Check

Yep, we are still around, just been a little offline I guess.  We are still in Florida and still working on the project list and still making plans for where we are going next.  While we have been enjoying being surrounded by friends and family but haven’t had much “boat-y” things to report, therefore, the silence. Sorry.  We do have some very “boat-y” things on the horizon though. 

I did just have a birthday, one of those “Big-O” birthdays.  Gulp. And, since birthdays and bucket lists just seem to go hand-n-hand, I took a moment to look over mine. It had been a while. And, yes, I actually write down my list.  I am a list lover and if you only keep one list, I think this is definitely the one to keep.  To my surprise I had, without even realizing it, accomplished my #1 item, ‘’TO GO CRUISING FOR ONE YEAR”.  It has been my #1 since I’ve had a list and probably way before that. YAY!!!  YIPPPEEEEE!!!  HIGH-FIVE!!!! WE DID IT!!!!!

Oh, wait……..If I cross it off the list what am I supposed to do next?! What is my life goal?  What is my NEW #1 item? But I don’t want to cross it off the list.  I want to do it again!  Can I put it back on the list?  Maybe I can fail it on a technicality, maybe the months spent in the boat-yard last summer shouldn’t count. Maybe I can just edit the “one year” part, I obviously hadn’t dreamed big enough when I wrote it.  

After a bit of debating (with myself) I decided to cross it off the list, mark it as accomplished. Besides, the best part of having a list is getting to cross things off it and I don’t have many items crossed off of it yet. Also, it feels fantastic to cross off your #1 Bucket-list item (believe me, try it!). At the moment I still don’t have a new #1 (the actual list, other than #1 is in random order).  I am OK with that for now. Cruising is still what I want to be doing, and now it is just how I am going to continue checking items off that list.  Not all of them, I mean I have things like “GO TO ALASKA” and “SCOTLAND” on the list.  I don’t have the desire to cruise our little boat to those not-warm places. And, um,  “OWN A GOAT” doesn’t seem to jibe to well with the living on a boat thing too well either. Fortunately things like “LEARN SPANISH”, “BUILD AN ELABORATE SAND CASTLE” and “BE INVOLVED IN A REEF RESTORATION PROJECT” seem to be perfectly suited for my current lifestyle so dilemma solved.  Now, let’s see how many I can cross off this year!  I am feeling excited! 

Of course, I also just added a few item too.  After seeing Lisa’s pictures from the Galapagos, I couldn’t help but add “SWIM WITH A SEA LION”.  Then, after seeing Rochelle’s pictures from Austrailia, I added “SEE A WILD WALLABY”.

 

The Bucket List:

• Go cruising for one year
• watch baby sea turtles hatch
• swim under a waterfall
• hike in a rainforest
• be involved in a reef restoration process
• learn Spanish
• run a 5K
• build a tiny cottage
• own a goat
• save a wild animal
• cross the equator
• go to Alaska
• go to Scotland
• coast to coast road trip
• sail ICW and go to NYC by boat
• go camping again
• go deep sea fishing
• ride in a helicopter
• Make a friend in a another country
• eat a meal entirely from my own garden/yard
• ride a train
• sell a piece of handmade jewelry
• find an old shipwreck artifact on the beach (doesn’t have to be valuable)
• go to New Zealand/Australia
• zipline through a rainforest
• look into a volcano
• see a wild hutia
• go to Cuba
• scuba dive
• teach a class
• go white water rafting again
• finish a 5 year journal
• write a poem
• jump from a cliff into deep water
• ride a horse on the beach
• go the Jumentos and Ragged islands
• go to the San Blas Islands
• make a long-lasting difference in a strangers life
• see a wild monkey
• get a hot stone massage
• learn to give a great massage
• go to Hawaii
• design and sew (and wear) an outfit
• do 100 pushups (I don’t remember writing that one!)
• build an elaborate sandcastle
• build a snowman
• pick a bucket of blueberries again
• visit Cat island
• pan for gold or other gems just for fun
• swim with a sea lion
• see a wild wallaby

Keith, who does not share my love of making lists, doesn’t have an actual bucket list.  But I know if he did renting a scooter and touring the Dominican Republic would be on it, I think he’s going to get to mentally check that one off the list soon! 

You may have noticed riding a scooter is not on my list. If you watched me ride a bike you’d understand.  Though, I bet building a sandcastle isn’t on his list.  Marriage is a sweet compromise 🙂 

So, what is your #1 item on your bucket list? Share! Is this the year you cross it off?

It was a good, good year!  And we ate a lot of fish!