Living A Spartan Lifestyle

I have moved around a lot in the last decade or so. A lot of it was within Michigan, however in the last four years I have been to Ohio, Minnesota and now Oregon. Moving is not a particularly fun endeavor by any means. Its time consuming and can be a bit stressful. However, there can be a silver-lining if you approach it with the right frame of mind.

When I moved within Minnesota I had a fairly bad experience. The truck ended up costing more than I was quoted, I had to spend a night at a hotel, and the movers were over four hours late at my new place, which resulted in me unloading everything but the furniture that was too awkward to lift myself. Not very smooth at all, but the worst part was yet to come. 

Once everything was in my new place I took a look at all my worldly possessions and said to myself "Wow, I just paid to move a bunch of crap." Albeit everything was useful, but was it really worth all the trouble and money I just expended? My bed was well beyond its prime, the dresser and nightstand were Ikea specials and the desk was bought second hand from a coworker. Not to mention my desk chair had definitely seen better days. While everything had a use, none of it was irreplaceable. 

Needless to say, the next time I moved (into my current place) I took a much different approach. Everything was expendable for my move to Portland. I made the decision I was only taking what could fit in my Forester. Furniture, kitchen appliances and even clothes didn't make the cut. The clothes part was fairly easy as I was losing weight, and most were too loose. The real impact was felt about three months after I got to Portland, because that's when I realized I did not miss any of the possessions I left behind or sold.

I've tried to stick to that philosophy moving forward, but due to my cheapness and continuing to lose weight (I promise I am not bragging) its been a bit difficult. New clothes that fit better are purchased, and old clothes are kept because they are still in good shape. However, I now go through my closet once every three months, and will even donate clothes that fit if I just don't wear them much. An added benefit, which I did not consider was, while I have less possessions, they are usually of a higher quality than before.

The best bonus is my place is a lot less cluttered and I have more room for activities. Seriously though, its so nice not having a place cluttered with useless or unused possessions and clothes. Its made me realize how I can save for the things I want in life, without sacrificing the present. I am able to enjoy the outdoors, traveling and even pay off my vehicle and student loan debt quicker, without sacrificing quality of life. Whether it is on a small scale, or a complete lifestyle change, I highly recommend living a more Spartan lifestyle. 

    

Walkabouts

I first heard the term “walkabout” when I watched the Crocodile Dundee movies as a child. Back then, I had zero clue what it meant. All I knew is this guy with the funny accent was humorous and there was some good action. Also, Carl Winslow was in the movies so it had to be good right? Fast forward about 12 years and I was on a plane to the homeland of Mick Dundee, and it forever changed me.

One of the ongoing themes that will organically emerge in this blog is my undying love for Australia. I have been there three times (5 weeks, 15 months, and 7 months), and consider it my second home. I was enchanted by tales from my brother who had visited four years prior to my first stint, and I was immediately infatuated when I arrived. The people, the land, the attitude, and so many more things, make Australia hold a special place in my life. However, for this entry, I will focus on the namesake of Mr. Dundee's fictional hometown of “Walkabout Creek.”


From the movies I had gathered a walkabout was a long walk/journey/trip into the wilderness. Later I realized its more of a spiritual journey, to find oneself, usually after a life-altering event or if someone feels their life is stagnant or in need of a change. However, as I found out, as it is a term in Australia, when you show up as the American, they aren't too keen on you using their terms and then explaining “Nah, its cool, I picked it up watching Crocodile Dundee.”


While there I experienced my own version of a walkabout. During my 15 month stint, which was technically for grad school (at least thats what my parents believed), I lived the Macquarie University Village. It was a 200 unit apartment complex with 5-bedroom apartments, filled with students from all over the world. However, very few Australians lived there. For instance, I did my undergrad at Grand Valley State University in the western part of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. Two of my neighbors in grad school were from GVSU. I was lucky enough to have a roommate named Marlow.


Now I will ignore Marlow's less than admirable traits, and focus on the fact he was, and remains, a real life Australian. He also introduced me to many more real life Australians, a lot I still speak with today, and miss dearly (ok, enough with the sappy stuff). While the apartment complex emptied during the summers, a few of us stragglers stuck around. It was myself, Marlow, Timmy, EJ and Monica most of the time, with a few stragglers. Every now and then we'd get bored and go “walkies.”

(Myself, EJ, and Marlow after a costume party, I hope)

It was usually just to find a party, or beers, or girls, or anything other than sitting around one of our apartments doing nothing. Rarely would it result in any great discovery or insane story, but they were some fun times, I can assure you.


I began to institute “walkies” when I returned from Australia, to some pretty great results. As I started to move around for work they began to take a different tone. When I got to Minnesota I used them as a way to get to know my neighborhood. I would set out (assuming it was not -35 and snowing) in a particular direction, but always keeping my bearing on home, and just wander around. If a restaurant, bar or shop looked interesting I would go in, but there was never a set agenda, or path.


These days I go on 3-4 each week. Whether its during my lunch break at work, or if I have an hour or so on the weekends, I find its the perfect opportunity to either clear my head, or when I've had to make a big decision. Before every move I have always taken a long walkabout. Its good to get away from everything and really weigh the decision, or just bask in silence every now and then. While I am not going on an 18 month walkabout like Mick, I highly recommend it every now and then if you can find the time. If you have a lot of time, maybe an 18 month long one wouldn't be bad either.

Baseball Been Very, Very Good To Me!

(Church)

I have very few memories from before I was six years old. I remember my first plane ride, I remember my grandfather when he was still able to walk around, and I remember my first baseball game. It was Tiger Stadium, against the Kansas City Royals, and Bo Jackson was playing Center Field. It started a lifelong obsession and love, which has only gotten stronger as I have gotten older. 

I don't know if its the draw of being outside on a summer day, the statistics, the fact each stadium has its own dimensions, personality and character, or the specialization of players, but I was hooked from day one. A common misconception about sports in Michigan is U of M Football, the Detroit Lions, or the Detroit Red Wings are king (I might concede to one of those). However, the fact of the matter is when its summer, the Tigers reign supreme, plain and simple. 

In the summer a popular weekend and holiday destination is "Up North" (the boundary is different for each person, but I consider it anywhere north of Clare). At every cottage, party store (convenience store for non-Michiganders), and on every boat with a radio, the Tigers game is on. The Upper Peninsula might be Green Bay Packer territory when it comes to football, but you would be hard-pressed to find anything but Tigers fans living up there. Whether they were setting the record for most losses in a season or a heavy favorite for a World Series, the Tigers are always on. It started with Ernie Harwell, and has continued today with Dan Dickerson who has taken over the monumental task  with great success.

(Ernie statue w/ my buddy Jeff)

Although, the Tigers will forever be my favorite team, its the sport as a whole that's gotten me. I have been to a lot Timbers games since moving to Portland, and had a great time at each. However, when I learned they booted a AAA baseball team out of that stadium I was very disappointed. If I lived within walking distance of a AAA baseball team season tickets would have been a no-brainer. I can go to just about any baseball game, at any level. 

I think my love has been fueled by my ability to make it to different parks, and not just when the Tigers are in town. I have been to six major league parks, and will be hitting my seventh in about a week when I am in Cincinnati. I am also considering a weekend trip to Denver to see the Rockies at some point, and planning a Bay Area trip next year so I can see the A's and Giants back-to-back. When you get the opportunity to sit down and watch a game without any rooting interest, you really enjoy the athleticism, strategy and ability of all involved. 

I have even begun to buy apparel of other teams. For instance, I buy a hat of every team whose park I have visited, unless they are playing the Tigers of course. I also like finding rarities and jerseys that are not as prevalent anymore. I found an Atlanta Braves jersey at a thrift store in Minneapolis with a "30 Years in Atlanta" patch (picture below) for $10 and almost lost my mind, and have a Montreal Expos Gary Carter jersey next on my list of acquisitions. I also hope to catch games in Japan and South Korea one day.

(Thrift Store Steal)

I may never be able to pin point my love of baseball. I think its an amalgamation of everything I have discussed, and that first game I was able to attend with my father and brother. In fact one of my favorite games was the second Tigers game with my dad in 2005 on Father's Day, a walk-off win against the San Francisco Giants, hit by then newly acquired 2B Placido Polanco. Now I have been at a few walk-off wins since then, but I know I couldn't tell you as much detail about those. 

(Father's Day 2005)

When I was living in Australia in 2010 a few friends and I joked about getting tattoos spontaneously. The more we joked, the more we began to seriously consider it. Soon after the joking started we were looking for tattoo parlors which took walk-ins. Each person was quietly and openly brainstorming ideas. I did not have much money at the time, so I knew it had to be a simple, one-color design. One image popped into my head: the Olde English D. Up to that point I had sat through an improbable World Series run, a 119 loss season, and a decade of futility where I watched every game I could on UPN 50 when they never even sniffed a .500 record. I heard how Jeff Weaver was the next Denny MacLean, Gabe Kapler was the next Al Kaline and watched every bad move Randy Smith made (Google that one Dombrowski slappy's because I know you have no idea who that is). It remains today the only tattoo I have, not so much because I haven't wanted another one, but I haven't been able to decide on anything else I knew I would never regret.

A Very Michigan Camping Trip

First off, every entry will not be centered around my trips to National Parks. However, these are the easiest for right now as I have a lot of pictures and they are fresh in my mind. My goal with this blog is to cover a wide variety of topics from food to sports to travel to whatever I feel like.

For Memorial Day Weekend 2015, I was able to do a camping trip with some friends from Michigan. There were five of us in total, but only one still lives in Michigan, with two coming from Portland and two from Sioux Falls, SD. Such is the modern day working professional I guess, go where you can find the best jobs!

I had heard good things from coworkers about Olympic. One coworker even lived in the region for a long time and would visit the park on a weekly basis, so we had some great local knowledge to help us out. While we had limited time, the overall experience was great. We started at Hurricane Ridge, which provided some amazing views in the heart of the park. We even got to experience a storm rolling across the horizon on our hike, and honestly, if we went to Olympic and didn't get rained on it would have been a disappointment.

(Hurricane Ridge)

We moved campsites every night, which was not ideal, but the campsites could not be secured in advance, so everyday we had our target campsite and then a few fall-back options. In the future, I am definitely finding a good spot and staying put, but I will admit we got a great feel for the entire park.

The second day we hit a trail near the Sol Duc Hotsprings, when we hiked up to Deer Lake. The hike wasn't long, but the vertical climb was a butt-kicker. It made its all the more satisfying when we made it to the top. We also hit some smaller trails in the area, one followed a river bed and was near an old dam, which had been removed.

(Elwha River)

After that trail we headed toward the coast to hike at Ruby Beach and camped at South Beach Campground. Our goal was Kalaloch Campground, which sits higher up from the water and provides some amazing views, but was full. South Beach was a lot better in my opinion. Its a smaller campground but that meant less people to deal with, so it felt more like camping. It was also easier to get to the beach, and no matter where your site was, you could see the Pacific.

(Ruby Beach)

On the last day we hit the Hoh Rainforest on the southwest side of the park. The hike we did was mainly wooded and flat, but it fed into a lot of other trails. Apparently it was a good place to spot elk, however, we were unlucky the day we were there. 

(Hoh Rainforest)

All in all I enjoyed Olympic a lot. The rangers and staff were very helpful and the facilities were well maintained. There were small towns just outside the park, which made it nice for getting supplies and even hitting a restaurant every now and then. It was not very crowded either, which always makes for a nice time since you're not fighting with too many people for space on the trail or in the campgrounds. However, when I return it will either be to do a hiking/camping trip through the park, or, as previously stated, set up camp in one spot and go on day hikes. I highly recommend the park, and while its not in the most accessible place, Its close to Seattle and you can rent gear from REI if you aren't fortunate enough to drive.