So many hobbies over the year, seems likeno matter what, the budget gets higher and higher with each new hobby!
Originally, was really into salt water aquariums. (3) 250 gallon tanks, one for corals only, one for fish only, one for a mix. At least 10 smaller tanks for support and specific specific species. Lost interest when I couldn't really travel as much as I wanted. Don't want to think how much $ I spent on this one.
Used to be really into cars and racing/track stuff. After building a few street and racecars, I started a motorsports consulting company (my pitch was "how to turn your hobby into a tax deductible business"), worked all over the professional racing industry, got burned out. Was at the track 6 days a week for the last 2 years of it, have driving everytype of racer out there, and realized I would never be able to afford this "hobby" at the level I wanted to be involved. My clients were spending $100k+ a weekend to go racing and the grassroots stuff I could afford on my own just didn't cut it once I had a taste of the the banks at Daytona and such.
Still really into watches, but got rid of most of my really expensive pieces a few years ago. Now, I only keep ones I wear at least 2-3 days a month. As you can see, it's a pretty basic "collection" despite visiting a watch forum at least once a day to check on discussions and look for some grail pieces. Probably spend 15 hours a week on this one...
Pens are like an extension of watches. It started with my first Panerai watch (PAM162) caming with a matching serial # Montegrappa pen. Every once in a while I find another cool pen and it seems now I have a "collection" but it's not really a "hobby" I spend anytime on.
Audio, originally home stereo and now exclusively 2 Channel analog, is a shared hobby with friends. Cigars and scotch or tequila with hours a week spent comparing album pressings and versions. Probably spend 10-15 hours a week on this one, but mostly listening and enjoying it. Spend maybe 2-4 hours a month vinyl shopping.
Tequila is huge for me. Spent alot of time in Mexico, toured some distilleries, and the more I learned, the more hooked I got. I've got 68 bottles now in various stages of being drunk, but by the time I get another bottle or two, I've completely drained another so the total count usually doesn't go higher. I seek out Tequila bars, debate distillery processes and methods, and engage anyone I can in talking about it. I average a bottle or two a week, plus time in bars and such, so I'd say another 5-6 hours a week on JUST tequila (not counting bar time).
Traveling is by far my biggest obsession. I will drop anything I'm doing to go somewhere new. I've arranged my consulting business to maximize my travel. In the last 24 months, I've been to: Italy (4x's), Budapest, Sardinia, Cannes, Monaco, Barcelona (3x's), Canary Islands, South Africa, Germany (2x's), Switzerland, Qatar, Bali, Hawaii, Toronto, Quebec, Jamaica, Bahamas, Curacao, Cancun, Mexico City, Jalisco/Tequila, Ibiza...for the US, there's just too many places to begin to list. In the next 6 months: Jamaica, Costa Rica, St. Maarten, Ibiza, Bali, Philippines, Australia, Cayman Islands, Dubai. It takes me all of 30 minutes to pack for anywhere, I've got 2 pages left in my passport for stamps.
Related to travel is SCUBA diving. I've got a "go bag" that travels with me with my essential gear. In Philly, I volunteer at the local aquarium so I can get more time blowing bubbles. It's been 24 years I've been doing it, and def. don't do it enough. Diving gear is not expensive to upkeep once you get what you want, but each boat trip is $100/trip, and travel costs combined make for a pretty expensive hobby. Nothing like it though!
Also related to travel is Snowboarding. Going on 31 years now, even moved to a resort in Colorado for a year and lived at the base of the mountain. I'd like to spend more time on it, but about 2 trips to the Rockies and maybe 1 to the Alps is all my schedule now allows with my new consulting travel schedule.
Cooking isn't so much a hobby as it is a way for me to relax. I'll do dinner parties or just spend 3 hours prepping something for myself to eat and enjoy alone. When traveling, I cook for friends and would usually rather stay in and cook than eat out. The social aspect of getting together in the kitchen to the relaxing zen-like state I get in when prepping and cooking, it's more of a daily activity. Surprisingly, I joined this forum not so support a new hobby and start collecting knives, but instead to learn as much as I could so I could just purchase as few knives as possible to meet my needs...
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