I don't mean that in a bad way either so I hope I don't come across that way. ANyhow, I'm putting together this hiking group. I have 5 people who've joined so far but when I put the list up of places to hike they all said it was too far. The farthest one is about a 40 minute drive. There are only two places to hike in our area. I really don't feel like hiking the same place every single time. That's not the point of hiking lol. I have one who doesn't care where we go- we went yesterday. She's a hiking fanatic since they were stationed in Alaska for 4 years. But the rest of them "that's too far to drive" or "do they have bathrooms?" or "isn't there anything closer?" or "we can walk over in Yorktown" I understand, but everyone over on this side of the bridge is like that. They don't want to go anywhere- which could explain why the homeschool group over here doesn't do much which is WHY I go to the other side for everything. We've always been the type to get up and go though. Love to explore and see new things.
I'd join your group! Sorry you are not getting better responses--very frustrating. How far is the closest place for hiking? Get them to go there and maybe they will be willing to venture further..Sorry that's all I have.
Oh yeah--I think most homeschoolers ( at least the ones I have known) are very interested in new experiences and places. It is strange you are getting hesitance from them.
We are big time homebodies. But we do like to go one field trips and see things but we don't take long trips. We have lots of pets so it is hard to get anyone to care for them if we go somewhere and boarding them is out of the question. We are planning a trip to a butterfly farm soon. I can't wait!
We like to get out and do field trips, etc., but I do know other homeschoolers who are 'homebodies' that don't come to many of our group's field trips. I know sometimes moms just get so busy with homeschool, preparation, keeping up with their homes, grocery shopping, etc. that they are worn out by the time it comes to getting out of the house to do extra-curricular things. Especially if they have more children.
We are big time homebodies, too. Now...dd is always ready for anything, unfortunately, ds and I aren't! LOL We like to stay close to home most of the time.
We're often found on either end of the spectrum. Sometimes, we find ourselves out and about SO much, we long for just one lazy day at home. Other times, we're home for streches at a time.
We are major home bodies as well. I do try to get my dd out everyday to the park though. Otherwise we have activities on Monday, Thursday and Sunday. I don't like to even go to those but once we're there everyone enjoys themselves. I thought I was odd but maybe not LOL
We aren't homebodies, but how often are you considering doing the hiking? I do think 40 miles is a bit far. Field Trips that far a way are done maybe twice a year. You need to consider the cost of gas, the amount of driving time, lunches, etc. Heck, I was having difficulty just going swimming about ten miles up the road just once a month!
Well the closest spot to hike is only about 10 minutes from everyone that lives in this area- unless they live in the next county and i understand that because it's an hour just to get into our county. I plan on doing this once a month- even though dd and I will be hiking weekly with our friend yesterday. The weekly hikes will be one of 3 places. The bigger group hikes would be either at the closer places or if we'd already done them we'd venture further. I did set a date on the group for next Friday at a local spot so maybe that will get enough interested. Dd and I aren't always going somewhere- in fact we only have one thing scheduled during the week right now, but it's getting ot be that time of year when everything is blooming and active. Give us 2 months here it's going to be hot and humid and we'll all be craving fall lol. Anyhow, I hope I didn't offend anybody. I'm just getting frustrated because first they say they're interested, and then they only want to go to one spot. But hiking the same spot EVERY time is going to get REALLY boring lol.
Oh and you have to drive 20 miles here just to get to shopping- there's really not much on our side of the bridge except for a Walmart. If you live up by the Walmart you're looking at a good half hour drive to a mall or a good 35-40 minute drive to Williamsburg. And that's what I don't get either, they don't mind driving to Williamsburg which is at least 35 minutes, but they won't go to a nature park that's 20 minutes away and has hiking trails galore.
So you and your one friend can hike the distance ones. Yes, I agree that the same spot week after week would be boring. Save the "close" one for the "group" that doesn't want to go too far! The imortant thing is that you and yours are going out and enjoying nature!
Personally I think if you did 1x per month at the same place it wouldn't get that boring - living in the northern part of VA I know that the foliage and surroundings will change every month so that's pretty cool. Do the other trips yourself - and maybe leave it open for people to join you if they can. I'm not homeschooling right now - but I can see myself as more of a homebody type Mainly because we have a farm to run here anyways and a lot of work needs to be done. I am already looking at stuff for them to do in the fall if/when we decide to homeschool and I am trying to plan it so that we are out 1 day a week at the event - then maybe 1 library day or even combine the outing day and the library day together. But at the same time - I would do a hike 1x a month if it was something that interested me.
Well considering the 2 spots to hike around here nothing much changes- pretty brown and not much foliage at the one spot, the other spot the trail is only about 2 miles long round trip. I have one lady that keeps emailing me asking why I can't find anything closer. I looked up hiking in VA and found all the trails within our county, hampton, virginia beach, norfolk, williamsburg, and newport news since I have people interested from all those areas. I just emailed her back and told her could join us for the hikes that were close to her home but she wasn't obligated to join us on others. I've hiked the two places closer to home- or walked the dogs rather, quite a few times and really once was enough. Then again I'm used to hiking a different mountain trail every weekend when we were in Seattle. I don't like hiking the same places. We'll continue to hike with the one mom we went with yesterday. I'm just wondering why people said they were interested but then they only want to hike in one spot. That's like saying "hey, lets go on a field trip to the same museum every month" when nothing changes at that museum. Maybe it's just me lol.
I have one lady that keeps emailing me asking why I can't find anything closer. I looked up hiking in VA and found all the trails within our county, hampton, virginia beach, norfolk, williamsburg, and newport news since I have people interested from all those areas. I just emailed her back and told her could join us for the hikes that were close to her home but she wasn't obligated to join us on others.[/quote] You know, if she still whines about it, tell her that you are open to suggestions! "I looked, and this is all I could come up with. But if you know of any others, I'd love to go there, too!" That will probably stop the whining!
I did that Jackie and I haven't heard back from her now. SHe not only was emailing me about the hiking, but kept sending me links for the groups on this side of the bridge after I TOLD her 3 times the days they meet don't work for us and that's why we go to the other side. I planned a hike for next week locally to make them all happy lol. But not one has replied yet. I have quite a few on the other side who don't care where we go now since I posted in the big group. Dd and I will go either way. The mom I went hiking with on Friday said she had tried to start something last spring and she got people emailing her saying they were interested and when it boiled right down to it nobody showed up. We'll see what happens!
There are those that hike and those that don't and those that say they will but won't. Seriously though some folks are just not outdoorsy. And then there are those people that everything is a chore or problem and they don't get out and about like some. I would join your group in a heartbeat! Dd10 even has her own hiking stick. We actually just planned a hike today with my bf for the weekend after Easter. Dd10 and I along with my bf and her dd12 are going to try for 8 miles in the Sam Houston National Forest.
!!! My kids all have their own hiking stick. My dad carves them. Central Ohio has a Winter Hike series each winter. You need to complete 7 of them to get a patch, each one at a different park. We were able to finish one year, but it's difficult due to colds, weekend activities, etc. Rachael and I were able to do 5 of them this year, which is pretty good for us!
I got a chuckle out of that!!!:lol: :lol: Well, if you ever go hiking in my area, we will be happy to join you! Patty
I tend to stay close to home. Mainly because I drive a V8 truck everyday. Driving once a wk for bowling was hard. It was a thirty-fory five minute drive there. I had to stop going. I am trying to find some stuff closer to home.
