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Monday, October 9, 2017

Why These 5 Destinations Are On My Bucket List



This is a sponsored post.  All opinions are my own.

I'm sure you have your bucket list of places you would love to see.  I know I have mine.  It was longer but we have booked a cruise that includes docking in two ports that were very high on my bucket list, Rome and Venice, Italy.  We will be taking that cruise to celebrate our 40th anniversary. That won't happen until next October but that dream is finally going to come true.  We found a good excuse to get us to Italy, now we need to find a way to get to the rest of my list.  I am down to five destinations that I really need to see.  Three of them are here in the USA so there is a good chance that I will be able to check off my list at least three of the five.   I am hopeful that we will get to all five though.  Why are these destinations on my list?  Because...

1.  Moline, Illinois.  Ok.  Maybe you have never heard of Moline, Illinois.   Neither would I if my dad wasn't born and raised there!  I have been to the neighborhood in Osaka, Japan where my mom spent her childhood.  Me and my sisters were very fortunate to have had the amazing experience of spending entire summers living in the house she grew up in..  It gives you a sense of who you are to know where your roots are.  Lately I have been very curious to know about my dad's birthplace.  I realize it is not going to be the same town anymore.  I'm sure it has changed a lot in the last 70 years.  I feel a connection, though, and need to go there at least once.  And who knows it may turn out to be the best place ever and I will want to visit again.  It is slightly famous and known by some for housing the John Deere tractors.  I was surprised to find that out a few years ago when we passed a John Deere truck on the road and I saw Moline, Illinois on their logo.  I will definitely go to check out the John Deere headquarters.   Have you been to your parent's hometowns?  Maybe you are living there right now.  If not, you might want to put it on your bucket list if it's not there already.

2.  Redwood National Park.  After singing about the Redwood Forest as a TA in a preschool for 16 years, I really have to see these awesome trees for myself.  (The Gulf Stream waters are not on my list though!)   That is only one of the many parks I want to visit.  There are 59 National Parks in twenty seven states.  I have been to three National Parks.  We just recently went to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park that borders on Tennessee and North Carolina.  We met my sister and brother-in-law there and hiked a couple of trails on that trip.  (I will post about that trip very soon.)  We hiked Arcadia National Park in Maine on one of our group camping trips many years ago.  That was one of our most favorite camping trips and the one that is talked about the most.  And we toured the amazingly beautiful Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona when we were on vacation in Las Vegas with a group of over 20 people.  So many of our best vacation memories are from our adventures in these National Parks.  If you have some National Parks on your bucket list and you are a senior, find out about a great deal you can take advantage of here.

3.  Alaska.  I have been in Anchorage, Alaska but never ventured out of the airport.  I heard Alaska was gorgeous and I finally want to actually see it.   I would probably look into doing a cruise and look for one that includes these popular cruise destinations.   1.  Hubbard Glacier, at 76 miles is the largest tidewater glacier in North America and looks gorgeous from pictures I've seen.  It is probably one of those things you have to see in person to get the full effect.  2.  Glacier Bay National Park would give me a chance to visit a national park and go whale watching at the same time.  3.  The city of Skagway, established during the Klondike gold rush, for the experience of seeing an authentic Alaskan mining town.   4.  The Inside Passage is thought to be one of the most beautiful places in all the world.  I heard it is most gorgeous in the summer and fall.  5.  I would love to see the Northern Lights but the best time to see them is in winter and I don't think they make a jacket warm enough for me to go to Alaska in the middle of winter!

4.  Australia.  One day my dad announced that we were moving to Australia.  He had had enough of the stressful life he had as a ticket agent for Air Canada Airlines and he was ready to live the laid back, stress free life of an Australian.  He had never been to Australia but this was the vision he had of what life was like down under.  We actually got to the point where I thought "I better go say goodbye to my friends because this is really happening!"  Needless to say we never got there because it is still on my bucket list.  Besides for seeing if my dad was right about how wonderful it is to live in Australia, I would love to see a koala in the wild.  I would love to go to Raymond Island, Victoria for that experience.  There are so many koalas in that area and you can even see them in the front yards of peoples's homes!  You can also see kangaroos, echidnas and rainbow lorikeets there.  One of the 7 wonders of the world, the Great Barrier Reef is in Australia.  I hear that the marine life you can see there is incredible and can be enjoyed on a glass bottom boat which is great news for a non-snorkeler like me.   I worked many years in NYC and loved it.  I would like to visit one of the large cities, like Melbourne, to see how it compares to the cities we have here.  And finally, I would love to check out a beach.  I think that Bondi Beach would probably be the one I would want to go to for not only the beach but also for the shops, cafes and restaurants that lie across the street.

5.  The Netherlands.  When my daughter, Lisa, was in 5th grade, the VanMastrigt family temporarily moved into our neighborhood from The Netherlands.  Lisa and Myrthe VanMastright became close friends and it was such a shame that it was only for a year.  But it was so nice to get to know all of them even if it was for just a short time.  Not only did we enjoy their company, we also enjoyed getting to learn some things about their country.  We didn't see much of Baus as it was because of his job that they were here so he was always working, but we saw a lot of Myrthe and her mom, Wilma.  They were so cool and made The Netherlands seem like a cool country to live in.  Myrthe and Wilma were two of the happiest, friendliest and easygoing people I have ever met.  I have a feeling that maybe there is a whole city of people just like the VanMastrights in The Netherlands.  They lived in the city of Amsterdam which has the reputation of being a party city.  I would love to see it.  It's a big city with many monumental buildings, lots of bridges and many museums.   The Anne Frank Museum is there.  I would like to see that.  I think it would be very interesting.  I heard that the coffee shops are unique in Amsterdam.  I would love to have a cup of coffee in one.  I would definitely have to see a windmill because when I've thought of Holland I've always imagined seeing windmills and wooden shoes everywhere.   The city of Leiden is where I would go to see the windmills along with tree-lined canals, wooden bridges and nice parks and gardens.  And finally, I would love to visit the city of Gouda to see lots of old buildings and eat my favorite the cheese!

Are any of these destinations on your bucket list?  What is on your list?  We would love to know!

This post was inspired by Australian Andrew Charlton.  Learn about him here.

10 comments:

  1. Blessings as you work through your bucket list. It all looks fun.

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  2. These sound like awesome places to visit. There are so many on my list but I"ll whittle it down to a few. Asheville, NC, Morocco, the Netherlands, Tuscany and Paris. Fingers crossed!

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    1. Hope you get to them all. Maybe I'll meet you in The Netherlands or Asheville, NC, my neck of the woods!

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  3. What a fantastic list! I hope you get to all of them and more! Thanks for sharing at Celebrate It!

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    1. Thanks and thank you for hosting such a great party!

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  4. Fun bucket list. My top one was London, England, and I made it there last year. I'd really like to visit The Netherlands someday - and I think Australia would be nice too.

    -Lauren
    www.shootingstarsmag.net

    #bestoftheweekend

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    1. I'm glad to hear that you got to the top destination on your bucket list. Maybe I'll look into London. Hope we can both get to The Netherlands and Australia one day! Thanks for sharing!

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  5. I love to travel too, so I can relate to your Bucket List. I hope to travel to Alaska in May 2018. Thanks for sharing on Sunday's Best.

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    1. I hope you do get to Alaska! I would love to read your post about it!!

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