My Bucket List

I don’t consider myself an extreme sport devotee but I do love to try different adventures. So I’ll share with you my on-going bucket list of semi-daring things I have accomplished and then those adventures I have yet to try.

The Great Wall of China:
When I first retired my husband and I were able to travel to China. Part of the tour was to Beijing and the Great Wall of China. I couldn’t wait to see that wonder. I planned to wear my patriotic sweater of red, white, and blue stars and stripes when I did. The steps up to the top at this particular part of the wall are very irregular. Some steps were easy to climb but many of them were so deep and far apart that one had to make a great effort to stretch and climb in order to be able to make it to the next step. But I was determined and felt relieved when I finally reached the top. I took several pictures at the top and my husband took a few of me on the climb. It was truly exhilarating to accomplish that feat. How far we've come in our relations with this communist country. Although we were not allowed to ask questions at Tiannemen Square, I was allowed to proudly wear my red, white, and blue on that ancient wall in China.

View from the Top of the Great Wall of China

Hot Air Balloon Ride:
Ron, my husband, and I spent a month in the mountains just north of Taos, New Mexico one summer. During that time several family members and friends would join us. The week my son, Greg, and my daughter, Jennifer, were with us we booked a hot air balloon ride. It was thrilling. We had to be at the designated lift-off area very early in the morning to avoid the winds that begin when the sun warms the area. The pilot postponed the ride the first morning because of poor weather conditions. But the next morning the conditions were just right. We met our pilot and his crew and finally it was time to climb on board as the flames filled the balloon. What sights the four of us viewed. There was no sound except for the occasional flare to lift and lower the balloon as we sailed through the clean air in the flat plains west of Taos. The pilot even guided the craft to touch down in a small river and then lift up above the water. It seemed as though the ride was over before it began even though we sailed for about an hour.

The next part of the adventure included a visit with an owner of an "earth home." The home was dug into the earth and built of adobe with walls of bottles of glass and tires. The walls were so thick that air conditioning was not necessary. It had its own room-sized terrarium of trees and tropical plants that one would not ordinarily find in the dessert of New Mexico. 
 

Ballooning near Taos, New Mexico 

Snorkeling in Hawaii off Molokini:
I did some snorkeling in the 1980s in the Bahamas. But this snorkeling experience was so different. Ron and I were on our honeymoon in Hawaii in 1998. We were in Maui when we noticed a trip offering to the waters around the crested shape of Molokini Island. As the boat arrived in the diving and snorkeling area I climbed into my wetsuit with some trepidation. I had never jumped off the side of a boat into deep waters. Ron was a certified scuba diver and he was being way too relaxed compared to me. But I made the plunge anyway. The water was cold for a while but I became somewhat use to it as we explored the beautiful waters around us. There were many colorful and curious fish watching us watching them.

 





River Rafting:

 

 

Rafting on the Comal River

White water rafting on the Arkansas River. Notice our guide was a very competent female rafter.
Going through the Royal Gorge was thrilling.

Ziplining:

 

Ziplining through the tropical rainforest in Belize and Mexico.

(I think I can! I think I can!)

 

 

Gearing up for ziplining the temperate rainforest

out of Ketchakan, Alaska

 

 

Here I go zipping above the tree line in Alaska's forest.

 

What a view from my spot above the tree line of a logging camp on one of the inlets.



Ziplining at the Houston Livestock and Rodeo in February, 2013

Ziplining in Costa Rica
 

Parasailing in the Bahamas:



The crew lets out my line. Here I go!
 

Look Mom, no hands. I'm glad I remembered to put the camera strap around my wrist.
What a view overlooking Paradise Island next to Nassau.

 

This shows the enormity of the Atlantis Resort.

 

 

Elephant Riding:
One of the highlights of our trip to Hong Kong, Vietnam, Thailand,

and Singapore was to visit the Singapore Gardens and the magnigicent Singapore Zoo.

 

What a thrill to be on top of this magnificent animal.



Helicopter Riding:

On our honeymoon in Hawaii, Ron and I treated ourselves to a helicopter ride to Hana on the northeast side of the island of Maui. The sights along the way were wonderful especially the waterfalls that can only be seen from the air. When we landed we had a driver who drove us down the twisting Hana Road. A picnic was included on a black sandy beach.

 

Another helicopter ride was from Victoria on Vancouver Island to Seattle. Our latest ride was a highlight of a road trip we took to Mt. Rushmore with our friends, Bob and Holly. The helicopter flew us near the statues of the presidents. That was a thrill.

 



About to take off to see Mt. Rushmore from the air.

 

Flew as a passenger in a glider plane

 



More adventures planned for my bucket list:



Speed race on a race track
Travel on an African Safari
Travel to Australia and New Zealand
Pilot an airplane
Skydive in tandem
Master ballroom dancing with my husband