My New Years Resolution last year was to have a better upcoming year than the previous year was. The last year was topped in the first quarter of 2015.
I wanted to make an updated post to my bucket list post from two years ago. I have organized the list, and moved all of my accomplishments to the top.
I am still living the dream; MY dream.
Have a Cup of Coffee With a Stranger (Achieved 2015)
Dine in the Eiffel Tower (Achieved 2015)
Be Smiling in a Random Persons Photo in the Back (Achieved 2015)
Jump into a Fountain (Achieved 2015)
Drink Champagne in France (Achieved 2015)
Drink Guinness in Ireland (Achieved 2015)
Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in Dublin, Ireland (Achieved 2015)
Eat Chocolate in Belgium (Achieved 2015)
Eat Crepes in France (Achieved 2015)
Get Lost in a Foreign Country (Achieved 2015)
Dance Like No Ones Watching (Achieved 2015)
Don’t Use the Phone For a Day (Achieved 2015)
Attend a Yoga Class (Achieved 2015)
Become an Early Riser (Achieved 2015)
Do a New Year Dip (Achieved 2015)
Do a Boudoir Photoshoot (Achieved 2014)
Cut my Hair and Donate It (Achieved 2014)
Become a Film Maker (Achieved 2014)
Fly a plane (Achieved 2014)
Be in 5 Magazines (Achieved 2014)
Eat Cajun Food in New Orleans (Achieved 2014)
Go Ice Skating (Achieved 2013)
Drive around Big Sur (Achieved 2013)
Cross-Country Road Trip (Achieved 2012-2013)
View the Golden Gate Bridge (Achieved 2013)
Drive Along Route 66 (Achieved 2012)
Drive Along the Pacific Coast Highway (Achieved 2012)
Drive from Home to the East Coast (Achieved 2012)
Go to Colorado (Achieved 2012)
Become a Runway Model (Achieved 2012)
Stay in Death Valley (Achieved 2012)
Eat a Lobster in Main (Achieved 2012)
Eat Ribs at an American BBQ (Achieved 2012)
Be a Vintage Model For a Day (Achieved 2012)
Be on the Cover of a Magazine (Achieved 2012)
Bake my Own Bread (Achieved 2011)
Here are the remaining open bucket list items. I will continue to work on completing each one, living my life to the fullest. I figured these few items should keep me busy for the next few years:
Climb a Rock Wall
Drink Only Water For a Year
Go For Walk in Central Park
Achieve 1,000 Goals
Add a Picture /video/blog of all my Goals
Attend a 10-Day Vipassana Meditation Course
Attend a Poetry Reading
Attend an Inner Awakening Retreat
Be a Mentor to Someone
Be a Part of an Important Movement
Be a Part of Habitat For Humanity
Be Blind For a Day
Be on Stage in Front of Thousands of People
Be Part of a Disaster Relief Team
Be Part of a Peaceful Protest
Be Passionate About a Cause
Become Courageous
Become First Woman President
Break a Guinness World Record
Build Schools For Women and Girls in Developing Countries
Buy a Stranger a Meal at a Restaurant
Change Someone’s Life For the Better
Completely “Unplug” For a Week
Create a Travel Journal
Do 365 Random Acts of Kindness in a Year
Do a Buddha Meditation
Do a Favor For a Stranger on the Scale of “Pay It Forward”
Do a Twenty-Four Hour Silence
Do Charity Work Abroad
Do Something Crazy For Charity
Do Something New Every Month For a Year
Do Something Nice For a Homeless Person
Do Something Nice For Someone Who Will Never Find Out
Coast to Coast Train Trip
Couchsurfing in 10 Countries
Cruise Around the World
Cruise Mexico
Cruise the Caribbean
Cruise to Alaska
Cruise to Antarctica
Drive Around Australia
Experience the Grand Canyon
Explore Africa
Explore Asia and the Far East
Explore Australia and New Zealand
Explore the Amazon Rainforest
Explore the Desert on a Camel Safari in India
Explore the Galapagos Islands
Get a Lei in Hawaii
Get a Self Portrait in Italy
Go Backpacking Through Europe
Go on a Gondola in Venice
Go on a Real African Safari
Go Shopping in Milan
Go Swimming in the Dead Sea
Go to a Big Medieval Fair
Go to a Big Time Movie Premiere in Hollywood
Go to a Cherry Blossom Festival in Japan
Go to Brazil
Go to China During Chinese New Year
Go to Egypt
Be Time Magazine’s Person of the Year
Become a Cheese Connoisseur
Become a Freelance Writer
Become a Programmer
Become a Published Author
Become a Supermodel
Become a Translator
Become a Travel Writer
Become a Wine Connoisseur
Become an Author a Successful Blog
Travel By Seaplane
Backpack Across Europe
Backpack Across South America
Backpack Across the Himalayas
Backpack Appalachian Trail
Backpack South East Asia
Backpack Trough Australia
Backpacking Through New Zealand
Camp in the Backyard
Travel the Amazon River
Climb a Mountain
Climb a Pyramid
Cross Country on a Train
See the Northern Lights
Hike in Nepal
Visit the Grand Canyon
Visit Yosemite National Park
Hike Machu Picchu
Bake a Cake For Someone For No Reason
Cook 30 Recipes from 30 Different Countries in 30 Days
Cook an Entire Meal from Another Culture
Eat a Gyro in Greece
Eat a Six-Course Meal That I Prepared
Eat a Traditional Food from Every Country
Eat Apple Strudel in Vienna, Austria
Eat Chinese Food in China
Eat Curry in India
Eat Fish and Chips in London
Eat Greek Salad in Greece
Eat Maple Syrup Pancakes in Canada
Eat Mexican Food in Mexico
Eat Olives in Greece
Eat Pasta in Italy
Eat Poi in Hawaii
Eat Sushi in Japan
Eat Using Chopsticks in Asia
Create Passive Income
Establish my Business Before I Turn 40
Gain Financial Freedom
Go an Entire Month Without Spending Any Money
Invest in a Stock
Invest in Gold
Invest in Real Estate
Invest in Silver
Invest in the Stock Market
Save $10,000
Stay on a Strict Budget and Save For a Goal
Attend a Presidential Inauguration
Attend a Sydney Opera House
Attend a TED Talk
Attend a Writing Class
Become Bilingual
Become Fluent in French
Become Fluent in German
Become Fluent in Italian
Become Fluent in Spanish
Complete a Course to Become a Photographer
Complete a Novel
Complete a Rubik’s Cube
Complete all the Books from ’1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die’
Complete an Online Class
Do Crosswords Every Day For a Month
Do Sudoku Every Day For a Year
Get a Scholarship For University
Get a TEFL Qualification
Get Certified As a Lifeguard
Go on a University Exchange
Know the Alphabet Backwards
Learn 100 Basic American Sign Language Signs
Learn a Burlesque Routine
Learn a Computer Programming Language
Learn a Form of Martial Arts
Learn a New Language and Speak It Fluently
Learn a New Word Every Day For a Year
Learn a New Word from an Unknown Language Every Day For 30 Days
Learn a Trade
Attend a High School Reunion
Attend One Wine Tasting a Month
Create a New Family Tradition
Grow Old With the Love of my Life
Have 50Th Wedding Anniversary
Have a Picnic in Central Park, New York
Have a Romantic Flight in a Hot Air Balloon
Apply to Be a Jeopardy Contestant
Apply to Be an Amazing Race Contestant
Attend a Broadway Show
Attend a Charity Ball
Attend a Cirque Du Soleil Show
Attend a Concert As V.I.P
Attend a Film Premiere
Attend a Lantern Festival
Attend a Masquerade Ball
Attend a Paint Party
Attend Carnival
Be in Time Square on New Years Eve
Build a Snowman Taller Than Me
Celebrate the 4Th of July in Washington Dc
Dance Salsa in Rio Di Janeiro
Dance With an African Tribe
Dine in the Dark
Drink a Glass of Red Wine in Chile
Drink Rum on a Caribbean Beach
Drink Tequila in Mexico
Act in a Movie That Hits Theaters Nationwide
Act in a Short Film
Appear As an Extra in a Drama
Appear in a Music Video
Appear on Television
Attempt a New Recipe Once a Month For a Year
Be a Part of New York Fashion Week
Be on More Than 4 TV Shows
Become Great at Playing Guitar
Build a Computer
Build a Functioning Solar Still
Build a Giant Sand Castle
Build a Gingerbread House from scratch
Live in a Log Cabin
Put together a complex Puzzle
Build a Sauna in my Home
Build an awesome Tree House
Build a Website
Build Affordable Green Communities
Complete a Painting in One Day
Complete a Wine Journal
Create a Children’s Book
Create a College Photo Album
Create a Documentary
Create a Publication
Put together a Scrapbook
Create an Iphone Application
Create Melted Crayon Art
Decorate a House
Capture a Tornado on Film
Circumnavigate the Globe By Sail
Climb to the Top of a Rope in a Gym
Cross a Country With Bicycle or By Foot
Do a Firewalking
Do a Polar Bear Plunge
Do Human Bowling
Go at the Top of the Highest Building of the World
Go Bull Riding
Go Dog Sledding
Go Go-Karting
Go Into a Zero Gravity Room
Go Storm Chasing
Go White Water Rafting
Go Zip Lining
Hang Glide
Have a Nascar Experience
Arrive at an Airport and Take a Flight Randomly
Attend a Beach Bonfire
Attend a Beach Party
Attend a Mind Reading Show
Attend an Event at Buckingham Palace
Bathe In Chocolate
Bathe In Milk
Bathe In Oil
Be a Contestant on a Game Show
Be a Couchsurfing Host
Be a Flashmobber
Be a Member in the TV Audience
Be a Street Performer For a Day
Be a YouTube Star
Be an Extra in a Television Show
Be in Two States at Once
Be Inside an Igloo
Be Interviewed By Jay Leno
Be Interviewed On Oprah
Be Invited to the Playboy Mansion
Be Listed As One of People Magazine’s Most Beautiful People
Be Nude on a Nude Beach
Be on a Radio Show
Be on the Cover of Rolling Stone Magazine
Be on the Front Page of a Major Newspaper
Be on Webcam With Someone For Twenty Four Hours
Be Photographed Beside the Pyramids of Giza
Become Ambidextrous
Belong to a Secret Society
Blow Bubbles in the Rain
Buy Someone’s Groceries Just Because
Call Someone, Tell Them to Look Out Their Window, and Be Standing on Their Front Lawn
Celebrate my Birthday in Another Country
Change Clothing in a Phone box
Climb a Light House
Collect a Coin from Every Country I Visit
Collect a Jar of Dirt from Every State
Collect a Penny For Every Year I’ve Lived
Create a World Map With Pins of Where I’ve Been
Dance all Around the World
Dine at Sanyou Cave Hanging Cliff Restaurant, China
Do Everything With my Left Hand For a Whole Day
Do Something Absolutely Spontaneous
Do Something Unexpected
Don’t Talk a Whole Day
Draw Funny Faces on all the Eggs in my Fridge
23,000 miles, 4,259 photos, 110 days, $9,500, 269 videos totaling 2 hours of footage, and a lifetime of memories.
What if I told you this trip cost us less than $.050 a mile?
This trip only cost us $0.41 a mile! No, that last one is a statement not a question. That’s for serious! Granted the trip was 23,000 miles long! It was definitely worth every penny! The trip actually ended up lasting 110 days. Our plans, though originally set almost hour by hour, changed to not knowing where we were going day by day. We didn’t skimp on things we really wanted to do like going to the aquarium in Atlanta or eating BBQ in Memphis. However, we did sacrifice on, in some instances, living conditions (though not safety) and when food was not a local specialty must-have we’d eat non-parishables we brought along from home.
We had a few road trip songs; I would say there are about 3 that really touched our hearts. Home by Phillip Phillips, Home by Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, and Would You Go With Me by Josh Turner.
Fast forward to today…
Now we are just trying to find our place. Figure out what God wants for us in this new season. We are working on some books. Hashing out some business ideas. We’ve applied for an 11 month mission trip with the worldrace.org. We’ve applied for and gotten jobs. Entered back into the “real world” as some would call it. Though we will always remember when we blew a mattress up in our car to see if it would fit, spray painted cars, hiked through a national forest and came face to face with a gator, rode a ferry by the statue of liberty, put chains on our tires to cross the great divide, stayed with strangers and made new friends, rode a Gondola at Veil, watched whales migrate south, camped in our car, had an allergic reaction to poison oak, hiked 6 miles round trip into the second largest canyon, had coffee at the original Starbucks, visited the Baseball Hall of fame, chilled in a hot spring, climbed a fence to get a better picture of a leopard, tried to eat breakfast in Mexico, snuck into a golf club to shower, left my wallet in Vegas, traveled the USA in 110 days…
So that’s it, right? Finished the drive over to New York. Enjoyed visiting family in between Seattle and Albany (some for a second time). Picked up the car. We’re done, right? I guess we should just go home from there.
But we didn’t.
Stopped to see friends in Baltimore. Stayed in North Carolina. Thawed out in Jacksonville. Since we had gone so far, we might as well finish the drive down to Miami, right? Maybe even chase a sunset to the Keys!
So we did that too.
Stayed over in the Orlando area, and enjoyed family there. Since this has been quite the adventure, we thought it might be wise to have a vacation from the adventure before we headed back to work.
Cedar Key was recommended as our layover spot, and it was perfect! We stayed at the beautiful Cedar Key Bed and Breakfast. Rode around on a tandem bicycle. Just had a good, restful night.
Our drive was going to take us right by Adrian’s dad’s house. So we decided to stay one night there. On the way there we passed a guy pushing a giant globe! So we had to ask him what he was doing! (www.worldguy.org)
Got to Baker, had a great time. Told them about our adventure.
Then we locked keys in car.
Again.
A friend drove up to unlock our car. There was just one problem – we couldn’t find the keys. So we were stranded in Baker, but at least we had good company. It took us three days, but we finally found the keys we drove home.
Home is where ever I am with you.
This short video only has clips from some of the trip! Not even all of it. We took over 200 videos with almost 2 hours of short clips from around the country, picked some of our favorites and condensed those into 2.5 minutes.
Keep checking back to the blog! There are two more posts from the trip. There will be other videos to be posted from the trip as well!
If not loading above you can watch here!
It took months to grow. It smelled of vomit, and held food particals from before it’s time.
It was time for the beard to die.
Unsure how to approach the man beast cuddled up next to the hairy monster, I politely suggested, “It is time for that beard to go.” He reared his head, nostrils flared. Then came the tears and the pleading. “Please let me keep my pet beard. Please!” However, the decision was made, and the beard was shaved off that day. Make sure you watch Adrian’s Vlog by clicking here! You will laugh, you will cry… but mostly you will laugh.
We were inspired by Rhett and Link’s video, “How to Kill a Mustache” which you can watch if you click the link here.
Ashlee Karin 