National Museum of American History Re-opens Today

Two years after it closed for renovation, my favorite museum re-opens today: The National Museum of American History. What's that? You think an American history museum is just cannons and old uniforms? No, No! This museum has ALL things American: Judy Garland's ruby slippers from the Wizard of Oz, Seinfeld's puffy shirt, Julia Child's kitchen (yes, her real kitchen), Kermit the Frog, C-3PO & R2D2, a 200-year-old house moved from Massachusetts and on and on and on.

The highlight of the grand re-opening is the re-appearance of the Star-Spangled Banner - the gigantic American flag that Francis Scott Key saw flying over Ft. McHenry when he penned his famous lyrics. The poor flag has spent 10 years in rehab but is back for public viewing.

If you're planning a trip to DC, add this museum to your "must see" list. Best of all, it's FREE!

(Personally, I might just have to sneak out of work for this ...)

Go Weightless: Try a Zero Gravity Flight

I've seen TV personalities laughing and floating on zero gravity flights but I never thought of it as an experience for the common woman. Well, I was wrong. If you have been saving your pennies (lots of them) you too can walk on the ceiling, gulp floating water droplets and have the time of your life.

Charles Platt has written a terrific article for Boing Boing about his experience aboard G-Force One, the special aircraft used by the Zero Gravity Corporation. The flights offered by Zero G are the only way one can experience weightlessness without going into space. The company uses parabolic flights to help passengers become lighter than air -- the same method that NASA uses to train astronauts. Anyway, Platt's article is both entertaining and informative and worth a read.

Just in case you're thinking you're too old for weightlessness, one of Platt's fellow riders was a woman who had signed on as a way to celebrate her 90th birthday. And, in case you're wondering why anyone would want to do this, here are a few words from Zero Gravity Corporation Cofounder Peter Diamandis as they appear in Platt's article:

“I’ve experienced it 70 times, and it’s still an amazing amount of fun. It’s a sense of pure joy, a magic show, a feeling of bliss, a return to a childhood state. It creates a true sense of wonder. It’s hard, as an adult, to have a new experience that is so transcendent, because normally everything you do is a slight variation of something else you’ve already done. But here is something completely different and wonderful.”

Become an Editor: Great Online Opportunity!

Boudica.com, the social news site for women, is looking for additional editors for the site. Editors help submit great stories, posts or sites that they find online to the site and help keep a high standard of information. Lorna Harris, the creator of the site will be happy to work with you to make sure you understand how the site works and give you an idea of good stories. If you have little or no social networking experience, then they want you! They are looking to help women become involved in social media and continue to build a site which is interesting to read and a fascinating place to find information. Send Lorna an email lorna@boudica.com if you'd like to know more.

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.

And the Winners Are....

The winners of the "Storm Chasers" DVD giveaway are BLP65 and Eithne1 (who bypassed the comment area and e-mailed me). Happy viewing!

Why Obsession Can be a Good Thing

Piggybacking on yesterday's post about finding your "other" life. Here's an inspirational article from Zen Habits. Click here to learn why "Discovering your Obsession Can Lead to Your Greatness."

What's Your "Other" Life?

I became aware of “other” lives a few years ago when the two people who shared a nearby office told me about theirs. Yvonne revealed that after she left work, she became the late-night voice of a local radio station. I was stunned by this and then Ted disclosed that he spent his other life as the play-by-play man for college football. I was embarrassed that my other life revolved around sitting on a couch or possibly grocery shopping.

Since my initial discovery, I have learned that many people complement their “pay-the-bills” or “take-care-of-the-family” lives with other lives. Here are just a few of the real people I know: Christine is a curator by day but in her other life she is a make-up consultant for Chanel, Cynthia is a rocket scientist with NASA as well as an accomplished martial artist, Maria teaches special needs children and runs marathons, Lori is a nutritionist who travels the world as an amateur astronomer, Karen is a research scientist who spends her free time on a Harley.

Each of these women found that it was important to not only have a career but to follow a dream. What about YOU? If you don't have an other life, think about what you have always wanted to do. What would make your life more fulfilling-interesting-fun?

Stuck? Why not make a list of all of your interests, and see if anything sparks your imagination? If you're like me, this task may give you instant brain freeze so here's some help. Click here for Wikipedia's very long list of hobbies and here for another 206 ideas from NotSoBoring Life.com

I'm happy to say that I have another life these days and its keeping me off the couch. What's YOUR other life?

The Adventure Starts Here.

In these first few hours following the most amazing presidential election in my lifetime (in the history of this country!) I am stuck on the thought that no matter what you want out of life, it is do-able. Dreams do become reality. So today, while the hum of possibility still electrifies the air, think about what inspires you. Think about the adventurous path you want to follow. Grab a piece of paper and write down what you want to accomplish in life. Tack it to your refrigerator, look at it everyday and say to yourself, "I can do it, yes I can!"

Storm Chasers Giveaway

The Discovery Channel is proud of its numerous adventure series and the many adventurous women who watch them. As a thank you gift, Discovery has sent us a couple of two-DVD sets from the Storm Chasers series to give away.

If you aren't familiar with Storm Chasers, the series follows a team of men and women who not only track and film tornadoes but hope to send their armoured vehicle into the heart of a twister with the goal of launching scientific instruments and getting the ultimate footage. The program airs Thursdays and Sundays at 10:00pm on Discovery.

If you would like a 2-DVD set of Storm Chasers episodes, leave a comment here and we'll draw two names at the end of the week.

Image courtesy of Discovery Channel

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

Dressing for (Outdoor) Success

The winter months offer great outdoor opportunities and all of them are more fun if you're dressed for the weather. To help you prepare for any adventure, GORE-TEX® is sponsoring free workshops at REI stores around the country. Not only do you get expert advice but they're handing out freebies as well. Starting today and running through December 4, workshops begin at 7pm and reservations are NOT required -- just show up. To see the complete list of workshop dates and locations, click here.

It's National Coffee Day: Try a cup of Kopi Luwak

If you saw "The Bucket List" you know that Kopi Luwak is the most expensive coffee in the world. You also know that it is created through a process that only an adventurer could love. Since today is National Coffee Day, it seems only fitting that an adventurous woman should forgo her usual Starbucks latte or mug of Folgers and choose something a bit more exotic.

The Kopi Luwak process does not begin with Juan Valdez and his mule, it begins with something smaller and furrier, the Common Palm Civet. The civiet, which looks a little like a monkey-cat, eats the raw, red coffee "cherries" as part of its usual diet. Because the hard inner beans don't digest, they travel through the civet's digestive tract intact. Enterprising local citizens collect the beans from civet feces and sell them to dealers.

Considered the rarest coffee in the world, Kopi Luwak is very expensive. Shopping around the web I found prices ranging from $100 to $300 per pound. However, I'm not sure how you go about verifying that you are buying the real thing so actually purchasing Kopi Luwak may be the most adventurous part of the coffee.

Road Trip! All National Parks are FREE this Weekend!

The Adventure Blog is reporting that the National Park Service has declared that all 147 parks will waive their admission fees this weekend. NPS is celebrating National Public Lands Day on September 27 and honoring new U.S. citizens on the 28th.

In addition to waiving entrance fees, national parks and other public lands will host special programs and volunteer projects on Saturday to commemorate the 15th annual National Public Lands Day.

In all 50 states, volunteers can take part in projects to improve public places. Last year, more than 110,000 people helped with tasks such as planting trees, building trails, or removing invasive plants. Anyone who volunteers at a National Park Service area on National Public Lands Day will receive a free one day pass valid for future use at any site.

Grab your Adventure Club and volunteer your time, plan a girls' day out or take this opportunity to enjoy the peace and quiet of our natural treasures on your own.

For a list of National Parks by state, click here. To get to the official site of a particular park click here and type in its name. For a list of parks and sites under the National Park Service in alpha order and links to their official pages, click here.

Photo credit: William Bradfield

Road Trip...Dessert...Free Tickets...What More Could You Ask For?!

The New York City Wine & Food Festival is holding a SWEET evening dedicated to the best desserts ever. On October 11, 9PM -Midnight, you can sample treats made by outstanding NY chefs.

Way beyond the chocolate chip cookie, the offerings at SWEET range from Sweet & Tart Apple Brioche with Frozen Chestnut Mousse to Pumpkin Cheesecake with Lime Whipped Cream and Spiced Cranberries to Dark Chocolate Dacquoise with Tainori Chocolate Cremeux, Lemon Curd and Chocolate Rice Crispy (OK, I don't know what that last one is but it involves chocolate so I'm all for it).

Best of all, SeriousEats NY is giving away FREE tickets to this yummy event: two pairs of tickets for each of the weeks leading up to the festival. Click here to read more about the evening and the list of desserts offerings. Then, leave a comment including your favorite NY restaurant dessert for your chance to win a pair of tickets.

If you want to guarantee that you have tickets, you can purchase them for $175 here. Proceeds from the festival go to Food Bank For New York City and Share Our Strength.