The other weekend I experienced something pretty damn exciting – I participated in THREE new activities in 1 day!

I didn’t realize it at the time, but looking back it was one of my favorite Summer days I’ve ever had (at least as an adult). And you know what? It was pretty cheap! So I thought I’d share them with you in hopes you might find them interesting as well :) We’ve still got a lot of Summer days ahead!

Summer Activity #1: Paintball

Oh man, talk about feeling all GI Joe’ish! There were cars scattered around, old refrigerators, walls of shacks, these fields were no joke. We started out in the forest playing a little 3 on 3, and then we moved over to more of a “rapid-fire” game out in the open with all these big crazy balloons surrounding us. The whole thing was a trip, I’d never seen anything like it before.

And it was really cheap too. For around $20 you get an hour or two out in the field with 500 paintballs – this included your gun, the C02 it needed, your mask, everything you needed to play (and I’m pretty sure it’s a lot cheaper if you bring your own gun/gear too). That’s a helluva experience for only $20 bucks! And you know what else kind of shocked me? There were an equal amount of guys AND girls on the field! I’m pretty sure there were some dates going on there too, haha…nothing says I Love You like getting shot up by your significant other.

Summer Activity #2: Geocaching

After getting cleaned up, we headed back out to do some geocaching. I’ve heard of it before but really wasn’t sure what, exactly, it was. Here’s a brief rundown from The Official Global GPS Cache Hunt Site:

“Geocaching is a high-tech treasure hunting game played throughout the world by adventure seekers equipped with GPS devices. The basic idea is to locate hidden containers, called geocaches, outdoors and then share your experiences online. Geocaching is enjoyed by people from all age groups, with a strong sense of community and support for the environment.”

Fun, right?! It sounds like some people get pretty hardcore with it, but my fam likes to just putter around a bit and look for local stuff hidden in our area. We hit up two spots but unfortunately the construction going on made it a bit difficult to locate some of these majestic treasures. After some snooping my dad just told us what was in there (he had found them previously – I want to say it was some sort of McDonald’s toy?) and we moved on to the next adventure of the day. Total cost: $0.00. You have to have a GPS and a car to get to most places, but other than that it costs ya zilch.

Summer Activity #3: Ghost Tours

My favorite of all three! Having personally seen a ghost myself (seriously I have! don’t laugh), I’m crazy fascinated by this stuff. And to think we hit one up in our own town?! Incredible, I really don’t know why I hadn’t been on one before. But nevertheless it was exactly what you would think a ghost tour would entail: A tour guide dressed in colonial clothing, a group of excited kids & their parents, and a variety of just great overall story telling! Be sure to bring some good walking shoes too.

We never saw any ghosts, but we did learn about the famous ones that supposedly frequent our streets and the reasons behind it. Whether you believe it or not, it’s still an excellent way to spend a couple of hours outside as the sun is setting. Overall cost: $10/person (and most small children are free or discounted)

There you have it! 3 cheap & sexy summer activities to try. There are a couple of others I came close to throwing in (wine tours & kayaking), but I’ll post something up on those guys later. For now, give one of these a shot before Winter starts sneaking up! And if you’ve still got a gaggle of kids clamoring for your attention, check out my 6 Fun & Free Summer Activities for Children (and Adults!) . There’s no shame in joining the fun ;)