Just for the record, I never had or wanted a proverbial “bucket list” that has become so popular with travelers. I rarely compiled a list of places I wanted to go. Visiting all fifty of our states was almost by accident, until the total reached the low forties or thereabouts. Trips to places around the world were never planned more than eight to nine months ahead.
Much of this I owe to my travel buddy Mike. He rarely wants to commit to a location, too far in advance. When we drove Chile from top to bottom, it all came together just a few months before. Same for our trek to Africa for the safaris and visiting Barry the V.
I have seen other people’s bucket list, and thought I would give you my “water pail” **list, which I consider complete at this point in my life. About the only trips left, that I can even think about are a trip to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY, the Tour de France, and perhaps the four eastern Canadian provinces. There will be some revisits, such as the Oktoberfest in Munich, wine regions in various European countries, and some cycling trips.
In no particular order of importance or sense of accomplishment:
Trek the Amazon Rainforest, Peru
Visit Angkor Wat, Cambodia (3 times)
Cross the Berlin Wall at Checkpoint Charlie (sorry, you cannot do that anymore!)
Take the Trans Siberian Railway across Russia
Visit my ancestor’s home city of Nagoya, Japan
Visit all 50 U.S. states
Taste champagne in Champagne, France
Spend two weeks at Wimbledon, England
Do the tango in Buenos Aires, Argentina
Amtrak across the country (several times)
Visit most of the western National Parks
See the Aurora Borealis in Alaska
See the witches of Salem, MA on Halloween
Visit all the ballparks in the west
See a play on Broadway, NYC
Traverse Chile from top to bottom (by air, land, and sea)
Visit Fenway and Wrigley
Dive the Great Barrier Reef, Australia
Jet boat in Queenstown, New Zealand
Bike down Haleakala Crater, Maui
Zipline in the Costa Rica cloudforest
Watch a lion hunt in the Serengeti
Play golf at St. Andrews, Scotland
Shop at Harrod’s for wine gummies, London
Visit the “Girl from Ipanema”, Rio de Janeiro
Sip wine in Mendoza, Argentina
Cruise Halong Bay, Vietnam
See peak bloom Cherry Blossoms in DC
Hear the roar at Sturgis, SD
Visit Tsukiji Fish Market, Tokyo
Find rare ports on the Algarve, Portugal
Attend a concert at Royal Albert Hall, London
Drink many beers at the Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany
Eat smoked omul at Lake Baikal, Russia
Attend the U.S. Opens, golf and tennis
Climb Eiffel Tower, Paris
Make homemade Italian sausage
Dine on pork knuckle in Prague
Eat stone crabs at Joe’s in Miami
Wine tasting in Stellenbosch with Barry the V
Enjoy Grand Marnier soufflé in Zurich, Switzerland
Go hiking at Torres del Paine, Patagonia, Chile
Walk on the parquet floor at the Boston Garden
Win a ski race at Aspen
Ride/walk across the Golden Gate Bridge
Shake hands with Arnold Palmer
Attend Paul Simon’s farewell concert
Attend a Tom Douglas farm to table dinner
Make my own umeshu (sour plum vodka)
Drive over 100 mph on the German autobahn
Sip Tokaji in Budapest
Visit Dracula’s castle in Brasov, Romania
Stare at the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel
Eat black hoof jamon in Porto Banus
Give a new pair of Nike’s to my tuk tuk driver in Chiang Mai
Attend the Grand Ole Opry
Dine in the Surgeon General’s private dining room
Run the Bay to Breakers (world’s largest footrace)
Enjoy Shabu Shabu in Tokyo
Taste the best salmon sushi in Queensland, Australia
Stroll the medina in Morocco
Visit Ebenezer Baptist Church and childhood home of MLK
Visit both Capes (Horn and Good Hope)
See the Rose Parade
Eat beignets at Cafe’ Du Monde
Visit Alcatraz Island
Marvel at the great Willie Mays
Shop at the Grand Bazaar, Istanbul
Cycle and taste wine in Bordeaux
Cross the Continental Divide
Enjoy several custom tailored suits in Bangkok
Adopt the most beautiful Labradoodle in the world
Write a book (several)
Visit a Relocation camp of my ancestors
Complete my lifetime sports-fecta (a separate email a few years ago)
What Have I been unable to do:
Hole in one (got close several times)
Publish my autobiography
Visit all of the Canadian provinces
Play on the grass court at Wimbledon
Impeach a President! (Or at least elect a different one!)
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