The List*

1. Start a blog
2. Go bungy jumping
3. Climb a glacier
4. Read Anna Karenina
5. Learn to fly an airplane
6. Go skydiving
7. See Oprah
8. Dive the Great Barrier Reef
9. Learn to play a song on the guitar
10. Write a book
11. Perform on stage
12. Ride an elephant
13. Learn to take care of an elephant
14. Complete a 5K in less than 45 minutes
15. Learn to drive a motorcycle
16. Cuddle a koala
17. Traipse the Great Wall of China
18. Tickle a tiger
19. Dye my hair blue
20. See the sun rise over Angor Wat
21. Pray in Tibet
22. Climb a 14er
23. Survive a zombie attack
24. Relive a childhood moment
25. Submit an article to be published
26. Try Stand Up Paddleboarding
27. See the Northern Lights in Iceland
28. Dive the Continental Divide (well, snorkel).
29. Eat lobster in Maine or chow-dah on Cape Cod
30. Trek in Nepal
31. Learn to ice climb
32. Eat shark–not vice versa
33. Scan and organize all of my photos
34. Inspire someone to take off and travel
35. Brew a signature beer
36. Compete in the Mongol Rally. I’ll need teammates for this. Let me know if you’re up for it!
37. Climb one of the Seven Summits
38. Trek the coast path in Wales
39. Learn to dance the tango in Argentina
40. Ride the Trans-Siberian Railroad
41. Hike in Moab, Utah
42. Work as a bartender. Cultivate a nickname for the job.
43. Sleep in a yurt in Mongolia
44. Walk the Camino de Santiago
45. Raise a stein at Oktoberfest in Munich
46. Salsa dance in Colombia
47. Sail with a 5 Gyres Expedition
48. Mountain bike on a volcano
49. Paddle the 99 Mile Wilderness Waterway in the Everglades

*I started this list after a birthday, thinking that I would add items as I thought of them and cross them off accordingly, with the number of items corresponding to my birthday. However, I realized that I didn’t want my list to end with my birthday. I also realized that some items might take more than a year, or might never actually happen (see #23).

For me, the fun is not necessarily in adding to the list or the completing these items, though both are high points (I’m also particularly fond of the “strike through” feature). I get the most pleasure out of the dreaming and planning, the extensive research or last-minute decisions and the quease in my stomach when I’m terrified–and exhilarated. So, I’m continuing the list with no deadline or end in sight. We’ll see how far as it takes me.

What adventures am I missing?