Top 4 Outdoor Adventures in Charlotte

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Spring is upon us! Time to get out and get moving and enjoy the beautiful blossoms. If you are looking for outdoor adventures in Charlotte, here are a few great places to go. Since I just completed a half-marathon in February, I’ve actually been training all Winter, so I scoped out the goods. Here are some of my favorite places around Charlotte to get moving. I hope you enjoy them too!

1. USNWC – The US National  Whitewater Center is an amazing facility. Aside from the obvious rapids rafting, the site includes so much more. Situated on the Catawba River, USNWC features flat water sport activities, miles of trails for hiking, biking or running, zip line adventure tours, and rock wall climbing. Tons of exercise events and competitions are on the calendar for the year. They also have a great restaurant with lots of lively festivals planned for the warmer weather ahead.

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2. Little Sugar Creek Greenway – This beautiful trekking path has recently been restored to be one of the most scenic areas for outdoor enjoyment in the city. Hugging the outskirts of Uptown, the creek flows for 15 miles through Mecklenburg County before spilling into the Catawba River. The revitalized greenway currently begins at 7th and Kings (with plans for future expansion) and continues along the creek through Freedom Park. Dotted with scenic overlooks, amphitheaters, green spaces and water features, this beautiful path is a place to call home for outdoor enjoyment.

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3. Renaissance Park – A gem in the heart of the city, Renaissance Park is a beautiful place to run or bike. With over 7 miles of wooded trails, this challenging course offers something for anyone looking for a little adventure in nature. Trails are situated around the ball fields, and can be broken up into shorter distances for smaller or less ambitious hikers. Renaissance Park also features a public golf course as well as the Jeff Adams Tennis Center, providing a variety of activities for any outdoor enthusiast.

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4. Clark’s Creek and Mallard Creek Greenways – Situated in the Northeast quadrant of the city, these greenways go on for miles. Heavily wooded and shady, the paved trails at Mallard Creek and Clark’s Creek sweep through babbling waterways all the way to UNCC. Favorite features of the trails include steel bridges and public playgrounds dotted throughout. These greenways are also a great destination for family outings, quiet gatherings or picnics.

Enjoy! I would love to hear about your favorite spots as well. :)

Top 10 Ways to Wellness

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1. Live in the positive – choose to focus on gratitude. A healthy mental attitude has been scientifically proven to boost immune system and promote efficient neurological function.

2. Eat fruits and veggies – eat more fruits and veggies than anything else in your diet. Seriously. It is a far superior option to get the vitamins and minerals we need straight from the source than from taking any supplement.

3. Exercise – 20 minutes or more daily. Even if it’s just a walk around the block.

4. Evaluate your day – Create a ritual to evaluate what went well and what could be better. Do it daily.

5. Connect – find a ways to get involved with those around you. Meet people in your neighborhood, get involved in local groups that interest you, reach out at school and in your spiritual community. The more we connect, the more we feel connected.

6. Sleep – rest. As much as possible. Find your sweet spot for sleep and shoot for that daily. Sleep when you are tired.

7. Be accountable – Let others know what you are up to and ask them to keep you honest. Sign up for events, volunteer, be verbal about your goals and create a system of checks and balances. Commitment creates conversation.

8. Get outside – even if it’s only for a few minutes. Breathing fresh air and enjoying the sounds of nature have a calming, focusing effect.

9. Rest your gut – eat a liquid meal everyday and take a daily pro-biotic supplement. Early in the morning is best. With a big glass of water.

10. Go with the flow – relax. Nothing is really that urgent or truly ever that bad. Plus, being calm actually helps when dealing with adversity.

That’s it. A top 10 list for achieving wellness. Try some, if it’s not enough try more. When in doubt, repeat step four.

No Technology Challenge

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Our lives are so connected. Technology is our greatest ally, but is it also our greatest foe? Does a constant state of “connection” cause us to be truly disconnected from what matters most?

In the No Technology Challenge, the goal is to purposefully disconnect, and by doing so reconnect with what is real and right in front of us.

We spend so much time in front of screens: computer screens at work/school, TV screens at home, and now, we all have computer screens in our pockets. By being so immersed in our screens, we fail to notice life happening all around us.

This is a 7 day challenge. Here are the ground rules for home and in the car:

  1. No televisions.
  2. No video games, no portable players.
  3. Cell phones can ONLY be used for emergencies.
  4. No computer use at home. Computers may only be used for business and school, preferably at work or school.
  5. No MP3 players or other music players, including exercise activities.
  6. Eliminate us of any other technology that has become a crutch in your home.

Find new activities to fill the time that would otherwise be spent with technology. Reconnect with nature and develop new ways to spend time together as a family. Play some board games, plan a family outing, try talking to each other. Make up stories, sing songs, draw pictures, exercise. When we focus on what we can do instead of what we can’t the list becomes endless.

If resolve becomes weak, bring focus back to why you were motivated to do this in the first place. The first 24 hours might be tough, but power through it! The payoff will be worth it.

At the end of the week, review the experience and decide how you will move forward. What have you learned? What did you enjoy? Will you set some new ground rules?

If the things we own end up owning us, what does that say for our dependance on technology?

Holiday Eating Rainbow

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Colorful Veggies being cookedWhat a great tradition to begin for holiday feasts! The eating rainbow concept suggests a method of diet selection based on the colors found in the visual spectrum. Since we know that different colored veggies and fruits provide vitamins and nutrients based on the colors of their skins and pulps, this is a simple and effective tool for insuring a varied diet.

We created our Thanksgiving meal based on the Eating Rainbow concept. It can also be applied to a daily nutrition plan. Here’s a sample based on our holiday meal:

  • White – Cauliflower
  • Red – Red Skinned Potatoes
  • Orange – Carrots
  • Yellow – Squash
  • Green – Garden Salad
  • Blue – Blueberry Cobbler
  • Violet – Beets

Ok, so the beets are more of a magenta, but it was close. Violet is a rarer fruit and veg color. Some other suggestions for Violet: grapes, eggplant, plums, potatoes, peppers, pumpkins, etc.Get creative…

Share your ideas! We’d love to hear ‘em.

 

A New Life, A New You

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Welcome to New Life Experiment. This website serves as a source of information and inspiration for all those wanting and willing to change their lives. Change can be simple, change can be vast, change can be varied. Whatever YOU want to change, we can help! Please read our insights, share your stories and take a challenge. How will you change your life today? It all starts with the one and only you.