{"id":19921,"date":"2023-05-03T14:42:00","date_gmt":"2023-05-03T22:42:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/?p=19921"},"modified":"2026-04-14T18:29:29","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T02:29:29","slug":"warm-weather-activities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/warm-weather-activities\/","title":{"rendered":"Warm weather activities"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Written by: <span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mikayla Coleman<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Say goodbye to the endless gloomy, gray days of Oregon winter\u2014 the weeks ahead call for warm sunshine and warm hearts. Use the recommendations listed below to construct one\u2019s perfect sunny day.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Have a picnic with friends<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u2014 Picnics should be a more widely accepted adult activity. Nothing beats sitting on a nice hill and spending time with some friends. Simply pack one\u2019s favorite snacks, beverages, paper plates and disposable utensils to get one\u2019s picnic started. Going with a number of friends? Assign responsibilities and collaborate in making a charcuterie board with an assortment of different fruits, cheeses, jams and nuts.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Play an outdoor sport<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u2014 Whether one is looking to go to an outdoor court or looking for less competitive physical activities, Western has many options to choose from when it comes to playing outdoor sports. My personal favorite outdoor sport is Badminton, but there are courts specifically for tennis and basketball courts for students and community members to use on Western\u2019s campus. If one is looking for a more casual activity, one can bring a volleyball or soccer ball out to Western\u2019s recreational areas and fields to toss around with a friend.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Visit restaurants and bars with outdoor seating <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u2014 There are some great places to get drinks and grub in the Monmouth-Independence area. Drytown Tap Station is notoriously known for its great outdoor seating and variety of food trucks nearby. They also participate in WOU Wednesday and give students different rotating discounts on various drinks and food. Another wonderful spot to consider is Mangiare Italian Restaurant. With great patio outdoor seating, excellent pasta, complimentary bread and cocktails to die for, when the sun comes out, visiting Mangiare is a must.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Relax by the river \u2014 <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The sound of rushing water is soothing. Luckily, we are very close to Independence\u2019s riverfront park. Take the MI Trolley to the riverfront to relax and rewind after heavy study days. Spread out a blanket and bring one\u2019s favorite pair of headphones or a portable speaker to listen to one\u2019s favorite music. One can also bring a book, journal, planner or craft to work on while soaking up the rays.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Visit an outdoor market \u2014 <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">One of the best things about the warm weather returning is the return of outdoor markers. Whether one needs fresh fruits or veggies, a beautiful bundle of flowers or some handmade jewelry, outdoor markets got it covered. Independence has a small farmers market that runs April through October. Located in the Independence Umpqua Bank parking lot, one can visit the market on Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. If one is looking for a more elaborate market with a wider variety of vendors, Salem Saturday Market is located in downtown Salem from March through October. The market is also open on Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Contact the author at howleditor@wou.edu<\/span><\/p>\n<p><br \/><br \/><\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1094,"featured_media":19922,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19921","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle"],"modified_by":"saragerrick","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19921","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1094"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19921"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19921\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25423,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19921\/revisions\/25423"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19922"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19921"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19921"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19921"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}