Some Kind of Trip

I had two weeks off and I have been taking a lot of trips. Trips to the bathroom. Trips to and from the car because I can't carry everything I bought at once. Trips to get more clothing to fill the washing machine. However, these are not the trips I wanted to take while I had this time off and now the window has shut on the idea.

All week I have been deleting emails from Travelocity, TripAdvisor, Expedia, Sherman's Travel and Fodor's because I don't want to see what I will miss out on while I am growing and having my child. I don't want to see the countless bars of Key West or the castles of Scotland or even the new attractions slated for Fantasyland at the Magic Kingdom, because I can't visit ANY of them. Not now and not for a while.

This week, I wanted to discover a new place or lay on a beach relaxing in the sun or drink a non-alcoholic fruit concoction ... but now I will just have to wait, for longer than I probably realize, to start checking more things off of My Life List. Well, I know I can look forward to #26 and that is a wonderful and amazing thing, and I have loved every minute of it so far. I guess I am just coming to the realization that I will be sacrificing yet another thing, while I plan for my husband's trip to Toronto (another place I've never been). I will be home thinking of whether my little boy will have curly blonde or brown hair and whether he will have my brown eyes or TK's blue eyes, all from the comfort of my own home. Ah, to be a mother.

My (Always-Growing) Life List

Over the years, I have created a list of things that I have wanted to do, see or experience. This list will never stop growing as long as I continue living because there are always going to be things I want to know about. The items with red information, I have already accomplished.

1. See the dome of the Sistine Chapel                
2. Dogsled in the area of the Iditarod (will not compete)
3. Swim with dolphins and sting rays (Discovery Cove, 2006)                      
4. Go inside a pyramid
5. Climb a waterfall (Ocho Rios, Jamaica, 2001)
6. See the Grand Canyon and walk on the Skywalk (Las Vegas Trip, 2007)
7. Make Crème Brulee (30 B4 30, 2010)
8. Eat at Tavern on the Green (Sept. 2, 2005)
9. Take a carriage ride around Central Park (Sept. 2, 2005)
10. Ride in a helicopter
11. Ride in a hot air balloon
12. Go whale watching
13. Go white water rafting (Smoky Mountain Outdoors, Sept. 1, 2015)
14. Country line dance after learning the steps (Wildhorse Saloon, June 29, 2010)
15. See the inside of the Oval Office
16. Walk on the Great Wall of China
17. Hike up and down a mountain
18. Ride in a gondola in Italy
19. Visit the Louvre Museum and see the Mona Lisa up close
20. See the Northern Lights, a.k.a. Aurora Borealis (October – March)
21. Pet a penguin (Sea World, 2004)        
22. Attend a real Hawaiian luau (Honeymoon, Sept. 16, 2008)        
23. Learn Italian
24. Learn to tap dance
25. Get married (2008)
26. Have a child (2012 and 2015)          
27. Write a book and have it published
28. Go on an African safari             
29. Experience La Tomatina in Spain (last Wednesday in August)   
30. Drive cross country in an RV
31. Eat at The Lady and Sons in Savannah, GA
32. Visit Nantucket or Martha’s Vineyard and take a bike ride
33. Take a train north on the west coast (American Orient Express)
34. See Mount Rushmore in South Dakota
35. See the Crazy Horse Memorial in South Dakota     
36. Take a baking class
37. Throw a penny in the Trevi Fountain in Rome
38. See the sea turtles in the Cayman Islands
39. Visit Australia
40. Drink a cocktail out of a real pineapple (Disney, Aug. 18, 2009)
41. Stay overnight in a castle
42. Go wine tasting in Napa Valley, CA
43. Drive on the Pacific Coast Highway
44. See a Cirque du Soleil show (O, January 2011)
45. Watch the Sunset Celebration at Mallory Square in Key West
46. Eat lobster in Maine (July 28, 2013)
47. Swim in a cavern
48. Swim under a waterfall (Honeymoon, Sept. 18, 2008)
49. Go zip lining (Honeymoon, Sept. 17, 2008)
50. Ride a segway (Disney, 2006)
51. Visit Scotland
52. Enter my artwork in a juried exhibition (May 2011 and February 2012)
53. Visit the Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream Factory in Waterbury, Vermont
54. Attend a Tickertape Parade (Giants, February 2008)
55. Swim with manatees
56. Take a picture with a parrot on my shoulder
57. Visit Yellowstone National Park and see geysers
58. Play a round of golf (Spring Lake, July 8, 2009, 9 holes)
59. Take a shower in a stall with shower heads shooting in all directions
60. Go to the NYC St. Patrick’s Day Parade (March 17, 2010)
61. Ride in a zorb (Pigeon Forge, TN, July 2, 2010 and Sept. 2, 2015)
62. Go to an auction at Christie’s or Sotheby’s
63. Take a pottery/ceramics class. (SJC, Sept. 24, 2011)
64. Visit Philip Island to see the Penguin Parade
65. See the Conan O'Brien Show (Nov. 1, 2011)
66. Visit the Galapagos Islands and meet animals in their natural habitat
67. Eat Beignets (Walt Disney World, 2015)
68. Soak in hot springs
69. Take a spa vacation
70. Go to Freeport, Maine for the holidays
71. Take a foodie tour
72. Have a sandwich named after me
73. Move to a whole new place (Nov. 7, 2017)
74. Ride the Royal Gorge Cloudscraper in Colorado
75. Become a Disney Passholder (Aug. 25, 2018)
76. Get my Ed.D. or Ph.D.
77. Release baby turtles into the ocean
78. Go on a shopping spree
79. Try acupuncture
80. Leave a 100% tip for a server
81. Attend a film premiere
82. Attend a gay pride event
83. Be an extra in a movie, show, or commercial (Frontrunner Casting, Disney Holiday Special, Nov. 13, 2021)
84. Stay at an all-inclusive resort
85. See a coral reef
86. Make fresh pasta
87. Hug a Redwood Tree
88. Drive a boat
89. Climb a lighthouse