Travel | Escape Adulthood with Kim & Jason

Kites Aren’t Just for Flying Anymore

kites-on-ice

I’ve written before that one of the BEST parts of being grown-up is having the ability and the know-how to take awesome things from childhood to a new level of awesomeness.

camp-randall

The sweet photos above? No, they were not created by some guy in a small plane or captured with the iPhone of a blimp pilot. They were taken by a camera attached to a kite.

Yes, a freaking kite. You know, that thing kids play with on windy days? In fact, Kite Aerial Photography is a real thing. Google it. Continue Reading →

Does Your Car Have a Kite Compartment?

I think it’s funny that even as our cars get more high tech, outfitted with GPS systems, heated seats, and hands-free calling, they still come equipped with glove compartments.

Glove compartments!

Although the glove compartment in my car is jammed with a great many things — manuals, napkins, straws, ketchup packets, pens that don’t work, and the like — gloves are not among them.

I got thinking about glove compartments when I was in Houston a few weeks ago for a speaking engagement. One of the audience members talked about a friend’s dad who always carried a few spare kites in the trunk of his car. That way, whenever they were out driving during superb kite-flying weather, they could just pull over and have some fun. And oftentimes, he would hand out kites to children. Continue Reading →

10 Tips for Traveling With Kids (and Without Adultitis)

Many people would rather be gored by an angry bull hopped up on Jolt cola than travel with small children. At times, I think the former may be a less painful option. Continue Reading →

Memory Lists: The Simplest Way to Remember Your Vacation Forever

Kim and I are all about collecting experiences over stuff. The challenge with experiences is that they are fleeting. Which is why we normally try to make them tangible in some way, in order to relive them again and again.

Some common methods for “tangibilizing” memories are taking photos, shooting video, scrapbooking, and journaling. These are each excellent in their own way, but they also have downsides. Continue Reading →

5 Fun Things to Do at McDonald’s

So here’s what I want to know. Is the guy in the white shirt another customer asking to take their picture to show people at work? Or is it the manager from McDonald’s? And if the latter, is he saying, “You guys are hilariously creative! How about we treat you to four Happy Meals?” or “We have an Adultitis-ridden policy against fun and that’s why I have to tell you to leave the premises immediately.”

Just wondering.

While this is a fairly elaborate stunt, here are a few other things you can do next time you’re at McDonald’s: Continue Reading →

Blurb Instagram Books are the Boss

This past February, we spent a week in Florida. We spent most of our time at the beach and made a day trip to Disney World.

We decided to shoot most of our photos with the free iPhone app called Instagram, and then compiled the best ones into an affordable hardcover book made at Blurb.com.

It was easy to make, turned out pretty cool, and has become a treasured keepsake of our trip.

This is not a paid endorsement by Blurb, just a resource I thought was worth sharing.

Note to Blurb: If you’d like to sponsor additional trips to warm places in the winter, we’d be happy to make more books and talk about them here. :)

G’Day Mate: Adventures in Expanding Your Comfort Zone

I often wonder why I care so much about what other people think.

I shouldn’t, and I like to think I don’t, but I do. Not always, but more often than I should.

The irony is that the worst-case scenario is always the most terrifying when it stays in our head. If we were to actually speak our fears out loud — to shine light upon them — we would realize how ridiculous it is that we allow them to enslave us.

When Kim and I wrote The Escape Plan, we identified this unfortunate but all-too-common trait that keeps us tied down and hastens the spread of Adultitis. And so we wanted to include a challenge to address it. We called it, “G’Day Mate,” and it was simple: Talk in a phony voice or accent to a complete stranger.

Simple, but not easy. Continue Reading →

Darth Vader Goes to Disneyland

You know a place is a legit Adultitis Hospital if even Darth Vader can have a good time there.

An Easy Way To Add Magic To Life

My word for 2012 has been “magic.” No, I have not been learning any card tricks, but rather the goal has been to infuse more magic into the lives of people I touch. One thing that has struck me time and again is that it doesn’t have to cost a lot of effort or money. Like many things, whether it’s creating more magic, making more scenes with your family, or spicing up a marriage, all you really need is the desire and a tiny bit of imagination. Continue Reading →

Sticky Cup Saturday

The McDonald’s cup was in place. And although Lucy was completely oblivious to the shananigans we were enjoying, she certainly enjoyed our anticipation and laughter.

“I haven’t heard you laugh like that in a long time.”

That’s what Jason said to me at the tail end of our Sticky Cup ride. Continue Reading →

5 Surefire Ways to Fight Adultitis While Flying

photo by wouter walmink

Looking for a surefire way to acquire a “Full-Blown” case of Adultitis?

Two words: air travel

The experience of flying is guaranteed to morph even the most “glass half full” type of person into a cynical scrooge – or your money back. (Ha!) Who knew a hefty case of Adultitis was free with the price of a plane ticket? And being the contagious disease that it is, it’s quite tricky to escape the spread when you’re quarantined in small planes and stuffy airports. Continue Reading →

9 Tips For Making Your Home Movies Look Professional

photo by fritzon

Some of the best things to watch on TV are shows starring you and the people you love. But let’s face it, nobody likes sitting around watching boring video of cousin Jimmy’s birthday party that drags on and on and on. Fortunately, there are some pretty simple tips you can incorporate into the mix that will instantly make your home movies not only tolerable, but down right enjoyable!

1) Don’t overuse zoom. Zoom-happy movies scream amateur and make audiences sick. Take a look at your favorite TV shows; they hardly ever zoom in or out on anything. Usually, they keep the camera stationary and let the subject do the moving. If you want to get a close-up on something, zoom in BEFORE you push record. It’s ok to use this handy feature once in a while, but don’t overdo it. Continue Reading →

Making the Most Of Once-In-A-Lifetime Experiences

I always imagined the skin of a dolphin would feel like a wet rubber Batman suit.

Nope.

I’d touched a dolphin before, at Seaworld. But only the part under the nose (the chin, I guess?). Now THAT felt like a wet rubber Batman suit. And so it was with great surprise that when Kim and I got to swim with dolphins during our trip to the Florida Keys to celebrate our tenth anniversary, the side of the dolphin did not feel as I expected. It’s hard to describe, really. There’s a texture to it. Were I not aware that I was feeling a living, breathing animal, I would have sworn it was a man-made material. Like something that should cover the dashboard in a Ford Mustang. Although I can’t quite describe how it feels, I can describe how it would sound if it were dry and I rubbed my fingernails back and forth against it: it would make a “zip zip” sound.

Not sure if that helps. Continue Reading →

Key West Wisdom #1: Look Up

In this first tip, Kim discusses the importance (and benefits) of taking time to “look up” from the busyness of life once in a while.

Speaking Snapshots: Sticky Cup

Several years ago, we held an official Escape Event, in which we challenged Kim & Jason Nation to “do something fun that is inspired by one of your favorite movies!” Jim and Lisa Warsinske borrowed a bit from Driving Miss Daisy and Chevy Chase’s Vacation, and not only won six movie tickets, but created a perfect way to have fun in ANY economy.

I’ve been sharing this little gem with audiences everywhere I go. Here’s a clip from a recent speaking gig in Milwaukee:

Learn more about bringing Jason in to your organization to help them turn stress into laughter, rejuvenate their passion, and achieve work life balance.

How to Converse Like a Crazy Person

photo by ohhector

So here’s a fun game to play with friends, family, co-workers, or fellow mental patients. It’s an idea that was shared with me by a woman at a nursing home social workers convention I recently spokeat. What I love about it is that it doesn’t cost a dime, you can play with any number of people, you don’t need any special props, and you can avoid boring small talk. (Score!) It’s perfect for road trips and family get togethers. Here’s how it works:

One person starts the conversation with any random statement. Immediately, the next person has to follow that up with a statement or question that has absolutely NOTHING to do with the previous one. Continue Reading →

Does United Airlines Have Adultitis?

photo by mauren veras

Kim came across a story in which a man was denied a first class upgrade on a United flight by a gate agent because we was dressed “too casually.” He was wearing a track suit.

Good thing he wasn’t wearing a clown suit; he’d be deported by now.

It looks like a classic case of Adultitis, and I consider myself lucky that it wasn’t me. You see, my standard travel garb is almost always a pair of Adidas track pants and a Mr. Incredible t-shirt (for good luck.) I’ve been upgraded to first class on a number of occasions, clearly not realizing how fortunate I was. Continue Reading →

Invest In Small Delights

Often as adults, we get trapped into the thinking that we have to constantly chase the “bigger and better,” especially when it comes to vacations. Well, that can get expensive. In this video, I share some thoughts on escaping adulthood by investing in smaller, but no less gratifying, delights:

iPod Version (20 MB)

Escape Event #3 Winner: “The Cup”

Last weekend was Kim & Jason Escape Event #3. The challenge was simply this: Do something fun that is inspired by one of your favorite movies!

Kim and I got talking about “our song” and remembered that it played a big role in the movie Karate Kid, Part II. The song I speak of is Peter Cetera’s “Glory of Love”, which was a #1 hit in the U.S. and won an Academy Award nomination for best song from a film.

We heard it on the radio while we were on our first date, Valentine’s Day, 1995. We both said how much we loved the song upon hearing it in the car on the way to Monical’s Pizza. Ironically (or maybe not so, considering it was Valentine’s Day), we heard it again while sitting in the restaurant. We each ended up buying the CD, and it ultimately became the first song we danced to as husband and wife.

Well, this weekend Karate Kid, Part II showed up on cable, and we realized that we had never actually seen the movie together. So after a busy weekend hosting family, we camped out on the couch and watched the old 80s classic together. I was surprised to learn just how extensive Kim’s crush on Ralph Macchio really was, and Kim was surprised to learn that I had created cardboard action figures based on the characters in the film. (They were pretty sweet, too. Their legs and arms were joined by pieces of rubber band, giving them authentic karate chop action. Hey, these are the sorts of things introverted creative types do…) Continue Reading →

How to Mess Up Your Vacation

Grown-ups don’t do vacations very well.

They try to jam as much into it as inhumanly possible and miss the whole point. They plan too much, expect perfection and relax…not at all. Have you ever returned from vacation feeling more tired than the day you left? Join the club.

Yet another thing adults could learn from kids. Continue Reading →

Crabs and Coffee: View from a Camera

I finally got around to posting some pictures from the Seattle trip. (Check out my Escape Adulthood photo album) It’s hard to sum up the whole experience in photos. I think that when people go to visit new places, they try and take a million pictures of everything they see and do. And they end up taking the same standard shots that everybody else takes. In most cases, the pictures never do the place justice, and you’re always a little disappointed that you weren’t able to capture the “feel” of the place. Somehow, your photos never end up as good as the postcards you bought in the hotel gift shop. Continue Reading →