Sport – Blue Moment

Day 175: Little Big Adventure

August 11, 2026Posted in 365 Project, Activities, Alanna, Asikkala, Family, Kiara, Outdoors, Sport, WaterTagged 365 Project, Activities, Alanna, Children, Holidays, Kiara, Learning, Outdoors, Sport, Summer CottageLeave a comment

The best purchase of the summer – if you ask the girls – has been the massive, almost 5m-long swimming mattress Ukki ordered.

It easily holds both girls standing up, so, wearing a life jackets, Alanna and Kiara have been allowed to push it almost to the middle of the lake by themselves. This is, of course, infinitely cooler than doing it with an adult. Ukki even towed the girls and the mattress all the way to the other side of the strait.

In the deep, the mattress becomes a platform for jumping, diving, kicking, pushing and generally messing around in the water. The best game, naturally, is trying to stay standing when the waves from a passing boat rock the mattress.

Great fun and a great way to build even more confidence in the water.

Now we just need to figure out where an earth to store a thick, 5m mattress for the winter.

Day 169: The Longest Streak

August 5, 2026Posted in 365 Project, Activities, Family, Finland, Outdoors, SportTagged 365 Project, Activities, family, Outdoors, Sport, SummerLeave a comment

Today, I have officially surpassed the number of days I managed in my previous 365 challenge, nine years ago.

Still posting.

To mark this momentous day, the weather turned foul with high, gusty winds and intermittent rain.

The perfect occassion to go frisbee golfing with family. We will enjoy the summer, perkele!

Day 168: Local Sights

August 4, 2026Posted in 365 Project, Activities, Alanna, Asikkala, Finland, Kiara, Nature, Outdoors, Sport, Stuart, Travelling, WaterTagged 365 Project, Activities, Alanna, Finland, Kiara, Nature, Outdoors, Scenery, Sport, Stuart, TravelLeave a comment

When something is close to home, you rarely see it as anything special.

Pulkkilanharju is a narrow esker gormed during the Ice Age. It is surrounded by the open waters of lake Päijänne, with small green islands dotting the landscape. It is often listed as one of the most scenic drives in Finland.

But because it is so close to the summer cottage, years can pass without us visiting.

This year, we decided not only to drive across it, but also to walk the short nature trail in the national park. The girls insisted the terrain was so challenging they couldn’t possibly have finished the walk without the 1,5l of bilberries they ate along the way. It really wasn’t. But the bilberries were clearly excellent.

We finished the adventure with lunch and ice cream at Vääksy Lock. Another piece of Finland’s must-see scenery.

Day 163: On To Kotka

July 30, 2026July 30, 2026Posted in 365 Project, Finland, Nature, Outdoors, Sport, Stuart, Stuart, TravellingTagged 365 Project, Finland, Holidays, Nature, Outdoors, Scenery, Sport, Stuart, Summer, TravelLeave a comment

The clouds were heavy today, but there was (almost) no rain. The occassional drizzle – so light that the wind dried us faster than the rain got us wet – doesn’t count.

A win in my books.

The route from Loviisa to Kotka was mostly on paved roads, rather than the forest tracks and gravel roads we usually look for. In fact, we occassionally end up in paths more suited to game tracks in our determination to avoid bigger roads. Only once have we been forced to backtrack for more than a kilometer or so.

We’ve been lost at least twice.

Still, there were several interesting stops: the Loviisa fortress ruins, Strömfors Iron Works, the Savukoski Museum Bridge and the Tsar’s Fishing Lodge. What supprised us the most was finding a quite large and lovingly nurtured English Garden in the middle of absolutely nowhere (Erja’s Garden).

Finally, a note to self: Sunday evening is not the right time to find great restaurants in Kotka.

Day 162: Porvoo-Loviisa

July 29, 2026July 29, 2026Posted in 365 Project, Architecture, Finland, Nature, Outdoors, Sport, Stuart, Stuart, TravellingTagged 365 Project, Architecture, Finland, Nature, Outdoors, Scenery, Sport, Stuart, Summer, TravelLeave a comment

A few days before the weekend, the forecast was still predicting massive rainfall – as much rain in two days as we normally get in the whole of July. With that in mind, partly cloudy Saturday felt like a win.

The cycle path from Porvoo to Loviisa meanderered through fields and forests. A few small villages and the occassional grand manor house dotted the route.

Stuart and I have developed a tradition of betting on which animal we see first on our cycling trips (cats, dogs and birds don’t count). I played it safe and put my money on a cow. Stuart guessed a horse. He won – although technically that was only the second one. The first animal we saw was a donkey. Maybe I should have known.

We did not see a single cow during the entire trip. Not one.

Loviisa is another lovely seaside town with a wooden old town and very popular harbor district with cafes and restaurants. Fortunately, the rain gave us a good excuse to call it a night early.

Day 156: Scateboards

July 23, 2026July 26, 2026Posted in 365 Project, Activities, Alanna, Espoo, Kiara, Sport, StuartTagged 365 Project, Activities, Alanna, Espoo, Kiara, SportLeave a comment

Last summer Alanna and Kiara got excited about skateboards. Stuart and I, on the other hand, have absolutely no understanding of the fine art of skateboarding. We didn’t even know where to start.

The City of Espoo has been running a great initiative called Skateboard Containers, where more experienced skateboarders offer advice to younger or less experienced kids. The girls were bit young, but we took them to one of the containers in Matinkylä.

Rarely have I been as impressed by a city initiative. Two 14-year-old boys took the girls under their wing and patiently taught them for nearly two hours – held their hands coming down, gave advice and encouragement. The spark those boys lit in my girls lasted the whole summer.

This year we’ve had very little time to go practice and many of those skills have gotten rusty. But the excitement is still there.

Now I just need to find them a skateboarding course. As great as the container is, it can only take us so far.

Day 147: Evening Ride

July 12, 2026July 12, 2026Posted in 365 Project, Activities, Espoo, Outdoors, SportTagged 365 Project, Activities, Espoo, Outdoors, Sport, SummerLeave a comment

Our electric bicycles are among the best investments Stuart and I have ever made.

We’ve done fantastic tours with the kids sitting in the back and one of us towing our luggage in a trailer. In addition to shorter trips, such as weekend in Porvoo, we’ve toured the Finnish archipelago, Åland, and Sweden – our longest tour yet. We planned it for 450km, but ended up doing 600km instead.

Now that Alanna and Kiara are riding their own bicycles, the distances are shorter and we are prioritising trips closer to home. Even so, after a long day in front of the laptop, a quick 20-25km ride still feels amazing

Day 145: Big and Small

July 11, 2026July 11, 2026Posted in 365 Project, Activities, Alanna, Espoo, Kiara, Outdoors, SportTagged 365 Project, Activities, Alanna, Children, Espoo, Kiara, Outdoors, Sport, SummerLeave a comment

After work, I took the girls for a swim. The hot weather is about to turn, so felt like the thing to do.

While getting ready, Kiara fussed about her swimsuit, her hair and her swimming bag. She wanted to look cool in case she saw her friends.

When we got to Oittaa, she spotted the Angry Birds playground. Luckily, at that moment, the playground and splashing in the water still felt “cool” enough.

I wish I would convince her that there is plenty of time to be big yet.

Day 143: Tenacity

July 9, 2026July 9, 2026Posted in 365 Project, Activities, Alanna, Espoo, Kiara, Outdoors, SportTagged 365 Project, Activities, Alanna, Children, Espoo, Holidays, Kiara, Outdoors, Sport, SummerLeave a comment

I admire children’s dermination to have fun once they decide they are going to have fun.

I took Kiara and Alanna to a nearby sports-focused amusement park today. The temperature climbed above 30°C and the park had practically no shade. Even so, we stayed for more than 7h and tested every climbing, jumping, pedalling, lifting, shooting, running and balancing activity available. Considering the park has more than 30 different jumping castles alone, that was no small feat.

Most of the other kids gave up, and by late afternoon only a handful of the hardiest ones were still around.

At the endof the day, we popped into a nearby supermarket, bought swimming costumes to all three of us and went for a swim. Lake water has rarely felt so good!

Day 141: Beaching

July 7, 2026July 7, 2026Posted in 365 Project, Activities, Alanna, Espoo, Kiara, Outdoors, Sport, WaterTagged 365 Project, Activities, Alanna, Espoo, Finland, Holidays, Kiara, Outdoors, SportLeave a comment

We are still not beach people. But Matinkylä Beach is exactly the right distance for a family bike ride on a hot day.

The kids spent about 15 min in the sea. Even though they love swimming, the salty water seems to take away half of the fun. But they did spend the next 2h climbing, running and playing.

The best thing about cycling to the beach is that 90% of the sand falls off on the way home.