What do we do for hobbies?

[VirtualRussel]

Until my oldest finally leaves for college in another year my hobby is Figure Skating Mom.

When we first moved to Michigan in '02 we signed our 2 year old daughter (our only one at the time) up for figure skating. My being a dumb redneck from Tennessee figured if she learned while young then she won't be a wall hugger liker me the rest of her life. Little did I know how much she'd love it and how good she would be at it. Unfortunately I had no clue how insanely expensive this sport is until it was too late. For the last 7 years she's competed on a national level and that means 20+ hours of ice/week year round, 4 coaches, and two new pairs of figure skates per year.

What that means for me is for the past 8 years I've been the Vice President of the Board of Directors for our figure skating club, chair two-three regional figure skating competitions each year, joint-produce a very large ice show each year, and get called around the country to announce at competitions.

After all of this I don't have any more money or time to have a hobby outside of my Jeeps. Not to sound too much like a MasterCard commercial, watching my daughter learn what it truly takes to succeed as well as watching her peers grow up over the past 15 years doing the thing they love the most makes it priceless and I wouldn't trade it for anything.

 

[Chris]

Until my oldest finally leaves for college in another year my hobby is Figure Skating Mom.

When we first moved to Michigan in '02 we signed our 2 year old daughter (our only one at the time) up for figure skating. My being a dumb redneck from Tennessee figured if she learned while young then she won't be a wall hugger liker me the rest of her life. Little did I know how much she'd love it and how good she would be at it. Unfortunately I had no clue how insanely expensive this sport is until it was too late. For the last 7 years she's competed on a national level and that means 20+ hours of ice/week year round, 4 coaches, and two new pairs of figure skates per year.

What that means for me is for the past 8 years I've been the Vice President of the Board of Directors for our figure skating club, chair two-three regional figure skating competitions each year, joint-produce a very large ice show each year, and get called around the country to announce at competitions.

After all of this I don't have any more money or time to have a hobby outside of my Jeeps. Not to sound too much like a MasterCard commercial, watching my daughter learn what it truly takes to succeed as well as watching her peers grow up over the past 15 years doing the thing they love the most makes it priceless and I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Ahhh, I can't relate entirely, but a bit.

Our daughter is 4 and she's doing ballet, gymnastics soccer and I'm getting her into guitar. Between the money I pay for all of that, I don't have time (or money) for many other hobbies either.

We're really just trying to let her do as much as we can, that way she can hopefully find something she is good at and "settle" into it.

 

[VirtualRussel]

We're really just trying to let her do as much as we can, that way she can hopefully find something she is good at and "settle" into it.

I really feel that's the right way to do it and that's exactly what we did with her. This was the sport she kept navigating right back to. My only advice is try to encourage her in a sport she can practice for free in the back yard ;-)

The unexpected result of all of her figure skating is twofold. 1) She wins every "dizzy bat race" she enters because she doesn't get dizzy and 2) when she was in drivers ed and wore the "drunk" goggles she could walk a straight line better than I could normally. I quickly reminded her that it's just one of the field sobriety tests she could get.

 

[PCO6]

Us Boy Scouts appreciate the parents who repeatedly sacrifice their time for the benefit of our experience in scouting. Thank you!

Did you go through scouting when you were younger?

Thanks! I appreciate the comment. I was in Scouting from the late '50s to late '60s. Me and my buddy Duke. Things were a LOT different then of course. If I'd been a Leader first I would have been a better Scout (lol). Kind of like if I coached first I would have been a better player.

Like most kids other interests took over back then. That much hasn't changed. On my second go around during the '90s & early '00s we had a hard time keeping kids interested as they got older. One thing that struck me as an adult was the number of single Moms who came to us hoping we could provide their sons with guidance and get them interested in the outdoors. We were happy to do it. I don't remember that being a problem when I was a kid ... but I probably wasn't paying attention.

I'd happily go back for a third go around but being in my mid 60s and having no kids involved they'd probably take way too long to process the police check (extra scrutiny and all).

 

[Chris]

I really feel that's the right way to do it and that's exactly what we did with her. This was the sport she kept navigating right back to. My only advice is try to encourage her in a sport she can practice for free in the back yard ;-).

Ha, great minds think alike.

I tell my wife that whatever she ends up doing, it needs to be something she can practice at home (or in the backyard) so that she can practice whenever she wants. I feel for you... You're probably driving her to and from practice all the damn time!

 

[VirtualRussel]

You're probably driving her to and from practice all the damn time!

The day she turned 16 was the last time I had to leave the house at 5 AM for morning ice :-D

 

[Mike_H]

Im interested in so many things, the last couple of years, I've tried to focus my attention on just a couple hobbies. I play ice hockey twice a week. It keeps me in shape, and is probably the most fun I've ever had playing a sport. I was a three sport athlete in high school, but hockey wasn't offered then. Picked it up as an adult, and wish I would have been able to play when I was younger. I also play around with garden tractors, though that hobby is taking a backseat to the Jeep (by design). I have one more tractor to finish a full nut and bolt rebuild, and I'll be done with that. I also hunt, fish, and camp. The hunting piece comes along with being into guns, and I do a fair amount of amateur gunsmithing. Finally, I have a boat to float around on in the summer. Don't really consider that a hobby tho, as it doesn't take much time between trips.

 

[BumbleJeep]

lots of similarities in this crew! Summer time lots of dirt biking with my son, and adventure/road rides with friends. Love being outdoors! Like @VirtualRussel and @Chris, in the winter time I am a slave to the sport my 13yr old son clicked into - Freeride skiing. He's now competing all over the northwest. He's been skiing since he was 3, and passed my abilities years ago. So rewarding!

I'm also a Boy Scout leader, and completely enjoy all of the activities backpacking and camping and watching these boys grow up and learn.

And I love building stuff! Car & motorcycle hobbies my whole life - the TJ is the latest and is a blast!!

 

[JMT]

I was a Boy Scout aquatics director in the 90's at a camp in SE Oklahoma. Had great fun on the river, fishing for river cats. Love mountain biking, three of my kids ride too, guns and hunting every year, skiing once a year either in NM or CO. Woodworking is one I've picked up and been working on for five years now. Built my first cabinets for the house last year. More planned this year. And the Jeep now. All the engine, transmission and suspension details are new for me, even though my dad managed a Chief Auto Parts for 10 years in the 80's. I didn't learn a thing except to change my oil and bleed my brakes. So I appreciate all the help you guys are giving me here as I play catch up!

 

[Chris]

The day she turned 16 was the last time I had to leave the house at 5 AM for morning ice :-D

Thank goodness for that!

 

[TJScott]

I bounce around with hobbies. Motorcycles have been in my life for 40 years. Love em.
For the last several years I threw myself into photography. Now, there is an expensive hobby. I have more into my camera gear than I have into my purchase of the TJ and the few mods I've done. We have gotten more into travel over the last couple years and I carry that gear everywhere, but we have stunning vacation pics.
I'm hoping my Jeep will take me to interesting places for photography. Still an off-road noob and no self confidence off-road yet.
Like many here, I like guns. But, lately can't afford to feed them.
Some other rolling beast is taking my money. Every time I take the top off my TJ, my wife takes it. She doesn't care to drive it as much with the top on. But, top off and she keeps telling me how much she loves my Jeep.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[JP13]

I'm into comic books, hiking, camping, attacking fish from my kayak, mud races (Tough Mudder, Warrior Dash, etc), snowboarding, and I recently built a PC for the first time. I'm in a hash (Horses Ass Hash House Harriers). That's a drinking club with a running problem. :beer-toast1:

Owning a Wrangler isn't a hobby. It's a way of life that can enhance your hobbies. :zplayita:

 

[EJD]

1. Snowboarding. Preferably anything west of the rockies.

2. Adventuring. I'm big into hiking/backpacking but one thing I really love is exploring coasts. Tidepools, Sea Caves, Cliffs, Sea Stacks/Islands, Coastal Forests, and Mountains! I cannot get enough. (Especially in the PNW). Plus i'm a little bit of a gear junkie.

3. World Travel. Only started recently but I have been to 3 of 7 continents and planning the 4th later this year, and have been to 5 of 7 oceans. I have ambitions to visit all 7 of each! I love what you can learn from traveling to other parts of the world and gaining some respect and perspective from how others live and see some amazing things in the process.

 

[Kyle_W]

Thanks! I appreciate the comment. I was in Scouting from the late '50s to late '60s. Me and my buddy Duke. Things were a LOT different then of course. If I'd been a Leader first I would have been a better Scout (lol). Kind of like if I coached first I would have been a better player.

Like most kids other interests took over back then. That much hasn't changed. On my second go around during the '90s & early '00s we had a hard time keeping kids interested as they got older. One thing that struck me as an adult was the number of single Moms who came to us hoping we could provide their sons with guidance and get them interested in the outdoors. We were happy to do it. I don't remember that being a problem when I was a kid ... but I probably wasn't paying attention.

I'd happily go back for a third go around but being in my mid 60s and having no kids involved they'd probably take way too long to process the police check (extra scrutiny and all).

View attachment 12555

Gotcha! And that picture is so cool!!

Even though I started scouting in the late 2000's, 50-60 years since you were a scout, the distractions from scouting still remained.

My Dad had to kick my butt to get me to finish getting to Eagle. Thank God for him.

 

[lovemachine]

So I'll move my hobbies into this thread

I'm really into bicycling. I have 3, a road bike, and 2 Mtn bikes. All are Trek.

I'm also into woodturning. I've made segmented bowls, the one pictures had 72 different pieces. I have made a ships wheel clock. A couple other random desk clocks. And I've made a lot of pens. And since my wife and I have been adopting a baby, I sold several of my wood projects to help fund it.

 

[Kyle_W]

I hardly have the time to do any of my hobbies, but, I want to do more of:

- Camping / backpacking

This was taken in Lost Maples last year

- Hanging out with my grandparents

- Wanting to get into WWII reenacting (albeit, that's EXPENSIVE to get into)

- Have a couple of WWII models to build

 

[Frank]

I was a Scout Master for over 18 years and had 7 Boys to Make Eagle Scout at 1 time,( A State Record) Had 2 state Legislators come and present certificates to the boys for that feat. Now I live on a lake so I boat and fish as much as I can when not working. Used to hunt some but 2 back surgeries stopped that. Love to travel when we can to Beach, or mountains which are 2 1/2 hours to either from home. Still scuba dive, used to fly single engine planes but not now. Ham radio operator but I moved and did not realize that my license had expired so I did not get a notice to renew. Still working as an Investigator in the District Attorney office for 9 years now so don't have a lot of free time. But Life goes on. And last but not least of course, Jeeps, cars, trucks and My Harley Ultra Classic going to bike week at Myrtle beach, Daytona Beach and Sturgis 1 time.

 

[JFjeld]

I would love to live in a place like that - would you say it's completely worth it? Does the temperature get old?

(I do love Texas, but I love places like Colorado, Arkansas, and Oregon as well)

Its so completely worth it to live here. I lived in IA for ~ 40 years and the weather there is the worst of both worlds; frigid windchills in the winter and 90 degree heat in the summer with 95% humidity. Flat out sucks.

Colorado, by contrast, has mild winters down on the Front Range, epic snow fall in the mountains for skiing. Because its dry, the snow is perfect and powdery. Its not uncommon for us to get a few inches of snow in the Front Range and have it melted the following day. Summer is dry, non-humid, with reasonable temps. Its March 15, and this is my current forecast:

I can't speak highly enough of Colorado. The only downside is the traffic along I-70. Because the weather is great, everyone wants to be outside and play. Interstates are old and can't keep up with the traffic flow. Housing is also expensive because its a great place to live. Even 20 minutes north of Denver (where I reside) housing costs have really increased. I bought my house new in October of 2012 and its already appreciated over $100K in 4 years.

If you love the outdoors, this is the place to be.

 

[JMT]

I hardly have the time to do any of my hobbies, but, I want to do more of:

- Camping / backpacking
View attachment 12583 This was taken in Lost Maples last year

- Hanging out with my grandparents

- Wanting to get into WWII reenacting (albeit, that's EXPENSIVE to get into)

- Have a couple of WWII models to build

Is that pic of Lost Maples in TX? I've been there. We're about 1 1/2 hrs away. Love to try to go in Oct when the leaves are changing. Lots of re-enactments here in Fredericksburg at the Nimitz Museum. You probably know this if your close by...I know some folks that do it, though, if you want to get in I could see what I can do. Once in Doss, at a friends ranch, they had a re-enactment of Mt Suribachi and the Battle of Iwo-Jima. Oliver North came out. It was crazy. They had 70mm tanks, the whole side of the hill was on fire. REAL Japs came over for the re-enactment. It was awesome. It's been about 7 years and I can still tell when I drive by that hill in Doss...

 

[CRGR]

Fish fish fish....