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As a wanderer at heart, I will always strive to see everything this world has to offer. Even though bucket lists are seen in a morbid light, I like to keep one to remind myself of all the wonderful things I want to see and places I want to go. Every week, I will showcase ten of the items on my list. Let’s take a look at my USA bucket list!
1. Go to Mackinac Island in Michigan.
Mackinac Island is at the top of Michigan and has been named one of the top 10 islands in the world. It’s a beautiful island that has been suspended in time and I just recently heard about it!
2. Stay in a haunted place.
I have issues. Enough said. The Stanley Hotel – what is said to have inspired Stephen King’s ‘The Shining.’ REDRUM!
3. Take surfing lessons.
I say take and not learn for a reason. I don’t feel like this is a sport I could master because I over-analyze everything I do. But, I really want to try.
4. Master archery.
Archery is something I’ve always wanted to learn. Reading/watching The Hunger Games and Lord of the Rings and so on has only made my fascination worse. We are actually looking at getting me a bow shortly.
5. Ride the rides on the Stratosphere in Las Vegas.
I love roller coasters and thrill rides and these are at the top of the Stratosphere and hang over the side of the building.
6. Attend a Cirque du Soleil show in Vegas.
I’m leaning towards ‘O’ but if someone wants to suggest which one is the best, I’d love to hear it!
7. Housesit in New York City.
As a child and teenager, my main dream was to live in NYC. I have been there several times growing up and I loved it so much. I even wanted to go to NYU. I’m old enough to realize now that I’d rather have the money I would spend on rent to travel, but I would love to do a housesit in NYC so I can live like a local for a short term period instead.
8. Hike to Havasu Falls, Grand Canyon.
Has anyone ever done this? Any tips?
9. New England Road Trip
Do you see that lobster roll?!
10. Explore a Ghost Town
I love exploring abandoned places and one of the things I’m most excited about for our upcoming trip is the ghost towns in the West.
Have you ever done any of these? What would you add to my USA bucket list?
I'm also a freelance writer and creator. You can see my published work here. I've been featured by Impact Travel Alliance as a creative who is transforming travel, and by Matador Network as a vegan travel blogger you should be following on Instagram.
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Totally there with you on mastering archery! I recently learnt how to surf while we were in Costa Rica (I use the word “learnt” loosely!) CR is a great place to learn if you’re there at some point!
I’ve actually been on the roller coasters on the Stratosphere. The thrill totally comes from hanging off the side of the tower. Still totally worth it though. You will like the Stanley as well. It is impressive to see.
Definitely go to Bodie in Eastern California – by far the best Ghost Town I have been to
There are things that you put up on here and I think, yeah, want to do that, yeah, want to do that, and then sometimes I sit here and think OH HELL NO! And that is how I feel about your haunted idea.
I love this list! Number 2 made me laugh. I’d be down for that too I think – but not alone! *shudder* I’ve always also wanted to master archery as well!
Ok so as I was going through this list I was like wow, what a diverse collection you have on your bucket list! I am happy to say that I have accomplished number 9 on your list earlier this year. Our New England road trip around the US states and into Quebec was awesome and I can’t wait to do it again. The lobster roll in Quebec was amazing so I can only imagine it would be even better in New England.
What a great bucket list! I have heard such wonderful things about Mackinac Island. Does it count if I’ve gone to the top of Stratosphere – looked at the rides and turned around? 😉 Good luck on that one…my palms started sweating looking at it. I loved O and it’s different than the other ones because of the water feature. I also love Zarkana and Ka. I am now craving for a lobster roll.
Oh my goodness, that ride on the stratosphere looks soooo scary. I don’t think I could do that. :-/
Hiking to Havasu Falls was my first backpacking trip. I hope you get to do it 🙂
Hi! Just came across this while looking up Faroe Island information. I LOVE Mackinac. I grew up going there on vacation with my family (my family is originally from the island). I also worked there for 2 summers. It’s such an amazing place! If you need an information on stuff to do let me know! Also, the best time to visit is in the Fall. Less tourist, the island is pretty dead so you get free range of the island pretty much.