Rivers vs. Lakes

The start of summer means it's time to splash down and cool off. Where's the best place to go to take a nice dip to cool off and relax? You can read why a lake is a better swimming choice than a pool on Eagles Nest Outfitters' (ENO) blog. But what about a river or the ocean?

Over the next 3 weeks I'll talk about 3 different scenarios and which swimming destination is the best. For this week here's 5 reasons why I'd pick a river over a lake to go swimming. Before I go any further, I'd like to put a disclaimer that when I'm talking about a river, I'm talking about the kind where there's no boats allowed. That just wouldn't be smart swimming in the middle of a river where boats are flying down the river as well.

Top 5 Reasons You Should Slackline

Ever since the 2012 Super Bowl Halftime Show, the slackline community has started to gain more recognition. While walking on some sort of wire, rope, etc. has been going on for centuries, slacklining wasn't actually brought to the limelight until 1979 when two climbers, Adam Grosowsky and Jeff Ellington, who were going to school at The Evergreen State College, started walking around on loose chains and cables they found on campus. They quickly got the idea to string up 1" wide climbing webbing to walk on. This gave them more dynamic ability to jump and do tricks and walk with more than one person on the line. It was a great in-between class activity that started to attract crowds right away.

Since then, slacklining has progressed, with a lot of help coming from Andy "Sketchy Andy" Lewis. We now have 1"-2" wide webbing and different types of webbing. For instance: some webbing is great for only 1 person to walk on, another works best for more dynamic aerial tricks, and another works out well if you want to have more than 1 person on the line at a time. When you go to a climbing spot, you're almost destined to see some climbers on a slackline to keep them occupied on their rest day. Likewise, if you're in a surf town, you've got a really good shot at seeing some surf bums on a slackline on a flat day.

5 Simple Ways To Continue Earth Day

Earth Day was on Monday and it got me thinking about the impact us humans have on the earth. We’ve modernized the world and made things a lot more comfortable and more efficient for us, so that got me thinking about the effect that we’ve had on the planet. It’s no secret that we pollute the world every day, but to offset that balance, I wanted to share with you 5 simple ways we can help conserve the planet.

1.     Use less plastic

Think of how many bottles you go through in a day, whether it’s soda bottles, milk bottles, water bottles, etc. They all add up. Rather than grabbing a plastic bottle while you’re at work or running errands, try to carry your own water bottle or glass.

2.     Conserve water

Water’s something we need every day, yet we take it for granted. We’re blessed enough to not have to walk to a watering hole to get our water every day. Here’s a few ways to help conserve water.

•       Pee in the shower…try to hit the drain and don’t think about it
•       Guys-stop up the sink while you’re shaving and rinse your blade in the sink, not under running water
•       Only use water to rinse your toothbrush and mouth after you’re done brushing

If you really want to take it to the next step, take showers like me granddad said they back in the day when he was in the Navy. You’ll definitely save water and time with this method.

•      Hop in without the water running
•       Wet yourself down (don’t until the water gets hot)
•       Turn off the water
•       Lather up
•       Rinse off

3.     Organize a car pool/use public transportation

This method may be a little more time consuming, but think of all the time you saved in number 2. Not to mention, you’re cutting down on the amount of exhaust entering the air every day, saving yourself some money on gas, and cutting down the need for oil.

4.     Cut down on energy consumption

Our lives are constantly in fast-forward that it seems like we always forget the littlest things. It’s as simple as turning off the light when you’re leaving the room. If you like to fall asleep with the TV on, put a sleep timer on it. You can also unplug electronics and cables that aren’t being used at the time. If you do these things, you may even see your electric bill get cheaper.

5.     Get involved

If you feel led to help preserve our planet, do something about it. I’m not talking about going vegan and joining Green Peace. It can be as simple as writing your Senator, State Representative, City Mayor, etc. about changes you’d like to see and give some solutions. Join a volunteer group that’s centered on environmentalism. You can even donate to environmental groups that you support.

Inspiration in Crazy Weather

It seems like most of the country is getting smacked with some sort of natural storm lately. We got nailed with a ton of wind, rain, and lightning on Sunday. As I was driving back from Jacksonville in a torrential downpour on parts of I-95, I thought back to when I was a little kid and how I loved playing in the rain.

Crazy I found this picture and saying online later that day. Anyways, I think it's very fitting considering the recent events and odd weather patterns.

A Guy & His Bike

Have you ever...

done something, where it scared you to death, and you swore you’d never do it again? Well in the summer of 2006, that was mountain biking for me. My brother Adam and I went on a guided mountain biking tour, in North Carolina, I was 16 and Adam was 14.

I’m definitely not the "daredevil" in the family 

Naturally, I didn’t find it to be much fun, bouncing down a mountain at high speeds on a mountain bike.

Fast-forward 7 years, and here we are!

I’m 23 and am a proud owner of a 2012 Jamis Trail X2 mountain bike. I had some time to grow up and get over some fears and now I love it. Although, I do ride in Florida (Soldiers Creek Park, to be exact) I still have a blast.

I’ve "eaten my words" from time-to-time and history does repeat itself, at times, now’s one of those times for me. Has there ever been a time where you didn’t give something, or someone, a fair chance?

Personally, my Weekend Warrior (adventurous side) comes out in me during the week after work and on the weekends. Whenever your Weekend Warrior comes out, why not consider giving that one thing or that someone another chance, that you said you wouldn't…ever?

There just might be light at the end of the tunnel, after-all.