A Real Irish Pub Crawl (in Ireland, they just call 'em pubs)

A Real Irish Pub Crawl (in Ireland, they just call 'em pubs)

Just in time for St. Patrick’s Day, your GypsyNesters take a look at some real Irish pubs, you know, the kind actually in Ireland—so we suppose that they're simply called pubs.

We're guessing none of these public houses would ever dare to ruin a perfectly good pint by turning it green... CONTINUE READING >>



We Ruined Ourselves in Osaka, Japan

Kuidaore, a Japanese word meaning "to ruin yourself with extravagant food," has become synonymous with the city of Osaka.

How could we possibly not love this place?

 We jumped right in... CONTINUE READING >>

BAM! Meet us in Vegas, Baby!

It's fun, it's fabulous, it's Vegas-baby! Come join us for a big time at the BAM - we're speaking this year! CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT MORE! >>

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A Peace of Oslo, Norway

As unfamiliar visitors making our first trip to Oslo, Norway, we didn't know what we were in for.

Chase us around Oslo as we visit the Nobel Peace Center, get schooled in Olympic ski jumping, have cocktails in a bar completely made of ice (including the glasses), explore Viking burial ships, have a scream with Edvard Munch and eat, ahem, rotted fish... CONTINUE READING >>

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Fear Conquering & Paragliding in Lima, Peru

Our day began with what (we thought) was going to be a leisurely stroll along the sea cliffs of Lima. 

We had heard about the veil that hangs over the city, we were pleasantly surprised at the beautiful blue day ahead of us.

Reaching the cliffs, the first thing we noticed was not the view, but the ... CONTINUE READING >>

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Fear Conquering & Zip Lining 300 Feet High

I have to wonder who thinks up things like zip lining? What kind of sick mind muses - "hey, lets launch folks across a gaping canyon on a wire - that'll be awesome!"

Zip lining, in my mind, falls into the bungee-jumping, rodeo-clowning, leaping-off-buildings-in-suits-with-wings category of antics. Better off left to the fearless young whippersnapper types.

Not something I'd ever... CONTINUE READING >>
  
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Fear Conquering & Roller Derby

“Mom. You are going to get owned.”

 My, how the tables have turned. I'm not going to lie, I was getting a bit of pleasure out of worrying The Spawn.

 The reason for their concern was not without merit -- I was about to attend Roller Derby Camp. Or as the Killamazoo Derby Darlins call it, a "Fresh Meat Event".

 In our never-ending quest to find quirky things to do... CONTINUE READING >>

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Fear Conquering & Snow Skiing

Learning to ski at my age had me worrying about things that a younger person might not have.

What if I plummet over a cliff, break my hip, and die from complications a week later? What if I take a blow to the back of my head from one of those chair ride thingies and end up like an amnesia-riddled soap opera character? What if I end up like Sonny Bono and that horrible tree? What if?

But as a committed GypsyNester, it is my duty to step out of my comfort zone and... CONTINUE READING >>

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Life's a Beach

Life's a beach. In Florida that little pun takes on some real meaning. Of The Sunshine State's twelve hundred miles of coastline, over half is covered by beautiful sandy beaches.

We are big fans of the seashore, so much so that we spent almost a decade on a... CONTINUE READING >>

The "Grapefruit League" Diet

Ah Spring, when a young man's heart turns to thoughts of... baseball. In late February thousands of athletes descend upon Florida and Arizona for the annual rite of Grapefruit and Cactus League baseball - Spring Training.

It was just like being on the bench with the players. We could almost taste the Gatorade and easily eavesdrop on everything they said to each other, as well as what the coaches had to say... It really was amazing access... CONTINUE READING >>

Fear Conquering & Snow Skiing

Learning to ski at my age had me worrying about things that a younger person might not have.

What if I plummet over a cliff, break my hip, and die from complications a week later? What if I take a blow to the back of my head from one of those chair ride thingies and end up like an amnesia-riddled soap opera character? What if I end up like Sonny Bono and that horrible tree? What if?

But as a committed GypsyNester, it is my duty to step out of my comfort zone and... CONTINUE READING >>

Windy City Whirlwind Tour

Join us on our whirlwind tour of Chicago, home of America's Tallest Skyline. View the Windy City's grandest buildings, catch a reflection in Cloud Gate and see the beautiful (and huge!) Buckingham Fountain at Grant Park lit up in red at night! Did you know that Chicago has a building so large it has its own zip code?... CONTINUE READING >>

To Bean or Not to Bean, Is That Even a Question?

As the leaves begin to turn red and gold deep in the Ozarks, excitement starts to build. Competitors check and double check recipes. Others put the final tweaks on their racing machines. Before long, the aroma of beans and outhouses fill the mountain air -- it's time for the Annual Arkansas Bean Fest and Great Championship Outhouse Races. This fest had GypsyNester written all over it. How could we possibly resist?

The festivities, as with... CONTINUE READING >>

Aerospace Cowboys

In the heart of New Mexico we found the world's first commercial spaceport (check out the HUGE runway!), the town of Truth or Consequences, a desert with sands white as snow -- and were invited to a calf roping benefit held for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.  And to think we thought we were in the "middle of nowhere"! Boy, we couldn't be more wrong... read more

Fear Conquering & Scuba Diving

Learning to scuba dive has been a long dormant dream of mine. I'm a water person, a good swimmer and love to snorkel. Scuba seemed the next logical step.
So I crammed my not-so-perky butt into a wet suit, strapped 16 pounds of weight around my waist (apparently I'm very buoyant) and jumped in. And immediately FREAKED OUT.

There I was in the ocean, treading water like a madwomen, embarrassed and humbled. What happened? I had aced the pre-ocean part of the lesson. In the swimming pool I was amazing - a scuba diving machine if there ever was one. I was practically one of those Discovery Channel shark chasers.

My mind frantically tried to grasp where things went terribly awry... CONTINUE READING >>

Fear Conquering & Snow Skiing

Learning to ski at my age adds worries that someone of a younger ilk might not have. As the days grew nearer to hitting the slopes, my nights grew longer and filled with apprehensive dreams. What if I plummeted off a cliff, broke my hip and died weeks later from "complications"? What if I took a blow to the back of my head with one of those chairlift thingys and ended up like an amnesia-riddled soap opera person? What if I end up like Sonny Bono and that horrible tree? What if... read more

Big Game Hunting

Summer's coming to an end but instead of lamenting, let's look at the bright side. Fall is arguably the best season for doing a little GypsyNesting right in your own backyard. The cool crisp weather is perfect for hiking and biking along nearby trails and the colors are spectacular. State and County Fairs are going on all across the country and, as we learned in Hillsdale, can be a smashing good time.

For us sports fans, it's football season. If there is a pro team nearby, the speed, the size and the... read more

The Maple Leaf Spangled Banner

The rockets red glare, the bombs bursting in air.... YEAH CANADA! What? Turns out Independence Day is not the only patriotic fireworks-laden midsummer festival in North America. Canada Day is on the 1st of July and celebrates Canada's “birthday” with familiar cookouts, picnics, parades, fireworks and a communal cake. Cake? Of course, it's a birthday party! We found ourselves a beauty of a celebration by the banks of the River Thames in London... Ontario that is.

We found ourselves a beauty of a celebration by the banks of the River Thames in London... Ontario... read more

Fear Conquering & Scuba Diving

Now that the chicks are out of the nest I'm nurturing a new side effect--fearlessness.

Okay, not exactly fearlessness, but I'm finding that I'm more drawn to crazy antics than I used to be.

Perhaps this effect is common in empty nesters--or at least with the baby boomer ones. Were we not the VW bus driving, world-changing, stickin' it to the man, try-anything generation?

There must be some There must be some latent drive lurking beneath my ... read more

The Second Annual Combine Demolition Derby

 “Oh, we have got to see this!” It was an ad for the Hillsdale, Michigan County Fair. The entertainment for the opening night was the Second Annual Combine Demolition Derby. We could hardly stand it.

Long a fantasy of mine to demolish a ’73 Chrysler in a derby, the next best thing had to be seeing giant farm implements annihilating each other in the mud and dust of a county fair track. Veronica, who grew up outside the farming belt was a bit confused, “Aren’t combines those machines that do something or other with crops?” Oh yeah, they harvest crops, are extremely huge and this is gonna be great! Immediate Googling was needed for more information on Hillsdale and this wacky... read more

From the Minors to October

 Ah, autumn. A nip in the air, the trees are changing, football is back, but mostly... October baseball.

I'm a sports fan. I grew up on minor league baseball. The Wichita Aeros were a big part of my youth and the first professional sporting event I ever attended. That sticks with a guy, I was hooked. Back then the minors were a bit different than today. Of course you had the young prospects fighting to make the bigs but there were also some old vets playing out their string. You don't see that anymore. The parent club won't pay the freight and wants the roster spot for a possible future "player to be named later". I saw some good ones coming up and going down. Vida Blue as a teenager throwing... read more