Whenever my extended family gets together you can usually count on three things: a lot of boxed wine, a lot of Euchre and a lot of jackassery. Our Easter celebration a couple years ago delivered on all three counts and included an activity that my Van Osch cousins came up with: the Blindfold Game. Continue reading
Tag: active living
Take a cooking class
The best thing I can say about my egg salad is that it rarely gives me diarrhoea. I’m not much of a cook. That said, I’m trying to get better and think learning how to cook is a great path to eating healthier and showing off to your friends. Continue reading
Go see Notre Dame Fighting Irish college football game – South Bend, Indiana
Make no mistake: I’m no sports fan. The last time I watched a full hockey game, the Nordiques were still a thing. When I get invited to a Super Bowl party, I usually have to look up who’s playing beforehand. And I still have no clue how offside works in soccer.
So when my girlfriend Ashley invited me to join her and her family on a road trip to South Bend, Indiana to go see a Notre Dame Fighting Irish football game, I wasn’t sure I’d have much fun.
I was very wrong. Continue reading
Cycle for Change: Otesha bike tours
Welcome to beautiful British Columbia. Home of the Canucks, the West Coast Trail, Bryan Adams… and freakishly large zucchinis? Continue reading
Grind it out at the Grouse Grind in Vancouver, British Columbia
Welcome to Mother Nature’s Stairmaster. On paper, the 2.9 km trail hardly seems daunting. However, when you get to the foot of the Grouse Grind and realize that it comes with its own “you might die” warnings, it starts to sink in that this might be more than a leisurely stroll. Continue reading
Go snow tubing: Chicopee Tube Park, Kitchener, Ontario
Sure winter means scraping off windshields, expensive heating bills and flu pandemics. But that snow and ice also means something awesome: tobogganing. Continue reading
Play Dodgeball World Domination
My brother Dan added a comment on the Tri-Pong post, introducing me to a great variation of classic Dodgeball. Here’s Dan to explain: Continue reading
Do a Photo Scavenger Hunt
Photo scavenger hunts are a great, low-impact, low-cost alternative to the classic “find and collect” game. Whether you’re looking for a fun activity for your corporate event or just want something to do with your buddies on a Saturday afternoon, a photo scavenger hunt is a quick and easy thing to whip together. Continue reading
Do a polar bear dip… for no good reason.
A lot of people do Polar Bear Dips as part of a charity event or some other noble cause. Then there are the Van Osches. These cousins of mine are a special breed of people. You may remember them from a few of my earlier posts, including the awesome Blindfold Game. Continue reading
Host a recipe swap night
Here’s a simple idea that’s both a fun social activity as well as a way of beefing up your personal cookbook (or vegging up as the case may be). Throw a Recipe Swap party. The rules are simple. Continue reading
Align your gearbox: the drinking game
Backpacking can introduce you to all sorts of fascinating customs and traditions. Hostels and guest houses serve as the hippie equivalent of the United Nations – a convergence of cultures, nationalities and ideas. This exchange of ideas can revolve around politics, music, religion, philosophies, worldviews and other big discussions. It also facilitates the spread another essential cultural tradition: drinking games. Continue reading
Play Tri-Pong
Rainy days at cottages are the mothers of invention. This week’s Backyard Badge goes to Rob Shirkey for introducing me to the awesome game of Tri-Pong. A couple years ago, while visiting his cottage near Minden, Ontario, Rob taught us how to play this simple, yet exhausting version of ping pong. Continue reading
Go Geocaching
Ever wanted to be a pirate and search for buried treasure? Is your favourite part about Easter the egg hunt? Do you pride yourself in your ability to find lost car keys? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then geocaching just may be for you. I’ve wanted to go geocaching for years. Last week I got my chance and had a great day with my friends Shane, Shaun and Tina. Continue reading
Play Spoons (with vigour)
Spoons is a card game that was very popular in the Martin household growing up. I’ve played a few variations of it over the years but the general idea remains the same. Continue reading
Congratulations to the “That’s Awesome” Photo Contest Winner
Congrats goes out to Allison Tilly of Ottawa, Ontario, whose “Snow Tunnel” photo received the most votes in the “That’s Awesome” Photo Contest!
Snow Tunnel, by Allison Tilly
Allison’s photo will be used as Badge of Awesome’s Facebook cover image for the month of October (even though I agree it’s too early to be thinking about snow!). She’s also won the $100 cash prize, signed copies of my books and the coveted Photography Badge of Awesome.
Big thanks to EVERYBODY who entered and voted. You’re awesome. And even though the contest is officially over, I say let’s keep the photos coming! Post your awesome pics on our Facebook page and let’s get more people saying “Yup. That’s awesome.”
Build a trebuchet (and launch flaming pumpkins)
I never took physics in high school. But friends of mine did and I remember them having to build miniature catapults (and other medieval instruments of destruction) as part of their coursework. I’m all for kids getting excited about education. But what happens when your students get too excited about physics, and decide to apply what they learned on a larger scale? Well my friends, you get the very bad-ass, very awesome Trebosterone Trebuchet: Continue reading
Attend a local festival
A recent visit to Cowapolooza (Woodstock, Ontario’s annual cow festival) got me thinking about all the cool events happening in our own backyard. You could spend an entire year hopping from one local festival to the next. It seems every community has one, even if some of them make you scratch your head. Continue reading
Get Lost (I mean that in the nicest way, I swear): Random road trips
This week’s Backyard Badge of Awesome comes to us via Kendra Barrick of Ottawa, Ontario. Sometimes having no destination in mind at all leads to the best journeys. Random road trips where the only goal is to have a fun time are awesome. Here’s Kendra with her version of “Get Lost”: Continue reading
Play Crazy 8 Countdown… for spices
A sure way to add excitement to a game of cards is to add the element of consequence. And nothing screams consequence like the prospect of having to shovel a heaping spoonful of garlic, turmeric or curry powder into your mouth. This is Crazy 8 Countdown… for spices. Continue reading
Play Extreme Croquet
Croquet: The Gentleman’s Game? Not where I come from. Growing up, my brothers and sisters used to play this backyard game in very un-gentlemanly ways. We’d send our opponents’ balls flying into the bush, down our long driveway and into the little creek that ran next to our house. Out-of-bounds was for sissies and sending other players flying was as much a goal as winning. Continue reading
Play the Tribe Game: Who would you want on your post-apocalyptic team?
How useless would you or your friends be in a post-apocalyptic world? The Tribe Game is a great road trip/time-killer game that answers this question.
Are you an SEO expert? Does your résumé brag about things like “results-based management”? Do you excel at Excel? Do you have an in-depth knowledge of branding, social media or database management? If you answered yes to any of these questions, odds are you’re going to be pretty useless in the event of a nuclear, zombie or Mad Maxian-style apocalypse. Continue reading
Announcing the Bucket List Contest Winners!
Man, oh man. You guys added a lot of amazing bucket list items to the contest. Everything from beating the big balls on Wipeout, eating a meal prepared by an Iron Chef, experiencing the Aurora Borealis in Northern Canada, playing the world’s longest golf course in Australia and having coffee with Paulo Coelho.
Brilliant stuff! I’m going to leave the page up so people can continue to add to it.
Congratulations to Tony Wilford!
It the end it was a heated battle between Tony and Kyla, as they raced neck-and-neck to the finish line. In the end though, Tony squeaked out a victory with 130 votes (followed closely by Kyla’s 108). So congratulations to the winner of the Bucket List Contest, Tony Wilford, for this winning entry:
“To see my two girls grow old and see them enjoy their life as much as I have enjoyed mine!”
Congrats Tony! You’ve won the $100 cash prize, signed copies of my books and the coveted Bucket List Badge of Awesome. Your prize pack is on its way!
Runner ups like prizes too!
The next 10 most-liked Bucket List entries have also won signed copies of my books. If you’re on this list, check your emails for details on claiming your prizes. Congratulations!
Kyla says:
“In no particular order:
- Build my own sustainable, eco-friendly home.
- Have coffee with Paulo Coelho.
- Write a children’s book.
- Rescue an animal from a shelter.
- Become completely free of student loan debt.
- Sing the National Anthem at a Red Sox game!”
Janele says:
- “Take my parents to Vegas and watch them party like it’s 1971
- Take my daughter to Poland to see where her Dziadek grew up
- Adopt a dog from a rescue organization
- Go sky diving
- Live on a boat
- Build a kick a$$ tree fort
- Sew a quilt”
Jared says:
- “Spelunk great caves around the world
- Visit Iceland, throw something into an active volcano
- Own a Dodge Viper (I’d settle on a Shelby Mustang)
- Visit Newfoundland
- Live in a cabin in the woods next to a lake”
Kendra says:
- “Go swimming with sea otters in Vancouver, BC”
Marianne says:
- “Qualify and run in the Boston Marathon”
Nicole says:
- “on my bucket list…to get Josh Martin to do the 2013 Childcan Polar Bear Dip in Kingsville 😉 Oh and beat the number one fundraising team while we’re there. ;)” (Note from Josh Martin: you’re on!)
Shaun says:
- “Experience the beauty of the Aurora Borealis from northern Canada.”
Tina says:
- “eat a meal prepared by one of the Iron Chefs to see what all the fuss is about. Preference would be Mario Batali, Michael Symon or Geoffrey Zacharian – but really any one of them would do…especially if it was free
- Either that or be cool enough to be one of Chuck Hugh’s friends that he invites over for dinner on his show ‘Chucks Day Off’ – but I will settle for paying in one of his restaurants in Montreal
- Man I’m hungry all of a sudden…”
Kim says:
“I have just been thinking about this!
- I want to go to the desert (someplace dark and cloudless) to see the perseid meteor shower.
- Be a contestant on The Price Is Right (shallow, I know, but it looks like so much fun!)
- Build a straw bale house and live in it. (or at least participate in building it)
- Sell some artwork so I can make some more! (I’m running out of space.)”
Shaun says:
- “Travel into space and see the Earth from a whole new perspective.”
.
Thanks to everybody who participated. Of course, the next step is to change your bucket list into a to-do list. So put on your awesome pants and get out there.
Click here to see all the entries and to add more of your own.
Share your own awesome experiences by visiting the Submissions Section (you’ll get a free ebook as a thank you for your submission). Or add your stories, photos and videos to the Badge of Awesome Facebook Page.
Add some awesomeness to your inbox. Subscribe for free to receive an email notification whenever a new article is posted.
Do an obstacle race: Spartan Race, Tough Mudder, Warrior Dash
Call me Spartan Martin. These past couple years I’ve participated in the Spartan Race near Toronto, Ontario. A 5 km+ race, the course involves 15+ obstacles of mud, blood and barbed wire. With 50 Spartan Races held around the world, odds are you’ll find one in your own backyard. Continue reading