In honor of National Get Outdoors Day this Saturday, Coach Stacy requested a post about activities one might enjoy in the great outdoors.

“The outdoors?” I whined, wrinkling my nose.  “Um…you know I don’t really do the outdoors.”

In actuality, I wouldn’t survive 24 hours in the outdoors.  Pitch a tent?  Forget it.  Hike a Fourteener?  Nope.  My last fishing expedition involved me situating a lawn chair on the shady bank of the San Miguel River and reading a cozy mystery while sipping a bottle of hard lemonade.  Of course, I offered up obligatory commiseration to the rest of the fishing party (“Now how did that one get away?”) periodically throughout the afternoon, but I most assiduously avoided all activities having to do with the actual handling of fish and bait.  I don’t deny it – I’m a princess and require my hot shower and soft, warm mattress.  My idea of “roughing it” is the Holiday Inn.

Coach Stacy, on the other hand, possesses a far more daring spirit, ever on the look out for a new outdoor adventure.  Her wildlife encounters are legendary – coyotes, black bears, deer, snakes, skunks, mountain lions, and most recently, a misguided and somewhat sociopathic hummingbird that mistook her for a flower.  These encounters are particularly noteworthy since most of them have occurred within 20 feet of her back door.

“Relax princess,” Coach replied.  “I mean fun stuff you can do outside – like in your back yard or around your neighborhood.”

And just like that, she ticked off 30 things you can do outdoors when you don’t really “do” the outdoors – fun activities that will allow you to breathe lots of fresh air and soak up some healthy Vitamin D.  Now that the weather’s warm, why don’t you Get Outdoors and give some of these a try:

• Work in your garden
• Play Frisbee
• Do some hula hooping
• Go bird watching or learn bird calling
• Try geocaching
• Go for a nature walk in your neighborhood
• Enjoy a bike ride
• Fly a kite
• Set up a net and play badminton or volleyball
• Have a friendly water cannon fight
• Play bocce ball or croquet
• Try hopscotch
• Jump rope solo or try double-dutch with friends
• Scavenger objects for a nature collage
• Go bug watching
• Do some cloud watching or star-gazing
• Play kickball
• Walk the dog or play fetch
• Go roller-skating or roller blading
• Run through the sprinklers
• Try your hand at skateboarding
• Pan for gold
• Explore a park
• Play some catch
• Collect and identify rocks or plants
• Go intertubing or paddle boarding
• Play horseshoes
• Try tether ball
• Shoot some hoops
• Wash the car