Adventurenet.net

Attempts at expanding my creativity are never ending. I want to learn to draw, I want to be a better writer, I want to learn more about New York City culture and see all of the best plays and musicals.

I’m also working on my Spanish and being museum judgmental. (Hey, I’m not perfect).

Monday May 5th, 2025

One of my currently tracked goals is learning to draw.

The plan is to start with simple things and work on improving.

I did start with trying to draw cartoon faces, but I’d rather be drawing fantasy maps, so I switched to this.

I use the many postcards that I send as a way to practice my drawings such as this postcrossing postcard that is off to France.

I discussed the musical that my partner and I recently went to on this postcard. Dead Outlaw.

I spent a lot of time thinking about how we treat each other and what value we see or do not see in life.

Tuesday May 6th, 2025

I recently purchased a t-rex tape dispenser for my wife and the box is so delightful that I turned it into a postcard to send to my friend Tony in Michigan.

I recently came up with a plan for making my own postcards out of stuff and this was my first chance to try it out.

The standard size of a postcard here in the U.S. is four inches by six inches (ten centimeters by 15 centimeters).

I have been using large label stickers to cover up the other side of these homemade cards, but there’s always a little seam between the two stickers as they are not as large as a postcard.

So I got on eBay and searched for 4 x 6 stickers.

It turns out this is the standard size for shipping labels and shipping label printers.

So I bought a ream of shipping label paper.

Excited to make more silly postcards.

Here’s Keanu exploring a shopping bag.

I don’t want any of the cats to get stuck in the bag handles, so I’ll be putting this away.

Wednesday May 7th, 2025

Today I took a quick trip to the corner store and one of the workers here speaks less English than the others and so I am attempting to learn more Spanish.

The phrase that I have been working on is “Tengas buen dia.” (“Have a good day.”) as well as the follow-up phrase “Gracias y gual.” which I think means “Thanks, and you.”

Note: After typing the paragraph above, I did a quick internet search and the phrase is “Gracias igual.” which translates to “Thanks the same.”

So at the corner store when I was done shopping the worker said “Tengas buen dia.” and I remembered the phrase for the first time and said “Gracias igual.”

She cheered and clapped.

I was both proud and embarrassed.

I nodded, blushed and left.

I am happy to have another useful foreign phrase locked down.

Back to postcards!

Tiny postcard time!

Lil postcard!

I have to turn the stamp sideways so that there’s enough room to write the name and address on this one.

And now for some funny cat pictures.

Blep.

Tonight we have tickets to the play “Oh, Mary!”

This play is about Mary Todd Lincoln, the wife of Abraham Lincoln, and it was written with no research.

It is a fantastic show and we are so happy that it recently won a Tony.

Amazing work!

This selfie feels like a scene in a horror movie.

“Watch out! Mary’s right behind you!”

Thursday May 8th, 2025

Okay, so hear me out.

My sense of humor is a bit weird sometimes, but I’m convinced this next idea is regular-funny.

A postcard of an envelope box.

This box was of the brown-cardboard style and so I used one of my new stickers on the flip side to make it more writeable.

Some stickers and Washi tape and this bad boy is ready to fill in.

Oh, so my doodles that I put on the postcards.

I haven’t been able to get my cliffsides to look quite right.

I’m currently experimenting with adding stones and stone piles to help make it look better.

It’s not there, yet, but I think I’m on to something.

Friday May 9th, 2025

I’m sending one of the fancy postcards to my younger brother in Arkansas.

This one kind-of pulls apart and can be stood up like a display.

I recently sent him a fart machine for his birthday.

Saturday May 10th, 2025

Today we travel to the new land of Jersey in search of science museums.

Liberty Science Center has been suggested to us as a great place to visit.

The primary reason for our visit is to see the Titanic exhibit, but I’ll happily take in any kind of science that they have to offer!

Maybe we’ll get a planetarium show out of it.

This place is a bit pricey and this exhibit costs extra which is a bit of a bummer, but we get a boarding pass as part of the excursion and I believe there will be places to scan it along the way.

There is one place to scan the boarding pass at the end of the exhibit.

It got me.

I instantly cried when read about the guy I got and how he didn’t make it.

I’m glad that we are able to know the names and faces of the people onboard the Titanic.

This museum is a very interesting museum, but it is expensive and it is primarily for children.

I would absolutely recommend a visit if you have kids or if there is a exhibit that you are specifically interested in.

Check out the multi-story climbing thing.

And plasma thing.

Oh look! You can see New York from here.

The microbe art exhibit is pretty sweet.

The train display thing is a lot of fun, too.

We had a good time.

While were in NJ, we’ll grab lunch at Gaia & Loki.

Fantastic food. If you’re in the area, give this place a visit.

This is an interesting way to make art.

Per our regular monthly tradition, we are off to see Katsura Sunshine’s rakugo show!

Another fantastic show!

If you’re in New York City at the same time as a Katsura Sunshine show, it’s is 100% worth visiting.

Here’s some spooky ice cream trucks in the dark.

Sunday May 11th, 2025

Another postcrossing.com postcard, this time to Germany.

This is one of the postcards from our visit to the childhood home of Lyndon B Johnson.

The postcard receiver on postcrossing had a special request for cards sent to him.

He requested topics related to headlines in the news.

I shared about there is a new hybrid of the American chestnut tree that is resistant to the blight that wiped out most of our country’s chestnut trees.

I would love to see this tree return to the area.

Ecosystems can be so fragile.

America used to be filled with these trees, but an infected batch of trees brought over from Japan in the early 1900s wiped out 3.5 billion of the American chestnut.

But we’re bringing them back, baby!

Today I completed The Book of Good Times.

This is the book (allegedly) released by Hank Green filled with delightful adventure items.

I purchased the initial run from the Kickstarter which had a few errors within in and so I hit some roadblocks.

I set the book down for a while while these were addressed, but I came back and finished it!

This really is a great one and I would absolutely love to see more books like this.

Send me on adventures!

Please.

I have some other addresses in my collection that I haven’t sent many cards to.

I should send one to Chand and Lisa in Texas.

This is a postcard of the wellspring in Providence, Rhode Island.

Shared some stories about camping in Texas.

This postcard was sent to my pal Tommy in Michigan.

I asked him about his dog and shared some camping stories here as well.

What the heck. Let’s get through these Lyndon B Johnson cards.

They’re the cheap kind that are glossy on the back and hard to write on.

I have a special pen for these.

This one goes to my pal Mike in Nebraska.

Also chatted about camping on this one.

And one more to Tony in Michigan.

Now a non-Lyndon-B-Johnson postcard to my brother Shane in Arkansas.

This is from a Texas state park that I wish I could have spent more time at.

I stopped at Martin Dies Jr. for a quick visit, but I always saw this park on the state park website as it had many learning events hosted by the park’s interpreter.

Off to the blue metal, graffitied void with you, postcards!

May the graffiti artist Broskii bless your travels.

And then I sent another postcard.

Also about camping.

This time to my pall Jeffery in Nebraska.

Monday May 12th, 2025

Let’s keep sending postcards.

I forgot to take a picture of the card because I also shipped some bookmarks.

I get “into the zone” when working on these sometimes and forget to snap a pic.

This one is off to Santiago, Chile.

It was another one of the Lyndon B Johnson postcards and I shared the story of eating Mustang Grape jelly in the parking lot of the Texas state park.

Keanu approves.

You know what?

I’m really enjoying sending postcards this week, but I’m running out of people to send cards to, so let’s put together a bunch for Letters Against Isolation.

This one is off to Pennsylvania.

I shared that I am not allowed to keep insects as pets any longer on this postcard.

These are not addressed to a specific individual and so I am comfortable sharing the message and my terrible handwriting on the reverse side.

This one is off to New Hampshire.

This is a photo I took while visiting Salem.

This next card is being delivered to Tazmania.

It’s a postcard of Penny being naughty.

The levels of disrespect that Penny can show sometimes.

I cover up the address part and the “stamp goes here” part on the back since this will be sent in an envelope.

This gives me more room to write.

And one more to Iowa.

This photo makes me happy.

Visiting this restroom was where I got the idea to add “Take a shower at a state park.” to my adventure list and I’m glad that I did.

I now feel more prepared to live adventurously with a better understanding how to travel longer distances without the need for a hotel.

Love this bear sticker.

Penny only loves to be disrespectful.

And here’s another postcard that I made with Washi tape and stickers. I didn’t send this one out tonight, though.

Tuesday May 13th, 2025

At the end of the month I have a small camping trip planned.

I’ll be trying out a lot of new gear including cooking in a small pot/kettle thing.

I have a gas tin, an igniter and an… adapter?

I’m not sure what these are called.

I have two, but this one is smaller and tidier than the other one.

What will be good to cook with this?

Normally I would go camping with a bunch of wood or coal and a cast-iron skillet, but since I’ll be carrying everything with me for three and a half hours on trains and busses, I have decided to down-size the cooking bits.

Tonight our plan is to visit Q.E.D. at build some LEGO sets.

It was a good night.

I got second place in a monster design contest!

Wednesday May 14th, 2025

This is one of my custom-made postcards of a picture from Buescher state park in Texas.

My partner Lauri took this picture.

This one is on its way to Spain to a pair of couch surfers.

Thursday May 15th, 2025

Here’s another glossy postcard that’s been in my collection for a long time and it is now on its way to Tony in Michigan.

Shared on this postcard that I need to walk to the post office to deliver some eBay video game sales, but it’s raining and I don’t want to go.

I went.

Friday May 16th, 2025

Here’s a postcard that is now on its way to Malaysia.

Had a brief chat about moving to NYC and selling the car.

Tony gets all of the postcards, including this one of an anime advert that was converted into a postcard.

I say “anime,” but I’m pretty sure I got this from a manga store, so it’s probably a manga advert.

It’s a big one, so I used multiple label stickers.

I probably should have used extra postage.

I have a postcard that I bought that came with a whole authentication thing and I’m not trying to keep the card. I don’t care about the authentication.

I just want to send the card, so time to break it open.

Oh…

It’s a used card.

Well that’s annoying.

I mean, don’t get me wrong.

I’m glad that I have this lost moment from history saved, but I can’t send this postcard to anyone now.

Into the collection box it goes.

I picked this up at the Grant Memorial gift shop.

And like, no hate.

I just wish it had been more clear that it was a used postcard.

Saturday May 17th, 2025

Another postcard for Tony!

This one is one of those 3D ones where when you tilt it sideways the image moves.

I hope Tony enjoys it.

Tonight is the Eurovision finals as well.

We’re having some company over and one of the games we’re playing is Eurovision bingo.

To allow for folks to easily cross items off of their bingo cards, I grabbed a handful of sharpie markers from the bedroom.

See that bit of orange at the bottom?

That’s an X-acto knife.

While grabbing the sharpie markers, I knocked the safety guard off of the knife.

I didn’t hear it clatter to the ground.

After company left, I brough the markers back and shoved them back into the container.

I got very stabbed.

This picture of my thumb is from two-days later after the bleeding had stopped and the cut wasn’t all gross looking.

I made a very strange sound when I stabbed the side of my thumb.

Lauri ran in and was kind enough to grab the medical kit and help me out in my time of need.

The X-acto knife has been moved to a newer and safer location where the safety guard can not so easily be knocked off.

Sunday May 18th, 2025

Tonight is rugby night!

There is a new women’s league that I have recently learned about and so I will be going to the New York Exiles vs Twin Cities Gemini game tonight.

I love watching rugby.

It’s a little ways up into The Bronx.

I like these long distance trains.

They’re more comfortable and spacious most of the time.

On the trip, I fill out one of my custom-made postcards.

This image is from FireWater in Providence, Rhode Island.

I sent this postcard to my brother Shane in Arkansas and I shared the story of my visit to this location.

Another custom card that I made was this postcard of my boomerang stuck in a tree in Texas.

This boomerang is going to get someone in trouble one day.

Nearly to the rugby game location, now.

Max got a nice party.

I could use some boba before the game.

This place is giving out stickers and letting people kind-of go nuts with them.

But heck, I’ll take a few.

These will be added to postcards.

Boba gathered.

Off to the big game!

lololol

Don’t get high, live high.

This is a nice location for a rugby game.

I do wish we were a bit closer to the action, but this venue has food trucks, drinks, bathrooms and an announcer.

Sort of.

He wasn’t an play-by-play announcers.

He spoke a little before the game, after the game and gave a few updates during the game such as when a team scored points.

The Exiles logo kind of looks like Anonymous.

14 – 5

The Exiles are in the lead!

S c o r e !

Uh oh.

21 – 22

Good luck Exiles!

Scrum! Scrum! Scrum!

There’s a lot less collapsed scrums here than in Major League Rugby.

Woo hoo!

The Exiles have retaken the lead!

And that’s it!

The Exiles have their first home-game win!

A delightful team at a wonderful location with a great group of fans.

A lovely adventure.

Time to walk home.

I saw this ball fountain on my way in, I’ll stop by for a closer look now that there’s not children playing in i.

That’s a nice fountain.

And this is a nice door.

And those are nice platforms on stilts to get off of the train.

On the ride back, I’ll put together a nice postcard for Jeffrey in Nebraska.

What I did not do on the ride back was activate my ticket.

Free ride baybeee!

Note: It was probably not a free ride. I paid for it and I rode back and the ticket will likely expire before I can use it later.

Thank you for spending time with me and my adventure blog.

May the sleepy Penny bless you in her dreams.

Or step in your food while also stealing your food like she does to me.