I never did really have a formal bucket list... I know from an earlier age I wanted to be a dad and I wanted to be a husband, so those are checked off... But aside from that..
So, off the top of my head... I give you Hammer's Bucket List:
-Travel to every state (only 23 so far)
-Go to Ireland (maybe even do a castle tour) -1
-Do an exhaustive search on ancestry.com or other genealogical website -2
-Visit Wrigley, Fenway, & the older Yankee Stadium (got 2 of 3, still need Wrigley which would also check off Illinois from above) -3
-Fish for salmon -4
-Learn to hunt
-Sky dive -5
-Ride a hot air balloon -6
-Check out the coasters at Cedar Point
-Swim with dolphins (I know you can swim with them at Discovery Cove, but it wasn't my money when I was there) -7
-Swim with sharks
-More specifically, swim with Great Whites -8
-Ride an elephant (next time I'm in Arkansas I will, I didn't get to last time my family did that) -9
-Take an Alaskan Cruise (also would check of Alaska) -10
-Stand in the crown or torch of the Statue of Liberty (every time I've been, the stairs had been closed)
-Visit the great National landmarks/parks (Mt. Rushmore, Yellowstone Park, Yosemite Park, the badlands, Glacier National Park, Denali National Park, Everglades, Glacier Bay, Grand Canyon (as an adult), Grand Tetons, Redwood, Sequoia, Niagara Falls, Golden Gate Bridge, Old Faithful, etc.) -11
-See a volcano erupt in person (from a safe distance of course)
-See a tornado in person (also from a safe distance) -12
-See the Northern Lights in person
-Stay in those igloo villages once
-Stay at Bora Bora or Fuji
-Eat something I've never had before and I've had a lot
-Do the Polar Bear Plunge -13
-Go to Australia -14
-Visit Easter Island
-Go on an Amazon Rainforest excursion -15
-Visit all the historic/colonial cities (Been to NY, Philly, Boston, Salem, Williamsburg/Yorktown/Jamestown, Lexington, Concord, Mystic Seaport (I know, a misnomer), Providence, New Haven. Savanah, Charleston, Raleigh, Princeton, etc.) Been to all of these, but would like to again with the kids -16
-Bungee jump (I've done the kind where you are in a cage that is launched upward, but never one where I've jumped off a bridge or whatever) -17
-Cliff dive again (I jumped off a cliff in Algonquin Provincial Park that was a good 65' up (20 meters)) and had to jump out to clear the trees below me) -18
um...
What else...???
That's one helluva good bucket list Hammer......
1- I've always wanted to see Ireland or Scotland....I hear the Castles there are magnificent, Germany also has some great Castles or Yore'
2- My Cousin did just that, and he has it all online, Ancestry goes back to Charlemagne, yet alot of French Canadiens do go back to Charly, we must all be inbred from his era....LOL..!
3- What I'd give to see Wrigley one more time, was there when I was 6 yrs old, yet can't recall much, or enough, So Wrigley is still on my dream list. (I do still got my Program tho').....
Hammer- did you read any articles on how the rats literally infested Northern Chicago, and all those nice Apts across each street. They came out of the ground in droves, when they tore the OF down, to remodel the place, from what I read, "its still an out of control prob".
4- Fishing for Salmon is a blast. In Alaska you can wind up with a 100 lbs in no time, they bite like nowhere else. Outside Seattle there's some good salmon fishing, as well as the Columbia River, now that is bitching, if you use a spear. Otherwise one has to wait years for the Indians to allot a permit....
5 & 6- Let's go........there's quit a few balloons up in the air, over this Mojave Desert on a Daily basis....with 4 Sky Diving Outfits right here as well, Let's do both, get in a Balloon, then jump out.....
7- Does swimming with Seals count? (Nothing like Dolphins I'm sure, ie to swim with)....
8- Ok, now I know your crazy....! LOL, Not.....yet, I don't do the Ocean thing like I did when I was a young bachelor. Annacapa Island out here, just 50 miles off the CA Coast is a breeding ground for Great Whites, and Geezus are they fkn narley big mother fkrs....I'll pass on that one, the only shark I would go swimming with is in a pool at Universal City Studios, His name: Jaws....
9- Only Rick, can oblige you with this one, his secret home away from home or His resort escape. (Beware of dueling banjos).....
9-A you can kill two birds with one stone in Arkansas, ie, Elephant Ride, and Hippo, Rhino, and Naga Hunting.....
10- Never did the Cruise of Alaska, but from the several sources/buddies, It is well worth every penny....the last bastion of Un-Tainted Wilderness.....
11- Yosemite is Incredible. It's so over polluted these days, Parking Garages, with bus tours, (not how i like to see Wilderness, I prefer being deep in the Forest/Mts. with rarely a fellow hiker to be seen. IN the 60s-70s, Yosemite was the place to go, never over populated then, Campgrounds did not require a Years notice for a Reservation, like now.....May I suggest, head to Yosemite, then go south to Shaver Lake, then to the top and 3rd lake near the High Sierra Peaks, GREAT Trout Fishing too.....
11A- My favorite all time Natl. Park with no contest is Joshua Tree National Monument Park, also the largest Natl Park in Caly. 4 Different deserts converge there, (Mojave/Colorado, Chihuaha, and Arizona).......(thus each area is a valley, with a totally different ecological type of cacti and other wildlife creatures)......with over 3 dozen earthquake faults, a great Geological/History of the Planet Park, Volcanic Activity, Massive Earthquake upheavals of Rock Formations, no other place on Earth comes close too, NTM, one can cleanly see how the entire South West was several times the Ocean Floor.....
12- I've seen my share of Tornado's in Kansas. When I was young, other than dreaming to play with the Yankees, I thought a 2nd job of chasing Tornado's would be worthy.....One also blew my Sisters House and Tract off the map in Wichita, KS......beware....!
13- I'd die of a Heart Attack now, yet did as much damn near in North Dakota when I was 21...! Even more refreshing was a Motorcycle ride, with only boots, shorts, and gloves on a Winter Night when the temp was 1 degree.....after a few minutes one gets so numb or hypothermic, they can't feel the cold.....
14- Took a vacation to Aussie in 98, Went directly to Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo, got to meet Steve'O and Teri, on the premises, got a shitload of memorabilia, and both's autographs on 2 items. Steve was/is a Saint......
Queensland Rain Forest is incredible, never got to see the Outback tho'......
15- Let's GO, tho' I'm not sure the dozen or 2 dozen shots would kill me or not, if the shots didn't the Amazon might, yet its a worthy venture.......
16- I applaud you......!!!
17 & 18- I've already broke my back once........your on your own, LOL.....a noble venture as well.........
Kudo's Steve, Yours in one helluva "Bucket List"
