The things this guy gets me to do! Everyone says that you should step outside your comfort zone every now and then. So, go ahead and blame thank James R.C. Smith of SocialDad.ca for this week’s vlog. Many of us played with toy trucks as kids, but I don’t think I’ve ever been to a proper monster truck show! Not counting the shorter free shows at the PNE, of course. In any case, with Monster Jam in town this weekend, James wanted to go and he invited me to come along. So, I did.

For my part, this little adventure was much less about seeing Grave Digger do donuts in Pacific Coliseum, and more about enjoying a little bit of social time with another adult. Ever since becoming a dad, that part of my life has fallen to the wayside. We used to get together for Dot Com Pho every Saturday; these days, it’s every few months at best. I think there was even a stretch of over a year in there.

Don’t get me wrong. I love being a dad and it’s the most rewarding “job” I’ve ever had. But we all need a little reprieve sometimes, and we need to connect with like-minded people now and then. That’s why, even though I’m anything but a rugged outdoorsman, I joined James and three other dads for the #5DadsGoWild camping trip last September.

We’re going camping again this year, by the way, so stay tuned for that.

Have you ever been to Monster Jam? How often do you get together with your (adult) friends for a bit of kid-free fun. (To be fair, there were understandably a lot of kids at Monster Jam Vancouver. But, you know, not our kids.)