My wife and I have been updating our bucket lists weekly ever since you-know-what ruined everyone’s travel plans. That list is so long now that it appears, we can easily itemize it into a one-line item…Everywhere. But as an exercise we each narrowed it down to our top 10. In no particular order, here are mine.
- Spring Training. This has been on my list longer than any other when as a boy I learned that baseball players on my beloved Montreal Expos actually got to spend a couple of months each Spring in Florida playing baseball. I made it to a Washington Nationals game in West Palm Beach a few years ago, but I want to spend a month in Florida following the Toronto Blue Jays. I want to experience the first crack of the bat and the first pop of a catcher’s mitt in early Spring.
- Visit every Major League Park; 14 down-16 to go. You may have guessed that I love baseball, but this one will be tough as my wife is not a fan. Any of you in MLB cities want to volunteer your time at a pub and then a game to talk and watch baseball with me?
- Historical tour of Canada. One regret when I was a teenager was being too self absorbed to care where my Grandpa came from and why. As a boy, he immigrated to Canada from the Liverpool, England region in about 1908. There was a Canadian author named Pierre Berton who wrote many books about the history of Canada and it wasn’t until I read his book, The Promised Land-Settling the West 1896-1914 did I understand the why. The stories my grandpa probably had. Fast Forward to 2016, and we visited the Fortress of Louisbourg in Nova Scotia which reignited my passion to learn more and follow Canada’s roots from coast to coast.
- Juneau Beach, Vimy Ridge in France. This is an extension of my historical tour of Canada and to visit places where Canada distinguished itself during the world wars. I’m sure I’ll need to head to the Netherlands as well, just haven’t researched that part yet.
- Haunted Castle. Just because. Hopefully, those ghosts aren’t just someone’s idea of good marketing. This would have been checked off the list in June when we had a room booked at Barcaldine Castle in Scotland.
- Calgary-Isle of Mull, Scotland. The place that my hometown is named after. There doesn’t appear to be much there, but it’s important to me. This also would have been checked off the list in June.
- Amalfi Coast-Kayak tour, sadly this likely won’t happen. While my wife indulges me and my intense pace during vacations, she draws the line when she’s required to chip in with the manual labour and paddle her own boat. I’ll have to settle for a villa with a large balcony overlooking the ocean.
- Giraffe Manor in Kenya along with an African safari. Who wouldn’t want a giraffe poking its head through the window while I’m eating breakfast?
- Month long stays in London and New York. I love big cities and I want to experience them like a local. Ever since I visited New York for the first time I’ve had this as a goal, but once I’d been to London, New York dropped to 2nd on the list. Los Angeles/San Diego are also on the list-but more as a place to go when it’s cold at home. In my mind, they don’t have the mystical qualities that the big 2 have.
- Disney World and Disneyland with Grandkids. First, I’ll need grandkids. But watching my own kids cavort with Mickey and Minnie was priceless and I want to experience that again.
Anyone else want to share their still unfulfilled bucket lists?