My "Bucket List"

Hubby and I went out for a walk this morning. We haven't done that in quite a while. Strolling down the road while holding hands and talking. We ventured off into the woods for a bit with him tracking deer tracks. He says this one that we were following is an old stag, his hocks were huge!!! He said he'd like to bag that one someday.

The "someday" got my attention. I told him that lately I've been thinking of lots of things that I would like to accomplish......"someday". I really would like to have experienced "life" before I get too old or arthritic to do certain things. My mom would tell me something similar to, "You're too pessimistic." or "Why would you want to do THAT?". Honestly, my answer would be, "Just because."

I don't necessarily want to do these things "before I die" but I would like to start getting out of the house and experiencing things besides the mall or Walmart. It's been such a beautiful week this week and I've been feeling a bit of cabin fever I suppose. With my next birthday looming in June, I guess I'm also embarking on a little mid-life crisis. It's time for me to get some things done!!!

My first challenge would be to figure out how to do these things while caring for my girls! But for starters, here's 10 things on my list that I'd like to accomplish in the next 8 years.

1. Bicycle the Natchez Trace from Nashville, TN to Natchez, MS (edit: not necessarily on one of those itty bitty bike seats. I like mine wide and cushiony!)
2. Horseback ride the length of the Mississippi River starting in New Orleans and going to the start of it.
3. Horseback ride in the footsteps of Lewis & Clark.

(Edited 2/9/09 to rephrase #2 & #3: Cross the United States either N-S or E-W via horse drawn transportation)

4. Attend a Luau in Hawaii.
5. Backpack and camp in Alaska.
6. Horsepack and camp in Montana.
7. See the 7 natural and man made wonders of America.

The Natural Wonders of the U.S.:

• Glacier Bay, Alaska
• Grand Canyon, Flagstaff, Arizona - Done in July of 2008
• Grand Tetons, Western Wyoming, South of Yellowstone
• Hawaii Volcanoes, Big Island of Hawaii
• Niagra Falls
• Yellowstone, NW corner of Wyoming
• Yosemite, in the Sierra Nevada of Central California

The Man Made Wonders of the U.S.

• the Brooklyn Bridge, NY
• the Empire State Building, NY
• the Golden Gate Bridge, CA
• the Hoover Dam, NV/AZ
• Mount Rushmore, South Dakota
• Seattle Space Needle, WA
• Washington Monument, DC - done as a child though I didn't go up inside of it

8. See the 7 natural and man made wonders of the World.

The Natural Wonders of the World:

• Aurora Borealis, usually in Alaska but I saw them in Jacksonville, FL in 1988!
• Grand Canyon, AZ - done in July of 2008
• Paricutin, Michoacan, Mexico - the youngest active volcano and the only one whose birth was witnessed by mankind.
• Victoria Falls, Southern Africa, between Zamiba & Zimbabwe.
• Great Barrier Reef, Australia
• Mount Everest
• Harbour of Rio de Janeiro

The Man Made Wonders of the World: I can't seem to find a list of this. I'll have to look later.

9. Visit the areas where Jesus was born, lived, and taught.
10. Rent a beach house for a month on the East coast.

So, far, that's all I'm adding to this list. As I accomplish each item, I plan to cross it off and maybe add another. I truly feel that these things can be accomplished. I did tell hubby to plan for the Natchez bicycling trip this fall. It should only take about 2 weeks to do that one.

Do you have such a list? Please share!