Here are some of the things I have done and still want to do before I kick off.
2. Go SPIE rigging off the bottom of a helicopter! Done this already! Basically they hook you up on a rope face down and they fly around with you at 60 knots or so. Feels like being superman!
3. Hike the Appalachian Trail. I have been interested in this since I was a kid. The problem is it takes a ton of time. I hope I am still fit enough to handle this when I do have the time because kicking off without fitting this in will really piss me off! A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail
is a great book about Bill Bryson's experience on the trail. This is a must read!
is a great book about Bill Bryson's experience on the trail. This is a must read!
4. Sail across the Atlantic alone on a 30' or smaller boat. I have always dreamed of sailing the Atlantic. I read the book Tinkerbelle
as a young kid who was obsessed with racing sailboats and have read it at least 20 times since. This is another one I will be sorely disappointed not to fit in! At the time of it's writing, in the late 50's I believe it was, Robert Manry finished his crossing in the smallest boat ever - I think it was 13-14 feet! Awesome!
as a young kid who was obsessed with racing sailboats and have read it at least 20 times since. This is another one I will be sorely disappointed not to fit in! At the time of it's writing, in the late 50's I believe it was, Robert Manry finished his crossing in the smallest boat ever - I think it was 13-14 feet! Awesome!
5. Ride my bicycle across the U.S. I know this is another time consuming venture! I never feel more free than I do out on the open road under my own power. I think it would be an incredible way to see the country that I love so much!
6. Meet Chuck Yeager - the first man to break the sound barrier! He has always been one of my greatest idols and it would be such an honor to meet him. Most likely it ain't gonna happen but it would be awesome. His biography is a must read for anyone
7. Ride the Tour De France route. This is something that I have to do. I have been watching the tour since I was a teenager and nobody even knew what the Tour was. I have to do this! I need to know how it feels to climb mountain pass after mountain pass and have to keep on going!
8. Build a windmill. I want a damned windmill so bad I could spit! I am going to build one soon. My house is in a pretty poor location for one but I don't really care. The idea that I can make power with wind has fascinated me for a long time. If I can run my landscape lighting off a windmill I will be a happy guy! I know simple things for simple minds!
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| 06 - The finest Huey the Corps ever had |
9. Be a United States Marine! Done! It was one of the biggest honors of my life to serve in the Corps and I use it's lesson's on a daily basis! Once a Marine always a Marine! Working as a "Huey" Crewchief was the best job a guy could every want. A huey is the equivalent of a flying Harley Davidson. Strap a damned big gun on it to play with and you have something!
10. See the end of Pancreatic Cancer. I have made it a mission in my life to help find a cure for this disease that took our friend Karen Petty from us and I will continue on my mission until it is done. My yearly 200 Mile Karen Petty Ride Against Pancreatic Cancer will continue until it is gone!
11. This is the most important thing on my list! I need to be a successful dad. My kids will be the only legacy that I leave behind in this world and when I'm up raising hell with St. Peter and all my fellow dead jarheads I hope my kids are back here telling "Dumb Eric Stories" and telling everyone what a cool and "Wacky" Dad they had!
P.S. I am going to live to 120 years old so I have a lot of time to fit all of this stuff in!
Wacky Dad
Was gonna be offended that I (your loving wife) did not make this list somehow but then I rethought it and realized if you had added a number 12. item saying "be the best husband I can be", it would have been unnecessary...it is already a "DONE" item!
ReplyDeleteWhat a unique list. I have read hundreds of Bucket Lists and have never seen 'Build a Windmill' or 'Go SPIE rigging'! Thanks for the new ideas & best of luck to you on your adventures.
ReplyDeleteI just read A Walk in the Woods a couple months ago. Great book! The AT sounds a little too adventurous for me but we are going to hopefully do the North South trail this year (probably in chunks over a couple of weekends)
ReplyDeleteInstead of wind, what about hydroelectic? Don't you have a brook behind your house? Same idea but it my be a better project for your property.
Annette Thanks! I have a lot of avired interests and some of the stuff is not the run of the mill you might usually see. I do want a windmill bad!!
ReplyDeleteChris That is one of my favorite books. I love his buddy Katz. I can see he fat ass try to hike up those mountains in my head so vividly! The north South is a great trail. I have done parts of it and have a bunch of info on it somewhere. Also I have already plyed with the water wheel but my wife says it's ugly! I can't win!
ReplyDeleteCathy I tried to put you in here but it got morbid every time I thought about dying before or after you so I had to leave it out. You are my best friend and I love you always!
ReplyDelete"06" was a damn good bird
ReplyDeleteWell done! I share at least six of those bucket list items with you. Tramline looks so much easier in that picture than I have ever seen it. I am bummed because this is the first weekend that tramline has been open since I can remember and I am overseas and not at Cannon!
ReplyDeleteAlso, I recommend watching a documentary from the national geographic channel that covers the AT.
http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/episode/appalachian-trail-3591/Overview
Old 06 was the finest Huey I ever saw. That bird had a heart and soul and I loved it and I believe it loved me!
ReplyDeleteGreg my father said the skiing is unbelievable! They are supposed to get more snow this week though. Are you back next week? I am off this week to but am looking forward to next week!
ReplyDeleteThe helicopter deal sounds like fun. I might need to wear diapers, but still fun.
ReplyDeleteJack you'd love it. I did ocassionally fly with someone who it just didn't agree with and would end up with their lunch sprayed all over my cabin but usually it was just damned fun!
ReplyDeleteI thought jumping of the gorge @ Victoria Falls was wacky enough, but your list is a whole new level. I have never heard of SPIE rigging but that sounds like fun.
ReplyDeleteI guess with 5 & 7 you can use that to also raise money for 10!
Lorna you seem to have read my mind! Any endurance rides I do now will be focused on ending Pancreatic Cancer. SPIE Rigging is fun but unless you join the service it's kind of a tough bucket list item to fullfill! I hear the Marines are looking for recruits!
ReplyDeleteYou're already the best husband a woman could ever ask for. What the hell Cathy? How can you improve on perfection.
ReplyDeleteScott took his kids down Tramline on Saturday and said it was as good as he's ever seen it.
ReplyDeleteIt needs to be mentioned that Eric has already done more stuff in his life than most people could ever dream of. He's screamed across the ice on an ice boat when he was 2 years old, I bought him his first dirt motorcycle when he was 5. I built him his first go-cart at 2, and when he was 5 we took the front wheels off it and added a front runner, studded the rear tires and drove it on the ice for a lot of years.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I wish he had done was fly my little home-built airplane. Who knows, maybe some day.
Hopefully Tramline is still open! I am ready!
ReplyDeleteI have done some awesome stuff in my day dad! Looking forward to doing even more!
ReplyDeleteRemember the time I flipped that Ice-Machine over and the studded tire ripped half of my face up? I did get the most air of all the kids that day - I almost killed myself but I won!
ReplyDeleteYou get more air because your head is lighter than the average head
ReplyDeleteDear Dad,
ReplyDeleteScrew!
Love,
Eric
nice, real nice
ReplyDelete