The Bucket List

Because I can never resist a good meme, and because I like to do everything that Patrick at the HawkOwlsNest does, here's another fun post (although I changed the name of it to something cooler).

If you want to participate, too, just copy the list, bold the things that you've done and feel free to add comments like I did. Let me know if you post it on your blog. And because it's difficult to determine which ones are bold and which ones aren't, I've put an asterisk in front of all those I bolded.

*1. Started your own blog
*2. Slept under the stars (I even convinced Sonja to try it once...without a tent out in the desert of New Mexico).
*3. Played in a band (5th-8th grade: trumpet; 9th grade through 3 years of college: tuba)
*4. Visited Hawaii (One of the best, and cheapest, vacations we've ever taken)
*5. Watched a meteor shower (see #2)
*6. Given more than you can afford to charity
*7. Been to Disneyland/world (both)
*8. Climbed a mountain (I summitted Long's Peak in Colorado: 14,259')
*9. Held a praying mantis (and I have the pictures to prove it)
*10. Sang/played a solo (believe it or not, I actually had a tuba solo in the brass quintet I played in during my junior year at the U of North Dakota)
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
*14. Taught yourself an art from scratch (I've been drawing since I could hold a pencil)
15. Adopted a child
*16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty (been to the top of the Empire State Building, though...which is almost as cool)
*18. Grown your own vegetables (and they were huge Alaskan vegetables!)
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
*20. Slept on an overnight train (just did that last month, actually)
*21. Had a pillow fight
*22. Hitch hiked (in Switzerland, after missing the last bus to town...got to ride in a posh Mercedes)
*23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill (uh, I mean of course not!)
*24. Built a snow fort
*25. Held a lamb
*26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
*29. Seen a total eclipse (lunar only...although I'm planning a trip to Grand Teton National Park in 2011 for the full solar eclipse that summer!)
*30. Watched a sunrise or sunset (I'm a park ranger. We get paid in sunsets!)
*31. Hit a home run (and it was in a real game, too! Of course, it was a city league in Seward, Alaska, but that still counts. It was an in-the-field homer, though...never knocked one over the fence, before)
*32. Been on a cruise (many whale/glacier watching cruises for work up at Kenai Fjords, and a three day ride on the Alaska Marine Highway)
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
*34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors (well, I've been close anyway. Went to Germany and Austria when I thought that's where we came from. I learned recently that we're mostly Hungarian, but I'm still gonna count it)
35. Seen an Amish community
*36. Taught yourself a new language (does Klingon count? nuqDaq ta' SoH pol yuch? Translation: Where do you keep the chocolate?)
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied (gotta be honest with this one)
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
*39. Gone rock climbing (I was a regular Spiderman for a few years back in the mid-90's)
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David in person
*41. Sung karaoke (unfortunately, for those listening)
*42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
*43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant (we recently bought pie for a couple that gave us a ride to our car on the Going to the Sun Road)
44. Visited Africa (I'll be able to check this one off soon, I hope!)
*45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted (drawn, yes. Painted, no)
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
*51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling (both, in Hawaii)
*52. Kissed in the rain
*53. Played in the mud
*54. Gone to a drive-in theater (saw E.T in the drive-in...and there's even a working one only 15 minutes from our new house! I know what we're doing next summer!)
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
*57. Started a business (does CafePress count??)
*58. Taken a martial arts class (the only Western martial art: fencing!)
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
*62. Gone whale watching (even in a kayak!)
*63. Gotten flowers for no reason
*64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving (always wanted to)
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp (I'm still kicking myself that I didn't visit one while in Germany)
*67. Bounced a check (uhhh...)
*68. Flown in a helicopter (as a helicopter pilot, I think the answer is most definitely, yes)
*69. Saved a favorite childhood toy (Grampa Dog is still kicking around on my dresser)
*70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
*73. Stood in Times Square (attended a musical on Broadway, too. I took Sonja to see 'Rent' for her birthday one year)
74. Toured the Everglades
*75. Been fired from a job (I guess I'm not a very good car washer)
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
*77. Broken a bone
*78. Been on a speeding motorcycle (once, in Alaska...but don't tell Sonja)
*79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person (hiked down into the Grand Canyon, too...which is way more impressive)
80. Published a book (always wanted to try writing one, though)
81. Visited the Vatican
*82. Bought a brand new car (Our little Subaru that could! I love Gilbert...)
83. Walked in Jerusalem
*84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible (Are you kidding? I grew up Catholic...of course I haven't!)
86. Visited the White House (not inside...although I'm going to try to get a tour in January when I'm in DC for President Obama's inauguration)
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
*88. Had chickenpox
*89. Saved someone’s life (sorta...although, truth be told I'm the one whose idea it was to try traversing the cliff with our big backpacks on in the first place)
90. Sat on a jury (almost...I was able to convince the judge to let me go)
*91. Met someone famous (Jane Goodall)
92. Joined a book club
*93. Lost a loved one
94. Made a baby
*95. Seen the Alamo in person (even looked for the basement...didn't find it)
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake (seen it several times)
*97. Been involved in a law suit (currently in one....I hate insurance companies)
*98. Owned a cell phone
*99. Been stung by a bee
*100. Gotten a speeding ticket (but not for at least ten years!)