37. Camp on the Beach

 

 

Assateague Island was a blast.  Timmy and I went as a way to end the summer with a bang before school started.  On Assateague there are wild horses roaming about.  They aren’t shy and will come right up to your camp to try and steal food.  They are somewhat aggressive though so we had to make sure to keep our distance.  We spent our days swimming in the ocean, and the evenings cooking dinner by the campfire and eating s’mores (obviously).  We met some cool people, saw a really cute puppy, and had such a good time. If we learned anything from the trip, it’s that A Tinker’s Damn needs to add a dog to the team. Any suggestions for naming it? Rating: 9/10

-Caitlin

184. Witness a solar eclipse

I’m sure most of you have heard about, and maybe even saw, the eclipse that occurred last Monday. In fact, we met someone (we believe he was from out of the country due to his accent) on our drive who had a short conversation with Tim (it was also number 31 on his list!) with the windows down going 60 something mph on the interstate about seeing the eclipse. Man that guy was awesome. He even gave a chaka back when Tim tossed him one. Even though many people saw the eclipse (as reflected by the miles upon miles of traffic we encountered) I feel incredibly honored and humbled to have seen it at such a spectacular venue. Tim and I went down to visit his best friend, Austin, at Clemson, who took us to his roommate’s old living quarters on a farm. Over the course of the hour that it took for the moon to totally cover the sun, we felt the change in temperature and the surrounding light. When totality occurred, all the animals in the area went haywire. It truly added to the experience as it reinforced the severity of this event. We met some really great people who were very accommodating and some were even more crazed than we were over the celestial phenomenon. Although there were many surreal moments that occurred during the trip and the eclipse, I think the coolest was the 360 degree sunset that resulted from the moon eclipsing the sun. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get a direct picture of totality (our cameras weren’t equipped to) but we were able to capture the sunset! I feel incredibly lucky to have been able to see this event and even luckier to have witnessed it with some fantastic people. 10/10

Until our next adventure!

-Nick and Timmy

Sponsor – The Ridge Watch from Apache Pine

A huge thank you to Apache Pine for sending me their Ridge bamboo watch just in time for my trip to Hawaii. This watch is perfect for adventuring: lightweight, rugged enough to deal with the elements when I’m on the go, and stylish enough to wear out. One of my favorite things about it is that it doesn’t have tick marks on the face. While the watch is still easy to read, this detail serves as a subtle reminder that time isn’t all that important when I’m out exploring, and I can orient myself in the day without worrying down to the minute.

Additionally, the fact that all their watches are hand crafted from sustainably sourced wood and bamboo just makes them even better. I love the mountain design and I love the fact that Apache Pine is a company that appreciates the outdoors as much as I do.

Check out their premium wood watches, knives, or other apparel via any of the links above.

41. Visit out of state family

 

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There are few things I have experienced so far in life that are more fulfilling than a road trip. They really do live up to the hype. I would know since my total road trip time this summer so far has been roughly 39 hours. Two drives about 6 hours (split in half with Jake), a 12 hour and the most recent was 14 (both by myself, cue “all by myself” by Celine Dion) because I hit some rough Chicago traffic. It worked out though because I was able to get some good pictures of downtown! Anyway I had a blast hanging out with my Aunt, Uncle and cousins up in Wisconsin this summer. I went to Devil’s lake (which is an awesome spot for hiking, swimming or picnicking if any of you are ever in the Madison/Middleton area) the Madison zoo, the Milwaukee zoo, the Milwaukee public museum (best museum I’ve ever been too, highly recommend), downtown Madison and the University of Wisconsin (perfect place to see sunsets and hang out), got some putt-putting in, cooked a dinner for an entire family for the first time, the national mustard museum (maple champagne mustard is heavenly), saw a Madison Mallards baseball game (featuring Jake’s fish head), spent $75 at a movie store (worth it), celebrated Lauren’s 21st birthday and Will’s 13th, went to sky zone, skated with some great hockey players at some local pickup games, and still had time to see Die Mannshaft B team win the confederations cup! Well, if you’ve made it through all of that, then I’d like to congratulate you and gift you with my rating of this fantastic journey. 9/10 As always live today like it’s your last, or in this case live the next two months like they’re your last!

-Nick