete MSN article, click here.

36 Best Travel Ideas for 2009

The TimesOnline has prepared a list of 36 adventures to make sure that 2009 is anything but dull. Grab a pen and get out your datebook because the Times was nice enough to put their list in chronological order.

Beginning in January, you can pair free space on your calendar with a Mudbath in Essex (January 4), the Picasso-Cezanne exhibit in Aix-en-Provence, France (opens May 25), the oldest street fair in Ireland (August 10), or the Mevlana Dervish Festival in Turkey (Dec. 10). Click here to read the entire list.

What's that? You still have 6.5 days of vacation and 13 sick days? Well it's the TimesOnline to the rescue again. Here's their much abbreviated version of Lonely Planet's top travel spots for 2009.

Meteor shower: Geminids

The annual Geminid meteor shower began on December 7 and will peak this week during the evening of December 13. Sadly, a very bright moon is expected to obscure all but the brightest meteors. For the best viewing, grab a heavy blanket and a lawn chair then look up between 10pm and dawn. If you're patient and in a location without a lot of light pollution, you can expect to see a meteor (shooting star) streak overhead every couple of minutes.

If you'd like more information about the Geminids, where the meteors come from and why this particular meteor shower is a little unusual, check out this nice article by Mark at Meteorblog.

Skiing & Snowboarding Just for Women: Telluride's Women's Weeks for 2009

Sure the holidays are coming but put down your to-do list for a moment and think about the fun of skiing in the Rockies come January, February and March.

Telluride, Colorado, is going to host three separate "Women's Week" programs in 2009. Each "week" (actually a few days) is devoted to women learning from and skiing (or snowboarding) with other women. Each Women's Week begins with a welcome reception, instruction, video analysis of ski technique, after ski events, celebration dinner, stretching, spa, discounts, gifts and more.

For more information on each event, click on a date below. Or you can visit tellurideskiresort.com and click on the Ski and Snowboard School link.

Dates for Women's Weeks 2009 are:

January 21 – 23, 2009

February 8-12, 2009

March 1-5. 2009



image from Dreamstime

Books Can Have Adventures, Too

"...BookCrossing, where books have adventures of their own."


I haven't put this to the test yet but here's the concept: Your pile of paperbacks is taking over your living area and it's time to clean house. What to do?

1. Go to BookCrossing.com, open an account and register your surplus titles.
2. As you get a registration number for each book, type in where you plan to "release it." You can "release it into the wild," which means leave it so a stranger can find it or you can do a "controlled release," which means hand it to someone you know.
3. Paste a BookCrossing label and the registration number onto the book you are about to release.
4. Release the book.

Since your book has a registration number, the person who finds it (receives it) can look it up on BookCrossing and see where it's been. When the new reader is ready to release the book again, they can go to BookCrossing and type in the new release location. You'll be able to follow your book as it travels the world with assorted readers. According to BookCrossing's homepage, they currently have 724,017 registered humans and 5,215,158 registered books all around the planet.

Start a book club

You may be wondering how a book club could be adventurous. Well, if your reading has become limited to waiting room magazines or books for baby then a novel would be an adventure. If you ALWAYS read the same author/series/genre then branching out would be an adventure. If you are shy about expressing your opinion in front of a group then discussing a controversial book would be an adventure. If your days are filled with meetings or diapers or driving or anything that doesn't involve having relaxing fun and using your mind then a book club would be an adventure.

Here's what you need to do:
1. Call a bunch of friends and ask them if they want to start a book club. If you don't find a lot of interest have your friends invite some friends.
2. Hold a meeting (food and drink are always good here) and set up your ground rules.

Ground rules? Yep, here are some basics that will help you get things rolling. How many women should participate (just a few, the whole apartment building)? How often will you meet? How will you pick your books? Where will you meet? Will food be part of every meeting? Once you've got these basic areas covered you're good to go.

Listed below are a few online links to help you get your book club off to a great start:

Amazon.com is a great place to buy books for a group. The site offers good prices and free shipping for orders over $25.

About.com has links to discussion starters for a lot of popular titles, the site also has a list of general questions that can apply to most books.

Book-Clubs-Resource.com has discussion help as well as information about every other book club issue including on-line book clubs.

For FREE advance copies of new releases, check out Random House's e-newsletter ReadItForward.com

Wanted: Adventure Book Reviewer

I've been wanting to add reviews of great adventure books to this blog but, honestly, I'm a little short on time. So, here's a low-key adventure for all you book readers who have dreamed about reviewing them. If you would like to start an "other" life as a critic who is read by women around the globe, drop me an e-mail and a paragraph about your favorite book (any book). You can reach me at Michaelle@AdventurousWomen.NET or RPMS_SHS@yahoo.com.