The List of 100 Things

June 3, 2022

We only have one life, so let’s live it.

  1. Go to Scotland. (July 9-17, 2005) (May 22-28, 2022 for our honeymoon)
  2. Go to Paris, France. (March 14-24, 2010)
  3. Kiss someone at the top of the Eiffel Tower. (Katrina, March 16, 2010)
  4. Go to Disney World when Katrina is 8-years-old. (July 7-15, 2007)
  5. Visit the Great Wall of China.
  6. Sky dive! (May 26, 2008, March 2013)
  7. Bungee jump! (June 4, 2008, with Erica Offut and Catherine Gregoire)
  8. Ride in an untethered hot air balloon.
  9. Ride on a ski lift. (March 2004, July 23, 2007)
  10. Raft the Colorado River. (kinda; we kayaked the Colorado River in Texas, May 2021)
  11. Ride a passenger train. (The train to Busan, from Seoul, April 2018)
  12. Scuba dive. (Spring of 2015)
  13. See Mt. Everest.
  14. Swim with dolphins. (November 2015, in Jamaica)
  15. Climb a mountain. (Loveland Pass, March 2004; Bukhansan, Fall 2014; Gwanaksan, Fall 2014; Dunmore Head and Arthur’s Seat, May 2022; Achasan, June 2024)
  16. Learn to cook shrimp like my mother. (August 2009)
  17. Plant a tree for someone. (For Aunt Debbie, August 2018, Blanco River)
  18. Find that wheat field from my dreams.
  19. Be in a movie.
  20. Get published. (Through the Broken Window, Austin Chronicle, 1998; Elsekind, April 2016; Cherry Squid in Escape Pod Magazine, June 2017 – This one also won an award in the Writers of the Future contest)
  21. Write a novel. (Reprieve, Summer 2009; Elsekind, 2014-2016, Sea Glass, May 2020)
  22. Write a fanfic novel. (So many… Here they all are.)
  23. Go on a pirate cruise ship.
  24. Dance on a cobblestone street in Italy. (with Katrina, June 2014)
  25. Go to Mardi Gras. (February 1994)
  26. See Pearl Jam in concert. (September 2001)
  27. See the Foo Fighters in concert. (May 2018)
  28. See Peter Gabriel in concert. (Oct, 18, 2023)
  29. Visit all 50 states. (States list)
  30. Meet Robert Smith.
  31. Visit New Zealand. (We have plane tickets!)
  32. Visit Vancouver. (September 8-11, 2018)
  33. See the Statue of Liberty. (June 15, 2008)
  34. Eat a New York hot dog. (Nathan’s Hot Dogs, Coney Island, June 16, 2008)
  35. See a Broadway play. (Spamalot, June 17, 2008; Les Miserables, West End, England, March 16, 2012; Moulin Rouge, New York, January 4, 2024)
  36. Sing karaoke. (New Year’s 2013, and never again, please)
  37. See the Leaning Tower of Pisa. (June 2014)
  38. See Tuscany. (June 2014)
  39. See the Berlin Wall.
  40. Go to Barcelona, Spain. (June 2014)
  41. Visit the Alhambra.
  42. Go to outer space.
  43. See the Sydney Opera House.
  44. See Ayer’s Rock.
  45. Visit Stephen King’s house in Maine.
  46. Ride on the London Eye (March 13, 2012).
  47. Record one of my Grandmother’s stories. (June-July 2010)
  48. See Niagara Falls.
  49. Spend the night in a (European) castle. Airth Castle, Scotland (25 May 2022; it was haunted!)
  50. Tour a dungeon. (Edinburgh Dungeon, Scotland, July 11, 2005)
  51. Tour a haunted house. (Myrtles Plantation, March 2016)
  52. Meet James Marsters. (November 12, 2011 – Austin Comic Con)
  53. Go to Bali.
  54. See the Golden Gate Bridge. (August 9, 2009, Girl Scouts Trip to San Francisco)
  55. See the Pyramids.
  56. Eat Moroccan food.
  57. Fly first class.
  58. Hang glide.
  59. Swim in a bioluminescent bay. (Puerto Rico, December 2020)
  60. See Big Ben (March 2012).
  61. Visit Tokyo, Japan. (Christmas break, 2014)
  62. See the Louvre. (March 18, 2010)
  63. See a cathedral. (St. Mungo’s Cathedral, Glasgow, Scotland, July 16, 2005; St. Patrick’s Cathedral, New York City, June 12, 2008; Notre Dame Cathedral, March 17, 2010; Sacre Coeur, March 19, 2010; Westminster Abbey, March 14, 2012; St. Paul’s Cathedral, March 16, 2012; Southwark Cathedral, March 19, 2012)
  64. See the original Starry Night. (Houston, TX, Impressionist Exhibit, January 1, 2005)
  65. Spelunk a cave.
  66. Spend time in a Canadian city. (Vancouver, September 8-11, 2018)
  67. Take the cross-continental train tour over the Canadian Rockies.
  68. Take a Mediterranean cruise. (June 2014)
  69. See the White Cliffs of Dover.
  70. Ride in the Chunnel.
  71. Walk across the Royal Gorge. (July 20, 2019)
  72. See Stonehenge (March 17, 2012).
  73. See the Parthenon.
  74. Go to Chichen Itza.
  75. Watch a shuttle launch. (Or rocket launch, since the shuttle has been retired…)
  76. Go to the Academy Awards.
  77. Ride horseback in a trail ride. (October 18-19, 2008 Blue Streak Stables)
  78. See an African savanna.
  79. Go Parasailing. (July 3, 2001, Tampa Bay, Florida, with my Mom)
  80. See Neil Gaiman. (9 May 2022, Austin)
  81. Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. (January 2024)
  82. See the aurora borealis.
  83. Visit Mackinac Island.
  84. See New England in the fall.
  85. Explore the Florida Keys.
  86. Visit a place where we can see whales swimming. (Port of Edmonds, Washington, September 7, 2018)
  87. Buy the land in Woodville that my Grandfather used to own.
  88. See Yosemite. (August 9-11, 2009, Girl Scouts Trip)
  89. See Devil’s Tower.
  90. Visit the Redwood Forest. (August 9-11, 2009, Girl Scouts Trip)
  91. Go to Yellowstone National Park. (Summer 2021)
  92. Take my child to a symphony. (February 2016)
  93. Name a star.
  94. Sleep in a hammock on a tropical beach.
  95. Go to Ocho Rios, Jamaica. (November 2015)
  96. Learn to kayak. (Saturday, May 11, 2008) Now we own kayaks!
  97. Go to Norway.
  98. Ride on a streetcar in San Francisco. (August 9, 2009, Girl Scouts Trip)
  99. Pet a baby tiger.
  100. Visit every Disney theme park. (We’ve been to Tokyo DisneyLand and DisneySea, and all of the Orlando Disney parks.)

BOLDED – I’ve done it!


Italics – I’m working on it.


Colored link – I’ve done it, and here are the photos!

As of October 4, 2024, I have completed 59 of the 100 things on this list. Yay!