#13: Backpack Through Europe

    When I was about to be a senior in High School I went on a backpacking trip through Europe for a month during the summer. It was an amazing experience and we crammed in a massive amount of activities into that short of a time frame. We Went to France, Switzerland, Italy, Turkey and Greece. My two favorites were Switzerland and Greece by far. In Switzerland it was the landscape that captured my heart; staying in the heart of the Alps was so beautiful and I loved the small cute towns that we visited and of course river rafting through the mountains was a major highlight as well. Greece was a favorite of mine for obvious reasons. With all the cute island of locals that we visited, with their white houses and blue roofs was something out of the movies and it is hard to complain when you spend all day lounging on the beach. Overall it was an amazing experience and I can't wait to do it some more in a different continent. 

#70: See the Mona Lisa

    This was for sure a big disappointment. This is one of the most iconic works of art of all time; and while it is a very good painting that takes amazing talent, it is not as interesting as some of the other paintings that line the walls at the Louvre. It is a must see when you go to the Louvre but only because it is so famous and everyone will ask to see if you have seen it. It is not hard to find it in that giant building, all you have to do is allow yourself to be sucked into the Asian tour groups and they will take you right to it and its thickly protected casing.
    Most of the fascination with this painting is the mystery that surrounds it and all the theories that people have about what it could mean. Kuddos to Leonardo Da Vinci for keeping us guessing hundreds of years later.

#27: Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany

   Since I was studying abroad in Austria for fall semester, it seemed quite silly to not go to Oktoberfest for the weekend. My entire group had a day trip to Munich and after that we had the rest of the time to do whatever we wanted. So naturally everyone went over to see what this little festival was all about.
   It was literally the most people that I have ever seen in one place before. There were so many people that is was impossible to walk through and get anywhere at a reasonable time. We were only there for a few hours and that was more then enough time to walk around the entire place, take a bunch of pictures of people and try not to get trampled by the crowd.
   The only part of the entire thing that I really like was that everyone of all ages were wearing Lederhosen and Dirndls, which was really cool to see. But other than that the festival was not really my thing. Most of the other people in our group loved it and even went back for a second weekend; I guess it all just depends on your taste. After we left Munich we went and saw the Neuschwanstein Castle which was more up my alley in interests.

#66: Reenact the V-J Day Picture

   This was among the list of things I had to do when I was in New York for a concert tour with my college. Thankfully it happened to be Fleet Week in the Big Apple so there were lots of Marine and Navy guys to choose from. I found a random group of guys by the area that I wanted the picture taken, and asked if any of them would be willing to kiss me for a picture I wanted. Thankfully I got a yes, otherwise that would have been a serious blow to the self esteem.
   We attracted a bit of a crowd and people took pictures of us. I am sure that they thought we were some couple that was hopelessly in love instead of two random people that just met. I am usually not supportive of public displays of affection because it mostly just makes me feel awkward to see. But I figured this one time would be a valid exception.

#56 Ride a Double Decker Bus

 
    It is one of the most stereotypical things to do while in London and is a must for all tourists, even though it isn't that cool once you are on and is just a normal big smelly bus. When you sit on the top level you get a better view of your surroundings, but it is hard not to think about how easy it seems that then entire things can tip over with only a little gust of wind.
   My first day in London I got really sick, of which I blame on the sleeping pills that I overdosed on during the 11 hour plane ride. So I unfortunately did not get to go on the guided tour of London with the rest of the people from my group. Once I finally felt better I decided that I was going to go see everything by myself even though I had no idea where to go; but armed with a day metro pass, camera and a whole lot of determination I set out. I managed to see everything that I had wanted too, except for Olympic park, I tried taking the metro there, but for some reason it ended up with me in a Ghetto where there was more graffiti then street signs. After walking around for a bit and still having no idea of where I was I gave up and went back into the city where I didn't have to look over my shoulder every few feet.
    I had a day pass that also worked for the buses, so I didn't know that you still had to go through the front door to get it scanned which resulted in me getting yelled at by the bus driver. I took the bus through the west end theater district, oxford and Piccadilly circus and around Chinatown. Thankfully the bus I took was covered-as most of them are now- because it was quite cold and that would have made for quite a miserable bucket list experience having to deal with that.

#55 Make a London Guard Smile

   Obvious to say that I did not succeed in this attempt, but the effort is what counts. Apparently Brits do not think that 'The Office' type humor is entertaining, which is quite a disappointment considering how hilarious I find it to be. I feel like being the Queens guard would be such a horrible job, having to stand in one place for hours on end without moving, while bratty kids call out to you and there is some sort of woodland creature that has made a home on the top of your head.
   I went to London right before going to Salzburg for study abroad. I was there for just a couple of days but managed to see everything that I wanted too. Except for the Globe Theater, I asked dozens of people including a lot of natives and none of them had any idea as to where it was located....I bet old Shakespeare would be broken hearted to find out that his fan club is shrinking a bit.
  My biggest disappointment while in London was that I did not get the full affect of the city given that it only rained for about a minute. I wanted to walk down the street in a trench coat and umbrella-which being from Washington State I don't think I have ever actually used before-but I was forced to break out the sunglasses and summer clothes. It sure makes travelling a lot easier when you are not drenched head to toe, but London without rain is like Washington without Vampires...It just doesn't happen.

#54 Gladiator Picture in the Colosseum

#54 Gladiator Picture in the Colosseum 

  When in Rome there is always one picture that any good tourist has to take; and that is at the Colosseum pretending to be a gladiator. The actual city of Rome is not a place that I was a big fan of. There are so many people and during the hotter months of the year it is very muggy and it makes you feel gross the majority of the time, especially when you have an extra 30 lbs attached to your back. But when you ignore all that, you get to experience a city that has so much history and culture that it is impossible to take  it all in and get a good feeling of the city in just a couple of days. 

If you do not have much of a interest in those kinds of things then there is always food which can easily take up all of your time. If I didn't have to walk so much during my stay there I would have easily racked on the pounds, but when you are eating something so amazing it is hard to even care.

Just remember to take a lot of showers and don't be afraid to loosen your belt a bit!  

#20: Study Abroad

   

This year in college-my junior year- I decided to fulfill one of my biggest bucket list items and study abroad. I ended up choosing Salzburg, Austria for 3 reasons:

1) It was the cheapest program in Europe.

2) I had not been to Austria yet.

3) And I am a theater junkie I absolutely adore 'The Sound of Music'

My only doubts in choosing this country?

1) The only German I know is from the movie 'Cool Runnings' and 'Inglorious Bastards'

I arrived here at the beginning of September and will stay here until the end of December. Thankfully they also have us enrolled in German language courses for the first two weeks and then we have the option of continuing on as the actual semester starts. 

These first two weeks have been filled with excursions to castles, mountains and hidden towns through out the country side. I have not even been here a week and I am already in awe of how beautiful it is; every day I can walk along a different street and discover shops and scenes that are completely stunning. Everywhere you walk in town you have a beautiful view of the castle on the hill that makes you feel like you are living in a fairy tale. 

#34: Cliff Jumping

This is another one that I actually got to do a while ago. This picture was also from when I was a junior in High School and went to Hawaii. Like all tacky tourist we endured the Road to Hana in Maui and managed to make it there and back without anyone 'tossing their cookies'. The main attraction is the 7 pools have some of the most beautiful waterfalls and perfect cliff jumping opportunities. There are a few lower pools that most people stay at that have around 15 and 20 foot cliffs; but with a little hiking you will find all the other pools that give you most extreme options if you are feeling a little dangerous. The highest one that I jumped off was 70 feet which was the highest that I have ever done, and will probably ever do...I still have a lot of things in my bucket list to accomplish before I attempt something so suicidal.

#36: Parasailing

  I actually got to do this one quite a while ago when I was a sophomore in high school. My best friend Kaura and I went to Hawaii for two weeks, and this is one of the tourist things that we insisted on doing. I thought it might be a little intimidating to be up so high with nothing below us, but it was actually a very relaxing and soothing ride. Until they decided to dunk us in the water after we swore that we had just seen some sharks right below. But thankfully no toes were bitten off in this excursion!

#67: Get More Than 5,000 Hits on a Youtube Video

This is my High Schools 2011 Lip Dub using the song Love Shack by the B-52's that my friend and I directed for our senior project. In case you don't know what a Lip Dub is it is a music video that you make in one single take of a song that you are not allowed to edit or add special effects too.

 It is quite challenging to make a couple thousand high school kids listen to you when they are all hyped up, but all the stress and planning is always worth it in the end. We had a better version but we were not allowed to use it for the competition because one of the kids in the beginning felt the need to do inappropriate dancing, safe to say I made it a point to make that kids life hell for the rest of the school year.  Although it isn't technically on my youtube channel I am still counting it as mine since I was the director, I have this on my channel as well but it is the edited version. 

It current is at 9,726 views.

#8: Get a Random Body Piercing

 I am not one for crazy body piercing because I have a fear of getting them ripped out from sports or other activities. But for some odd reason I have always really liked the look of industrial ear piercings so when an opportunity came up to get one I figured I might as well. And boy was my mother not happy to see this...which I guess is part of the fun of getting one done!

#57: Find out How Many Licks it Takes to Get to the Center of a Lollipop

 I have never been able to accomplish this because I always get distracted and end up eating the entire thing. But after 19 years I finally did it! As lame as it sounds I was pretty pumped about it. It took me 339 licks to hit the inner tootsie role...and about 2 seconds more to eat the rest. I didn't take a picture because I was so excited that I did it I just quickly ate it. 

#45: Climb the Eiffel Tower

It is one of the top tourist attractions in the world so of course everyone should do this at least once in their life! The best thing about Paris is that there isn't really any skyscrapers, so unlike a city like New York you can literally see for miles. Once you reach the top you are taken away by how huge this city is; it seems to be completely endless and have countless things to do...but then you remember how nasty the city smells and you come back to reality. 

#52: Stay in a Hostel

I first got the chance to do this when I went to Europe with my high school and we spend the entire time backpacking around and staying in different Hostels. Unlike the movie, most of them were really nice and were an awesome place to meet new people just like you. And who can argue with their super cheap rates?

Over the next several years I plan on spending a lot of times in these...to bad there isn't a way to become a gold star member or anything because I would for sure be able to accomplish that!

#5: Master Water Skiing

 I grew up on a lake and was taught to swim before I could walk, but for some odd reason I have always been awful at water skiing. So the other summer I decided to get off my rump and do something about that!

This picture is from my first attempt at accomplishing this and apparently I had no idea what to do, but I thankfully managed to get the hang of it after a few trial runs.

#41: Sing at Carnegie Hall

Every theater freak, choir kid and band geek dreams of performing in a hall such as this! And last year with my college choir I was lucky enough to be given the opportunity to do exactly this. Granted it was so hot I thought I was going to faint and was dripping sweat the entire time-which isn't exactly the most attractive thing in the world-but who cares when you are singing on a stage as legendary as that!

#35: Have Breakfast at Tiffany's

Ever since first watching that classic 1961 Audrey Hepburn movie it was hard not to want to try this at some point. So the next time I went to New York I picked up one of those famous bagels and a coffee and sat back and watched all the 5th avenue shoppers hustling around everywhere as if they had somewhere really important to be. 

I have to admit it was quite relaxing, although next time I will be sure to wear a little black dress and over sized sunglasses to complete the look. 

#40 Giant Game of Ninja

#9 Play a game of Ninja with more then 40 people

I know everyone has played this game with their friends at one point in their life even if they don't want to admit it. But why limit yourself to just a few people when you can create a huge group?

This ultimate game occurred senior year at a debate tournament, which you can assume to be full of theater geeks, nerds and others who just like the sound of their own voice. So naturally this game got a little out of hand at some points.

And yes, I am the one in the middle about to get attacked by everyone around me.

#4 Graduate High School

 This one may seem a bit silly to be on a bucket list, but this is my list and I can do what I want so I put it on here. There are so many people out there that never got the experience of walking across that stage and having that feeling of accomplishment. It is the strangest feeling knowing that after all those years of being surrounded by a certain group of people, all of a sudden they will be gone forever from your life. And as every cheesy graduation speaker says:

                                       "This isn't the end, but only the beginning."

 So cheers to the beginning of the rest of our lives.