For this episode of Hobby Dabbler, we combined two loves of mine and Paul’s: cocktails and photography! Our guest, Dave Imbordino, joined us for an evening of tips and tricks for photographing some delicious drinks that we stirred, shaked, er… “mixed up” together with some friends.

If you ever have thought about hosting a cocktail party 1) listen to Dave’s pro tips after the podcast credits and 2) invite us!

I hadn’t even considered the category of “social hobbies” when I was making Hobby Dabbler but I’m totally convinced that if the main reason of doing a hobby is to socialize, then it ought to get some kind of credit. Instead of an actual tag, like how I normally bin the hobbies I try, I’m going to create a “social hobby” category for these types of things – similar to how I made a “parent-child” category which could apply to various hobbies.

I will say, this episode was 6 months in the making. It was one of my first actual hobby dabbles but the most complicated and time-intensive episode to put together – and for the shortest recording so far! The good news with taking so long to get through this episode is that I’ve already learned so much from editing other episodes that I was able to do this one justice (I hope) with demonstrating how much fun I had because I took a chance and said “yes.” Enjoy!

Learning to sail was not on my bucket list. In fact, I’d never actually been on a sailboat in open water before I took the class. One day, when talking with a friend of a friend who happened to be another federal employee, I learned that I have access to the Naval Support Activity attached to the US Naval Academy, which was a way to learn while being considerably cheaper than private organizations. So, in the winter of 2020, I added my name to the waitlist for a 3-day sailing class sometime in the summer of 2021.

Come June, I found myself in a small classroom upstairs from the marina office with 4 other strangers on a Friday evening. I spent that evening and the next 2 full days with these people, trusting each other to get us to and fro the Severn River by Annapolis, Maryland. Everyone in the class had varying degrees of experience with sailing, myself probably having the least (given that I’d only stepped aboard a docked sailboat twice before the class). There were so many nautical terms to learn! I’m sure we only scratched the surface in this 3-day class but I’m pretty sure I learned at least 50 new words along with the totally new concepts that they were for. It was intense! Optionally, I chose to include the ASA 101 test at the end of my curriculum so that my new skills would be more transferable at different marinas, should I choose to venture beyond the Carr Creek Marina.

Among my classmates was a retired couple, Mark and Moniek Janczewski. We all exchanged contact information before the end of class but I wasn’t sure who was serious about getting together to practice on the water. I was happy to actually hear from Mark and Moniek a couple of weeks later.

Since class, we’ve gone out sailing together a couple of times – including once on my birthday with my son. In all, I’ve gone sailing 5 times since class and, each time, my comfort and confidence grows. I was especially thrilled when Moniek and Mark were agreeable to being interviewed for this podcast! Funny enough, the topic of sea-sickness was almost forgotten until the end of the interview. Paul’s pro tip: If you weigh more than 200 pounds, it’s probably a good idea to wear multiple sea-sickness patches (and bring extra in case they fall off)!

One of the things we totally forgot to talk about was knots! I know, you’re thinking, “How could you NOT talk about knots when it comes to sailing?!” Well, it happened – we forgot. Needless to say, there are various knots you have to learn – each with specific functions for sailing. If you came here really hoping to learn about boating knots, well, I can’t disappoint you. Here’s a link.

My best friend, Kathryn, and I have kids around the same age. Needless to say, even though we live 45 minutes apart, we spend a lot of time together and the kids have grown up like brother and sister. I've tried a few past times to bond with my son, Giuliano: riding scooters at the skate park, playing Pokémon GO, getting a dog, coding at Code Ninjas, Kiwi Tinker Crates, watching TV shows that we both look forward to... But lately, my attempts pale to the lure of video games. Biking seems like a chore, Kayaking tandem-style made both of us angry, and doing yard work together doesn't seem to be catching on either. *sigh* So, now I'm on a quest to find things to do with my 10 year old that we BOTH enjoy. Kathryn has had a similar journey.

When Kathryn was pregnant and found out she was having a girl, I remember she was worried about her daughter being a "girly girl," because Kathryn herself was pretty basic - doesn't wear make-up, doesn't pluck her eyebrows, isn't trendy when it comes to fashion, etc. Well, as luck would have it, she had a "girly girl." Aubrie has always loved the princess toys, played dress-up with wigs, and has been a sassy gymnast for the past 6 years.

Both of their birthdays are in August (along with mine!) and, last year, Kathryn thought it would be fun to get Aubrie a ukulele and take lessons together, so she got one for herself too. On Aubrie's birthday, Kathryn came out strumming Happy Birthday (thanks to YouTube) and the plan was set. However, when it came time to find someone to give them lessons, they were all being done virtually. With school and gymnastics already being virtual, Kathryn couldn't stand the thought of one more thing for her daughter to go through via a screen. So, the ukuleles lie in waiting.

Still wanting to do something with her daughter that interested the both of them, they found horseback riding! Listen in to hear about Kathryn's parent-child hobby journey. (Note that if you mention this podcast to Roxy at Sweet Rock Stables, she'll give you $10 off your first lesson.)

What hobbies have you tried with your child? Did it stick? Let us know in the comments below.