So, I'm very curious to hear what is on everyone's bucketlist.
Mine is quite short.
To go see the stars in an environment away from city lights, such that you can see it in it's full glory.
Like this:
I would only take this trip with whoever my soulmate turns out to be.
That bucketlist item was inspired by seeing the Hale Bopp comet. I was out in the countryside at the barn, going to ride my horse one evening, and the night sky was spectacular. And so was the comet. I couldn't get past how amazing it was.
I also want to see the Aurora Borealis.
Also, I just want to see the Browns win a friggin game, when I am at the stadium. Because it never happens.
Lastly, I want to have floor seats to a Cavs game. While Lebron is on our team. Maybe next year.
My wife and I went to the game where Pettine's team kicked the Steelers' ass. Freaking awesome.
My list:
Visit the pyramids. Visit Rome. Visit the Greek islands. Finish editing my first novel before I retire. Write a couple more books after I retire. Break 90 on the golf course.
I've done a lot of travelling and had/have a good life so I don't feel I've missed out on much.
I've been lucky enough to hit quite a few already (hike to Macchu Pichu, Grand Canyon, Galapagos, Rome, Paris, London, climb mountains, cliff diving (it was only like 30' but htat's enough for me :), hot air balloon, visited India, Mount Rushmore), but have plenty to go:
Hike to Mount Everest basecamp, swim with dolphins, bathe an elephant, hold a monkey, visit places I haven't been (top 15 or so are Hong Kong, Ireland, Iceland, Santorini, Cape Town, New Zealand, Petra, Thailand/Cambodia, Patagonia, Burma, Copenhagen, Plitvice Lakes National Park, Rainbow Mountains, Japan, there are so many ), African Safari (Botswana, Tanzania, or S Africa), hitting all 50 states (10 more to go), watch the Browns in the superbowl retire as early as possible...
I got to see/watch the aurora borealis in the late 80s in northern New Hampshire. (completely unexpected)
Huge colorful patterns in the sky. Different colors. Sometimes symmetrical. Definitely looked created. (like by an intelligent being)
Picture half the sky lighting-up up in red or green or blue or yellow and remains lit for several seconds. Before fading and another completely different pattern bursting across the sky.
Definitely one of nature's greatest shows.
I can certainly understand humans walking away from such an occurrence with a belief in a higher power.
I wonder how predictable aurora borealis is.
I only remember it being predicted to happen once in Connecticut in the 37 years I've lived here. I think it was very weak and I didn't see it. And even in northern New Hampshire; I've been there many times in the last 4 decades and only saw it the one time.
If there is a definite predictability of the borealis in higher latitudes, I would make this trip.
I wonder if Rocket gets to see it all the time in Alaska.
Walk the Brooklyn bridge halfway, turn around go back to Manhattan. Take the Staten Island Ferry. Go to Strawberry fields. Find Washington's War room in Harlem. Go to Roosevelt Island. And do other stuff. These are all free or very cheap things to do.
Only thing on my bucket list right now is to get the hell out of France ! I've traveled a lot and the best place I've ever found is my back yard . Literally my back yard which is the only place anymore that I can breath .
I'm totally feeling the "zero light pollution" vibe.
This place right here:
is about 12 linear miles from a 2-street town, and more than 60 miles away from the next town of any size (roughly similar to Ft. Collins CO).
Every campsite in this preserve is on the shore of one of over 100 lakes. So you can literally walk out of your tent 20 yds, look up... and find your place in the Milky Way Galaxy. While standing ankle deep at that place where your own personal 2 acre island meets O.S.A. Lake...
Killarney Ridge is in the background. Little Mountain Lake is on the other side, to the North. That's where I saw my first Aurora.
The campsite is down at the lake shore. The lake is in a small bowl, almost like a volcanic crater. It was a full moon that weekend, so we night-scrambled back up to the top of the bowl, to look back at Killarney Ridge. We'd reached the halfway point of a 70-mile ridgetop through-hike, and were feeling a bit reflective.
OMG.
As you can see from the pic, the mountain range is white quartzite. It looks snow-covered even on a 90° summer day.
Imagine what this ridge (and the valley between us) looked like, bathed in the light of an un-polluted full moon. That was looking South.
That's when I turned around, pointed North and up... and stared into our celestial neighborhood.
The terrain falls away to the north/NW/NE, so terrain doesn't compete with the show above.
The sky swam with movement, undulating shapes, and colors that have no name.
Met a fella from Atlanta at Auckland airport back in December. Got chatting over airport terminal food.
He'd been traveling NZ a few weeks.
He asked me how to get to Antarctica.
Turns out after visiting every US State, he'd moved onto visiting all the Continents for the next adventure. His folks were ill so he split time between caring for them, working and every few months just jumping on a plane and following his nose. He had a pretty cool outlook on life, bet he has some stories to tell when he pulls up stumps later in life.
He'd done the Northern Aurora also. Planned meticulously; ensured he caught the right plane at the right time and booked/paid for the right window seat. Said he had a 40minute light show from 35000 feet. Very interesting guy......didn't care for Donald.
Any road.
I've swum with a Whale Shark which was nice. I bought a pet snake. I had kids, albeit later in life. Would like to raise them and be around until they are in the mid 20's at least. I've done a Kenyan safari, there were more stars than sky on an unpolluted equator.
Big ticket items, Cleveland during a winning season......and of course, cage diving with Great Whites. I can do the latter in Sth Australia. Will keep you guys posted.
So, I'm very curious to hear what is on everyone's bucketlist.
Mine is quite short.
To go see the stars in an environment away from city lights, such that you can see it in it's full glory.
Like this:
I would only take this trip with whoever my soulmate turns out to be.
That bucketlist item was inspired by seeing the Hale Bopp comet. I was out in the countryside at the barn, going to ride my horse one evening, and the night sky was spectacular. And so was the comet. I couldn't get past how amazing it was.
I also want to see the Aurora Borealis.
Also, I just want to see the Browns win a friggin game, when I am at the stadium. Because it never happens.
Lastly, I want to have floor seats to a Cavs game. While Lebron is on our team. Maybe next year.
We'll see.
I haven't thought too much about bucketlists.
But what are yours?
One of the best things about my time in the Navy was seeing the skies from the middle of the ocean. There is no light pollution out there. It's kind of amazing.
Grandkids - My son is only 2 and half, but I cant stop myself from thinking what his life is going to be like, and see the great things he is going to accomplish.
The only important thing in MY life, I already accomplished, being that little turds Dad. Now its time to worry about providing him every opportunity into giving him a bucket list of his own.
I want to do something important charity-wise. I would like to see Scotland and Australia.
On my last work trip, we visited the FedEx Family House in Memphis - we cooked the families there dinner for the evening. Wasn't a huge gesture, we simply made spaghetti. But man, you can tell it made a difference. Was astounding impact on me.
Reading this thread has made me realize how fortunate I've been so far. I've done quite a few of the things listed and all were great experiences. I've also been able to check off quite a number of things I always wanted to do recently.
Wanted to comment on the OP though:
Quote:
I also want to see the Aurora Borealis.
I saw this in North Idaho, completely unexpected, one night when camping. One of the coolest things I've ever seen. Rocky's description of it is accurate, yet it still doesn't do it justice. I'd actually love to take an Alaskan Cruise or something one time and see if I can't get an even better view of it.
Quote:
Also, I just want to see the Browns win a friggin game, when I am at the stadium. Because it never happens.
At this point, I'm just hoping for a Browns win whenever I turn the game on TV. I can't even remember the last time I watched a win.
As for my list:
- Take an Italy Tour, for like a month. - Tour the Vatican while on the Italy trip. - See Ireland. - Watch a mountain stage of the Tour De France. - See a (preferably manned) rocket launch in person. - Visit the Redwood Forest. - Go to Mt St Helens National Monument up close. - Take a trip to Kauai and see the Napali Coast - Revisit Washington DC and actually take some time to visit the sites. - While in DC, see the Changing of the Guard ceremony. - See the Indy 500 in person. - See the Kentucky Derby in person. - See some of the Egyptian ruins like the Pyramids and Ramses' tombs.
If you do the Vatican thing, let me know, I can give you a few tips. If you're doing it as part of a tour, there might not be much I can provide other than on Rome itself.
Regarding Mt. St. Helens, there are multiple visitors centers, though Johnston Ridge is the best and closest. If you're in decent shape, you can hike up to about 4500' on the south side (via Cougar, Wa) without a permit...you'll need a permit (and other things) to go higher. And the Redwoods are about an 8 or 9 hour drive. I'd either take the long route via the coast (stunning, but slow driving) and make multiple stops...or hit Crater Lake on the way down (a few hours off course).
If you do the Vatican thing, let me know, I can give you a few tips. If you're doing it as part of a tour, there might not be much I can provide other than on Rome itself.
Regarding Mt. St. Helens, there are multiple visitors centers, though Johnston Ridge is the best and closest. If you're in decent shape, you can hike up to about 4500' on the south side (via Cougar, Wa) without a permit...you'll need a permit (amongst other things) to go higher. And the Redwoods are about an 8 or 9 hour drive. I'd either take the long route via the coast (stunning, but slow driving) and make multiple stops...or hit Crater Lake on the way down (a few hours off course).
I’ve lived in Portland for 17 years. Sadly I’ve never been to Crater Lake. I’ve even driven within just a couple miles of it a few times on my way to Burning Man. Just never had the time to stop. I keep saying it but one of these days I just need to go. The Redwoods are amazing. I drove the California coast from San Francisco to Eureka a couple summers before moving west. Some of the groves you drive through on that route alone are breathtaking. And those aren’t even the big boys.
Reading this thread has made me realize how fortunate I've been so far. I've done quite a few of the things listed and all were great experiences. I've also been able to check off quite a number of things I always wanted to do recently.
Wanted to comment on the OP though:
Quote:
I also want to see the Aurora Borealis.
I saw this in North Idaho, completely unexpected, one night when camping. One of the coolest things I've ever seen. Rocky's description of it is accurate, yet it still doesn't do it justice. I'd actually love to take an Alaskan Cruise or something one time and see if I can't get an even better view of it.
Quote:
Also, I just want to see the Browns win a friggin game, when I am at the stadium. Because it never happens.
At this point, I'm just hoping for a Browns win whenever I turn the game on TV. I can't even remember the last time I watched a win.
As for my list:
- Take an Italy Tour, for like a month. - Tour the Vatican while on the Italy trip. - See Ireland. - Watch a mountain stage of the Tour De France. - See a (preferably manned) rocket launch in person. - Visit the Redwood Forest. - Go to Mt St Helens National Monument up close. - Take a trip to Kauai and see the Napali Coast - Revisit Washington DC and actually take some time to visit the sites. - While in DC, see the Changing of the Guard ceremony. - See the Indy 500 in person. - See the Kentucky Derby in person. - See some of the Egyptian ruins like the Pyramids and Ramses' tombs.
I hiked the Napali Coast trail a number of years ago. Lived on Kalalau Beach for five days and four nights. My friends and I had it pretty much to ourselves. It was an amazing experience. I will say do it young. It’s an incredibly difficult trail. 11 miles in, 11 miles out. Very hot and humid in the jungle parts. Very hot and exposed on the cliff (pali) parts. Some of it extremely narrow, steep, and dangerous. At mile 7 is an area called Crawlers Ledge. It literally kills people regularly. My (ex)wife got that far and didn’t want to do it. I convinced her (there was no way I was turning around) to do it by me agreeing to carry my backpack, drop it, then come back for hers and carry hers through that section. I won’t lie, it’s crazy narrow, the trail is slopes towards the water, and it’s a long way down to crashing surf. It makes your butthole pucker. Lol Absolutely worth the effort. Just not an old man’s game. Watch this video. Especially around 2:55 on. The camera can’t do justice to just how sloped and narrow that feels when you have a backpack on. It’s...yeah. It’s real.
If you do the Vatican thing, let me know, I can give you a few tips. If you're doing it as part of a tour, there might not be much I can provide other than on Rome itself.
Regarding Mt. St. Helens, there are multiple visitors centers, though Johnston Ridge is the best and closest. If you're in decent shape, you can hike up to about 4500' on the south side (via Cougar, Wa) without a permit...you'll need a permit (and other things) to go higher. And the Redwoods are about an 8 or 9 hour drive. I'd either take the long route via the coast (stunning, but slow driving) and make multiple stops...or hit Crater Lake on the way down (a few hours off course).
Yeah, we'll probably take a self-guided tour of the Vatican. I'd much rather have the freedom of checking things out at our own pace, than being herded around like cattle from place to place. If you have any tips for Rome too, let me know. This is probably our #1 vacation goal at the moment, and as soon as we can do it we probably will.
I've read all about Mt. St. Helens as well, and will definitely check out Johnston Ridge. I've been up to the Portland/Seattle area many times, but never took the time to had over there. We did fly directly over it once on a flight to Seattle, which was pretty cool in and of itself.
And Portland. I'm not sure my wife would ever let me hike that trail! If the trail doesn't kill me, she probably would.
Crater Lake is beautiful...but, surprisingly a ton of mosquitoes (as it is snowy even in June I didn't think they would be there, but they are). If you do go, it is well worth hiking the mile or so down from the rim and taking the boat out to Wizard Island.
Off the top of my head my bucket list places to visit:
Vietnam Peru Cuba Chile Ecuador and then on to Galapagos Islands. Faroe Islands Kenyan/Tanzanian safari or into the jungle of Uganda to see the Silverbacks.
Regarding seeing and doing something before I die...I'd love to see a Great White in the wild. So, I guess that would involve going to South Africa and doing one of those shark cage excursions. That said, I'm not sure how I feel about those tourist trips. I have read a lot about the sheer volume of tourists doing it and how it is changing how sharks behave simply because they are being fed. But, I'd really love to see this most beautiful and awesome creature up close and in its natural setting.
Yeah, we'll probably take a self-guided tour of the Vatican. I'd much rather have the freedom of checking things out at our own pace, than being herded around like cattle from place to place. If you have any tips for Rome too, let me know. This is probably our #1 vacation goal at the moment, and as soon as we can do it we probably will.
We went to Rome, Florence, Siena, Lucca and Pisa for our honeymoon. When we were in Rome we actually stayed in Vatican City as it was cheaper and a short walk over the bridge into Rome. We actually saw/heard the Pope one day during one of his masses. The square was absolutely packed and yes, there were people on the pavement selling plastic Virgin Mary's. But, I love Italy. I love the fact that it is pretty chaotic, kinda dirty, people whipping around looking uber cool and ultra stylish on their mopeds, smoking cigarettes, litter blowing in the wind and there amongst all the chaos....a Donatello sculpture may be peeking its head out from beneath the weeds.
I'll PM you in the next few days. It'll be too much to fit into a PM, but I'll get the basics. I'll put in my ph # and email for questions.
#1 rule of tourism in Rome and Florence (to me), is to spend the extra money (nominal normally) to bypass lines. I don't want to go on vacation somewhere and stand in line for hours. Research the tickets and you'll see private tour tickets or something that will allow you to skip the line. I had a lady (American, go figure) go off on me for being rude because she spent 3-4 hours in line for the Vatican tour and I was able to walk directly in.
Also, if you're there on a Wednesday, reach out the the American Catholic Church there for tickets to see the Pope speak. I saw Pope Benedict XVI, and it was a pretty special experience.
We went to Rome, Florence, Siena, Lucca and Pisa for our honeymoon.
Yeah, we want to do something similar. I might need to save up 2 months worth of vacation time. We want to hit a few other cities like Venice as well. Any recommendations?
We went to Rome, Florence, Siena, Lucca and Pisa for our honeymoon.
Yeah, we want to do something similar. I might need to save up 2 months worth of vacation time. We want to hit a few other cities like Venice as well. Any recommendations?
Siena, Lucca and Florence are wonderful and I cannot recommend them enough. San Gimignano is also beautiful as is most of Tuscany. Pisa was mostly destroyed during the war and the only thing to see/left from the old city, really, is the tower and duomo. We only went there as we flew out of Pisa back to London. But, Pisa isn't anything to go out of your way to see. Lucca, however, is a must and you should stay within its medieval walls, eat in its ancient restaurants and walk all around the top of its wall.
Venice is packed in the summer (but a lot of Italy is during the summer) and if you go during these warm months expect that the canals are smelly. It's just the way it is in this ancient city. Don't judge them or compare them for anything they are not. Far too many Americans (and even Northern Europeans and Australians do so and it seems pointless to do so).
I have to agree with PDX on this. I haven't been to Lucca or Pisa, but the rest were great. I loved, loved, loved my visit to Siena and it is quite different than most of Italy in the sense it is a medieval town, and most are not. Il Palio was cool to hear about, and subsequently learn more about.
Florence was super, but very, very touristy to the point where the Italian kids were speaking in English. Wonderful history and great museums (get tickets in advance, skip the line), and excellent food...though I'd avoid the Dante museum, it was not a fun experience.
San Gimignano was cool, I love the history of the towers. This was a stop for us on a bus tour, so I can't say too much more about it.
To add on a non-Tuscany location, go to Pompeii. We took a super day trip from Rome. I could have spent multiple days there.
Lol, I'm slightly embarrassed that the most exotic place I've ever been to is Cleveland.
Portland: there's no way in hell I'd have tried to go up that cliff. Your wife shoulda beat your arse.
Places aside from NY I'd like to visit: British Isles, Italy, Paris, Northern California.
So travel. It’s worth every penny spent. And that doesn’t have to be as much as you’d think.
My buddy’s wife did it without being a whiney B. My wife just needed to ovary up. She was all about that trip. All in. Until she slipped crossing the first stream. Hit her knee. Then proceeded to whine for the next 9.5 miles. I had to carry her pack across the rest of the streams. I think there were 6 total. It was a tough hike but the beach is spectacular. Incredibly remote. You spend your days collecting firewood, fresh water, and mango from the surrounding jungle. Bathe under a waterfall. Camp just off the beach. It’s an amazing adventure.
Just got back from there. We drove from Portland down to Arcata in Humboldt County. This is the grey, foggy, rainy area of California, however, both times I have been down there it has been gorgeous and sunny. Where the redwoods meet the rugged coast and sea. Literally.
Near 40 years ago my wife and I went to Finland for a Reindeer safari above the Circle to see the Northern Lights in their glory.
We drove a long day by bus out of Helsinki in to Lapland, then two days with a Reinder pulling us in sleds. Two days in the camp, then back. It was splendid.
As for remaining things, pretty simple stuff at this point....never been to the Kentucky Derby....got to do that.
Maybe rent as houseboat and cruise lake Meade. We've done a lot. We both liked to travel and decided to do it when we were younger and not wait until we got old and didn't feel like doing it.
Near 40 years ago my wife and I went to Finland for a Reindeer safari above the Circle to see the Northern Lights in their glory.
We drove a long day by bus out of Helsinki in to Lapland, then two days with a Reinder pulling us in sleds. Two days in the camp, then back. It was splendid.
If you can reference 40 years ago, wouldn’t you be a star geezer?
One bucket list we all agree on is seeing the Browns win the Super Bowl. However, my ideal place to watch it would be in a bar in Cleveland rather than the actual Super Bowl. There I know I will be surrounded by real fans rather than corporate blowhards or bandwagon fans who have far too much $$ and could care less who is actually playing.
Heck, I can reference further back..40 years back is just the 80's. I can dial back to the 50's. My memory of the late 40's are very sketchy....I remember a radio and my Mom singing to me every day.
Near 40 years ago my wife and I went to Finland for a Reindeer safari above the Circle to see the Northern Lights in their glory.
We drove a long day by bus out of Helsinki in to Lapland, then two days with a Reinder pulling us in sleds. Two days in the camp, then back. It was splendid.
We went to Rome, Florence, Siena, Lucca and Pisa for our honeymoon.
Yeah, we want to do something similar. I might need to save up 2 months worth of vacation time. We want to hit a few other cities like Venice as well. Any recommendations?
Talk to my daughter she spent 4 months in Florence (Firenze) at Kent State Florence campus (I paid) She's in it like a native
