The Bucket List

And so it begins ... I can't say I'll ever have a complete list, and I doubt I'll ever complete a complete list, but at 62 years of age, I at least want to say I aspire to new and different things, so HERE it is: a list of things I would like to accomplish ... someday. Or, at least try once. On top of the list was starting a blog! Consider that one Done!

And others ..

*Tattoo. One and only one (I'm not addicted!). Done. You'll have to trust me on this one, because you will never see it! I don't have to explain my reason why - hey, this is MY bucket list - but I had/have a good one. (and my mother said it was "cool")

*Parasailing. Done. Okay, why, you ask. Because, yes, I know; I don't like heights. But somehow, this one appeals to me.
And so, during the summer family 2011 reunion at FWB, Florida, the hubs and I, along with some other family members, went on a parasailing adventure in Destin Harbor. The verdict - AWESOME. I loved every minute of the trip *up* and *down* from the sky. It was quiet, gentle, soft, beautiful and not scary at all. I'd do it again except ... that boat ride out into the harbor? Hated it. Let's just say that constantly crossing one's own wake does not make one's tummy feel nice ... and leave it at that. (and the hubs does not look his best when he's green).

*Ziplining. I don't need one in a country that requires a passport, I just want a nice zipline trip above a river or a gorge or tall trees - a nice view of some kind. This desire has nothing to do with the current popularity of ziplines in countries below the border, but dates way back to my early childhood when I was envious of a friend who had a cheesy one in his back yard.

*The Quilt Show. Paducah, KY - Quilt City USA - it's not even 20 miles from my house. It's the largest quilt show in the country, one where people come from all over the world to see beautiful quilts and shop the quilt vendors. I've even made quilts myself, and yet I've never attended the quilt show. In fact, when the quilters come to town, traffic is so bad that we usually hibernate. But one of these days ... I'm going to do it!

*LaserTag. I think I'd like it - not that I am a hunter or a gamer or that I ever shoot anything - not even water guns. But the idea takes me right back to the childhood memories of playing Cowboys and Indians with my best buddy, Linda. This was back in the 50s ... there was a TV western on every night of the week; and Dale Evans rode into the sunset on "Happy Trails" with Roy Rogers every Sunday night. So, lasertag ... I think I want to try it.

*Cardinals Spring Training, Jupiter, FL - We are SUCH Cardinal fans. Usually we make the trip to Busch Stadium in St. Louis - about three hours - to watch our favorite team during the summer; and especially around our wedding anniversary in August. But every spring, before the official season begins, we watch the spring training games on TV. We're usually still bundled up in sweats and jeans, while the fans in Jupiter sit on the bleachers in tank tops and shorts. It's a small park compared to the mighty Busch, and we wish we were there. Some day we want to take a week and go! Sounds like a good 50th anniversary trip, right? (who needs a cruise when there's baseball!)

*Estes Park, CO (YMCA of the Rockies) and Snow Mt. Ranch, Granby, CO. I spent the summer of 1969 as one of 300 plus college students hired to work in the resort park at Estes Park. It was a grand adventure of a summer and my first time to be totally on my own away from home for that length of time. I'd like to travel back there one day and see how it has changed.

*Float Trip- Done! - basically to prove that I can and say that I have and to gain some bragging rights. But also to fulfill a childhood fantasy. Sort of.  When I was a child my dad participated in an annual event with his buddies called the Two-Day Float (yes; he spoke of it in caps) and my mother was not allowed to go. No Girls Allowed. After considerable time, I learned that he and his companions were NOT, as I had imagined, floating on their individual backs down the creek for the two whole days (it made me tired thinking of it). They had canoes. My next thought was that they floated in those canoes the ENTIRE time - all 24 hours of each of the two days - I wondered how they ate. Well, you can imagine that it was quite a let down when I learned the truth. The Two-Day Float was actually a FISHing trip, and it didn't involve nearly as much FLOATing as I had supposed. I was especially disappointed after I learned that they actually pitched a tent and slept through the night. (There is much disillusionment in childhood.) But to go on. The idea sounded romantic in a way, being one with the creek (and all those nice round pebbles on the creekbed) and all that; it fascinated me as I grew up. I say the idea, because in reality, my idea of "camping" is a Motel 6. To go on some more. Current River in Missouri is known in the tourist industry as a good place to go on a float trip, either on tubes or in canoes. My kids have floated the river many times with various groups, including our church. My daughter and son-in-law regularly take the youth from their church on float trips. We have never done it. There are stories - of sunburn (you are committed once you start); the water is icy even on the hottest summer day because it is spring-fed; sometimes it is swift and possibly dangerous when the water is flood; sometimes - bite my tongue - the river is drier than usual and you may need to walk your tube through some shallow places. But this year, THIS YEAR, before the end of the summer, my husband and I are going on a float trip to Current River. NOT a two-day one, thank goodness, and NO CAMPING or fishing. But we're going on the river. (who knows - we might love it!).  DONE! On Monday, July 31, 2012, we joined Court & Carla and a group of sweet and pretty teen-aged girls from SSUMC for a float trip down Current River. On arrival we chose our 'method of transportation!' Ron and I chose the standard black inner tubes with the updated elasticized nylon protective covers, which have a two-fold purpose: it cools the tube and includes a mesh 'seat' for your hiney! Much more comfortable (in our opinion) than the bigger, fatter and newer tubes or the small square tubes, and all the other blow-up rafts with paddles and the canoes and kayaks. We boarded a van that took us and a bunch of others up river to a drop off point. Hard for me to understand why a 20 minute van ride took us far enough from the start to equal a FOUR HOUR float back to the beginning! But that's what happened. We waded out to the middle of the river on a VERY rocky river bottom (thanking Court for the advice to wear water shoes or sandals!) and plopped down in our tubes. And the fun began! Sometimes we floated side by side, sometimes apart, and even a fairly long distance from each other at times. Sometimes the current was swift and we barrelled down the river, and other times it felt like we were barely moving. The water was very clear - I could see clearly all the way down to the toenails of the girl who hung by her arms on her tube! The river bottom was awesome - always interestingly rocky, but sometimes there were entire tree trunks lying down there, appearing petrified and bare of any bark. We floated around big boulders and pertruding branches and through water no deeper than several inches (pebbly like a creek bed) and in water that was thirty feet deep. In fact deep enough that it was safe for some 'brave' (or dumb?) guys to climb the rocky clifts and jump in! Some of the river bank was beach-like like, some tree lined and some rocky. River houses were few and far apart, but they were spectacular with wonderful Adirondack style chairs on decks or docks. We carried waterproof cameras, snacks and drinks with us and reapplied sunscreen over and over; the temperature was 103 and very sunny! I loved the experience and would do it again under the same circumstances (not white water rafting, just floating down a lazy river!). We followed our float with supper at Lamberts - home of the throwed roll! All in all - a wonderful day!

*Little League World Series - I watch it on TV nearly every year and one day, one day, I hope we can travel to South Williamsburg, Pennsylvania, home of the LLWS, just to sit in those stands and watch some awesome boys' baseball teams, ages 11-13, play in this 'best of the best' series of games. And I'll especially love watching the expressions of the parents in the stands - I remember how it was to watch great competitive softball and other high school sports, how it felt as a parent to experience the highs and lows, and to witness great sportsmanship and be a part of the comraderie that grows and builds.

*Prince Edward Island - Anne Land. One day I'd love to go and see Green Gables and walk down Lovers Lane in the footsteps of one of my all-time favorite authors.

*NYC - Broadway, the Empire State Building, Ellis Island, Ground Zero, Central Park and Rockafellow Center, heck, even the Today Show! One day ...

*An overnight train ride - a berth on the night train! - on a bonafide passenger train.

*The east coast - a road trip through Mass - Penn - Conn and Maine during the fall to see the leaves and selected historic places, antique shops and stay in B & B's!

*Martha's Vineyard. Tall ships, historic houses, shops.

*Just heard from our 79 yo aunt that she is going to skydive on her 80th birthday in June. Let me just say SKYDIVING is NOT on MY bucket list. And it Never. Will. Be.