Life List

1. Walk across 5 major bridges: 
   1. Ravenel in Charleston, SC July 2009
   2. Golden Gate in San Francisco, CA March 2000
   3. Millennium in London June 2005
   4. Brooklyn in New York, NY June 2010
   5. Harbour in Sydney January 2011
2. Crush grapes with my feet at a winery.
3. Hike the Grand Canyon.
4. Spend New Years in every time zone.*
5. Learn to scuba dive. November 2011
6. Scuba dive in the Great Barrier Reef. November 2011
7. Bungee jump. November 2011, Cairns, Australia
8. Skydive.
9. Get a tattoo. July 2009 
10. Drive across the United States (preferably on Route 66).
11. Drive in a foreign country.
12. Get writing published in print. October 21, 2009- Charleston City Paper 
13. Get travel writing published in print.
14. Visit every continent:
    • North America- July 1988 [born here]
    • Europe- May 2002 
    • Asia – May 2010 
    • South America
    • Australia- January 2011
    • Africa
    • Antarctica
15. Run a race:
    • 5 K December 5, 2009 
    • 10 K March 24, 2010 
    • half-marathon
    • marathon
16. Take pictures in a photobooth September 2008- Montreal
17. Visit the a place of worship for ten major religions: Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Judaism, Bahaism, Confucianism, Jainism, Shintoism
18. Swim with dolphins.
19. Be an extra in a movie and/or tv showmovie: 1993 “Stolen Babies,” tv: 2009 “U Cook with Chef Bob“ 
20. Ride a camel. September 2011
21. Ride an elephant. June 2010
22. Go native on a nude beach.
23. Climb to Machu Picchu and hike the Inca Trail.
24. Send out a Christmas card.
25. Turn 10 blog friends into real life friends June 2010 
26. Travel alone July 2005-Washington DC for National Student Leadership Conference 
27. Tour 5 breweries:
    1. Heineken in Amsterdam December 2006
    2. Sweetwater in Atlanta November 2009
    3. Red Brick in Atlanta September 2010
    4. Kona in Kona, Hawaii June 2011
    5. XXXX in Brisbane, Australia October 2011
28. Visit every state (22/50) [see Adventures page for specifics]
29. Go to culinary school.
30. Volunteer for one whole year.
31. See a solar eclipse.
32. Give blood at least once. December 23, 2011
33. Learn to drive a stick shift.
34. Read the top 100 novels of all time (10/100).*
35. Visit: Buenos Aires, Belize, Rio de Janiero, Costa Rica, Croatia, Puerto Rico, Chile, Cuba, Cape Town, Haiti, Morocco, Copenhagen, Northern Ireland, Istanbul, Beirut, Greece, Israel, Russia, Australia, Thailand, Fiji, China, and Japan
36. Buy a house.
37. Attend a high school or college reunion.
38. Visit the hometowns of my grandparents or find where “my people” come from (either in America or in England).
39. Swim in the Dead Sea (or float, rather).
40. Crash a wedding.
41. Try a food I would ordinarily never eat (exotic, not including sushi and oysters).
42. Couch surf.  January 2011, Los Angeles, CA
43. Fast for 24 hours.
44. Meet  my heroes:
    • Jimmy Carter  book signing November 13, 2010
    • Anthony Bourdain  Sydney Writers’ Festival May 21, 2011
    • Chelsea Handler
    • Ryan Adams
    • Jenny Lewis
45. Watch the IMDB Top 100 Films (24/100).*
46. Attend Bonnaroo Music Festival or a similar festival (and camp!).
47. Learn to play the banjo (that I’ve owned for a couple of years but has sat unplayed).
48. Go to the world’s best parties:
    • Carnival in Brazil
    • Carnevale in Venice
    • Oktoberfest in Munich
    • St. Patrick’s Day in Dublin
    • Mardi Gras in New Orleans
    • La Tomatina
    • Running of the Bulls
    • Full Moon Party in Thailand
    • Songkran in Thailand
    • Burning Man in Nevada
49. Take a hot air balloon ride.
50. Cruise on the Nile.
51. Start a food fight.
52. Sing at an open mic night.
53. Open a used bookstore with a cafe in it.
54. Re-design my blog December 2010
55. Take my younger cousins on a trip just because.
56. Make a cookbook of my family recipes.
57. Go to the Caroline Islands.
58. Take pictures at the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn and the Equator.
59. See the Aurora Borealis.
60. Go on a spontaneous trip with only a few hours planning. Blacksburg, VA November 2010
61. Visit Four Corners and put an arm and leg in each state.
62. Go on a safari in Africa.
63. Live abroad for a year. Australia, January-December 2011
64. Write a book.
65. Take the Trans-Siberian Railway from Moscow to Beijing.
66. Go zorbing.
67. Fly first class at least once (a difficult feat for a penny pinching backpacker!)
68. Drive on the Autobahn.
69. Take my sisters on a Jane Austen tour of England, including filming locations of Pride and Prejudice.
70. Learn to surf. Coffs Harbour, NSW October 2011
71. Take a road trip through California down the Pacific Coast Highway.
72. Complete the Breast Cancer 3 Day Walk.
73. WWOOF.
74. Shave my head for a good cause.
75. Eat vegetarian one day per week.
76. Bungee jump at every AJ Hackett site in the world.
    1. Cairns, Australia
    2. Kuta, Bali
    3. Normandie, France
    4. Germany
    5. Macau, China
    6. Sochi, Russia
    7. Kuwarau Bridge, Queenstown, New Zealand
    8. The Ledge, Queenstown, New Zealand
    9. The Nevis, Queenstown, New Zealand
    10. Auckland, New Zealand
77. Attend the Paris Creative Writing Workshop.
78. Go to South by Southwest in Austin.
79. Hitchhike.
80. Scuba dive:
    1. in the Georgia Aquarium
    2. the SS Yongala in Townsville, Australia
    3. the Blue Hole in Belize
    4. the Riviera Maya in Mexico
    5. the islands in Thailand
81. Run a race every month for a year. (March)

Did I miss any? Let me know!

*For more details, click on the stars next to certain life list items.*

So you’re ready to make your own life list? Here are some great ones to take a look at for inspiration:

• More is Better
• The Buried Life
• Connvoyage
• 40 Before 30 Challenge
• My Beautiful Adventures
• The Traveling Philosopher
• yTravel Blog
• One Step 4Ward
• There’s No Place Like Oz
• The 9 to 5 Alternative
• Where is Jenny?
• A Dangerous Business
• Over Yonderlust

Also check out “How to Write a Life List” by Chris Guillebeau.