Events & Adventures

I just went and found a seat. I was sharing a pot with a girl across me and she would not look at me the first hour I was there. I could not get eye contact with her to make a friend. I was like, "Wow, is this how this club's gonna be?" It was really a bad experience. To this day, I don't know her name and I haven't seen her at another event. I was at the Japanese Dinner event for one and a half hours.

After that, I attended six other events. When I went to the one after the Japanese dinner, I was really nervous. It was called "Naughty Coloring Night" at this place called World of Beer in Fort Worth. That was really far for me to drive. But I liked the whole naughty part of it. It ended up just being little drawing pages where you just draw on these coloring books. They were inappropriate. It was like a pub and we sat and everybody was just laughing about it. I met a couple of new people and I was okay. We exchanged numbers. It was a friendship kind of thing. I was getting into Events and Adventures now. That first night was just a fluke.

Another event I went to was Rack Daddy's and it's a pool hall. It was called the New Members and Darts, Pizza, and Pool. They had pizza for us. When I first walked in, I thought it was dumpy because the place smelled like cigarettes. But I was gonna go with it. Some people said that it's really casual. I was there from 7:00 until 11:00.

In the beginning, they did a little meet new member meeting. You could go to at least one, so I went. You stay after to play darts and it was fun. That was a great event. There were so many people there and I got to meet them. I got to know a lot more people. Everybody was happy and just having a good time. The new member thing was cool because, Val, our coordinator spoke to us and there were quite a few of us. I met a really nice guy through that group and just mingled with other people. It must have been 50 people there or more and it was all ages. It was a great environment.

Another event I did was the Night at Perot, which is a museum in Dallas. It's once a month on a Thursday and it's called Perot on Tap. They have food trucks, beer, and wine set up outside. It's only for 21 and older, and it's after hours. You get free access to the entire museum. They had live music and it was really cool. I was nervous for that one because I couldn't drink at all. I took an Uber and it was a little bit of a drive. I just didn't wanna drink and then drive. I couldn't find the group and I didn't know where to meet. I found the host. It was awkward and nobody was talking to me. I knew no one. The host was so sweet. She took me in that night and introduced me to a couple of people so that I wouldn't be walking around by myself.

My favorites so far are the Friday night event and the New Members Darts and Pizza and Pool because I played pool and I won. On Friday night, I'm going to Cirque du Soleil with a group, and then Saturday, I'm going to Scarborough Fair. So far, I've made some good friends. I met a couple of women there. One of them's a little bit older than me. I'm 53 and the other one's in her mid-40s. We've been doing all kinds of stuff together. We text each other every day. We also did Thursday night which was Beer Bingo then Friday night which was the darts thing.

On Saturday night, we did what was called a 70s, 80s Night at a Winery. They played only 70s and 80s music. It ended up being more of a karaoke thing and I'm not a karaoke fan. And I don't like listening to everybody. They sound horrible. All in all, Events and Adventures is interesting because the people are so unique. I wish it had more diversity but it's okay. I've made some good friends out of this and I'm glad I did it.

The best event for me was the one at the beach because I love the beach. But Events and Adventures doesn't do too much beach events. Also, everything happens in Tampa Bay area. I live in Bradenton and work in St. Pete. It's a little bit harder for me because I drive to St. Pete every day then drive back to my house, which is about 40 minutes drive each way. When I get back home, I'm not going to drive back to go to the event. I'm tired. It's too far, so I usually go on the weekends. I paid for bunch of events in two weeks, but I didn't go to any because I've been working so much and was so tired.

Sometimes, a member hosts an event. But not everyone is spontaneous and talks to people. A lot of times I went to events, the host didn't even look at me. I'm a very communicative person. I talk to everybody. I have a strong personality. If somebody goes to an event and you are the host, you are the one that's supposed to say, “Hi. How are you? What's your name? Do you know anybody here?” Make people feel comfortable and introduce them to everybody. Another thing is the other day, I talked to Rebecca, the host, and I told her, “Why don't you talk to the guys? Maybe they can do something similar for teenagers.” My son is struggling to make friends. They would love to do paintball, skydiving and a lot of things but they're not allowed to come with us because they have to be over 18.

I've been strategic about choosing the events I go to, easing my way in, picking arts and crafts kind of things, where I'm thinking there's mostly women there. I just wanted to get to know people and do some things. So, I chose a board and brush activity. And I'm putting that one up because that one evolved. It was a great activity. There were at least 20 E and A members, all different ages, walks of life. It was a good mix.

I was at a table with four women, and I got up and walked around and introduced myself to a few other members. And when the class is over, which was a good class and I will go again, I enjoyed it a lot, I made a nice board, one of the ladies at the table that I was at had suggested that a few of us go out after for like appetizers and a cocktail to kind of get to know each other a little better. So that's how it evolved. And I said, "Okay. This is good."

We got to know each other a little bit. And she walked around the room and asked a few people. So a good handful of us went to the same plaza. And it was very social, a drink and an appetizer, and we talked a bit more. And that turned out to be a nice day. There are a couple other activities and the same thing, arts and crafts things. I signed up for a trip, and I was on a Zoom last night. So, I'm very excited about that.

I did a lot of travel married, but not alone. So, this trip is my first safe trip. We're going to a vineyard in California, in Napa. They have info sessions, and I didn't understand how the trips work. There are a lot of little things behind the scenes. That helped because after I signed up, there were other expenses I wasn't aware of, and it was too late. It wouldn't have stopped me. But I wasn't as informed as I wanted to be. It was a day late that I went to the information session about trips. But once I signed up and started making payments, the person who coordinates the trip set up Zooms and touch base kind of things, which was one of the first meetings. Last night was a Zoom meeting. She was fantastic.

All but two of the people who are attending showed up on the Zoom. And we had a lot of questions answered and got to see each other and see who will go. So, it was another nice way to see who you would hang out with. So when I got more information, I know what I'm doing to book my flight and there would be follow-up Zooms and emails. I like that. We would be informed along the way.

Most of it is a Zoom thing, but I would like to attend mostly Mountain time. And I get E and A is all across the country. But I'm in Boston so that's a three-hour difference. So, when there's a Zoom set for 7 o'clock, it means 10 PM for me. So, there have been a couple that I have not signed up for because that timing is too late for me during the week, which is unfortunate. It's not anybody's fault. The people who coordinate some of these things are on the Mountain time. But there's a disadvantage to those of us over at New England. During the week at 10 o'clock, I work. There's a large group of us that are middle-aged so I'm sure most of us are closing our eyes around 10 o'clock. So, last night Zoom was 9:00 something for me. I had to prep my day to make sure I wasn't in my pjs and sitting down comfy.

This month coming, I had to slow my role in my own mind and say, “You don't have to sign up for everything.” I'm grateful that there are that many options. But everybody has to find the things that work for them. When I sign up for stuff, I sign up for things that are on the weekend or a day that I'm not working. I sit back, pay and show up. That's a nice option for someone who's single and trying to figure a new life out.

E&A had something way on the opposite of the town and I drove 50 miles to go to it. The event was canceled for whatever reason and that didn't sit well with me. The second one was the same thing. It was canceled because of the rain. I finally got to the third one and I really wanted to get my money back. A rep said, "Sure, we can do it." But it took an act of God, so I figured I was stuck with it so I should try and use the service since I paid for it. It was about a month or maybe a little longer than a month that I decided to go on a few of the outings to get my money's worth.

I did bingo and I really enjoyed it. At that time, very few people showed up for it. Now, there are lots of people that show up so it's really fun. The other event was eating over by the beach and that was really great. Each time that E&A has it, I'm always there. There was also movie night but they usually have it on the opposite side of the town, which was 40 miles from me. Whenever they change it to my area of town or midtown, I try to make it to that event.

It's been averaging now probably 10 to 15 days a month that I get a chance to go and mix and mingle. For the rest of the time, I either have dates or something else planned. I bowl and that's four times out of the month that I don't do anything with E&A. I've met a lot of new friends that we stay in contact with. If there were events, we know that most likely we're all going to be there at that time. A lot of times when we're there, such as bingo, we usually leave after bingo and go to a club, play darts for maybe an hour, have a couple of drinks, and then go home from there.

I might be a little bit older than most of the people that are in the group. But if I find somebody to date, then that would be wonderful. If I don't, I'm still having fun mixing and mingling with the group. There are lots of interests that I seem to like. I tried to make any of the things that are within 20 miles from where I live because a lot of people drive for you to come to an event and I didn't think that it was right. I usually try and make most of the events or help the host out in any way possible also. Everything has been pretty good for me.

I'm going on a ski trip next month and this one is in California. But after that, I probably won't be doing any more. The trip seems to be really expensive. Before I got married, I used to go on lots of trips. I would go snow skiing, for instance. I would pay for friends of mine to come. All they have to do is show up and everything is paid for. Whenever I booked the house, the ski rental, and everything, it was probably about half the price with E&A. The host probably needs to get paid or their portion paid for. But E&A has a lot of people in the group that have a lot of money so that's not a factor for most of them. But there are a few that are pinching pennies.

Other than that, I'm enjoying it in every way possible. So far, everything has been great and wonderful. E&A got better at telling people about things when an event is canceled. They got better at reminding me about upcoming events that I may have signed up for. Everything has been a whole lot better for the last six or nine months.

The sunset cruise was awesome. We all met, we went on the cruise, we were all together. There was an announcer up there telling us what's going on and it was delightful. I love those kinds of things. We were able to go on this cruise at a discounted price because it was on a group rate. So, if I will do it on my own, I'd pay more. So, I like the fact that I got it at a nicer rate and I would recommend. I wish that there were more cruises because they've got all kinds of things going on on the water. They do kayaking. But I like the actual cruise or the water activities. And my second favorite was when we went to the beach. All of us went there. I'm going tomorrow to a bar where they live music. And Sunday, I'm going to a pool party.

I liked the fact that Events and Adventures had the little finishing touches, like they had the glow bracelets. They add a bit. I appreciate that. I love those kinds of things. The online activities, I'm not very interested. And last night, we were supposed to go to cantina, but it was hit by lightning. So, we went to this little bowling alley. The first one I went to, I signed up for a concert in the park and it rained. And our leader, Rebecca, was awesome. She knew what was going on and she took us to these little places that she knew of and it ended up being a fabulous evening. So, I've been very pleased so far. Everyone has been very friendly to me and it has been very nice.

I really like this. I'm a teacher. So, in the summer, I've got this more time. As the year progresses, I'm not going to be able to attend as much many events, not because I don't want to or it's getting old, but because of my schedule. It will be more on weekends and holidays and stuff. But I like the fact that there's a calendar. I get to pick and choose. When it's full, they always seem to make accommodations for me. I was afraid that I'd signed up for something, everything would be full, all the good stuff. But that's not the case. So, everything I want to do, it's right there. But I would recommend a bit more water activities because we're by the ocean, and that's something not every place has. That would just be my recommendation because Events and Adventures is doing great.

At first glance, "Oh, 2,400. That's a lot of money." In this stage of my life where it's really hard to meet people, it's hard to go around, going to bars, not my style. You're really paying for the calendar. And a lot of those activities are free. If you want to pay for more stuff, you can too. It's on your own discretion. It was well worth the money because I'm able to meet people and see the new city at the same time. I would tell my friends it's really something. It's a good use of the money if you're single. It's hard to meet people and people are married, they have their kids. And when you're single, you're in a group that's an oddity. It's very hard. Going with a family, you just are tag-along.

But Events and Adventures gives that opportunity where you can meet people. If you meet someone in the group, great, and strike it good. Or if you made a girlfriend, it doesn't matter. You're there interacting with people with the same goals and desires. And everybody has a good time. It's a good investment of the money. Otherwise, being single, you'd spend that money in bars and not be able to explore having that opportunity. It's a great concept. I'm mad at myself that I didn't come up with this idea years ago. I'm like, "Why didn't I think of this?" Because you have a calendar, you have an interaction with other people and it's a great way to get yourself in a situation where you're with other people. I'll go to places by myself, explore by myself.

But this way, I don't have to go alone anymore. I'm in a group. I'm very grateful that I stumbled upon this. And when I told my friends at first, they said it's a lot of money to put up for something like this and don't get anything. But you're paying for the challenge and the opportunity. And to have that opportunity that, normally, if you're doing it on your own, it's not gonna be as fum or memorable. You have a purpose and you're in a group. And I like the fact also that they always make a point to make pictures, a group picture, and they post it on the site and on Facebook. I take my own pictures. But when they take it as a group, it's nice to have that little memory.

I have met some people who I liked but I haven't made new friends yet. I tell people for other groups that I'm involved in that if they don't go, they're not gonna get anything from it. I wish I had a little more time because, so far, I’ve only been able to go to a handful of events. If people saw me more often, it would be easier to make friends with them and because they all go to different events depending on their interest, you don't necessarily see the same people at each event. I am still thinking about doing the trips. Events and Adventures has one coming up that I would enjoy. There’s a waiting list for a dancing event tomorrow, which is taco and tango, and I hope I get into that. They do a lot of cool stuff on weekends that I can't do because I work Saturday mornings. But that’s my issue. Even if they're online, they have events every day. So, it’s not on them.

I've done a couple of events and they've all been cool and always fun. It's always a good time. My experience overall as far as being able to find someone, it's been a little bit scarce. It was primarily because the majority of the women are older. A lot of them are overweight too. This seems to be the folks joining in. The women that are signing up for Events and Adventures are women that need it. As far as finding a mate, it’s been slim pickings. But as far as hanging out and meeting cool people and being friends with a bunch of people, it’s a great space for that.

The cost is a little high. It's just like an expensive gym membership. There is a lot that comes with it. You still have to pay here and there. But for the most part, it's not a bad thing. It also helps to weed out the deadbeats because if you're able to afford this, then that means that you're doing okay. Events and Adventures has been overall positive. It's just when they're selling you on it, they leave out that part about the demographics. I'm older and I don't have a big social circle. That's why I'm in Events and Adventures. If I did have a big social circle where people call me all the time to go out for beers or hang out, then I wouldn't be in there. I'd be already doing that. Myself, along with others, meet some socially awkward types because this is all the people that join. But it's cool. Everybody’s been really sweet and friendly, even the saleswoman. She was kind and good at her job. She wasn't overly pushy as you would expect a salesperson to be.

It was interesting because I didn't know really what I was walking into or generally what the club is about or the type of people that might be there. The different types of events are likely to attract different kinds of people because of the size of the group. I found that people that were gravitating toward that type of experience were a lot of fun to hang out with. They're all very easy to get along with and speak to. I was surprised how easy it was to walk into a house of complete strangers and spend three days with them and do a whole bunch of different activities. It generally was a very positive experience.

Events and Adventures had a paid employee that was on site and was managing a lot of the logistics such as any of the food preparation or food plans for activity planning. She was there engaged in part of the experience as well. That was taken care of, which was nice. That was really left up to the participants, but it was more or less everyone could do what they wanted to do with their time. They didn't have to be involved with any particular group activity if people were doing certain things. It was nice that people could do their own thing, but there was always a plan where people could go and do something that was a planned activity as well.

I've attended about four events total so far since joining around February 1st. The other events that I've done have been local in the Boston area and they've been fun. One was an escape room type of thing where you do a bunch of different tasks with the group. Another one was like a Dave & Buster's where you just go and hang out, have a few drinks, and play games at Dave & Buster's. I did a dinner/drinks for young professionals as well and these were people specifically under 40 but the group was open to people that are of any age. This event was a little bit more catered towards people that were 40 years or under as opposed to 40 or over. Events and Adventures is pretty good. The next one that I have coming up that I have physically planned and committed to is a trip to Croatia in August.

But there are some negatives as well. One of the things is a small room for a big gathering. That is not very healthy as we still have a pandemic going on. The other thing is that if an event is very popular, like the Hamilton theater event, they should run it several months in a row. Or they should bring it back because not all of the members can get on it. Other than that, I feel safe and welcome with them. Everyone is very friendly and nobody is judging me. I recommend this to anyone.