Absurd Adventurers

An Absurd Adventurer in Space (Camp)! part 4

noreply@blogger.com (Absurd Adventurers) — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 14:56:00 +0000

(Make sure to read part 1, part 2 , and part 3!!)

Day 3 (August 30, 2011)

These days are long and exhausting! Today I had some oatmeal before our mission. I was Commander and Scientist on the Space Station so I got to do some fun experiments. I made some polyurethane foam and got to ride in a chair that spun for 30 seconds with a blindfold on. That showed the rapid movements of our eyes.

After that, a guest speaker named Alex McCool talked to us. He worked for NASA as a propulsion engineer and helped the US get to the moon. We also went to a museum and learned about space flight starting in the 1940s. I also used some of this time to go to the gift shop. Then I had some lunch which was delicious. A pulled pork sandwich, french fries, broccoli in cheese sauce, and apple crisp. After lunch we got to go on the Multi-Axis Trainer. I was nervous because we just ate and the lighter you are the faster you turned but it did not make you dizzy or nauseous at all! It was awesome! Then we had supper and I had some macaroni and cheese, which I could tell was Stouffer’s – my favorite.

After supper, we took a bus to Aviation Challenge where we got to be pilots in a simulator. It was so hard! There were so many buttons and you had to remember what speeds were necessary to do different things, so, basically I learned that I am not cut out to be a pilot. (I didn’t even know how to turn the engines on!) The last thing we did was ride the Centrifuge. That is a robotic arm that has a capsule attached to it that you sit in and you spin around and experience 3.2 G’s. It was cool but it felt like my face was melting off and it got really hard to breathe. But it was really fun!

An Absurd Adventurer in Space (Camp)! Part 3

noreply@blogger.com (Absurd Adventurers) — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 19:05:00 +0000

Read about Caitlin's adventure to the Advanced Space Academy (Space Camp): part one and part two!

Day 2: August 29, 2011 (part 2)
...I knew I was scuba diving afterwards and I was a bit nervous.

To get to the top of the tank we had to go up 5 flights of stairs! The pool was definitely creepy – it was really blue and on the walls, as wallpaper, were pictures of real astronauts training underwater. The tank is 24 feet deep, 30 feet in diameter, and 92 degrees Fahrenheit. We had to swim across and onto a platform where we learned how to get water out of the regulator, techniques for finding our regulator if it was knocked out of our mouth, how to hook up to an emergency air supply, and how to empty our goggles underwater. We then got to go down the ladder which takes a long time because you have to stop every few steps to unblock your ears and make sure everything is okay. Once down there, I played basketball, catch, and baseball…with a bowling ball! I built a pyramid and shot off a rocket and I also was able to lift a giant 100-pound ball over my head with one hand. It was quiet down there except when the bowling balls hit together or when someone taps on the glass – it now makes sense why you aren’t supposed to tap on the glass at an aquarium because it is very loud. After about 45 minutes down there, we slowly made our way to the surface. So far, the Underwater Astronaut Trainer has been my favorite thing to do even though I was originally terrified by it!

An Absurd Adventurer in Space (Camp!) Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Absurd Adventurers) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 15:53:00 +0000

Read about Caitlin's Day 1 Adventures at the Advanced Space Academy HERE!

Day 2 (part 1) (August 29, 2011)

Today was simply amazing! I got up around 6AM and had breakfast – biscuits, bacon, and French toast (not exactly healthy, but it was good) and then we got to go get our flight suits. The guy who was giving them asked what size we were and I didn’t quite understand the fit of a flight suit, seeing as how I have yet to try one on until today. Eventually he just let us try them all on until we found our size (turns out, I’m a small) and then we took a group photo in them. We then got started on Alpha Mission.

For this mission, I was “Mission Specialist 1” which means that I was on the orbiter and would be doing repairs in the Payload Bay Area. The Payload Bay is part of the orbiter and it is open, allowing for repairs, but it can also be closed and used for storage. The area is exactly the same size as a Greyhound Bus. Once Mission Control gave us the OK for launch, my partner and I began our pre-flight physicals where we had to record our blood pressure, pulse, and temperature. Also, our blue flight suits are worn throughout every mission. Then, I climbed up to the cockpit for takeoff, which was controlled by our two pilots.

At T+5 minutes, my partner and I headed down to the middeck where we suited up to head to Payload Bay. We had to take off the flight suit, put on an ice vest, then the white flight suit, then the boots. After that we put on white cloth gloves and then our outer gloves. The headset was put on and then finally our helmet. Despite the ice vest and the fan in our helmet, it was still extremely hot in that suit. I then had to climb up the ladder and out of the orbiter to the Payload Bay. I was strapped onto a robotic arm that I controlled with a control pad and had to follow Mission Control’s instructions on how to fix the satellite. Basically I had to go up, plug in my

power supply, and follow the instructions of which buttons and switches to press. It took me FOREVER to get the plug in because you have to put it in and twist which was extremely difficult with those huge gloves on. Then I had to remove the antenna and hand it to Mission Specialist 2 who gave me a new one to replace it with. It was fun using the arm to get around but it was tricky. PS – you actually have to say things like ”Roger”, “copy”, “go”, “no-go”, and say when things are “nominal” or “not nominal.”

Then I returned to the orbiter, took my gear off and prepared for re-entry and landing. After that we ate lunch and I had some delicious grilled chicken, mashed potatoes, and sherbet. Next there was training for our Bravo mission before we got to work on the rockets we are building. We get to spray paint them so I’m thinking pale pink with black polka dots! We didn’t have much time to work on them because then we had to go to the IMAX Theater to see “Hubble.” It was awesome! The screen was way bigger than I thought it would be so it really felt like you were in space. I loved watching the rocket blastoff and seeing how graceful the astronauts manage to be even when while making repairs. After that we went to a briefing on companies who do private space flights so I made sure to take a ton of notes because I WILL do that someday. Then we ate supper and I had lasagna and garlic bread. I didn’t want to eat too much because I knew I was scuba diving afterwards and I was a bit nervous.

Come back soon to check out Caitlin's scuba diving adventure!!

An Absurd Adventurer in Space (Camp)! Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Absurd Adventurers) — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 12:59:00 +0000

Before Caitlin left for Space Camp, she decided to keep a very, VERY, detailed journal about everything she did and saw there which is very lucky for the rest of us who didn’t get to go and can live vicariously through her. For this series (An Absurd Adventurer in Space (Camp)!) you will read all of her own words. She has also included everything she ate because we are both obsessed with having good meals and telling each other about them.

Day 1 (August 28, 2011)

First day of Advanced Space Academy at the United StatesSpace and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama! It was a really pretty ride down, the mountains and the trees were nice, and the red dirt was too, but other than that there wasn’t much else unless I was interested in buying fireworks…

I got here around 12:30 today and…got some lunch in the cafeteria, a ham and cheese flatbread melt (the ham tasted like bacon so it was good), and then walked around a bit before orientation and this is one impressive place. It is so much bigger than I expected and I am amazed by the amount of stuff they have here. We got to see the Underwater Astronaut Trainer, which I was afraid of but it wasn’t quite as mechanic as I imagined, so it wasn’t too terrifying. We also got a sneak peek of the Multi-Axis Trainer, the 5 Degrees of Freedom Chair, the 1/6 Gravity Chair, and the Manned Maneuvering Unit. I honestly expected this week to be centered on those things alone but I can already tell that that is not the case.

Then I had an orientation where they showed us all the buildings and the way around. We also got to see where we will be doing our Flight Missions which will take place on a huge shuttle (it’s actually called an orbiter, which I learned today) with a fully functional Mission Control Room with computers, manuals, and headsets. After our tour, we gathered in the cafeteria where we began to design our mission patch. That, I think, will be worn on our flight suits. This was a little difficult because everyone had conflicting ideas and talked over each other but we’ll keep working on the patch later in the week. After that we ate dinner – pizza, carrots, Dr. Pepper, and chocolate cake (these details are for you, Kathryn.) I forgot to mention that we also went to the part of the museum that houses a partially functioning Saturn V rocket (the V represents the number of engines.) It was huge! Apparently it was built from a junkyard used specifically to story old parts of rockets.

At the end of the day we went to two meetings where they briefly discussed how space flight works, the different parts of a rocket, shuttle, and engine and they also went over our missions and the different roles and positions that are required to keep everything running smoothly. There will be more meetings/presentations that will go into greater detail on those subjects later in the week.

Then we went to the IMAX Theater and watched October Sky which was very good. It’s about a boy who no one believes in who wants to be in the space program and is eventually successful. There was also cheese and grapes to go along with the movie, which I loved, obviously! It’s pretty warm in the room I’m in but, other than that, everything is great!

P.S. There are tons of bats flying around outside!

Space Camp

noreply@blogger.com (Absurd Adventurers) — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 19:53:00 +0000

Everyone knows about Space Camp, right?! It was the topic and title of a movie made in the 1980s and was often the grand prize on some great Nickelodeon game shows. It might have been on Double Dare, What Would You Do?, Nick Arcade…all we know is that we fondly remember watching many episodes and being SO JEALOUS that the winner got to go to Space Camp. It seemed so fun! You got to pretend to be an astronaut and wear a blue jumpsuit and sit in simulators and do…well, space-things. We’re not sure that we ever actually saw a contestant on one of these shows win the trip to Space Camp – which made it seem that much more mysterious and awesome. Did it really even exist? It was a lot like the trips to Universal Studios that were often offered but never won. Were these REAL places that REAL people could go to? We definitely had our doubts.

Well, guess who just went to Space Camp?

Our very own Absurd Adventurer, Caitlin! She spent a week in Huntsville, Alabama at the United States Space and Rocket Center learning what it takes to become an astronaut, going through flight simulators, wearing that fun blue jumpsuit, trying out equipment, scuba diving, and touring rocket museums.

She ACTUALLY WENT TO SPACE CAMP! We have all the stories and pictures from her trip to show you and, since, it really was the adventure of a lifetime, we’ve decided to present her experiences in a series we’re calling AN ABSURD ADVENTURER IN SPACE (CAMP)! Make sure you come back often to read each new story, or better yet, sign up for our mailing list (on the right) to get each entry sent right to your email.

Here are two pictures to show you that this all actually happened and to get you excited for what is to come:

What do YOU want to know about Caitlin's adventure? Leave us a comment with your question!

Welcome new readers!

noreply@blogger.com (Absurd Adventurers) — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 14:59:00 +0000

Well, hello! We've been getting a lot more visitors to our lil' ol' blog from a wonderful comment someone posted over at Smart, Pretty & Awkward and we would just like to say hello to all our new readers! We really hope that you like what you read and come back for more. Please, send us an email or leave a comment on a post - we would love to hear what you have to say!

Stranded on an Island in a Thunderstorm (part 2)

noreply@blogger.com (Absurd Adventurers) — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 23:51:00 +0000

Read "Part 1" here!

We wanted to leave at about 3:30 but didn't get everyone on board with the idea and packing up to go until about 4:30...when we saw really dark clouds start to roll in and heard thunder. Then came the heavy rain and lightening....

It wasn't just a heavy rain that we've seen before and knew would pass - we're talking a torrential downpour accompanied by lightening every 15-30 seconds, booming thunder that shook the ground, the darkest, most menacing-looking clouds we've ever seen, and no sign that it would start to pass any time soon. We all threw our towels over our heads and sat in a line on the long log bench we found, because, well...what else were we supposed to do?! Our only two choices were to shirk the traditional wisdom we've always heard and stay on the island surrounded by trees or get back in the boat to go home. We certainly were not going to go back into our little metal boat and risk the hour ride back (especially when it would have taken much longer than that on the lake which now looked like an ocean with very choppy waves) in a lightening storm - so we figured we'd at least be safer on land - despite the threat of one of the hundreds of trees around us being struck by lightening.

Even though we were all laughing at the ridiculous situation we now found ourselves in, we were started to get really scared! We were in the middle of the woods on a friggin' deserted island about an hour and a half from home during a really intense thunderstorm - of course we got scared! Every time we thought it was coming to an end, another, even worse round of rain, thunder, and lightening would pick up. As the minutes turned into a half hour, then an hour, we began to wonder if we would have to set up a makeshift camp and sleep there for the night!

All of a sudden, the winds began to blow so hard that we had to move all of our stuff behind one of the trees or we would have lost it all and the rain started to feel like little needles stabbing us. We started to laugh hysterically at the predicament we were in and also to convince ourselves that it was no big deal. We all huddled together in a circle because it started to get really cold - we were all shivering with goosebumps, we were soaking wet! We all had our towels up on our heads, which weighed a ton and were dripping. We were like a little group of witches all standing together like that in the woods in the middle of nowhere.

We finally decided to take advantage of a lull in the action and just go - even though some distant thunder could still be heard. We had to bail out the boat and then maneuver back down the (now slippery) tree trunk in our wet flip flops. We got going and our ride was very reminiscent of the lifeboat rides in "Titanic." We all had our life jackets on with our soaking wet, 10-pound towels wrapped around us, shivering (we were freezing by this point), with serious faces, no one talking or looking at each other. The hour and a half it took to get home felt like it took 8 and we had never been so happy to see a dock in our whole lives!

Once back home, it took us all a long time to get warm - we were freezing right down to our bones! Plus, with only one very low-flow shower and a small hot-water tank, conditions weren't great for the 5 of us to warm up quickly. However, seeing as how we doubted that we would ever actually be home again, we were definitely just happy to be out of the rain and off that stinkin' lake!

Stranded on an Island in a Thunder Storm (part 1)

noreply@blogger.com (Absurd Adventurers) — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 20:00:00 +0000

We made our annual pilgrimage to the great town of Eustis, Maine this summer and, for some reason, we were still surprised when we had one of the greatest adventures of our lives. If you've read our blog, you already know that although we vacation in Eustis every year, it's not exactly the most happening place in the world. Or in the country. Or the northeast. Or Maine. Or in the 30 mile radius between Maine and Canada. Anyway, what we're trying to say is that there is almost nothing to do in Eustis, Maine - but we have never had a shortage of fun or strange experiences while there, which is why we continue to go back and why it has become one of our favorite places in the world. (Check out our other Eustis posts here, here, and here!)

We decided to go out onto Flagstaff Lake for a nice day of boating and to have a picnic on one of the islands. And by "decided", I mean that we were told that's what we were going to do - and we weren't exactly excited about the idea. We've been on the lake many times, kayaking and boating, and we never saw any land that would be suitable to stop on. In our previous experience, we've only seen rocky shores, swampy water, downed tree branches, and overall dangerous-looking precipices not exactly conducive to a picnic. But, when you're in Eustis, Maine, any idea to do something is the idea that wins because there aren't too many ideas floating around.

So we all climbed into the little boat and set sail for about an hour, all of which was amazing. It was an overcast day which was great because it wasn't too hot and we weren't dying of skin cancer. The water was choppy, which always makes for a good time, and the views on Flagstaff Lake were absolutely beautiful. There are mountains completely surrounding the lake and and it is definitely worth going to if you ever get the chance. I don't know if we've ever seen such a serene, natural, beautiful landscape in all of our travels.

As we said, we were on the boat for about an hour until we reached our destination - which did not look like it could possibly be where we were actually stopping! We sort of crash-landed into some brush (Caitlin taking the brunt of that impact) and the only way to get up to land was to walk across a fallen tree trunk that stretched from its roots in the ground to the water.

Again, our hopes were not very high that it would be an enjoyable trip - and we were pleasantly surprised! The island turned out to be beautiful! It is actually a pretty popular camping spot, so there were fire pits and log-benches. The sun came out and we sat on rocks in the water eating sandwiches and reading books. It was windy so the bugs weren't too bad and everything just turned out to be way better than we expected!

But of course, everything eventually gets old and boring and we started getting antsy to leave. We wanted to leave at about 3:30 but didn't get everyone on board with the idea and packing up to go until about 4:30...when we saw really dark clouds start to roll in and heard thunder. Then came the heavy rain and lightening....

Stay tuned for part 2 of "Stranded on an Island in a Thunderstorm" coming soon!

noreply@blogger.com (Absurd Adventurers) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 17:34:00 +0000

Unfortunately we have been hit with a crazy October blizzard! Power is out all over the place, branches are covering the streets, and it's an overall sketchy situation. Although it is an AMAZING adventure and we do love it, it means that we were only able to visit 2 haunted house attractions this year! We usually average 4 a year so we're a bit disappointed in ourselves.

Check out our older posts! In 2009, we went to the Haunted Graveyard at Lake Compounce, Castle of Fear, Fright Kingdom, and Haunted Overload. In 2010, we revisited the Factory of Terror, Barrett's Haunted Mansion, and Castle of Fear.

This year, we were only able to get to the Factory of Terror, and Barrett's Haunted Mansion but in our extensive experience, we've found that these two are the reigning champions of haunted attractions in New England. So, even though we've only seen 2 this year, we think we definitely managed to get to the 2 best.

What are your haunted house stories from 2011? We'd love to hear them!

Return to Barrett's Haunted Mansion

noreply@blogger.com (Absurd Adventurers) — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 15:53:00 +0000

Last year, the winner of our unofficial "BEST HAUNTED HOUSE" contest went to Barrett's Haunted Mansion in Abington, MA (see last year's post here!) and were excited to return this year to see if it could defend its title.

This year, they are giving away free (with the purchase of a ticket) wristbands to celebrate their 20th year. They also have something that we've never seen before, a VIP pass that lets you skip the long line for an extra $20. We wouldn't recommend the VIP pass, however, because even though the line is EXTREMELY long, and is every year that we've gone, half the fun is waiting in line! We recommend bundling up because if you go, you'll definitely spend a lot of time waiting outside - but there is a tent to stand under, so this is the perfect haunted house to visit if you want to go on a rainy night. Like most haunted houses we've been to, there are people in costumes lurking around outside waiting to scare any unsuspecting customer waiting in line, but the people at Barrett's definitely have this part of the haunted house experience down pat. Their costumes/makeup are so intricate, detailed, and well-done (the best we've ever seen) and you can tell that they put a lot of time into what they're doing. They're also very good at sneaking up behind you and scaring the ISH out of you.

Once you finally get into the mansion (it will seem like it takes forever!), you'll be in for a very scary experience brought to you by true haunted house professionals. They've been doing this for 20 years and definitely know how to terrify you. We think that one of the best parts about Barrett's is just the fact that they put so much effort into creating the haunted house - nothing looks cheap or like it was just thrown together. Like every good haunted house, they go for the "surprise scare" by jumping out at you but there is something much creepier about Barrett's than any other haunted house we've been to. They know what scares people and they do a really great job at scaring EVERYONE.

The only downside to Barrett's Haunted Mansion (besides the long line) is how quickly you come out of it. It seems like you stand around waiting forever to finally get in, and it only takes a few minutes for it to be all over. However, once inside, there is no shortage of scary moments/actors - something happens every few seconds so maybe it just feels like it all happens in a blur.

We sent an email to the people over at Barrett's and here's what they had to say:

We do know the line can be VERY long on weekend nights, so each year we have been trying to add more and more things to see/do while you are waiting. This year we've got our characters (as always), movie clips/trivia showing under the screen, and the Beelzebubba's Human Freak show to try to help the time pass and to make sure everyone gets their moneys worth. We do spend a LOT of time with the planning and construction of our rooms, and after realizing that many people go through without seeing any of it, we've started our Lights On tour to give people a closer look at the rooms, makeup trailers, history of the house and more! All for just $5! Not bad for what could end up being a 45 minute tour! '

We're not quite finished with haunted houses yet - we still have two more to visit - so we can't declare a winner just yet but Barrett's Haunted Mansion is looking pretty good to take the crown again this year. We definitely suggest driving out to Abington, MA and paying the $18 to check it out! (Plus, if you go here you can print out a $3 coupon or take advantage of their VIP Pass!)

Have YOU been to Barrett's Haunted Mansion? Let us know what you thought!

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Factory of Terror (again!)

noreply@blogger.com (Absurd Adventurers) — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 19:08:00 +0000

Well, well, well, it's that time of year again! October. That means we have begun our visits to local haunted houses. Like every year, we started off with Factory of Terror in Fall, River, MA. We chose Factory of Terror as our first destination of the year because we've been three times before and it never fails to disappoint. (Check out last year's Factory of Terror post here!)

Being our first jump back into the world of haunted houses, we were more than willing to be scared, scream loudly, and jump out of the way. Although we obviously knew what to expect, being the haunted house aficionados that we are, we were, as usual, surprised by some of the new additions and changes made to the Factory of Terror. There is always a long line that stretches next to the foreboding building, along with creepy people who try to scare you while you wait. This time, however, we also got a free picture!:

As is our custom, we are not going to tell you anything about the inside of the attraction, or what you can expect to see. However, we will say that there is a large 3D section that provides some fun along with the typical haunted house fare. Last year, we had a WONDERFUL experience at the Factory of Terror due to one of its attractions that really messed with our minds and threw us all off guard due to the complete darkness, chainsaws, and lack of direction. It was new and interesting and something that we had never seen at a haunted house before or since. This year, they got rid of this particular attraction!! We understand the need to switch things up from year to year to keep it fresh and to keep people coming back for more but we would have loved to see them resurrect that attraction and try to incorporate it back into the Factory.

All in all, the Factory of Terror is a great haunted house and worth the $20. We were lucky to go on a relatively cool (not cold) night, but we recommend dressing warmly because you will be outside for awhile - every time we've gone there has been a pretty long line and wait time. The people behind Factory of Terror know what they're doing when it comes to haunted houses and are definitely doing something right - they always attract a big crowd and we can see why. (We also loved the haunted skeleton band!)

As usual, once we visit all the haunted houses this October, we will pick our favorite of the year and see if it can be beat next year! Last year, we chose Barrett's Haunted Mansion as our favorite - we'll see if it can defend it's title this year!

Boston Bruins Stanley Cup Parade!

noreply@blogger.com (Absurd Adventurers) — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 15:12:00 +0000

Although we haven't written about it before, we, here at Absurd Adventurers, are HUGE hockey fans. We have only been watching it for about 2 years but in that time we have gone to countless AHL games, an NHL game, and spent probably way too much time watching games on TV - and NEVER missing a game with our favorite team, the Boston Bruins.

This year, the Boston Bruins won the Stanley Cup. They WON THE STANLEY CUP. The Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins. The Boston Bruins are Stanley Cup Champions! We will never get tired of writing or saying that :)

So, when it was announced that there would be a rolling rally parade to celebrate this momentous occasion on Saturday June 18, there was no question in our minds that we would be there.

And of course it was an adventure.

The parade was set to start at 11 so we left at our house at 6:30 in the morning to take the T into Boston. Everything went so smoothly and we got to Boylston St. at around 8:30. We had a perfect spot right on the barricade and were so excited for the parade to begin! When the duck boats turned the corner and started to head toward us, the crowd went crazy! We got to see Chara, Claude Julien, Thornton, Seguin, Savard, Kaberle, Krejci, Rask, Peverley, Ference, and Campbell and were able to get a pretty good look at Lucic and Horton, even though they were on the other side. We seemed to miss a bunch of players because they were on the side opposite of us but we still got some really great pictures and it was just really fun being there - especially when they blew black and gold confetti from a truck and played "Dirty Water."

We left pretty much immediately after the duck boats passed us and discovered that it wouldn't be as easy to get home as it was to get there! After a mistake that put us on the wrong train, we got to Kenmore Station to get on the right train - and train after train after train after train stopped and were so packed with people in Bruins shirts that we couldn't even get on any of them! The doors would open and it was just a wall of people looking at us like we better not even think about getting on because there was no room.

By the 4th or 5th train, Caitlin made the executive decision to do whatever it took to get on - we were so tired and hungry! Thankfully a couple people got off and we were able to wedge ourselves in in very uncomfortable and unsafe positions. It was so hard to stay in balance!! Our stop was the very last the train would make so we got to experience a ridiculous phenomenon that seemed to happen at every single stop. Every time the train opened its doors, the lights and air would shut off and multiple people (whose arms and hands had nowhere else to go but to grab the ceiling) would bang on the ceiling to get it all to turn back on - which of course was accompanied by cheers from the rest of the people onboard.

When we finally got back to our car, we realized just how hungry we really were! We decided to stop at Panera (which we love) and when we were leaving there, we met two older women who complimented us on our Bruins-themed outfits. When we told them that we went to the parade, we opened the floodgates of conversation! We got to hear about them moving here from Maryland in the '70s, the great Bobby Orr, big crowds, Tim Thomas needing some tough love (which we didn't understand), men with beards vs. men without (including one of the women's husbands who apparently looks like a plucked chicken without a beard), the Vancouver riots, tall, dark, and handsome hockey players, and more until we could finally make our escape! It was honestly the perfect kooky ending to a wild day!

Revisiting the Papier-Mâché Dress Form

noreply@blogger.com (Absurd Adventurers) — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 18:20:00 +0000

Although we have been slacking in adventures lately, warm weather is just around the corner and that always means ridiculous stories and wild drives, so we'll be sure to post some new fun very shortly.

In the meantime, we have noticed that many of the people who come to Absurd Adventurers do so through our post "Papier-Mâché Dress Form" that we wrote all the way back on January 30, 2010. We realized that we never wrote a follow up about that project or whether or not it actually worked. Well...........

it was a complete bust.

If you decide to make your own dress form out of papier-mâché, we suggest letting it fully dry before cutting it off. However, this is difficult because you will have to face hypothermia, numb limbs, claustrophobia, and a general uncomfortable feeling for a few hours. If you can power through all of these side effects and can actually wait for everything to dry before cutting it off, it will probably be much easier to reassemble it and have a workable dress form.

Although we waited for the top layer of paper to harden, we ended up cutting it all off before the bottom layers had a chance to dry and when we put it somewhere safe to dry, it ended up getting misshapen and it was impossible to glue up the side and actually make it work.

Now, Caitlin has a professional dress form and, even though it obviously costs a lot more than a homemade one, it's definitely worth the money.

How did you get here?! Vol. 4

noreply@blogger.com (Absurd Adventurers) — Sun, 05 Dec 2010 15:54:00 +0000

It's that time again when the adventures are few and far between because of other priorities and we begin to look back on all the fun we've had, including the wild things people search to find us.

"spots on lungs"
Sorry, but we don't have emphysema. And we hope you don't either.

"to be hungry"
How 'bout you conjugate that verb and get back to us.

"hell"
We just really love thinking that someone typed "hell" into Google and our blog came up. We say it would fit better under "Heaven" or even "Purgatory" but I guess "hell" will do.

"disappointed in you"
Sorry :(

"zero regrets apolo ohno"
Well, 6 weeks of physical therapy later, Caitlin's number 1 regret is pretending to be Apolo Ohno...

"fear the dragon"
Fear the dragon, slay the soul, take down the beast.

"feet stuck in glue"
We both have wanted to walk on paste before so this might finally give us a reason to!

"jungle ops"
For once, we feel that whoever searched for this was accurately directed to the right blog! JUNGLE OPS 24/7/365 TCB ALL DAY EVERY DAY!

Castle of Fear

noreply@blogger.com (Absurd Adventurers) — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 21:55:00 +0000

Last night we drove to Haverhill, MA to go to the Castle of Fear at Winnekenni Castle. This is our second time going in two years and this year, it definitely out-did itself. It was raining when we went last year so we were only able to go in the castle, in the 3D tunnel, and do laser tag but this year, we were able to do so much more!

First of all, this haunted house is much more than just a haunted house, it was more like a small carnival - complete with the smell of fried dough, carnival games, and a funhouse. We went into the castle first and it felt a lot longer and scarier than it was last year. Part of the fun of the castle is the anticipation you feel in all of the attractions. There are times when it seems like nothing is going to happen and, like a good psychological thriller, you're on edge the whole time just waiting for something to happen - which, it always does and results in a lot of screaming.

We then moved on to the "Treacherous Tunnel of Terror" (the people at Castle of Fear definitely win the award for best haunted house names) which was all 3D paint and black lights that made it really hard to tell the difference between real and fake. After that, we went to "The Vile Vertex of Vertigo", which we have been on before in another haunted house but it never fails to blow our minds with how weird it makes you feel. We're not exactly sure of the names of the last thing we went on but it was the typical carnival ride: the one where you stand up, spin around super fast, get stuck to the wall, and feel like you're going to throw up. It was pretty great to get to ride a summertime staple like that at the end of October. Oh! We also got to go on a ride that we were sure only existed in the movies - you'll have to go to see what we mean.

Even though the Castle of Fear wasn't the scariest haunted house we've ever been to or the largest, it was definitely worth going to - and yes, we did get spooked more than a few times. One of our favorite things about the castle and accompanying attractions was the fact that all the people working there seemed to have a great sense of humor about what they were doing. The whole idea of a haunted house is pretty ridiculous, so hearing the people laugh at us after scaring us half to death was pretty awesome.

We would definitely recommend going to the Castle of Fear - especially as a large group or with your family. There are a lot of things to do besides just going through the haunted house(s) and little kids would probably love it!

Barrett's Haunted Mansion

noreply@blogger.com (Absurd Adventurers) — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 15:15:00 +0000

On this most recent Friday haunted house trip, we went to Barrett’s Haunted Mansion in Abington, MA. The line to get in was SO LONG and it felt like it took forever to get inside. It wasn’t bad, though, because they played the creepy parts from a bunch of different scary movies on this huge screen hanging from the tent over the line, so it was actually kind of cool standing there and seeing all different important scenes from movies we’ve seen and some we’ve never even heard of (which reminds us that we need to see Jacob's Ladder.) It also started raining when we were waiting, but, again, they have a tent you can stand under so the weather isn't really a problem. Also, there are tons of people dressed up walking in and out of the line scaring people, which helps to pass the time.

I just want to go out on a limb and say that even though we have only been to two haunted houses so far this year, Barrett’s Haunted Mansion was definitely the best. We went there once two years ago and I can’t remember it being as good as it was this year. Of course we’re not going to tell you what the rooms are like or what happens once inside, but we will tell you that if you can only go to one haunted house, this one should be the one you go to. The only drawback was that it felt like it was a really long wait for only a few minutes of actually being inside the place. However, it was so awesome and scary inside it that we think it was worth it. You know it’s a good place when the person in your group who never gets scared actually gets scared! We like to think that, at this point, we've become pretty familiar with the typical haunted house setups and tricks (and we still love them all) but there were some things in Barrett's Haunted Mansion that we've never seen before! It was definitely worth the trip to Abington and we're sure we'll be going back again and again to see the new things they add to the "mansion."

Factory of Terror

noreply@blogger.com (Absurd Adventurers) — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 19:46:00 +0000

October is finally here, which means that we have begun our annual tour of as many haunted houses as we possibly can get to before Halloween! Our first trip this year was to a place we first went to two years ago, The Factory of Terror in Fall River, MA. We didn’t go to the Factory last year, and we weren’t sure what to expect because it was the first haunted house we ever went to and it is the one that kicked off our annual tradition. We didn’t know if it would seem less scary to us now that we’ve been to so many, or if it would be exactly the same as the first time we visited it. Either way, we were excited to finally start going to haunted houses again.

We went on a Friday night and the line was long, but it moved pretty quickly. There was a video outside to hold us over before we made it inside and once we did, there was another line to wait in. However, like I said, it moved pretty quickly and before we knew it, it was our turn. We are not going to give anything away, of course, but we both got really scared and had a lot of fun when we were in the Factory. There were so many different rooms to go through and even though there were some of the same things as the last time we went, there were also so many things that were new - or maybe we just couldn't remember that well.

We would definitely suggest going to The Factory of Terror because it's really well done and is actually really scary. It's also completely indoors (except waiting in the initial line to get in) which makes it perfect for rainy and cold nights. The best part of the Factory is the last room that you'll go through - it's the perfect mix of terror and confusion that seems to last for so long but only lasts for a little while. We don't want to ruin the "surprise" but we will say that the last room made us lose all track of time and space...which was crazy and awesome.

Using The Factory of Terror as our first haunted house of the "season" was a really good idea. It's a great place to go and it somehow always manages to make us fall or bruise. Our throats also got sore from screaming, which can't be anything but a good sign. We definitely recommend checking it out.

Mt Wachusett 7 Trail Loop - Guest post!

noreply@blogger.com (Absurd Adventurers) — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 20:31:00 +0000

Wachusett Mountain Loop- My own version- 7 trails in total

Difficulty: 3-4*

Views: 7-8

Miles: 5.16

Time: 4:23. I would say w/out the excessive stopping I did it to catch my breath it would be about 3.5 hrs.

Info: dogs are allowed on leashes.

Tip: BRING YOUR TRAIL MAP! Grab one free in the visitor’s center.

We began at the main visitor center parking lot and headed out on the Bicentennial Trail. This part of the trail was very easy…just a nice little stroll in the woods. Past the stone stairway that leads to the Pine Hill Trail (most direct very steep trail to the top). We kept going. We then accidently veered off the trail we meant to take and ended up taking a steeper route called Loop Trail…took a right onto Mountain House Trail straight to the summit. The Loop & Mountain House were pretty steep and always up hill. We then arrived at the summit. The summit had a few picnic tables and portable facilities. Also a small pond with some colorful fish to look at. It was a bit hazy view wise but I imagine it would have been really nice on a clear day.

The way back I wanted to get in some miles so we then picked up Harrington Trail , located near the tall radio like tower at the summit. The beginning part of the Harrington Trail was pretty steep and rocky….carefully picking where to step on the rocks. We then crossed over several trails and roads staying on Harrington for a very long time. Harrington was very well signed. We then took a left onto Stage Coach Trail which passes right by the windmill farm. You can hear the hum/buzz of the windmills for much of this part of the hike. Stage Coach Trail ends up on a road which has a couple options. “Administration Road Trail” or the one we took…Echo Lake Trail…just past this on the left. This takes you past Echo Lake and onto High Meadow Trail. We then took a right turn back onto Bicentennial Trail. This part of Bicentennial is very narrow and towards the end was like a rocky graveyard….having to pick our footing VERY carefully. We were pretty tired by this point and each step was a little shaky.

Overall Assessment: Great variety. There are a bunch of trails to choose from- steep to more round about. Forest to meadow. We were really able to make our own route by keeping a close eye on our trail map. Most trails are signed really well though we did veer off track once.

*My rating system: for now, I will use a mostly flat trail as 1 and Mt Monadnock as my 5. I’m sure once I tackle Mt Kilimanjaro that will become my 5 w/Monadnock falling to a 3….but for now it holds my highest rating.

-By: Stacey via climbingforhealth.com

Wildcat Mountain Ziprider

noreply@blogger.com (Absurd Adventurers) — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 23:24:00 +0000

Our major goal of this summer was to go ziplining while on vacation in New Hampshire. We looked around and "researched" a bunch of places and figured that, for what we were looking for, the Ziprider at Wildcat Mountain would be the best option. A ride on the zipline cost $20 (with an additional ride costing $10) and we were pumped! Right when we got there we knew it was going to be INCREDIBLE so we just kept saying that word over and over again. We got there around 1:00pm and we couldn't actually go on the Ziprider until 4:00pm, so we took a little trail to see a waterfall.

We were on the trail with our brother and sister and, of course, had to make it more interesting than just walking to the waterfall. Every time the ziprider went by, it sounded like a helicopter - so obviously we started playing Vietnam War and ran through the trail ducking and hiding from the Viet Cong. Once we got to the waterfall we all decided to take advantage of the opportunity to show off our jungle cat skills and hike up and around the waterfall. We also decided that it would be way more interesting, fun, and dangerous to abandon the trail back and just walk along the river. We got to pretend to be Huck Finn and Jim as we jumped over rocks, balanced on trees that fell across the river, and scale rock walls to avoid getting wet. Even if we left and went home after jungle-catting through the river, the day would have definitely been worth it.

But that wasn't the end! The fun was just beginning! We had to take a ski-lift up onto a mountain (which forced Caitlin to face her intense fear of heights) and then walk up another hill to get to the actual Ziprider. There's not much for me to write about the actual experience except that it was amazing! We were sitting in a chair harness and went about a half a mile down the mountain - with beautiful views all around us. Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take our camera on the actual ride, so these pictures will have to suffice.

We highly recommend going to Wildcat Mountain and trying out the Ziprider if you find yourself in New Hampshire with an extra $20. You won't regret it, we promise!

How Did You Get Here?! Vol. 3

noreply@blogger.com (Absurd Adventurers) — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 01:17:00 +0000

We love finding out the search terms people used to end up at our site because a lot of them are RIDICULOUS and we're sure the people who got here wonder how they ended up reading about adventures around New England. So, here is our third installment of "How Did You Get Here?!"

1. "the scariest thing in the world"
I don't really like the idea of someone finding my sister and I when they tried finding the scariest thing in the whole world, but it's cool. We're not sure what the definitive "scariest thing" is in the world, but here are our votes:
-whales
-deep ocean water
-robots
-aliens

2. "octopus people"
We didn't know such a thing existed! We hope that you found that we are not, in fact, octopus people but we have seen an octopus before (New England Aquarium) and we have been in touch with some pretty kooky people (Alien Communication) so, if we find some octopus people in the future, we'll definitely post our conversation with them!

3. "hardware store logo"
We somehow find ourselves in hardware stores in a lot of different places, despite the fact that neither of us is particularly handy around the house, nor do we love hammers and nails. If we did decide to open our own hardware store, however, we'd probably call it "Hard? Where? Here!" and the logo would have someone with a hammer and overalls delighted at finding our store.

4. "paper mache hot air balloon"
We don't suggest trying to make one of these or actually use one - it doesn't sound very safe.

5. "face looking up"
We often go to places that require us to look up but that is usually not the best part of the adventure so we rarely take pictures or describe ourselves doing it, sorry.

6. "awesome face"
Glad you found exactly what you were looking for!

7. "i want to look like that guy"
This one makes me sad and I hope that whoever searched for it realized that they should be happy looking like themselves.

8. "oh no you didn't"
Oh....yea we did.

9. "jesus is everywhere"
But I don't think you found him here...

10. "it was never easy for me"
We hope that reading some of our adventures made life a little bit easier for you.

Purgatory Chasm

noreply@blogger.com (Absurd Adventurers) — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 14:20:00 +0000

Purgatory Chasm is one of those places that you hear about a million times, like Spider Gates, if you grow up in Massachusetts - but, for some reason, we've never been before! We've heard so much about it but when we decided to go a couple days ago, we didn't really know what to expect. Even though it's hard, we really try not to make any assumptions (see: Tips for a Successful Adventure) about places we're going to because we don't want to get there and then be disappointed, but...we couldn't help it with this one. We expected it to be kind of boring, a really quick trip, nothing exciting.

And when we got there we were pleasantly surprised! There were tons of cars in the parking lot and we saw people walking by us with legit hiking gear and we knew that it was going to be way better than what we had anticipated. Caitlin was especially excited because she knew she would have another chance to practice and show off her jungle-cat climbing skills.

Even though there were a lot of people there, and lots of kids, we managed to be alone most of the time so that we could explore and, of course, stage photo ops.

Once again, we wish that we brought a lunch because by the time we were done with the "Chasm Loop", we were hungry and tired - but mostly hot because we picked an 85 degree day to do this. Also, there are tons of picnic tables and a gazebo that would have been so cute to have lunch under.

All in all, Purgatory Chasm was a great idea and a great way to spend our midmorning. We would definitely recommend it and I'm sure we'll end up going again.

Mt. Wachusett

noreply@blogger.com (Absurd Adventurers) — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 19:45:00 +0000

One of our bucket list items is to climb a mountain even though we've done it before in Atlanta, GA. We've both climbed Stone Mountain a couple times but we decided not to make our list based on things we've already done so we headed out to climb Mt. Wachusett in Princeton, MA. The decision to go was sort of last-minute so we didn't make the usual preparations - we didn't even pack a lunch! But we both figured that it couldn't be THAT strenuous or difficult so we wouldn't even be hungry.

I love being trail master whenever we go exploring at wildlife sanctuaries and other places so I chose Pine Hill Trail because it looked to be the shortest way to the top. It might have occurred to us that this would also probably be the steepest trail, but...it didn't. However, before we even got to the mountain, we took a little detour to Redemption Rock (accidentally, of course.) According to the website, this rock is GREAT because it is large and historic and, if you're especially into over-sized rocks, we're sure it's very exciting. We weren't exactly thrilled by it, though, even though Caitlin did get to use her jungle-cat instincts to climb to the top.

Oh, and if you do check out Redemption Rock (which we would recommend as part of a day-long exploring trip, not as the highlight of your day), please be careful driving down the dirt and rock path - it's very easy to lose control of your car when going over the rocks......

Once we got to the mountain, we were pumped to get started because we both had on our best hiking outfits and we planned on being pro-hiker the whole way up. We moved from Bicentennial Trail to Pine Hill Trail and, almost immediately, we realized that this was going to be a lot more exercise than we anticipated. Maybe it has something to do with constantly hearing about Mt. Wachusett skiing, watching the commercials on TV, and the idea that the mountain is in Massachusetts, but we thought it was going to be pretty flat the whole time - which makes no sense considering that we knew we were climbing a MOUNTAIN.

There were rock "stairs" almost the whole way up which made it easier but we also were laughing the entire time, which took a lot of our energy and made us really tired. Our pride was also bruised when a huge group of kids from the Boys & Girls Club came down looking like they were doing the easiest thing in the world. However, we did make it to the top and it only took us about 20-25 minutes (with frequent breaks!) The "summit" was great because it was so breezy and cool and you could see really far. It probably would have been better if we chose a day with less clouds, but it was still really beautiful and we both thought it was worth the hike. It would have been the perfect place to have a cute lunch but, again, we were unprepared for that.

When we were walking back down the mountain the thing that we had both been waiting for finally happened...I slipped on a rock and slid down the rocky path. I don't know that I have ever heard Caitlin laugh so hard or long in her whole life and we both had to sit down for a good 3 minutes until we got over our laughing enough to keep going.

All in all, the trip was definitely worth it and we plan on doing it again but using a different trail. If you do happen to spend the day there, we recommend the Countryside Cafe on the way back (in Sterling) because we had amazing sandwiches in the cutest little building you could ever find.

Kayaking!

noreply@blogger.com (Absurd Adventurers) — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 22:39:00 +0000

We have already written a post or two about good ol' Eustis, Maine and how little there is to do there - unless you love the outdoors. This year, we decided to embrace all that this little town has to offer and our first adventure was kayaking! We've always wanted to try it out and we found the best deal we have ever seen before - $10 kayak rental...for the whole day! Around here you can usually rent a kayak for about $10 an hour but in Eustis, they live a different kind of lifestyle: one where they don't try to rip you off.

We went out on Flagstaff Lake and at first, we had no idea what we were doing. The lady who showed us where they kept the kayaks out back deserted us (which we actually liked way more than if she had stayed to try to help us) and we had to drag them down a steep hill to get into the water. Getting in/pushing off in the kayaks proved to be pretty unwieldy for us since we've had no experience in that area whatsoever but we soon figured it out and....

We discovered our life's calling! We were SO GOOD at kayaking! It's probably not the hardest "sport" in the world to pick up on - after all, it's just the rotation of your arms - but we were way better at it than we thought we would be! We kayaked for about an hour until we got to where we were staying, got out, had lunch and watched Avatar (probably what everyone does after they've been kayaking for an hour) and then got back on them when the sun was setting to bring them back where we got them.

Even though it was such a great adventure in itself, the whole kayaking-thing could not have happened without something ridiculous occurring because then it would not have been a typical Kathryn and Caitlin adventure. When we got back to where we originally set out from, we remembered the steep hill that we would now have to drag the kayaks UP - with sore arms and wet flip flops. Caitlin could not get a good footing in her flip flops and kept slipping out of them, almost slicing her foot open and eroding the dirt shore in the process. But, it all worked out alright and we now have a new favorite hobby that we hope to practice every chance we get.

Things that go Bump in the Night (guest post!)

noreply@blogger.com (Absurd Adventurers) — Tue, 18 May 2010 11:58:00 +0000

We may think that the notion of a haunted house is just a silly fabrication of the over-imaginative kind, but there are plenty of people who insist that they have had paranormal experiences in the same buildings that others have had. Going to see for yourself is a sure thrill and we’ve picked a couple of locations that will, word has it, test your poker face to the max.

Sanatoriums are top candidates for ghostly sightings and the Waverly Hills Sanatorium in Louisville Kentucky is a prime example. This famous former tuberculosis hospital features ghostly nurses, shadows and deathly voices emanating from the attic, having treated thousands of patients during the ‘white plague’ of the 1920’s. By far the scariest spot in the sanatorium is the Body Chute, a tunnel down which deceased TB patients were sent to be collected by hearses at the bottom of the hill. All areas of the sanatorium is accessible to the public via private tours, but tour places are extremely limited and are often fully booked for months in advance. Sleepovers are recommended for the ardent thrill seekers.

For a floaty experience ghost hunters should definitely visit the HMS Queen Mary on Long Beach, an enormous ship larger than the Titanic that was initially an ocean liner before becoming a military transport vessel during WWII, before again becoming an ocean liner. With such a wide repertoire and 49 reported on-board deaths it is no surprise that paranormal activity on the ship is regularly documented, with apparently at least 150 known spirits lurking on the ship.

The hottest spot for ghost hunters is the engine room located 50 feet below water, complete with an 18 year old crewman who died in 1966 making a regular appearance. The two onboard swimming pools also sport some really strange activity ranging from unexplained wet footprints and splashing, to a 13 year old girl, Jackie. The ship has a fully-featured entertainment centre open to the public with guest rooms, Art Deco salons, restaurants and shops, but it is only the well-informed that know where to look.

Often called the ‘haunted house inside a prison’, the Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia Pennsylvania has been certified as ‘haunted’ by SyFy channel’s Ghost Hunters. Having made two trips to the prison, Ghost Hunters came away utterly convinced. The prison was built in 1829 and held 1,700 prisoners at its peak, even though it was designed to hold only 250 prisoners and is most famous for hosting Al Capone, the casino owning mobster.

As early as the 1940’s employees as well as prisoners started reporting unusual activity, with Cellblock 4, 6 and 12 the most notorious. However it is the catwalk featured on Ghost Hunters that is the hotbed of activity. As a historical site the prison is open to the public during the day for unguided or guided visits, however access to the prison at night can be arranged if booked well in advance in a group of at least 20.

Until we’ve seen for ourselves we’ll have to remain skeptical, but there are too many documented reports at these sites that simply cannot be ignored - so for now we’ll wait to hear from you!

Apolo Ohno

noreply@blogger.com (Absurd Adventurers) — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 16:12:00 +0000

Here's just a tip - maybe you knew this, maybe you didn't - but it's best not to pretend to be Apolo Ohno the first time you ever go ice skating in your life....