Although our top priority is planning for a safe and secure future, it is also important to take some time off and enjoy the summer. This season is the time to play, visit with friends, and get outside (with sun protection of course!). So we asked some of our friends what they like to get up to in the summer to give us some ideas for the long weekend. Here’s what they said:
Corey – Disk Golf
Corey is an energetic man with a big heart who loves to chat and tell stories. If you’re ever at Queen Elizabeth park in Vancouver on a summer’s day, you might just find him tossing a frisbee around.
What is your main activity in the summer?
Corey: I love playing disk golf at QE Park in Vancouver. The goal is to try and get a Frisbee into a basket that is attached to a pole in the ground and has chains hanging from it to help get the Frisbee inside. It’s like golf but with a Frisbee.
How did you learn to play?
C: I’ve always been quite athletic and my dad introduced me to it a few years back. We used to play with a group from PLAN and I met with people who were interested in it. We would practice with regular Frisbees but we would also play with the illegal ones called aerobies which have a hole in the centre and go really far so they make you feel like you are really good! They fly really fast and you don’t know which way they’re going to turn after about 150 yards and they get caught in trees. We used to take a golf ball retriever to get the Frisbees out of the trees.
How has disk golf enriched your life?
C: I enjoy disk golf quite a bit. I get out about once a month and I’ve met some pretty interesting people doing it.
What would you recommend to someone who wants to learn?
C: There are couple of practice tees at the QE park course so you can practice on those holes. You can buy a frisbee at most sporting good stores – there are different types of Frisbees, like a putter Frisbee, so you carry several ones with you on the course just like in golf.
Nora – Lots!
Nora is in her early 30’s, is very active and interested in many things! She’s a huge Canucks fan, plays in a band with her parents, and loves the outdoors.
What is your favourite summer activity?
Nora: Soccer with Anita my Rehab Aide, badminton, going to Starbucks, yoga in the park, baseball with friends, using transit to visit different and interesting places in the city, causing trouble, being a fashionista, shopping, kayaking and trail riding.
B: How did you learn all these activities?
N: Some are self taught, some I practice and friends, and some I learned with Anita.
Are there any challenges or advantages that you encounter?
N: I don’t know myself well enough to answer that. I prefer to play sports one on one. I don’t do well with big crowds, especially if they are strangers.
Has this activity enriched your life, and if so, how?
N: Yes, a little bit, but I don’t know how. Getting out of the house to be around people my age – spending time doing some fun things with my friends and Anita.
If people are interested in getting involved in any of these activities what would you recommend to them?
N: I would tell them to do all of them! Don’t just choose one, pick everything!
Michelle – Drawing
Michelle comes from a big family, she lives on her own with a full-time caregiver and loves spiders. She is very creative and loves to draw, tell jokes and be with people.
What is your main summer hobby?
Michelle: I love arts and crafts, especially drawing funny pictures and also doing photography and importing them onto the computer and using a paint program to add visuals.
How did you learn to draw?
M: I have been drawing for a long time but I learned from books. They taught me to draw people starting with circles for the head, and body parts.
Are there any challenges you face?
M: My only challenge is trying to figure out how to use my new computer!
Do you have any advice for people wanting to take up drawing?
M: Read books, take classes, and practice!
What fun things are you doing this summer? Tell us about them on our Facebook page!