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-   -   What EXPERIENCES have you paid for? (http://www.sowpub.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7635)

GordonJ September 7, 2011 08:41 PM

What EXPERIENCES have you paid for?
 
In a discussion today, we spoke of EXPERIENCES, like the people paying a couple of hundred bux in Vegas to play with heavy equipment...

We had a list of several things we did between us including...

Hang Glider
Real Glider
Bungee
Shooting an AK47 (yea, you can pay a couple hundred at some ranges and fire away)
And many other EXPERIENCES.

I mentioned the Big money ones, like a Tony Robbins seminar on his island...for 10 or 15 grand...and we discussed the BOOMING CHINESE RICH...who are seeking experiences here in USA.
'
Í am looking for the 200 to 300 dollar range experiences which you might have done...like the donkey ride into the Grand Canyon.

I'll share a couple later, which I think might be good money makers for any locale...but until then,

what experiences have you paid for?

Gordon

Phil September 7, 2011 10:02 PM

Bucket List Ideas - 1000 Things to do Before You Die... Make that 1,271...
 
Gordon,

Sorry! ... I Have a Bad Habit of Taking Things into Many Different Directions...

On the House for you... :)

Cheated a little...

An Expert [Matching] Broker Network...

Lead Generation etc...

Based on Extreme Sports related ideas...

Should offer Some {Amazing Money ($$$$) making Opportunities}...

Especially ''Awesome'' Revenues once All Experts are in Place...

Get to Work! ...

1,271 Things to do Before You Die...
http://oddstufflab.com/odd-stuff/20-...xtreme-sports/
http://celestinechua.com/blog/whats-...efore-you-die/
http://matadornetwork.com/notebook/5...efore-you-die/
http://www.squidoo.com/100things
http://www.upgradereality.com/100-cr...before-you-die

[Brilliant] info ''Definitely'' worth Listening & Understanding just in case a few Here Never Have... ;)

Steve Jobs: How to live before you die
http://www.ted.com/talks/steve_jobs_...e_you_die.html

All the best...

Phil

Dien Rice September 8, 2011 12:09 AM

Re: What EXPERIENCES have you paid for?
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by GordonJ (Post 29042)
In a discussion today, we spoke of EXPERIENCES, like the people paying a couple of hundred bux in Vegas to play with heavy equipment...

We had a list of several things we did between us including...

Hang Glider
Real Glider
Bungee
Shooting an AK47 (yea, you can pay a couple hundred at some ranges and fire away)
And many other EXPERIENCES.

I mentioned the Big money ones, like a Tony Robbins seminar on his island...for 10 or 15 grand...and we discussed the BOOMING CHINESE RICH...who are seeking experiences here in USA.
'
Í am looking for the 200 to 300 dollar range experiences which you might have done...like the donkey ride into the Grand Canyon.

I'll share a couple later, which I think might be good money makers for any locale...but until then,

what experiences have you paid for?

Hi Gordon,

I thought I'd quickly mention some research I've read about (and others may have read about too), which is that apparently, buying "experiences" makes you happier than buying "stuff"...

http://www.livescience.com/6158-stud...ces-stuff.html

http://articles.cnn.com/2009-02-10/h...h?_s=PM:HEALTH

Anyway, on to some experiences!

I think that a lot of "travel" is for the purpose of getting new experiences - whether it could be the experience of a different culture, or just a different environment... Depending on where you are, you could get to a new environment for a few hundred bucks! In North America, for example, traveling to Quebec (where they speak French) or Mexico (where they speak Spanish) could be quite a "different" experience for many people, due to a different language and culture... (Though there are travel warnings about drug war-related violence in Mexico nowadays that it's good to be aware of...)

I've paid to go white water rafting before (it was my fiancee's idea, she's more adventurous than me!). We were packed in with around 7 or 8 people to a raft, if I remember correctly... It was a good experience! (Translation: I'm happy we survived!)

I tried "sailboarding" once... I gotta say, I was pretty terrible at it. Most of my time was spent trying to lift the heavy sail out of the water, after it had fallen over! :)

I also paid to go "sea kayaking" once, but got a sore back from the way you have to sit in a kayak...

I remember doing some horse riding when I was a kid, as a kind of tourist "experience"... That was cool. :)

I tried indoor rock climbing once, does that count as an experience? When I was still in my 20s, a friend wanted to go indoor rock climbing for her birthday, so I was one of around 10 friends who went indoor rock climbing with her...

One big experience that stands out in my mind is that about 5 or 6 years ago, we paid to go snorkeling with whale sharks! We did it in Western Australia, though you can also apparently do this in Mexico too, and also in some Central American countries...

(Whale sharks are the biggest fish in the sea, but they only eat plankton, and are no danger to humans, unless you get close to their tail which could give you a big "whack"!)



(Above is a picture of a snorkeler with a whale shark... You can see they're pretty big! The picture comes from here...)

By the way, I've always thought I should sometimes do more "experiences" in my own city (hot air ballooning, maybe, that sort of thing)!

Best wishes,

Dien

nick September 8, 2011 04:23 AM

Re: What EXPERIENCES have you paid for?
 
Hi Gordon,

I'm trying to think of experiences people pay for that are not necessarily travel related. I'm also from cuyahoga falls, and I know a lot of my friends go to the old Mansfield prison for their ghost tours.

What about dinner theaters, like the cabaret, except on a smaller sale? Or the local renaissance fairs where everyone dresses up and plays the part? Civil war reenactments? The Christmas decorations tour at Stan Hewitt?

In hocking county there's the Zip lines...

Just a few quick ides of the top of my head.




Quote:

Originally Posted by GordonJ (Post 29042)
In a discussion today, we spoke of EXPERIENCES, like the people paying a couple of hundred bux in Vegas to play with heavy equipment...

We had a list of several things we did between us including...

Hang Glider
Real Glider
Bungee
Shooting an AK47 (yea, you can pay a couple hundred at some ranges and fire away)
And many other EXPERIENCES.

I mentioned the Big money ones, like a Tony Robbins seminar on his island...for 10 or 15 grand...and we discussed the BOOMING CHINESE RICH...who are seeking experiences here in USA.
'
Í am looking for the 200 to 300 dollar range experiences which you might have done...like the donkey ride into the Grand Canyon.

I'll share a couple later, which I think might be good money makers for any locale...but until then,

what experiences have you paid for?

Gordon


GordonJ September 8, 2011 09:38 AM

Rockin on the River...
 
Hey Nick,

Things are pretty soggy here...about 5 days of rain...crappy Labor day.

Thanks for reminder. The Mansfield Prison, I haven't done it but my kids have...right after some movie Blair Witch maybe??

There is this restaurant somewhere around that cuts your tie off...if you come wearing one...and another one that doesn't have silverware...you eat with your hands...and the big BETCHA CAN'T EAT ONE...steak house that serves up gimungus cattle parts.

I see that people paid 200 bux a pop to see Elton John at Blossom...

And many people are making day trips to the Erie Casino.

We have plenty of Ghosts sites, including Mary Campbell's Cave...

And people come from all over the world to experience Firestone South...especially from Japan.

Let's brainstorm and see if we can adapt one of the 1200 or so experiences which Phil pointed out...and make it a Cuyahoga Falls experience.

Gordon (if you haven't read any of my stories on home page, I grew up at Barney's Busy Corners...Bailey Rd.)

PS. Maybe a Direct Marketers Tour...show people where Gary Halbert wrote his famous Nancy letter, or where Dan Kennedy used to eat lunch, or tour Ben Suarez company, Quaker Oats bldg...and go to where the Bailey Road mansion used to stand (now a park)...and be a living book on MY childhood....HA!


Quote:

Originally Posted by nick (Post 29048)
Hi Gordon,

I'm trying to think of experiences people pay for that are not necessarily travel related. I'm also from cuyahoga falls, and I know a lot of my friends go to the old Mansfield prison for their ghost tours.

What about dinner theaters, like the cabaret, except on a smaller sale? Or the local renaissance fairs where everyone dresses up and plays the part? Civil war reenactments? The Christmas decorations tour at Stan Hewitt?

In hocking county there's the Zip lines...

Just a few quick ides of the top of my head.


GordonJ September 8, 2011 09:40 AM

Phil, you rascal.
 
OFF I go. Thanks?!! Phil.

Probably find some golden nuggets. Reminds me, when I was a kid in Phoenix, they used to sell Gold Panning experiences, I think on the Verdi (sp?) River.

G.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phil (Post 29043)
Gordon,

Sorry! ... I Have a Bad Habit of Taking Things into Many Different Directions...

On the House for you... :)

Cheated a little...

An Expert [Matching] Broker Network...

Lead Generation etc...

Based on Extreme Sports related ideas...

Should offer Some {Amazing Money ($$$$) making Opportunities}...

Especially ''Awesome'' Revenues once All Experts are in Place...

Get to Work! ...

1,271 Things to do Before You Die...
http://oddstufflab.com/odd-stuff/20-...xtreme-sports/
http://celestinechua.com/blog/whats-...efore-you-die/
http://matadornetwork.com/notebook/5...efore-you-die/
http://www.squidoo.com/100things
http://www.upgradereality.com/100-cr...before-you-die

[Brilliant] info ''Definitely'' worth Listening & Understanding just in case a few Here Never Have... ;)

Steve Jobs: How to live before you die
http://www.ted.com/talks/steve_jobs_...e_you_die.html

All the best...

Phil


GordonJ September 8, 2011 09:47 AM

Did you leave off Erie on purpose?
 
Everyone should experience where America's poop comes out...after all, isn't Erie the butthole city of USA?

Just kidding...everyone knows it is in TX.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dien Rice (Post 29045)
Hi Gordon,

I thought I'd quickly mention some research I've read about (and others may have read about too), which is that apparently, buying "experiences" makes you happier than buying "stuff"...

http://www.livescience.com/6158-stud...ces-stuff.html

http://articles.cnn.com/2009-02-10/h...h?_s=PM:HEALTH

Anyway, on to some experiences!

I think that a lot of "travel" is for the purpose of getting new experiences - whether it could be the experience of a different culture, or just a different environment... Depending on where you are, you could get to a new environment for a few hundred bucks! In North America, for example, traveling to Quebec (where they speak French) or Mexico (where they speak Spanish) could be quite a "different" experience for many people, due to a different language and culture... (Though there are travel warnings about drug war-related violence in Mexico nowadays that it's good to be aware of...)

I've paid to go white water rafting before (it was my fiancee's idea, she's more adventurous than me!). We were packed in with around 7 or 8 people to a raft, if I remember correctly... It was a good experience! (Translation: I'm happy we survived!)

I tried "sailboarding" once... I gotta say, I was pretty terrible at it. Most of my time was spent trying to lift the heavy sail out of the water, after it had fallen over! :)

I also paid to go "sea kayaking" once, but got a sore back from the way you have to sit in a kayak...

I remember doing some horse riding when I was a kid, as a kind of tourist "experience"... That was cool. :)

I tried indoor rock climbing once, does that count as an experience? When I was still in my 20s, a friend wanted to go indoor rock climbing for her birthday, so I was one of around 10 friends who went indoor rock climbing with her...

One big experience that stands out in my mind is that about 5 or 6 years ago, we paid to go snorkeling with whale sharks! We did it in Western Australia, though you can also apparently do this in Mexico too, and also in some Central American countries...

(Whale sharks are the biggest fish in the sea, but they only eat plankton, and are no danger to humans, unless you get close to their tail which could give you a big "whack"!)

http://www.holboxisland.com/photos/w...ale-shark1.jpg

(Above is a picture of a snorkeler with a whale shark... You can see they're pretty big! The picture comes from here...)

By the way, I've always thought I should sometimes do more "experiences" in my own city (hot air ballooning, maybe, that sort of thing)!

Best wishes,

Dien


nick September 8, 2011 12:56 PM

Re: Rockin on the River...
 
I'm living in Israel now, so things here are hot and dry...quite different than Cuyahoga Falls.

I have a few more ideas that are very local...

-The pontoon boat (My first job was as a guide on that boat). That's a relaxing experience people pay for. Last I heard, though, this was it's last year...
- Swenson's. Need I say more?
-Soap box derby
- How about spending some time with the Amish? Have some sort of experience where you pay to be hosted by a family and live that life for a few days.
-I know there's an old Cold War bomb shelter under the high school. I would pay for the experience to go and see what's there.
- What about a tour of interesting homes? Like LeBron's house in Bath, Jeffrey Dahmer's childhood home, etc..Come to think of it there are a lot of interesting people/homes in that area!
-If you're dealing with foreigners, taking them to a Black Tigers football game would be a great experience...it's very Midwest Americana. Or to one of the high schools show choir contests ( I'm a former M&M's and loved that stuff)
- There was another restaurant up in the Flats (Cleveland) called Dick's the Last Resort. The servers were extremely rude as part of the package. That was always an experience.

Many of these seem very Americana...real America. If you could get some foreigners to want to see 'real America,' and not just touristy Disney World/NYC/Grand Canyon...our area would be great for that.

I'd like that Direct Marketers tour!!

-Nick
PS- That's also known as 6 corners, right? By Chapel hill? Please send me a link to your homepage, I haven't seen it. I'm from 7th St by Lion's Park.



Quote:

Originally Posted by GordonJ (Post 29051)
Hey Nick,

Things are pretty soggy here...about 5 days of rain...crappy Labor day.

Thanks for reminder. The Mansfield Prison, I haven't done it but my kids have...right after some movie Blair Witch maybe??

There is this restaurant somewhere around that cuts your tie off...if you come wearing one...and another one that doesn't have silverware...you eat with your hands...and the big BETCHA CAN'T EAT ONE...steak house that serves up gimungus cattle parts.

I see that people paid 200 bux a pop to see Elton John at Blossom...

And many people are making day trips to the Erie Casino.

We have plenty of Ghosts sites, including Mary Campbell's Cave...

And people come from all over the world to experience Firestone South...especially from Japan.

Let's brainstorm and see if we can adapt one of the 1200 or so experiences which Phil pointed out...and make it a Cuyahoga Falls experience.

Gordon (if you haven't read any of my stories on home page, I grew up at Barney's Busy Corners...Bailey Rd.)

PS. Maybe a Direct Marketers Tour...show people where Gary Halbert wrote his famous Nancy letter, or where Dan Kennedy used to eat lunch, or tour Ben Suarez company, Quaker Oats bldg...and go to where the Bailey Road mansion used to stand (now a park)...and be a living book on MY childhood....HA!


Cornell September 8, 2011 01:19 PM

Hmmmmmm....
 
Sorry I screwed my reply up...you'd think after 11 years I'd know how to use this thing...

Cornell wrote:
88888

Gordon...you sure you didn't mean Washington :o)

888888
I responded with:

meanest animal in the world...the lepAgator with a butt at each end...

"But how does he eat?" asks the childrens...

He don't that what make him so mean...

Actually, I stand corrected...more Big Turds in DC than anywhere else...that makes Erie just a fart in the wind...

Thanks for the smile Cornell. Hope all is well. Call some time.

Gordon

GordonJ September 8, 2011 01:27 PM

Yea, for you youngsters, it is now six corners...sigh
 
See home page at www.sowpub.com for some Falls stories.

Sweetest Girl EVER from the Falls lived on 8th a couple of houses down from Lion's Park...THE sweetest.

I'm a 68 grad so I'm OLD. But you gave me some GREAT ideas...

I like the MASS Murders of Summit County. Falls, Class of 67 had Robert Berdella.

Plus Dahmer and a few others...

We'll go late at night into the valley...where Dahmer may have performed his first experimental killing...feel the chill...feel the hair on your neck stand up...

What are those sounds? Ghosts?

It is a HAUNTED valley, you know. 200 bux a pop for a night in the Valley...IF you can make it...ah, Blair Witch FALLS experience.

Swenson's???? Great idea...we can have a Summit Taste Experience...some of the best restaurants in America...home to the original hamburger (one of 9 places which makes that claim)...

Hike to Mary Campbell's Cave from the valley, with the reward a Galley Boy and some Onion rings and a milkshake at Swenson's. I ride the pontoon every year.

How about a kayak the other direction, Over the FALLS to Lake Edison...

you've given me some ideas, thanks Fallsite...just attended a Football game last week...we lost in the fourth...had a 14-0 lead and let down.

Gordon




Quote:

Originally Posted by nick (Post 29054)
I'm living in Israel now, so things here are hot and dry...quite different than Cuyahoga Falls.

I have a few more ideas that are very local...

-The pontoon boat (My first job was as a guide on that boat). That's a relaxing experience people pay for. Last I heard, though, this was it's last year...
- Swenson's. Need I say more?
-Soap box derby
- How about spending some time with the Amish? Have some sort of experience where you pay to be hosted by a family and live that life for a few days.
-I know there's an old Cold War bomb shelter under the high school. I would pay for the experience to go and see what's there.
- What about a tour of interesting homes? Like LeBron's house in Bath, Jeffrey Dahmer's childhood home, etc..Come to think of it there are a lot of interesting people/homes in that area!
-If you're dealing with foreigners, taking them to a Black Tigers football game would be a great experience...it's very Midwest Americana. Or to one of the high schools show choir contests ( I'm a former M&M's and loved that stuff)
- There was another restaurant up in the Flats (Cleveland) called Dick's the Last Resort. The servers were extremely rude as part of the package. That was always an experience.

Many of these seem very Americana...real America. If you could get some foreigners to want to see 'real America,' and not just touristy Disney World/NYC/Grand Canyon...our area would be great for that.

I'd like that Direct Marketers tour!!

-Nick
PS- That's also known as 6 corners, right? By Chapel hill? Please send me a link to your homepage, I haven't seen it. I'm from 7th St by Lion's Park.



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