January 20, 2023:  Bucket List Wishes

This little guy "Rainbow,"  is one of my grandson’s, "stuffies."  He sent Rainbow with me when I traveled to Bar Harbor, Maine a few years ago to “keep me safe”.  Rainbow was my travel companion, and he watched over me.  After four long months living and working in Bar Harbor, Rainbow came back home with me and now resides again with my grandson.  

A second visit to Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park was on my bucket list.  I was fortunate to not just visit there but to live and work there for four months. I had few expectations other than living for a short time in the area.  However, I was richly rewarded by experiencing a profound and new connection to nature and the awe of The Creator and Creation while I was there.  I was reminded how important being with my children, grand-children and friends are to me.  I was challenged with the physical demands working in an extremely busy retail store, and living in a shared space with strangers.  The good news is some of those strangers are new forever friends. 

Many people have asked me if I would do it again.  My response has been, "I don't know."  It was a kind of a "bucket list" thing.  However, I am not ready to commit to another season, at least not for four months, and I am not ready to say never again.

I still have a bucket list of places to travel. My grand-daughter graduates from high school this year.  Since the age of four, she has asked if I would take her to Hawaii.  We agreed, when she graduated from high school, we would make that trip.  She has recently asked if the trip to Hawaii could become a trip to Europe.  Not sure we are going to make either trip this year because of timing and her availability between high school and college.  I have been to Hawaii several times and made an unexpected trip to Italy a few years ago.  Eventually, she and I will create a travel adventure . . . it remains on my bucket list of “to dos.”

I planned to go to Greece for my seventh birthday.  Well, the pandemic put a pause on that trip.  Who knows?  Maybe that adventure will happen in the near future.  Maybe it will be for my seventy-fifth celebration.

Here my bucket list of future travel  adventures:

• A river cruise in Europe visiting the Christmas markets.

• A visit to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to experience the synchronous fireflies.

• A trip to see "Dignity," the sculpture, a tribute to the Lakota and Dakota culture in South Dakota near Chamberlin, South Dakota, then continuing on to visit Grand Teton National Park.

• Riding the Rocky Mountaineer train  through the Canadian Rockies from Vancouver, British Columbia to Banff in Alberta, and exploring Banff National Park

• Exploring the Copper Harbor area, Lake of the Clouds, 

• and Porcupine Mountains State Park, in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula 

• Visiting Savannah, Georgia

• Iceland

• Walking the new “Sky Bridge” at Boyne Falls, Michigan

• Kayaking through the Red River Gorge Underground Cavern in Rogers, Kentucky

One thing I have learned related to my bucket list of travel adventures, it’s important to me to take the time to not just plan the trip but to plan the experience you want to have physically, emotionally, and even spiritually. 

So many places to go and people to meet!