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Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Do you have a bucket list?

We've been hearing about 'bucket lists' for ages now. You see blog posts, FB posts, hell... even movies about all of the things people want to do before they kick the bucket.

Personally, I have never had one. I guess in a way I have things I want to do but never really thought about putting it down on a list... or lumping everything together to make a list.
Well, that has changed.

Add me to the long list of people with lists.

I think it's coming up now due to my husband and I having long talks all the time about what all we want to do in the future. Shows that we watch, articles that we read... a lot of that stuff makes us sit and talk for hours about all that is out there for us to do before we die.

So, here's my bucket list. I'll add to it over time, I'm sure.
I will mark things off over time, I'm positive.

1) See the Aurora Borealis in person.
Not in photos. Not in a video.
I want to stand in Alaska, look up at the sky, and have my jaw drop and my mind be blown.
People that have experienced the lights in the sky in person say it's an experience that you'll never forget. The lights dance across the sky and make you realize that there is so much going on in the sky and beyond.


2) Drive Route 66.
Yes, most of it still exists. It's a huge part of American History and they say the drive and the places you encounter along the way are fantastic and  memorable. The route starts in Chicago and ends in LA, or in reverse depending on where you start.


3) Hire a genealogist to finally trace my family roots.
I have traced my family as far as I can go on my own. With my mother's side of the family, I can trace her mother's side to right about they time they came into the country from Scotland, Ireland, and England. Her father's side? Not so much. I cannot find anything to beyond his name.
My father's side is just as perplexing. I can trace my grandfather's family for a few generations but then got totally stuck. My grandmother on that side? Nope. Cannot move beyond her.
I want to know about my ancestry and where they all came from.


4) After tracing my family to their countries of origin, I want to visit those places.
I'm certain that on my mom's side (her mother's side), the family came from parts of Ireland and Scotland. I would LOVE to go there and see where my family came from.


5) Visit all 50 states.
I do believe that I am over halfway there. For future reference for myself, I'll list them here and update the list as I can.
Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin.
That's 28 total. Only 22 more to go to get all 50 visited.
(If I can get that Route 66 trip done in the next year, I can add California, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. Seeing the Aurora Borealis in person will take care of Alaska. Hawaii will take a little more planning.... and money.)


6) Drive all of the routes listed on Road Trip USA.
Go take a look at the routes. If we take a family trip once a year and drives these routes, my kids will be able to say they have been to all 48 contiguous states. Hell, they already have quite a few under their belts due to the fact that we prefer to drive instead of fly. You just cannot see the country the same way from sitting thousands of miles above it in a plane looking out of a tiny window. I am positive that we will see all sorts of interesting and memorable things making these trips. Only when driving through the states do you realize there is an authentic Danish windmill in Elk Horn, Iowa. Yeah, we've been there. We saw a sign for it and decided to check it out. You cannot do that on a plane.
(Plus, my design ideas for my jewelry displays for markets and fairs involves collecting stickers from each place visited.)


7) Visit other countries.
I figure getting the 50 states down first makes more sense and might be easier since most of the states connect to one another. I do think you should explore the country you live in as much as possible before exploring others. But that's me.
Countries I'm interested in visiting (the ones I can think of right now):
Norway, Switzerland, Italy, France, Australia, Japan, China, Iceland, Belgium, Germany


As I stated above, I'm sure this list will grow. And I am certain that over time, things will be marked off. It seems that the majority of my list involves traveling. I don't like being in one place too long. I get tired of staring at the same walls, the same scenery all of the time.


How about it? Do you have a list?



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