My goal of completing fifty new experiences or bucket list items before my 50th birthday is coming along nicely! Just like my other two installments this one has my next ten accomplishments. These were very exciting to accomplish and now I have twenty left to hit my goal!
30 Down and twenty to go!
21) Eat a peach picked right off the tree. Might seem small but when I did this at my son in law’s mothers house, it occurred to me that I had never done it before. It was warmed by the sun and so incredibly juicy. She has a small orchard in her back yard, we had gone out to get apples for applesauce, when we noticed she had 3-4 decent sized peaches on her tree. She invited me to pick one, which I took advantage of, as I love peaches. It was so good; I could’ve made myself sick if there had been more to pick. If you’ve never done this, I highly recommend it.
22) Eliminate a bill. Not a debt, which I have done a few times. This is a re-occurring bill. We have had a storage unit for over ten years, as we have limited space in our home. We had discussed cleaning it out and purging a lot of those items but hadn’t gotten around to it. Until we received a notice that our rent would be increasing quite a bit. That was our motivation. We quickly cleared space at home and started the great purge. Having several items of my parents in the unit, I still have a few boxes to go through, but it still felt good to get this task done. And the extra $180.00 a month will go towards a debt now, so maybe we can pay something else off.
23) Be invited to speak at a Women’s Retreat. This one blew my mind. The head of our women’s ministries at church approached me and asked me to be one of the speakers at next years retreat. I am humbled to say the least and a little freaked out. The weekend will focus on making something beautiful come form tragedies. Well losing my child would definitely qualify as a tragedy. Now to just form my thoughts and find some of the good that has come of my loss.
24) Ride Amtrak! For those in the Eastern states riding a train is often a daily occurrence, not here in the Northwest. So when the time came for us to go on our cruise, that sailed from Seattle, we figured that would be a great way to get up there. It was only three hours and it was the most relaxing thing we could have done. We didn’t have to deal with traffic, my husbands road rage or parking long term. We sacrificed being able to sight see around town, which we have done often, but it was worth it. We are now trying to think of other reasons to “hop the rails”.
25) Go on a cruise! This one was HUGE. We have wanted to go on a cruise for a long time, so of course when it came up that we could afford to do an Alaskan cruise then we jumped at the chance. (there will be a posting regarding our experience with this vacation, so keep watch for that) My husband fished in Alaska decades ago and he has always wanted to return. He’s often spoken of moving up there and living off the grid, not something I’m a fan of. I figured this was going to be a nice taste of what life could be like. So, with two teen boys in tow, we hopped aboard the Carnival Luminosa and spent 7 days trekking up the Northwest Inside Passage.
26, 27, 28) The cruise helped me mark off three more items. Very exciting ones also.
First, I was able to finally see whales in the wild! Having visited Sea World in the 90’s I have seen Orca’s up close, but I had never seen any in the wild. It was so exciting to see the dorsal fins coming out of the water, one right after another. And then we saw Humpback’s, my hands down favorite mammal on the planet. They were further up the passage but there were a lot of them. Someone on the ship shared their photos with us, so I don’t get the photo credit, but their camera was a lot better than my phone.
Next, we were able to see icebergs. Something I didn’t anticipate. These were located inside the Tracy Arm Fjord and the color of the ice was stunning. A crystal-clear blue that’s so hard to describe that the photos do not do them justice in the slightest. These were the result of the Twin Sawyer Glaciers and more of them became visible the further up the Fjord we went. It was a sight that I felt blessed to see.
Then, of course, simply visiting Alaska. We made three port stops on our journey: Juneau, Ketchikan and Skagway. These port towns didn’t necessarily give us the “Alaskan” feel but just being in those spaces was surreal. Knowing my husband has wanted to get back there for over 30 years made the trip even more special.
29) Happy 30th Anniversary. We made it. When others said we wouldn’t we have proven them all wrong. Four children, one grandson, and 10, 950 days of marriage. We renewed our vows at 20 years and this year we celebrated with our cruise. I love this man more than I can express and we will be married until our last breaths. Marriage is hard work but it’s so worth it. A PSA to you young people, find your person and grab on, it’s a wild ride.
30) Go Axe throwing. What a fun release of energy. It was a date night for us and we had an absolute blast. There were a wide range of games to play, so it wasn’t just hitting a target. We threw at ducks and moving items, we played tic-tac-toe and threw Chinese stars. We truly enjoyed it and will probably place it on our list of date night activities going forward.
As the “accomplished” column grows, I keep looking for new things. Some are more determined than others, some minuscule. But it’s all about growth and experience. I’m so very glad that my friend inspired me. It has been fun to hit 30 out of 50, I’m over half way there.
Stay tuned……
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My Journey’s My Own 
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