Summer Plan: 100 Radical Experiences

Do you have a plan for your summer yet? If not, here's some ideas to get you started, most which relate to survival and preparedness, others which will allow you to look fear in the eye and wink.

1. Go sky diving.


2. Go bungie jumping.


3. Go camping.


4. Go on an extended backpacking trip (seven days or more).


5. Do an epic physical challenge (marathon, month plus bike trip, etc).


6. Get ripped (in three months you can make some major improvements to your health and fitness).


7. Can fruit and vegetables.


8. Go geocaching.


9. Get your HAM radio operator's license.


10. Spend the summer boating (everything from a canoe to a kayak to a sailboat).


11. Make pickles.


12. Make jam.


13. Buy a whole animal on the hoof and dress it out yourself.


14. Go fishing.


15. Learn to SCUBA dive.


16. Participate in a contest (this, for example).


17. Join your local Search and Rescue as a volunteer.


18. Volunteer to teach merit badge-related topics to your local Boy Scout troop.


19. Do some home repairs yourself instead of hiring it done.


20. Empty out your BOB and replenish/update it.


21. Install a stellar security system in your home.


22. Join your local shooting range and actually participate (maintenance projects, shooting leagues, etc).


23. Become an "Extreme Couponer" and stock up your year's supply of food on the cheap.


24. Travel to a foreign country.


25. Apply for a passport.


26. Take the family on a road trip.


27. Write that book you have always been meaning to write.


28. Take a summer intensive foreign language course (or any other course you are interested in).


29. Get lost in the woods and find your way out with a map and compass.


30. Spend the day in the city observing people. What do you see? Bonus points if you blog about your experience.


31. Have the mother of all garage sales and use the proceeds to bulk up your emergency fund.


32. Check out a bundle of survival/preparedness-related books from the library and spend your lazy summer days reading up on these important topics.


33. Learn a new skill (how to ride a motorcycle, how to trap an animal, how to paint, etc).


34. Get all of your paperwork in order: update your Will, check your insurance coverages, update your home inventory, etc.


35. Do a "no spend" week...or month (in which you don't spend a single penny for the duration).


36. Go to garage sales and swap meets and learn how to haggle.


37. Barter for something.


38. Make a piece of furniture by hand.


39. Sew a complete outfit.


40. Raise a garden (or even just a few items on your windowsill).


41. Spend an entire day with each family member (a good bonding opportunity).


42. Get ready for hunting season.


43. Swim outside (lake, river, ocean. Be careful!).


44. Learn how to smoke meat and fish (you can even make your own smoker).


45. Cook all of your meals outside for the day (if you want to get fancy you can rig up a pizza oven or bake something in a Dutch oven covered with coals).


46. Create an adventure for the family or your survival team (scavenger hunt, for example).


47. Try a series of unfamiliar ethnic restaurants.


48. Put together an emergency fund (at least six month's worth of expense money saved).


49. Plant a tree that will outlive you.


50. Start a side business.


51. Learn how to rock climb.


52. Go to an adult summer camp (like this, for example, or this).


53. Take a CPR/first aid course and become certified (or better yet, take an EMT course).


54. Improve a system(s) in your home (add solar power, change out your old hot water tank for an on-demand system, etc).


55. Cook every meal at home for a week and be creative (note, each person in the family should take on this challenge rotating weeks so everyone learns this important skill).


56. Go to a casino and become proficient in all of the games.


57. Change your look completely--new haircut, new wardrobe, maybe some hair dye, etc.


58. Try something completely insane (ideas here. Disclaimer: we aren't responsible for your death or injury, proceed at your own risk).


59. Pick up a new hobby (golf, fly fishing, wood working, etc).


60. Go to a major summer event like Sturgis, Burning Man, or Maker Faire.


61. Watch a variety of TED presentations and become inspired.


62. Get a complete physical/check up and ensure you are in good health (or find out what issues you need to fix).


63. Challenge yourself to pay cash for everything for one month this summer, it will totally change your outlook on buying lots of random stuff.


64. Forage for food this summer (berries, mushrooms, shellfish, nuts, tree fruit, etc).


65. Put together a mastermind group (or survival team) and hold regular meetings.


66. Explore your state/local area. Pay attention to possible evacuation routes and potential bug out places.


67. Sign up for a fitness class (parkour or martial arts would be good options).


68. Walk the streams and trails of your county (there's probably lots more than you ever knew about).


69. Go through all of your outdoor gear and make any needed repairs/replacement of items.


70. Go to a HAM fest.


71. Join your local Volksmarch group or hiking group (it's good exercise, good motivation, and you will learn a lot about your local area).


72. Become a certified lifeguard.


73. Get a tattoo or a piercing.


74. Spend a weekend living with no electricity in your home.


75. Take a week-long digital sabbatical (no email, no FaceBook, no internet, no TV, etc).


76. Learn how to fly a plane.


77. Build your kids a fort.


78. Go places that put you out of your element (example: biker bars for some, churches for others).


79. Join and participate in survival/preparedness-related forums.


80. Raise an animal for food (everything from rabbits to chickens to pigs to cows).


81. Drive something bigger than the family mini van (a backhoe or semi truck for example).


82. Develop a solid retirement plan.


83. Set a big financial goal and reach it (everything from paying off a debt to having X amount of money in savings by the end of summer).


84. Do the 100-100-100 challenge (100 sit ups, 100 push ups, 100 squat thrusts).


85. Quit a vice (smoking, drinking excessively, etc).


86. Play in a poker tournament.


87. Register to vote.


88. Participate in the political process (everything from sitting in on a city council meeting to see how local politics works to volunteering for a national campaign).


89. Practice your tactical and off-road driving skills.


90. Chop and dry all of your firewood for the next winter season.


91. Go streaking or skinny dipping.


92. Talk yourself into a place that the average person would not be able to access.


93. Do a food challenge a la Man vs Food.


94. Make an entire weekend's worth of meals only from food your have foraged/hunted yourself.


95. Make your own beer, wine, or whiskey.


96. Give a speech in front of a large group of people.


97. Create a panic room in your home.


98. Find out what "they" know about you. Get your credit reports and your FBI file.


99. Mentor someone (this doesn't have to be career-related, you can teach someone how to be better prepared for disaster or for life).


100. Create your own radical challenge for the summer (the list is endless--it could be a blog challenge, a swim with the sharks or ride in a MiG challenge, a "let's sneak into Cuba challenge", or any other off-the-wall feat you can dream up).