Category: Travel Tips

We Made a Travel Bucket List // Our Top 50 Things to See and Do

1/8/2019

Waterfalls in Iceland and the historic Incan citadel of Machu Picchu make our list of 50 things to see and do.

By John Roberts

I've reached my early 50s -- boy, time flies -- and for more than five years, I have been traveling as a living and able to check out some of the most interesting places in the world. This has taken me to spots I never imagined I would see.

As a youngster growing up in Upstate New York, my sense of wanderlust and adventure never took me beyond what I could do in my neighborhood. I was often happy enough to just be playing in the snow in my front yard. The giant snowbanks and tunnels I carved into them might as well have represented Antarctica for all I knew.

And my mother's idea of properly outfitting me for the elements during my adventures? Well, she would slip a pair of old plastic bread bags over my feet before stuffing them into my trusty winter boots. Thatâ€™s called living on a single mom's budget.

As I grew up, I became much more curious about the larger world and all the people to meet and places to see. Colleen and I now pretty much set our calendars based on where we want to go and what we would like to see. But with all the amazing options out there, it can be overwhelming. Best to start a list, we said.

So, here is our attempt at a bucket list. It's a pretty solid working draft of some of our wishes and top priorities as we try to make sure that we get to see as much as possible while we still can.

The travel bug bit me by surprise over a decade ago, and since then, much of my planning for trips involved simply drifting to where the prevailing winds took me in the past several years. Travel became a way to join friends and family on a trip or accept a writing assignment, and I would go where I was needed.

This year, we have decided to make a push to get to at least a couple of our Bucket List spots a year, in the hopes that we can knock off many of our top things before we run out of time.

So, here it is, a living document meant to be adjusted and tweaked as our whims change (and hopefully assisted by your input). Please let us know what to add and why you loved certain places in the world that you have visited (use the comments below).

Our plan is to knock off at least two of these a year. Some classic destinations and experiences might not appear here because we have been fortunate enough to experience them already, such as visiting Egypt's Pyramids and Ancient Sites on a Nile River Cruise.

Imagine all the places we can see on a months-long world cruise.

John and Colleen's "Way Too Ambitious" Bucket List

World Cruise (at least 120 days)
Learn to SCUBA Dive
Antarctica Expedition
New Zealand Adventures (Must Include Hobbiton, Colleen says)
African Safari in Rwanda/Botswana/Tanzania/South Africa
Galapagos Islands Adventure
Yachting the Dalmatian Coast Along Croatia
Driving Trip on the Pacific Coast Highway from Seattle to San Diego
Alaska Denali by Hiking and Railroad
Cycling Trip Around Ireland
Walking Portion of Appalachian Trail
Hike to Machu Picchu
Epic Australian Adventure (with Horizontal Falls in the Kimberley Region and Great Barrier Reef)
Visit Glacier National Park
Walking Portion of Camino de Santiago in Spain
Yellowstone National Park Trip
Baseball Stadiums Tour
English Premier League Soccer Game in England
Army-Navy Football Game
Norway Fjords Cruise/Seeing the Northern Lights (Booked and coming this year)
Iceland Waterfalls Tour and Hiking
China Adventures (with the Great Wall and Peking Duck)
Grand Canyon Colorado River Adventures
Oktoberfest in Munich
Visit the WWII Beaches of France
California Zephyr Rail Trip
Trans-Siberian Rail Trip
Baltic Cruise
Overwater Bungalow Resort (Tahiti or Fiji)
Bike the East Coast Greenway
Thailand, Philippines and Palau Adventures (with whale shark encounters, snorkeling in Jellyfish Lake at Palau and food tours)
Cycling Trip in Portugal
Barging Cruise in France
Japan Visit (Cherry Blossoms, Mount Fuji and Highlights)
Oregon Adventures with Craft Brews, Boating and Hiking
San Juan Islands Sailing and Cycling
Patagonia South America Adventure
Driving Trip on Route 66
Explore Madagascar
Amazon River and Rainforest Tour
Canadian Rockies and Lake Louise
Olympic Summer Games
Hiking Utah Zion and Arches
Beach Adventures in Indonesia
Tour of Bhutan (Trek to the Tiger's Nest)
Visit Kathmandu, Nepal
Castle Tour in Denmark
Explore Scotland
Coastal Road Trip in Italy (Cinque Terre and More)
Dutch Tulip Season Cruise

Again, please tell us which you have done and any others that we should consider.

Happy travels!
JR

5 Comments

Train to Travel: 5 Easy Exercises for Common Travel Challenges

11/12/2018

2 Comments

Even if you don't follow a strict workout regimen, you can still reap some great rewards from several simple exercises and practices to help you travel better.

By John Roberts

If you travel a lot, a regular workout routine can help you in a lot of ways. You'll have more endurance and energy. This helps on the long treks through airports and waiting in lines at TSA or at the counters and gates. You also will be better prepared for periods of sitting on buses, trains or planes.

Regular workouts help normalize body functions and can ensure you sleep better and rebound from time zone changes more efficiently. Plus, a fitness and wellness regimen can help you stick to healthy eating plans even when you're tempted by goodies and enticed to overindulge during your trips.

I've been preaching these benefits for years now. But this post is for everyone, even those who don't tend to make working out a priority. Even if you don't follow a strict workout regimen, you can still reap some great rewards from several simple exercises and practices to help you travel better.

For example, one simple trick to feel much better when traveling on a plane, bus or train is to get up and simply stretch your legs and torso a little to get the blood flowing. Long periods of sitting not only causes discomfort, it can lead to cramping. Go for a short stroll, stretch or try a wellness supplement if you experience leg cramps.

Plus, a few simple gym moves will keep you in prime condition to take on other common travel challenges. Here is an easy guide for some simple exercises and how they can help you in your travels. Consider working these moves into your routine at least one a week. It can take less than 15 minutes to do them all and will prove especially helpful if you travel regularly for either business or pleasure.

The Travel Task: Sitting down and getting up from your seat

This is probably the most basic function that I see people struggling with during my travels. Of course, we all know how to sit down and stand up, right? But most of the time, we get lazy and just plop down into the seat (they seem more like crash landings on your butt and back).

Then, when you get up, you grab the back of the seat in front of you to help hoist yourself, perhaps grabbing the hair of the passenger in front of you -- or at the very least giving him or her seat an unwelcome jostle (think about if it was you and you were sleeping).

You can do better with good form and with stronger legs and a core.

The Exercise: Bodyweight Squats

Do two to three sets of 10 to 12 squats to strengthen your form and simulate getting into and out of a chair or seat (photos above). You can use the bench or chair as a guide or do the squats without and try to get to at least a 90 degree angle with your squat depth.

The Travel Task: Loading a bag into an overhead compartment

This is probably the most challenging task a traveler can face, especially if you are shorter and hauling a heavy carry-on suitcase or roller bag. You know very well that it's a two-part chore to stuff a bag into the often-cramped overhead bin. You have to twist yourself in the narrow airplane aisle to pick up your bag before hoisting it up into its resting space.

The Exercises: Overhead Press and Low-to-High Woodchop

Use dumbbells or an exercise band to strengthen your shoulders and upper back with the overhead pressing motion (top photo series). To build flexibility and strength for lifting the luggage from the ground, use a strict motion and torso twist with the band, working low to high (bottom photo series). Do a couple sets of 10 to 12 reps of each move.

The Travel Task: Carrying or rolling your suitcase and other luggage

New designs for suitcases make it easier for you to get around the airport and other spots in your travels. Roller luggage has been a revelation. Even so, some major airports are massive, and your forearms, biceps, wrists and fingers still can feel the effects of pulling and pushing your suitcases along seemingly endless corridors and up and down ramps as you travel between gates. Those of you who are still carrying your bags and duffels, you'll really appreciate this exercise.

The Exercise: Farmer's Walk

Grab a set of dumbbells of moderate weight (easy to hold, but you can definitely feel the weight) and walk with them for as long as you can before setting them down. Do two sets of this, holding the weights with arms extended at your sides as you walk.

The Travel Task: Plucking your checked bag from the luggage carousel

The following movement helps you maintain strength and form for picking up your luggage and for keeping great posture and building enough strength and endurance if you also travel with a backpack.

The Exercise: Bent-Over Rows

Use dumbbells or an elastic band with a bent-over posture. Row the arms back and contract your shoulder blades at the top of the repetition. Do two sets of 10 to 15 reps.

The Travel Task: Climbing stairs

Another seemingly mundane daily routine that we all know how to do. But it becomes more challenging when you are handling luggage and in unfamiliar buildings or on those shaky mobile jetway staircases that get rolled up for entry and exiting small planes.

The Exercise: Step Ups or Lunges

To build up further strength in your legs and confidence in your balance, try lunges or step ups. Alternate legs as you go, and do three sets of 10 to 15 reps of lunges (don't let the drop knee hit the ground), or 8 to 12 reps of step ups using a bench or similar stable elevated surface.

If you use proper form and are deliberate with each repetition of these exercises, you will get stronger and avoid injury. Add more sessions during your week as you get stronger.

Hope this helps.

Thanks for reading, and as always: Travel fit, travel happy and travel often,
JR

2 Comments

An Important Story Behind a Simple Travel Photo

9/7/2018

5 Comments

By John Roberts

Let me tell you a quick story about the picture you see here.

I had a friend snap it for me moments after we arrived early in the morning at Cape Spear in St. John's, Newfoundland. Cape Spear is an extremely popular site to catch the first sunrise in North America, and we were among dozens of others who had arrived to enjoy the spectacle at the easternmost spot on the continent.

I'm no different than a lot of travelers who seek to get that awe-inspiring photo.

I have often walked out toward the edge -- of a stunning geological formation, a fortress or temple wall, a protruding seaside rock or canyon ledge -- in order to create the desired perspective to fully encompass the scale of the natural attraction I was visiting.

I am always alert and careful, and I never put myself too close to the precipice. In fact, I don't like heights, especially the "looking over the edge" viewpoint.

My visit in Cape Spear was no different, and I quickly got my shot to document my visit and sat down to await the sunrise with the growing throngs of other excited early-risers.

Moments later, a woman slipped and fell off the edge of the cliff.

As shocking as it is to read that, imagine how it was for those of us who were present as it happened. Fortunately, I didn't see the fall. But I and others near my vantage point noticed a stir about 20 feet to my left. Word quickly spread that someone had fallen, and horror and panic set in as we tried to figure out what to do. Emergency calls were made, at least one person was able to find a way down to her. But we soon knew the result was the worst outcome.

She had died.

Her sister was there, and I can still hear her pained wails and see her crumple to the ground as those near her did their best to comfort her.

The lady who fell was Kim Hix, 53, who was visiting Newfoundland from Chicago. You can find more about her in this story that recalls her passion for the music on the island. She sounds like an awesome person, and it's terribly sad.

One moment she was excited to be at Cape Spear enjoying this special time with her sister. The next, she was gone. It gives me chills to think about that. There is nothing to indicate she did anything wrong. She just slipped.

It also resonates in a way that further reinforces the notion of how precious life can be. How important it is to savor every single moment that we have.

But also to be extra careful when we do this.

I look at the picture at the top of this post, and I am certain that I was cautious enough and had safe footing.

But still, I will always keep this incident in mind when considering that perfect "Look at me" photo as I travel the world. I encourage you to all do the same.

Thanks for reading.
JR

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We Made a Travel Bucket List // Our Top 50 Things to See and Do

Train to Travel: 5 Easy Exercises for Common Travel Challenges

An Important Story Behind a Simple Travel Photo

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