My Bucket List

Last night a young friend said that she and her parents were traveling to Italy during the Notre Dame fall break and would see Rome, Florence, and Cinque Terre.  I've been to Rome and Florence, but Cinque Terre--I've seen photos many times and I'd love to spend time there.  But it really is no longer on my "bucket list."   Why not?  It's a long overseas trip and it just may not be worth the effort to me.

I do, however, have a local "bucket list" and yesterday checked one more place off it.  Maggie, Chantal and I drove to Galien River County Park as part of our apple picking outing.   We walked along a boardwalk through a marsh.  We heard a very noisy frog calling out to us.  We climbed a breath-taking flight of stairs and walked down an elevated platform high over the trees to a lookout over the river.  It was so high that I experienced some vertigo and "faced my fear" as Chantal said by walking between the two of them.  The view was beautiful.  One had to appreciate the community efforts put into preserving the marsh and giving opportunities to see it from a great vantage point.


We capped it off with lunch at Luisa's Swedish Cafe (established in 1912) in Harbert and left with bread and pastries from the bakery there.

We travelled about 60 miles and spent four hours on the road and had a great experience close to home.

That said, I do have a deposit on a trip with a St. John's Abbey group in September 2015 traveling to Istanbul, Ephesus, Patmos, and Athens.  I'd go alone and pay a single supplement.  My passport is being renewed. I can cancel up to 90 days before the trip.  We shall see.