How to enjoy the outdoors with a college wallet

Tuition and textbooks equal not a lot of money for college students. Dream road trips to popular Spring Break locales are quite pricey as well. Having wealthy parents isn’t necessary to enjoy the outdoors though. A little bit of planning and looking can result in a great day out or short vacation with great company.

Just because you don’t own a yacht doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a lake. Most lakes have beautiful scenic walking trails where you can observe wildlife such as turkeys and deer in their natural habitat. Not only is walking through nature free but it is a healthy way to spend the day. Wading on the shores is also an entertaining exercise that does not do any damage to your bank account. Those who do wish to float around don’t need to have to own anything as many places offer daily rentals of all sorts of aquatic equipment available.

For those seeking a less damp day outside can stroll through a forested area and cool off in the shade while taking photographs. The cost of batteries for your digital camera is a lot cheaper than plane tickets or a hotel room with a view. Those who seek a bit more of a challenge than a stroll offers can go hiking through hills to a high elevation and feel a sense of accomplishment when the peak is reached. Craving the need for speed doesn’t require a motorcycle when one can rent a bicycle and find a winding trail to ride. The excitement of going over hills and taking sharp turns can be just as exciting as hitting high speeds on a highway on a Harley and a lot more beautiful than staring at endless asphalt. It’s also a lot more convenient to be surrounded by shrubs when nature calls than to be on the highway and needing to find some unsanitary rest stop.

Those with pets and wanting a weekend getaway don’t need to find a sitter and reservations somewhere fancy, get a leash and some friends and enjoy their company camping somewhere. Whether it is a popular camping ground or out in the middle of nowhere, pitching tents around a bonfire and eating toasted junk food and telling stories is a cheap but memorable way to spend a few nights. Not owning any camping equipment can be overcome by renting or borrowing a tent making your own firewood.
Leisurely activities such as tossing a Frisbee around in a park can lead to meeting people nearby and striking up a conversation. Take advantage of a windy day and fly a kite like you may have done as a child and enjoy the breeze. Going to a popular park will usually be filled with people doing relaxed activities and is a great way to meet organized groups that meet on weekends.

Having money may make finding recreation easier to find but with a little searching anyone can go outdoors and have a fulfilling time without needing a trip to an ATM.

Magazine writing, my blog for class

I used to be a hardcore blogger back in the Myspace days and had a bit of a following, had a few thousand reads actually. Maybe this class will get me back into it since Facebook doesn't really do blogs.

My how-to story is about How to have fun outdoors cheaply, hiking, biking, sightseeing, that sort of thing. I really enjoy those things and will enjoy writing about it. I hate the fact I feel so behind in this class and the semester overall in general. I work too much and when I'm not working I can't focus. The last month has been the hardest time of my life and it is not getting easier, I just put on a happy face everyday. My friend Christina, who understood me better than anyone and actually respected me, passed away in late August. We didn't need a lot of words, just looks and body language and tone of voice expressed a mutual understanding and repect for one another. Life hasn't and will never be the same. I just have to learn who I will now become and how to live life as that different person.

Maybe cracking down on my school work and writing assignments will help a bit. They won't change life but it would help to get good grades this semester. If I do well in this class, news reporting, mass media law and minorities in the media the rest of my college career should be smooth sailing academically. Socially campus seems pretty empty for me, so when I'm there I have no excuse to fail.

I'm probably going to be doing a lot of wandering alone this semester for this class and news reporting, so hopefully I'll become more observant of things. Enjoying nature and architecture is a wonderful thing to do with another person, but since I have to do it alone now I might as well become a better writer from doing it.

Saturday and Sunday I will be doing a lot of wandering in Sacramento somewhere. Here's to hoping I don't get mauled by a mountain lion or some drugged up maniac. I'd like to accomplish some things and help people in life while I'm here on Earth, I hopw I have a purpose in life. If it just to help people, I can live with that. Granted I would like to find happiness someday, but if I don't and only serve to help others, then so be it.

Well, I didn't think I would write this much but I am a writer, not much of a speaker. Maybe this outlet will help me.