adventure

California is a big state and when I visited in the past I spent most of my time in LA or South or the San Francisco area. A couple weeks ago though I traveled with some friends from Santa Monica to the Central Coast, specifically Avila Beach (closest big city would be San Luis Obispo which isn’t really BIG compared to California standards). This was my first time to the Central Coast and I had no idea what to expect–except for it being somewhat coastal.

About 3 hours North of LA on “the 5 (I-5 for us non-Californians)” and about 4 hrs South of San Fran on the 5, the Central Coast is a mixture of famous sights, small beach towns and wineries that rival the more known Napa Valley. I only had 3 days in this area and I wanted to make the most of it—and of course, I needed more time.

Hearst Castle

Maybe the most famous of the sights on the Central Coast and all of California is the Hearst Castle named for the newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst who died in 1951. Now a state park the Castle is steeped in history. In its heyday it was supposed to be a “bungalow” for Hearst, but soon got a bit bigger and was visited by the most famous of the time (Lindbergh, Cary Grant, various Presidents). The main house is over 60,000 sqft and has 56 bedrooms and 61 bathrooms. Full of antiques and rare books purchased personally by Hearst, this spot has a constant stream of tourists throughout the year.

If you are like me, famous landmarks are worth a visit, but when the beach is calling—I make it a short visit because, well, the beach is calling.

If you’ve heard of Monterey or Big Sur you have heard of the Central Coast, but if you have heard of Avila Beach then you have heard of the REAL Central Coast. A sleepy beach town popular with fisherman put Avila on the map, but the subsequent building boom and desire to live semi-affordably (to California standards anyway) is what made Avila what it is today: a coffee drinking, dog walking, beach strolling, bike riding, fishing town. To say this town is yuppie would be an understatement–but it is Cali and in comparison to some California towns, Avila is a watered down yuppie and a town I could totally see myself living in. With a main street of tee-shirt and flip flop shops, a general market, Mr. Rick’s Sports bar, the very crowded Joe Mamma Coffee (try the hemp milk creamer) and even a couple small wineries, it takes 6 minutes to walk the “strip” before you are hugging the coastline on your run, walk or bike ride on the way to the famous fishing pier to watch your dinner get caught, buy that fresh caught dinner and walk right up to (if you dare) napping Sea Lions on the dock.

Avila Beach

Avila at sunset

up-close and personal with a hungry pelican on the fishing pier

Tide Pools
About a 30 minute drive from Avila are the Montana de Oro State Park and Tide Pools. Here the coastline is comprised of slippery rock (yeah, I fell on my a*s), snails, crabs, sea anemones, shells and steep sand dunes that can be slid down via sled, cardboard box or the seat of your pants (I saw all three). Like the rest of California (even in the summer), the water is powerful and very cold so if the tide is not out it could be a dangerous, cold meander through these tide pools. I went when the tide was nearly out and bonded quite nicely with a turquoise sea anemone. Did you know if you gently touch one it wraps around your finger and tries to suction you to death? It is a cool feeling. Yeah, and messing with that anemone is probably why I fell.

Trail down to the tide pools

me at the tide pools

overlooking the coastline tide pools and sand dunes

Dive Bars–for Wine
As mentioned, wine from the Central Coast rivals Napa Valley and Sonoma and wineries and vineyards are dotted along the coast at every exit. Many have gorgeous views and picturesque grounds like at this place:

But sadly, sometimes the wine suffers and the view turns out to be the best thing about the winery. If you are a true wine-person, this can be frustrating (if you are like me and can barely tell a Pinot from a Merlot it is not as upsetting) especially when you are in the Central Coast and have gorgeous views anyway. Recently an industrial area of blue and government gray buildings in the town of Lompoc (pronounced “Lom-Poke”) behind the Home Depot has become a popular destination for wine tastings and because the area is, ahem, not so picturesque (and it probably doesn’t help that the Home Depot lumber department is in ear shot) the area was affectionately coined as the “Wine Ghetto.”

Most likely overlooked, unless you knew better, this parking lot of single-story metal buildings has become the place to go if you want good wine. Unlike most wineries where you have your tasting, roam the grounds and then responsibly drive to the next vineyard–the Ghetto is a one-stop wine tasting shop with the wineries situated like stores in a cheap strip mall– but, the wine is NOT cheap tasting! Park once–taste all day– but get a car service, please.

One of my favorite “Ghetto” wineries was the Flying Goat. The husband and wife owners were passionate about their wine, had soil samples that the grapes grew from and a very nice 13 year old chocolate lab. Plus– the lady knew all about Jersey. Represent East Coast!

(picture courtesy of centralcoastuncorked.blogspot.com)

Dear Maui,

Let me start by saying how sorry I am. For what you may ask? Well, I forgot how much I love you. I took you for granted while growing up on the West Coast. You were so close in proximity to me. I visited often and while I deeply enjoyed each visit, after moving to the East Coast I quickly threw you aside for new vacation spots such as the Caribbean and the Bahamas. They are similar to you–kind people, warm weather and lots of beach, but one thing they have going for them that you don’t is just a short flight–three to four hours.

How quickly I pushed you aside for convenient air travel.

After arriving in April for a mandatory trip that was related to my husband’s job (and even with the ridiculous layovers that were scheduled [not your fault]), all of my hesitations about the distance and the “comfortably restless” feeling I had for you that left me wanting to explore new places vanished as soon as I stepped into your open air airport and smelled the sweet air as it gently blew against my face. I remembered again how you were my first tropical love; my true tropical love.

This last visit may have been my best (well, tied maybe with the Spring Break trip my friend Jean and I took out there). The weather was perfect (you do have to admit that January/February are a bit iffy these days what with global warming or what not) and since my husband and I had both visited multiple times, we didn’t feel the need to rush and do tourist activities everyday leaving us so much time to just enjoy and unwind. At home (on the East Coast), people marvel at my visits to Hawaii. To them, Hawaii is some far off land, maybe as to how the Caymen Islands may seem to someone in Oregon. A far away, exotic paradise.
In the past I brushed off the “ooohs and ahhhhs” uttered at my Hawaii trips (again, I am sorry–I lost my head) and commented “Yes, it is nice.” Nice? Ugh, I am despicable.

While this apology letter need not go into any detail on the many attributes you offer your visitors–because I see them in my minds eye whenever I want–I want others to not make the same mistake I have made; I don’t want anyone to EVER forget how amazing you are.

So, with that said–I am listing some must-do and sees for anyone visiting.

See you soon,
Diana

ps: the other Hawaiian islands are amazing too. But Maui, you know I love you best.

WHAT ONE MUST DO & MUST SEE IN MAUI

1. Relax. You are here.

2. Lounge. I recommend staying in the Kaanapali area (although Kihei [pronounced 'kee-hay'] is another great area, so don’t count it out especially if you get a deal at the Grand Wailea, the fanciest hotel on the island). In Kaanapali the views of the famous Black Rock are best seen from the Sheraton. It is an older hotel, but kept up nicely and the views, pool area, bars and staff are exceptional. Snorkel right from the beach or do a resort dive and get a taste of the deep. Shopping is also just a short walk away on the beach path at Whalers Village. See # 5 on this list.

view of Black Rock and some of the Sheraton grounds

3. Go to a Luau. Lahaina, the original capital of Hawaii, is a small surf town with all of the tourist shops but with much more charm than most touristy towns. Many of the hotels on Maui offer a Luau but the most famous (and fun) is the Old Lahaina Luau but make reservations ahead of time!
And go early to town to shop around and have a pre-Luau drink at Lahaina Grill

Luau

4. Learn to Surf, or Stand Up Paddle
BECOME a true Hawaiian visitor and do like the locals do- Surf or do my new favorite sport: SUP (Stand Up Paddle).
Lessons are offered all over the island. Check with your hotel for recommendations or for a sure fire GOOD TIME try these guys out. Get on the water.

5. Shop. There is no shortage of retail shops and flea markets all over the island where you can find Hawaiian trinkets and high end stores within steps of each other. Whalers Village is a great combo of t-shirt shops, surf shops and jewelry stores–with the odd shaved ice place thrown in here and there. If the shops aren’t enough of a draw for you, go at least for the Hula Grill where you can dine with your feet in the sand overlooking the blue water and maybe a whale in the Pacific.

6. Take an epic drive. I recently did a post in my series titled See This, Not That where I spoke of a drive around the island (The Road to Kahakuloa) that rivals the famous Road to Hana drive. If this is your first trip to Maui please do both. I cannot choose one for you. Read my post and decide. But I will say, the Road to Hana is more famous. Full of the endless narrow, windy roads that end up at the gravesite of Charles Lindbergh (I know that sounds morbid, but it is an awesome drive.)
Three words: Black. Sand. Beach.
BUT–on the Road to Kahakuloa you see this:

And this:

7. See a Volcano. Drive to the top to watch the sunrise (bring a jacket–the temps may be in the 70′s at sea level but are freezing at the top) and hike around or later, get a tour that takes you to the top and then supplies all you need to mountain bike down. Either way, looking into the crater and knowing that this is an active (although quiet as of late) volcano is awesome. Another great thing— animals considered endangered that are found no where else on the planet are protected here.

the Crater

8. Repeat #1.

Basking in the glow of my first (and successful) mechanical bull ride while in Scottsdale last week I got to thinking about the last two months of my life and the non-stop travel that occurred during that time. New Zealand, Hawaii, Seattle and Arizona kept me very busy for both work and play. The fun times I had at the Saddle Ranch and the bull rides got me thinking of the other options I had that night instead of hitting the bull… and that got me thinking that it is time for another installment of SEE THIS, NOT THAT!

Most places have more than one restaurant/theatre/tourist site/building/event for travelers to choose from when visiting a new place, but the challenge is to find WHICH choice will end up being the best for your tight schedule and/or tight budget. And as we all know, the most popular choice isn’t always the best choice.

So — after the picture of me OWNING the bull (albeit not the most flattering picture of me) check out the latest installment of SEE THIS NOT THAT!

See This: The Road to Kahakuloa
Not That: Road to Hana

The Road to Hana on the island of Maui in Hawaii is gorgeous and very popular with both tour groups and individuals and of course you will enjoy the drive, the black sand beaches, waterfalls and ocean views that will keep you stopping and snapping pictures all day. But, lets be serious…we all want our friends to enjoy hearing the retelling of our adventures as much as we enjoy telling it and unless you only talk to people that have already been to Maui and who have no doubt already SEEN the road to Hana, your pictures and stories will only be given a polite “that is nice” at best.

So instead of doing the same old trip that everyone does, try the lesser known “road” that is similar to the Road to Hana, but much less traveled.

The Road to Kahakuloa

Traveling along Highway 340 on the West Coast of Maui is incredibly scenic, narrow–and a little scary, so go slow.

Narrow road

Pass by blowholes and spot whales congregating in the distance, crystal clear pools, rocky and sandy beaches and virtually no civilization (especially gas stations, so make sure your tank is full) on extremely curvy, narrow roads. Expect the random chicken or cow as your fellow commuter and descend the mountains into the valley and end up in Kahakuloa Village.

one of the scenic beaches on the road

Approach this drive leisurely and stop along the way for fresh pineapple or take a dip in the warm waters before heading on to the next pineapple stand or beach.

one of many roadside pineapple stands

Surfing beach

The road, incredibly, hugs the ocean and mountain at the same time and offers views from all sides.
My favorite sight on the drive, aside from the Kaukini Gallery where over 100 local artists feature their work for reasonable prices, is Kahakuloa Head, a 600+’ mountain shooting out of the ocean. You can climb it, but be careful. This ancient site, familiar ground of Kings from Maui’s past, is very steep and rugged.

Gorgeous Kahakuloa Head

Regardless of which drive you choose just remember: you are in Maui– so enjoy every palm tree, pineapple/mango drink, fresh seafood and don’t forget the suntan lotion!

I can’t take credit for the title of this post–but I can say there is a lot of truth to it. This statement was repeated many times in the form of bumper stickers throughout the island.

Like most islands off of major cities (Whidbey Island and Bainbridge Island near Seattle or Block Island in RI) the pace is slower, the roads are windier and the international way of telling time goes out the window in favor of “island time”.

Waiheke Island, a 50 minute ferry ride from the Auckland area is no exception. Being in the South Pacific, you can’t get much more islandy than this, but Waiheke doesn’t have the grass skirts or fruity coconut drinks like Hawaii or another tropical island might. Waiheke, although being an island and on island time, is pretty fancy shmancy.

Regardless of your agenda, on Waiheke you can find something to do whether it be hiking, surfing, laying on white sand beaches or visiting the 30 local wineries. As with Auckland, whatever activity you choose to partake in on the island, you will marvel at the cleanliness of the country and the friendliness of the people.

Waiheke (and New Zealand in general) produces vast quantities of wine that is distributed all over the World is and historically and consistently known for producing the best Sauvignon Blanc in the World. Wine is taken very seriously here.

In case I haven’t mentioned it yet in the recent NZ posts, the reason for our trip was to attend the wedding of our dear scuba diving buddies/world traveler/life long friends. After our initial tour around Auckland once arriving in NZ (see my previous posts here and here) we took the car ferry to Waiheke for a few days of beach, wine and relaxation (and a little hiking). NZ is a long way to go to get married — our friends live in California, us on the East Coast — but they were in the same mindset as we were when we got married in sunny Curacao; whoever wants to come can come, if not, thats fine too.

Their wedding was at the most beautiful winery on the island: Mudbrick. The restaurant and gorgeous gardens (complete with Olive orchards that many of the wineries here have) look out to the city of Auckland over the Hauraki Gulf. It was a serene setting for a perfect wedding and a beautiful bride–and the party after was pretty excellent!

Two other wineries we really enjoyed were Cable Bay (looking over the sheep filled countryside and seeing Auckland in the distance over the water offered a modern yet rustic image for us the wine tasters) and Te Whau that offered spectacular architecture and as you guessed–more stunning views. The day we were at Te Whau the grapes were actually being stomped on (is that the right term) and yes, with bare feet–but as we found out from our waitress — you have to be a young, pure woman to stomp the grapes–they don’t want tainted wine (I couldn’t help but think of the I Love Lucy episode… but I didn’t dare bring that up to the waitress).

At Te Whau on a windy day

For the budget traveler, well, I really don’t have too many tips for you at Cable Bay, Mudbrick or Te Whau. The prices were high; but the food, wine and views from the grounds were spectacular and well worth the money.
Click here for a website with all of the island’s wineries complete with pictures and descriptions.

So as far as the “being so far behind we are ahead” saying… I guess that is true about any island, but what I do know is that we felt rested and relaxed each day on Waiheke and I don’t think that was just because of the wine.

More pictures of Waiheke will be in my next post, but I wanted to point out a few things that really stuck out about this island for me, aside from the clean air, nice folks and anything else I have already mentioned prior.

1- The Beachfront Bar and Cafe has a buy 7 get the 8th free punchcard for coffee, beer or wine!? Genius.

2- Sheep are everywhere. This fact would be proven again and again on our trip but here, they seemed to multiple at every turn.

3- But as you can see, Emus and Llamas are also popular. Or are these Alpacas?

4- I don’t think crocodiles are really here… although that took convincing from my husband when we saw this sign after a long hike to a hidden bay (Crocs are in Australia right? And Australia is semi-close to NZ…).
Anyway, what this sign should have been warning people about was: “old man who lives in this remote area walks around at his leisure– naked,” ’cause that was the only thing I saw that was scary.

I am happy to announce (again) and (still) so happy to be a part of the amazing mini-blog website that IS… NOMAD COURIER!!!

Check us out–me and 6 other nomads send our travel postcards to our courier who then tirelessly posts them on this site. Here are my latest entires (click the postcard to see the flip side)!

Thanks for the support!

As I write, this is my current view:

It is from our flat on Waiheke, an island off the coast of Auckland.
Waiheke is sometimes referred to as Wineheke for the amount of Vineyards and Wineries (a total of 30) scattered across the island. Before I get to the subject of this current paradise I am surrounded by, let me finish our adventures in Auckland.

We pretty extensively and without really stopping, toured the city by foot for nearly 3 full days. There were touristy must-do’s including heading to the top of the Sky Tower (think Space Needle) where we had the option to either:
1) embrace the adventurous spirit New Zealand is known for and bungee JUMP off

2) WALK the fenceless perimeter of the tower for a little less intense adventure with only a harness attaching you to the building or,

3) Safely stay inside behind the safety glass and look out at the 360-degree views like all of the other scaredy cats… and MAN were those some 360 degree views (you can guess which option we chose. I may be adventurous but I have my limits!)

As seen from the Sky Tower, Auckland has it all—mountains, the bay, the ocean, the city.
After seeing city sights from above we decided to head out again on foot to see these same sights up close.

Albert Park, a lush green oasis in the center of town is where the city campus of Auckland University is located; Queen St. is the main part of town with tons of shopping; the waterfront claims the largest marina in NZ (actually one of the largest in all of the Southern Hemisphere) and has some of the most luxurious private sailboats I’ve ever seen including the America’s Cup yachts and the factory that builds them; the Auckland Museum with extensive material on the Maori people and culture that is native to New Zealand; and great bars and restaurants all along Quay (pronounced “Key”) Street. Quay St. was also the starting point for my daily “urban runs” that took me through many of these same areas before I met my husband at our “regular” coffee shop (the girl at the coffee shop thought we lived in Auckland since I seemed so casual (read: sweaty) about stopping by after running. You know you made it when you’re mistaken for a local.

an Americas Cup sailboat

Because we are still messed up on time (by the way—thanks day light savings for coming while we were gone—it is easier to “spring ahead” on holiday) and since time seems to actually go slower here, we had sufficient time to tour Auckland and add it to the “Yeah, I could live here” list.

After Auckland we were off to the outer limits we decided to head outside of the city limits.

Like most cities, when you leave the metro area it feels like you are in a different country, which is exactly how we felt when we hopped in the car and headed south of Auckland City. The terrain went from reminding me of Vancouver to reminding me of Hawaii. Dormant volcanoes covered in various types of trees, red lava sand beaches (Piha is gorgeous) and narrow winding roads through cow and sheep pastures had us in disbelief that we were really only 40 min away from Auckland.

Piha

We had about three hours to roam this country before catching the car ferry to Wahike for even more scenery changes…

to be continued…

We embarked on our trip from our home in the Northern Hemisphere to what we refer to as opposite land. After traveling 18 hrs (not counting our 3 hour layover in LA) we made it to Auckland at 7am on Saturday—where it is summer—while at home it was still 1pm on Friday in Winter. That international date line can really mess with your mind if you think about it too much so we’re just going with the flow and know that when we leave Auckland days from now at 6pm on a Sunday we will arrive home at 7am—that same Sunday.

See—you are thinking about it aren’t you?

All in all, the trip to NZ went off without a hitch. As much as I preach about having a “positive mental attitude” and to “just go with the flow,” there is something to be said about expecting the absolute worst and since that is a natural trait of my husband when it comes to airlines (who can blame him really?) that is what we did and as history has shown—for us anyway– we were pleasantly surprised.

To state a fact most won’t disagree with: flying in the US is a pain. There aren’t many nice things to say about any of the airlines these days. Put aside the bag charges and the blanket hoarding or the $5 headset rentals for a VHS movie they OWN, there are many things about flying that will cause immediate headaches.

With that said, our flight to LA was forgettable. In fact, I do forget it. That is troubling actually. I seriously do not remember anything about it. Maybe because it was like 3 days ago even though I am still wearing the same clothes as when I got on that flight (PS: I am going on being awake for nearly like 8 days [more like 2 not counting the small interrupted naps I managed on the plane] so please forgive any attitude this post may be tainted with.

ANYWAY— as we boarded the Air New Zealand flight we were of course skeptical and expected the worst. Because we chose not to pay $14,000 dollars for “premier economy” seats (an actual price), we chose seats in the regular “oh that flight is going to suck in economy” economy section. Expecting the worst, I rolled my jeans up (you know how those airplane bathroom floors get—gross!) and repeated aloud to my husband like it were a bible verse the every 3-hour exercise regiment I devised consisting mainly of deep knee bends in the aisle to avoid blood clots and sore joints.

I am sure you can imagine our delight when our hardened faces and the stink eye I was giving my seat mate (not to my husband–I was in the middle seat and the guy on my right was sort of big) began to slowly dissipate and we found ourselves laughing at the very well done safety video played on all of the TV seat backs. The “star” was a kiwi puppet (kiwi being the NZ mascot) and he poked fun at the “fancy shamncey” first class people who didn’t have to raise their seatbacks for take off and the really funny part when he had issues with his inflatable oxygen mask—wait, why were we laughing at that?

My point is, from the minute we got on that flight and realized our legroom was ample enough, the food being better than prison grade and the over 200 different movies and TV shows available to watch for free on the seatbacks (complete with remote control)—the flight from LA to Auckland was a breeze. The sleep meds we took I’m sure played a supporting role, but not much—clearly since we only got about 5 hours of sleep through the entire day. Or days?
Air New Zealand is my new favorite airline. I wonder if they’d consider flying domestically in the US…

I have the benefit of having a great relationship with both of my siblings. My sister, two years younger than I, stays busy as the mother of two young children and my brother Grant, four years younger than me, is single and back a few years ago when we were both single and more crazy carefree, we would take weekend trips together out of our hometown of Seattle. We camped the woods in Eastern Washington (where he, when setting up our tents, suffered massive mosquito bites in that spot on your back that shows when your pants ride down a little and your coat rides up); we sang the Rice-a-Roni song as we rode the trolly to eat the best kung pow chicken EVER in San Francisco’s Chinatown and medicated our upset stomachs with salt water taffy on the beaches of Santa Cruz after riding the oldest wooden roller-coaster in the US; we hiked deep into the back country of Lake Tahoe sleeping on .99 cent pool floaties and keeping an eye out for bears that were especially thick that year. There were other trips too and all were awesome in their own way, but the trip that tops the list was when we went to Palm Springs, CA–but not for the reasons you may think.

Palm Springs, is in the desert of California and known for its super hot temperatures (in the summer it can get to 120), multiple golf courses and tons of resorts with pools bigger than many of the hotel rooms. Grant, through a frequent flier miles program he belonged to, had a 4 day hotel stay at a 5 star resort in the Palm Desert area. We were so there.

The resort was crazy nice. I cannot, to this day, believe the layout of the pool area. The outdoor bars that kept us laughing about old times late into the night and the trails surrounding the golf course that I ran each morning before the delectable breakfast buffet became second nature in just a day’s time and I dreaded the thought of leaving. Thinking we were cool in our brand new rental orange Jeep convertible we put on our tropical attire and headed to Tommy Bahama’s restaurant in downtown Palm Springs. I don’t have enough hands to count the Bentleys and Maseratis I saw — the main avenue was the kind of place that would rival Rodeo Drive or Champ Elysees in Paris and in other words, a place where an orange Jeep didn’t really fit in. Dinner was fabulous though and the energy from large amounts of money undoubtably changing hands the high end shops was contagious–almost enough to make me want to buy one of those hand stitched handbags that cost more than my rent.

As nice as it was to see sun, it was hot there–so hot. Living in Seattle resulted in us being waterlogged and having low Vitamin D deficiency so the idea of hot temperatures to dry us out were appealing but on our third day it hit 125 and that was a bit oppressive; even the pool couldn’t offer relief. We decided to head up the highway to see what we could find (the excuse I gave to my brother to get us to the rumored outlet stores I had heard about).

About 45 minutes down the highway we witnessed the thing that we knew would be the highlight of our trip–a memory we’d fondly recall and retell in the years to come. “The resort, my awesome tan, downtown Palm Desert — even deals I may find at the outlets are not going to be what we remember most about this trip” (this was an actual quote from me to my brother). “Instead” , I continued epically, “we’ll remember the dinosaurs“.

These Cabazon Dinosaurs are actually part of a rest stop/gas station and they stick out like, well, like dinosaurs in the middle of the desert. You may have seen them before in the classic film ‘Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure’ when Pee-Wee hid out in them. They were built over 30 years ago and reportedly get 12 million visitors a year!

The T-Rex has a museum inside and you can be like Pee-Wee and hang out in the mouth and look out through the teeth. The Brontosaurus has a gift shop inside but sadly–no Pee-Wee memorabilia (WHAT?) They are seriously missing out on some FOR SURE t-shirt sales…

We didn’t stay for long, just long enough to take some photos, quote some lines from Pee-Wee and marvel at the fact that we actually saw this iconic spot from the highway. It was so cool — even cooler than the sweet deals I got at the North Face outlet.

To celebrate this Travel Tuesday I am attaching a video I created on my mac for my group of friends (and me) that went on a fabulous trip to Panama in December. See the scenery, the locals and underwater dive shots.

Turn on your sound, enjoy and hopefully be taken away to Panama! Happy Travel Tuesday!

I try to live by the following motto: Break a sweat every day.
Lately that has been easy just by doing nothing in the high heat and humidity in the city, but I try to break a sweat each day via some sort of physical activity.

I am obsessed with tennis and play 4-5 times a week, and my favorite sweat breaking activity is kickboxing. Punching and kicking real 100lb heavy bags brings on the sweat fest more than anything else I do.

Aside from these sports, I’d always thought it’d be amazing to do a multi-sport event, like a triathlon.
The running I could maybe handle. I do run because I like the results I see and it justifies my addiction of athletic shoes. I have done 5K’s and I can get through trail runs (treadmills make me crazy–so boring) but I am far from a natural runner. Due to this fact and that swimming for me really just means me laying on a floatie–my dream of participating in a triathlon is not really plausible.

Knowing this about myself has only made me work harder to find a multi-sport activity I can proudly participate in.
I don’t want to walk or push a stroller (besides, I’d have to borrow a kid for that) and stair climbing for charity is a great idea, but I want to combine some sort of running/biking with it.

In the mid 90′s I was introduced to what in another life just might be what I’d dedicate my life to: Adventure Racing. The extreme athletic image, the physical shape of the participants, running and biking in nature, teamwork–getting sponsored and therefore obtaining lots of swag…I was instantly obsessed.

It is very simple in theory. Adventure Racing combines adventure sport disciplines, usually including navigation, trekking, mountain biking, white water paddling, climbing, sea kayaking and swimming in order to cover a variety of outdoor terrain. In nearly all organized Adventure Races, teams are made up of four people and must include both men and women.

Adventure Races typically take between five and eleven days with no designated rest periods so it is up to the participants to choose when, or if, they rest. Check points are set up along the route and when there is to be a change of events such as canoeing to climbing, teams will exchange their equipment at these points, taking what they need for the next leg.

The first Adventure Race that really sucked me into this multi-sport lifestyle was Eco-Challenge. A multi-day expedition race, this was a Mark Burnett (pre-Survivor) production and it aired on the USA channel for 9 seasons. It consisted of seasoned professional adventure racers as well as the average “joe” that raced non-stop, 24 hours a day, over a 300 mile course. The locations over the years varied, including Borneo, Utah, British Colombia, Australia and Fiji. As awesome as this race was, the last year it ran was 2002 and that is why I cannot participate in it… (um yeah, thats why…).

photo credit here

photo courtesy of adventure.mountainzone.com

Perhaps the most famous and challenging Adventure Race in the world is the Patagonian Expedition Race in Chile.
Like Eco-Challenge, teams of 4 compete in treacherous natural terrain that very few, if any, humans have ever witnessed in person. The route is kept secret to the participating teams until the night before the race is to start which is when all maps and route instructions are supplied to the teams.

taking a look at the map courtesy of sportrock.ning.com

As the website states, the Patagonia Expedition Race is a true expedition. Racers receive minimal assistance as they traverse through the pristine southern Patagonia by means of trekking, climbing and related rope work, kayaking, mountain biking, and backcountry navigation. They often cover hundreds of kilometers without seeing a soul.

trekking Patagonia photo courtesy of www.mountain.ru

paddling Patagonia
photo courtesy of funsporting.com

OK, so its doubtful that I will make it into this race. The cutoff for registration has just passed. … maybe next year.

Primal Quest is another adventure race that follows the same pattern as Eco and Patagonia. Their latest race, covering 600 miles, took place in the Badlands of South Dakota in 2009.

The cost of entry to most high profile adventure races such as these three can vary, but will at least run $10,000 USD a team. Prizes though, especially in the more major races such as Patagonian, can exceed $150,000 in cash.
While the races are unsupported (meaning no-one there to bring you water or help carry your gear), medical personnel and volunteers are present to assist in emergency cases.

Check out this link showing a preview of the Badlands Race on DVD.

Primal Quest Badlands DVD Now Available!.

A 2010 race date/location for Primal Quest hasn’t been named yet due to lack of funding. Dammit. Just as I was about to register…

OK, so these three races seem just out of my reach. What can I do? In my search for more attainable races that wouldn’t cost me thousands of dollars (and tons of laughs at my expense), I discovered the Warrior Dash. This race covers nearly 3.3 miles and includes 13 obstacles that must be dominated by the participant, such as mud crawling, fire leaping, beer drinking… wait? What? Wow.

As the website says–this will be the “craziest freakin’ day of your life”!

Now I am not sure about that, but what I am sure about is that Warrior Dash has race routes all over the US including eight in 2010 and so far two already scheduled for 2011. I am participating in the North East route in Windham, NY this fall with my kickboxing instructors and friends. We will be a team of 30 and willing and ready to do whatever we need to do to fulfill our Warrior ambitions! Although we are a team, we compete individually and although it is a race, its more of an event.

Unlike the high costs to race in other Adventure Races, the Warrior Dash costs just $65 to register and all finishers get a Warrior Helmet, a medal to wear proudly around your neck and a t-shirt!

Here are some pictures from the Warrior website to give you an idea of the type of day I will likely have. Check the website for even more pictures and information on the races and where you can register yourself, unless of course you are already registered for one of the other races I have mentioned above…

Happy Adventure Racing!