101 Things to Do Before You Die | Tag Archive

Thing to Do #80: Spend Christmas on the Beach

December 25, 2012 by Jessica 1 Comment

So this may end up being one of the things on the list that I’ll never do. I like my family and its important to me that I be with them at Christmas. If I went to some resort, I think I would just be sad that I wasn’t with the ones that I love and I know my family wouldn’t travel with me (my parents don’t fly). I guess we could just go to the North Carolina beach, but I feel like that probably wasn’t the point. However, I recognize that I may be in the minority in that an awful lot of people seem to not like their families.

Has anyone else spent Christmas on some warm beach? Makes me think of that Corona commercial…

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Life Management, Relationships, Travel

Christmas, incomplete, Travel, water

Thing to Do #97: Participate in…New Year’s Eve in NYC

December 11, 2012 by Jessica 0 Comments

This is an oldie but a goodie. If you are thinking about going to NYC for NYE, do your research.

I’d love to tell you that this one ends well, but it doesn’t. I wish I could “Tarantino” it and start from the end, but I don’t have the writing chops to do that effectively. Instead I’ll start where all great adventures of young 20 somethings start: “My girlfriend and I started talking and had a great idea…”

On December 30, 2001, a close friend from High School, Amy, and I started talking about how cool it would be to go to Times Square for New Year’s Eve. Talking led to looking online for airline tickets. Looking online led to finding tickets, roundtrip from Raleigh-Durham to La Guardia for about $100. More talking about the relative inexpensiveness of traveling to New York City for one night led to purchasing the tickets.

Thing #1 that we did wrong: thinking that getting to NYC around 7pm on New Year’s Eve would give us plenty of time to get to Times Square

Thing #2 that we did wrong: continuing to think that we had plenty of time and getting a couple of drinks in the hotel bar before heading out

Thing #3 that we did wrong: choosing to try to do this the New Year’s Eve after September 11th.

I’ve never tried to do this since so I don’t know how security normally is, but when we began making our way to Times Square, we found ourselves hitting a security line pretty early on. After standing in THAT line for about an hour, we passed through, only to hit ANOTHER security line, both complete with barriers. Perhaps they do that ever year and maybe its what they do later in the evening for “crowd control” but I suspect strongly that it had to do with the fact that roughly four months earlier a horrific event had occurred in NYC and security was extra tight all over.

After we cleared the second security line, we met up with another set of barriers. However, this was no line; this was “Do not pass go.” The mob of people were slowly trickling into essentially a holding pen. New York City cops lined the barriers, announcing on a bull horn that no more people would be allowed into Times Square. Regardless of what was being announced, people continued to stream into the holding pen and more and more people were crushing against me and Amy. Someone in the back began yelling “PUSH! They can’t stop all of us!” Like lemmings, the mob began pushing towards the barricade, me and Amy being pushed along with the rest of the crowd. Amy and I quickly realized that things were getting out of control and we clasped hands so not to be seperated. With one last push, the barricades came tumbling down and the mob came flowing through. To escape being trampled (which I can only assume happened to the people in the very front) me and Amy began running, too. Out of sheer nervousness and fear, all I can remember is me and Amy laughing hysterically, running down the middle of a New York City street with hundreds of other people running around us. I looked up once to notice that we were running by the Ed Sullivan Theater.

Unfortunately, the mob didn’t consider the intelligence and organization of the New York City police. We run up against another barricade, this time with police in mob gear. Again, it was announced that we should all turn around and go back and again, the same idiots began yelling to push. This set of barricades also gave through and again we were running with the crowd until BAM!, the police managed to put the barricades back up just as me and Amy got near the front. This last push, Amy and I had gotten seperated, and I was directly up against a barricade-Amy was a few people behind me. We could still see one another.

The mob began pushing again, and this time the barricades did not give. The cops kept telling people to back up, that the only way out was the way they came, but they kept pushing. Mob mentality is the scariest thing on Earth.

I felt like I was going to pass out, the crush of people was cutting off my air supply. At this point, it was about 11:40pm. The cop nearest to me could see I was in pain, so to get my mind off of the situation, he began talking to me, just small talk stuff but it did make me feel better. As I was at a juncture in the barricade, he said, quietly, “You know, you could probably fit through this crack.” I told him I was with a friend and I couldn’t leave her and he told me he’d look after her. So I squeezed through the barricade and of course, people saw and began pushing and yelling. Amy started freaking out that I was going to leave her (unfortunately, this was her first time to New York City and it was not going well), so I stood near the outside of the barricade to show her that I wasn’t going anywhere. Unfortunately, my presence was continuing to rile those still on the other side and the policeman made me stand further away down the sidewalk.

At midnight we could hear the cheers from Times Square a couple of blocks away. Twenty feet away from one another Amy and I waved at each other and yelled “Happy New Year!” but obviously without much cheer. As soon as the New Year had arrived, the policeman vacated their barricade and those within immediately began dispersing. Amy and I decided to go to Times Square anyway, at least to just see the aftermath, but we were turned away a block further down by a lone cop telling us that everyone was being made to leave the area.

We went back to the hotel room, discouraged and forlorn at the dissapointing outcome of the night. We got up early the next morning to see a little bit of the city before heading back to NC. I took Amy to Chinatown, SoHo, and some other favorite spots, and I think Amy began changing her opinion of the city.

So that’s my big story of the time I went to Times Square for New Year’s Eve. Although I never officially made it, I think this is a better story!

Have you ever been caught up in a crowd or in a mob? Ever had a crazy experience like this?

Excitement, Recklessness, Travel

adventure, completed, drinking, flying, New Year's Eve, New York City, school, Times Square, Travel, youth

Thing to Do #108: Visit Niagara Falls

September 23, 2012 by Jessica 5 Comments

Back in January 2011 I wrote about the top 10 falls to see in the world. Who would have known that in less than 2 years I’d be visiting one on that list?

When I was invited to a wedding in western New York, I immediately got out the map to see if I could squeeze in a day trip over to Niagara. Only a quick 3 hour drive away, I set about making plans to not only see the Falls for the first time, but to also visit Canadia for the first time.

Everything I read told me to start the day on the American side and explore that side before going over to Canada for the better view (as well as the light show in the evening). The American side is a State Park and it was delightful following along the bank of Lake Erie, seeing the swiftly flowing water quickly turn into terrific rapids before plunging off the edge. I bought my ticket for the Maid of the Mist, which also got me access to an Observation Tower for some pretty epic views of both falls (the Maid of the Mist runs on both sides and costs the same but the American side gives you access to the Observation Tower and the Crow’s Nest below the American Falls so leaving on the American side is the slightly better choice).

View of the American Falls with the Horseshoe Falls beyond

On the Maid of the Mist you pass by the American Falls and are able to get a pretty good view but as you approach the Horseshoe Falls, you might as well be entering a torrential rain storm with the amount of water that is pouring down. You feel as if you are actually under the falls and while the boat does get close, you’re still a good bit away. The whole trip only lasts 15 minutes or so and boats are constantly leaving so there’s not much worry of not getting a spot on a boat.

Coming back from my Maid of the Mist tour

After the Maid of the Mist, I headed up the Crow’s Nest, which is a path the leads up to the base of the American Falls. Even with my trusty Maid of the Mist poncho, I managed to get the front and back of my shirt wet, as well as my tennis shoes. Nothing like walking around in squelching shoes for the rest of the day. Luckily, I prepared for this and made sure I got all of the potentially wet stuff out of the way early in the day to make sure I had time to dry out before the night air set in.

Under the American Falls in the Crow’s Nest

I walked a good bit around the American side and then it was time to head to Canadia over the Rainbow Bridge. After paying the toll and sitting in line for 30 minutes, I had made it through the border into Canada. I was prepared for Niagara being a tourist trap but was still surprised at being charged $20 to park. The entire Canadian skyline is full of casinos and hotel skyrises so looking across from the American side is a bit sad. The American side isn’t innocent, boasting their own solitary casino tower, but by and large, looking back at the Falls from the Canadian side is the better, clearer view of the Falls, especially in regards to mist not blocking your view.

The view of the falls from the American side (note the Canadian skyline)

I arrived on the Canadian side at about sunset so I strolled around and took photos of the falls and then caught dinner at a riverside restaurant to view the light show that began after dark, with giant spotlights casting different color lights onto both the American and Horseshoe Falls.

It was incredible to see the sheer volume of water going off the edge. My favorite spots to view the falls was not in front of the falls but behind it slightly to get the full impact of seeing quickly flowing water and then…nothingness. I could imagine early explorers making this terrible discovery much too late.

The edge of the Horseshoe Falls

I headed back to America that night following a small two-lane road that hugged the lake’s bank on the Canadian side. There was no one else on the road and it was a nice drive with the lights reflecting off of the water. Plus, there was no line of cars (or tolls) waiting for me at the Pearl Bridge that quickly got me back into America by unceremoniously dumping me directly into downtown Buffalo, NY, which, from the little bit that I saw of it, seems like a sad place where hopes and dreams go to die (no offense to anyone who lives in Buffalo, NY but honestly, there are a LOT of people from Buffalo that have moved to Raleigh and I can only imagine they moved here for something more than just a mild winter).

So I enjoyed my little trip to the falls (as well as the wedding!) and was glad I took advantage of roughly being in the area. Nothing like taking advantage of an adventure when the opportunitye presents itself.

Have you been to Niagara Falls? How could you not love waterfalls in general?!

101 Things before you die, 40 Before I'm 40, Excitement, things before you die, Travel

Canada, Niagara Falls, Travel, waterfalls

Thing to Do #2: Swim with…Sharks

August 15, 2012 by Jessica 4 Comments

This is a re-post but in honor of Shark Week, thought it was timely. Plus, I love telling people about this experience; of all the things I’ve done on my list this is definitely one of my favorites.

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Although I had already completed #2 by swimming with Dolphins in January 2007, when Alex and I were planning our vacation to the Mexico in August 2008, I was especially intrigued by one excursion that detailed a swim with Whale Sharks.

Apparently, there are only two places on Earth that whale sharks congregate for any significant amount of time; one is off the coast of Australia and the other is off the coast of Cancun, with the “season” lasting from about July to September. And, just in case you don’t know, Whale Sharks do have tiny little teeth, but eat plankton through a filtering system, and are not aggressive at all, but are large, docile creatures. In fact, the only aggression on record was a few that had butted sports boats, but only after having been provoked.

On vacation, the last thing I want to do is to wake at 5:00am, but we did, as we were staying in Playa del Carmen, and had an hour’s ride to Cancun. Once in Cancun, we boarded a boat with 10 others and began another hour’s ride into open water off the coast of Cancun. Once out, we began seeing fins all around, which immediately conjure up the worst scenes of Jaws. Everything you’ve been taught says NOT to get into the water!

We were to go in two at a time wearing a life jacket and snorkel gear, accompanied by a guide. Each couple got three chances to go in to swim with the whale sharks. We were instructed not to touch the whale sharks and while some of the sharks seemed to be curious, most slowly swam away from our boat, or began to dive deeper when we began to swim in their direction.

I had never snorkeled before so I unfortunately wasted my first trip into the water coughing and choking while trying to get a hang of the snorkel gear. However, that first trip into the water, our shark hung around for awhile and we got a few good looks at him/her under water.

Our second shark (we had to keep chasing sharks around with the boat as they swam away) was not as interested in us and began swimming away pretty quickly. We began swimming after it and as we did, Alex, who was behind me, grabbed my foot. I ignored him, thinking he was fooling around or trying to scare me. A moment later, a fin was next to me in the water! Alex had been trying to warn me that another whale shark had come up behind us. I yelped, which was echoed and amplified by the snorkel gear, and the guide laughed at me and began making fun of me to the others in the boat (I THINK he was anyway, he kept pointing at me. Thing to Do #51: Learn Spanish). I swam out of the way because, while I wasn’t afraid of the shark trying to eat me, his tail was sizable and a thwack! from something roughly the size of a Buick can still be considerable!

On our third and final go, we again set off after a fast-swimming whale shark when this time the guide saw that another had joined us from behind. He yelled for us to put our faces in the water and just below us, within arms length, a whale shark slowly glided by. We followed this one for awhile as he dove deeper and deeper, until we could no longer see him.

Of the 10 or so others on the boat, Alex and I were only one of two couples that took all three swims with the sharks. The others had grown seasick, which I had also been fighting off (we were mostly floating on the open sea and between the waves and the fumes from the gas, it WAS a bit much). Once we set off on our way again, I felt better and we soon arrived at a reef where I was able to employ my new found snorkel skills.

Many excursions like these that are sold in tourist-centric areas can fall short of expectations, but swimming with whale sharks 100% met my expectations. What was especially awesome was that it was in open water-these were not trained animals, they weren’t even being fed!

Anyone else swam with whale sharks? Seen a shark in the wild? I’d really love to find someone that has gone down in the cage with dangerous sharks…

Excitement, Nature, Sport and Activity, Travel

adventure, caribbean, completed, Nature, Travel, water

10 Best Places to Spend Halloween

October 29, 2011 by Jessica 6 Comments

I love Halloween. I talked about how much I enjoyed it in this post from last year. Because of some things going on in my life right now, I won’t really be able to celebrate it this year like I have in the past and this will be the first year in six years that I didn’t dress up for Halloween. I did go see Ghostbusters on the big screen a couple of weeks ago, which was AWESOME! and I did something last night that has always been on my list of things to do before I die that was kinda Halloween-y (look for that write up in a coming post) but I’ve missed not decorating my house and going to Halloween parties. Oh well. There’s always next year. In the meantime, I thought at least my blog could get into the spirit with these ten great destinations for a Halloween vacation:

1. San Francisco. This is a city that loves to play and to dress up in costumes. It is no wonder that there are plenty of things to do here for Halloween. Options range from kid-friendly events like trick-or-treating at the zoo to decidedly adults-only events like the annual Exotic Erotic Ball and Adult Entertainment Expo. There are numerous other costume and candy events at local attractions, hotels and clubs.

2. New York City. This is another terrific destination city for people who want to check out cool local Halloween events. The place to be for the big Halloween party is Greenwich Village. Here you’ll find an amazing costumed parade and lots of live music. You will also find a crowd because nearly two million people typically come out for this big event. You may have thought New Year’s Eve was the time to head to New York City (and it is) but don’t underestimate how amazing the city is at Halloween.

3. Transylvania, Romania. Who doesn’t think about characters like vampires when Halloween rolls around? What better place to indulge in that historical fantasy than in Translyvania? The city lives up to its name with lots of cool Halloween events that play off of the Dracula theme. The best place to be is Bran’s Castle (also known as Dracula’s Castle), which is in the creepy Carpathian Mountains. A huge Halloween event takes place here throughout the week combining costumed fun with historic tours. (If I was ever going to visit Transylvania, this would definitely be the time to do it!)

4. Venice, Italy. This was recently named one of the top five Halloween destinations in Europe. That is because it has a little bit of everything that you could want for a Halloween vacation. There’s a local ghost tour through an eerie historic landscape. There are legends about the terror of sea monsters. And this is a destination that a lot of people have always longed to visit.

5. Anoka, Minnesota. This isn’t a destination that a lot of people know about but it’s one that does come alive around Halloween. That’s because this little Midwest town has decided to make its claim to fame by becoming the Halloween Capital of the World. The entire month of October is filled with Halloween related events including Halloween food festivals, parades and a big jack-o-lantern contest.

6. Chicago, Illinois. A more urban Midwest destination that also features great Halloween options for visitors is Chicago. Check out the events at Navy Pier, which include a haunted house and a “carnival of curiosities”. Check out the haunted ships, the Six Flags Great America Halloween celebration and the pumpkin patches around the city. Check it all out!

7. Bisbee, Arizona. This small historic town is home to hotels that are reported to be haunted. It’s a charming little getaway with a bit of a spooky side to it. Explore old copper mines, take a day trip to the historic Old West town of Tombstone and go pumpkin picking at nearby farms. This vacation is best for adults looking for a romantic little retreat for Halloween although there are kid-friendly activities in the region.

8. Savannah, Georgia. Do you want to do something really creepy for Halloween? Take a trip to Savannah, a city that is filled with cemeteries and has been reported to be home to numerous ghosts and spirits. They play off of this at Halloween and provide lots of spooky events for people of all ages. Carriage tours, a Creepy Pub Crawl, a walking tour of haunted areas, and a pirate-themed restaurant are all popular options for Savannah’s Halloween visitors. (When we visited Savannah in January, there WERE a lot of ghost stories)

9. Norcross, Georgia. One of the most popular things to do during the Halloween season is to visit a fictional haunted house, the kind of place that is designed to frighten you in a fun way. Netherworld Haunted House in Norcross, Georgia has been ranked the number one haunted house in the United States. That makes it a destination worth checking out. (I’m a big scaredy cat and can’t watch horror movies with all the lights on in the middle of the day. Last year I finally went to a local haunted house and buried my face in my hands the whole way through. I’m not sure I could make it through something like this).

10. Orlando, Florida. This Disneyworld destination is popular at all times of the year but it comes alive with fun family-friendly events. A top pick is Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios.

So what do YOU do for Halloween? Ever been to any of these places to celebrate Halloween? Do you like horror movies and haunted houses or are you as big of a scaredy cat as I am?

Entertainment, Travel

halloween, haunted houses, horror movies, Travel

Things to Do in 2011

December 31, 2010 by Jessica 9 Comments

Last year was a pretty full year: I traveled to New Zealand, ran a Marathon, went sky diving, and got into the Guinness World Record book by skinny dipping. I wonder what is in store for this year? Well, here’s some ideas off of the 101 Things to Do Before You Die list:

#1 Write a Novel: I started on this goal last year and just plan to continue to work on this again this year.

#11 Visit Every State: I know this is terribly exciting but we have big plans to visit Pennsylvania this year. I’ve driven through it but have never really DONE anything in PA. We plan to visit Hershey for all the things you do there (including a nearby Zorbing course), visit Fallingwater, and then head to Altoona, PA for Lakemont Park, the home of Leap the Dips, the oldest roller coaster in the world! (It’s an “also-ran” on the Roller Coaster list)

#16 Get into the Guinness World Book of Records: I accomplished this already during the World Skinny Dip Challenge in July 2010. However, that is a group entry and while it counts, I really want my NAME in the book. So I’m going to continue my goal of being the largest blood donor. So far I’m up to 5 pints over my lifetime.

#46 Scuba Diving/#87 Conquer Your Fear: My fear is water. I plan to learn to SCUBA to officially say I’ve conquered my fear. (This is also #9 and #10 on my “40/40″ list)

#52 Read the Greatest Books Ever Written: I only have 11 left on the list, but this includes the works of Shakespeare and most of the others that are left are LOOOONG. So we’ll just put the number at 8 this year.

#52.1 Shakespeare Reading Challenge: I will attempt to reach “Henry V” level by reading 12 plays this year.

#89 Learn to Cook: Officially this one in the book is “Throw Away the Instant Noodles,” implying to learn to cook and stop relying on redi-made dishes. To count this one as done, I plan to make a meal once a week, all year, from scratch. No pre made anything (except pasta, I’m not making pasta). AND I’ll do a different recipe each time. So 52 different meals. This one is going to be tough.

#93.5 Get Your Name in the Ring of Honor: I’m currently up to 125 over almost two years working on this one. Ready to just get this one done so I’m trying to complete it in 2011! (#16 on my “40/40″ list)

#105 Krispy Kreme Challenge: I’m DONE with serious running but I’ll still do fun runs. And this one should be the funnest. We’re also signed up for the Spartan Race for May. (both are #22 on the “40/40″ list)

Goals from my 40 Before I’m 40 List:

#6 Start Saving for Retirement

#19 Watch AFI’s 100 Best Films: I’ve only got 34 left. Let’s see if I can get through them all by the end of the year.

#28 Sell a piece of art (and realize my childhood dream, which is #8 on the 101 list)

#38 See a Movie in a Drive-In Movie Theater

Not crazy adventurous like last year but still pretty ambitious! What are your goals for 2011?

Achievement, Entertainment, Excitement, Life Management, Nature, Sport and Activity, Travel

beer, books, cooking, drinking, films, Flying Saucer, Guinness, Pennsylvania, reading, retirement fund, running, SCUBA, Travel, water

Thing to Do #97: Participate in…New Year’s Eve in NYC

December 28, 2010 by Jessica 15 Comments

I’d love to tell you that this one ends well, but it doesn’t. I wish I could “Tarantino” it and start from the end, but I don’t have the writing chops to do that effectively. Instead I’ll start where all great adventures of young 20 somethings start: “My girlfriend and I started talking and had a great idea…”