Bucket List

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It’s time for some family history! I don’t remember if I told you in the past, but one of the reasons that I’m obsessed with Scotland is that this is one of the places where my ancestors are from. I grew up in a family that is very much into genealogy and knowing where we came from. My dream of seeing Scotland with my own eyes finally came true in December of 2002 when my friends David Hammond, Dominoe Reed, James Jenkins, Nicole Hayes, Makaylee Jensen, Julie Linton and myself went on a little vacation to the United Kingdom.

Years later, these are the memories that I still hold from this trip:

  1. Staying at the Amsterdam Hotel in London, not too far from Hyde Park
  2. Eating my first “proper” fish & chips
  3. Visiting the mission home (Dave had recently returned home from serving in London as a full-time missionary.
  4. Eating a battered Mars Bar at the Maid Miriam Cafe’ in Nottingham (close to the statue of Robin Hood)
  5. Seeing Westminster Abbey and Big Ben for the first time
  6. Learning that Tower Bridge is not London Bridge and that the original London Bridge had been sold so some guy in Arizona
  7. Strutting down the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Walk
  8. Seeing the Tower of London and the Queen Jewels

Since there were seven of us, and we were in the U.K. for seven days, each of us chose what we wanted to do for the day. I remember Julie’s day was going to see Wimbledon since she is very much into playing tennis. On James’ day, we took the rental car down to Wales, since that’s one of the places where his ancestors came from. I remember going to Stonehenge on somebody’s day and trying to figure out how those people lifted those heavy stones, so many years ago.

On my day, we drove the rental car up to Scotland and stood on the bank of Loch Lomond, and this was where Dave and I even sang the song, Loch Lomond.

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Freeeeeeeeeedooooooommmmmm!

On my dad’s side of the family, I have a lot of the surname Wallace. I thought it would be cool if I could find some link to William Wallace (of Braveheart fame). Sadly, there’s no record of William Wallace ever having children. Odds are he had illegitimate offspring, though. Back then, a favorite past time for the young men was to shag any girl who would let you (or didn’t necessarily let you).

On my mother’s side of the family, I have always been told that the surname Lee comes from Ireland. Sure enough, I followed their chart into Ireland as far as I could. I soon discovered that before Ireland, many of them also came over from Scotland (just like my dad’s side of the family). If the records I’ve seen are correct, I have links to royalty (James II of Scotland and Robert the Bruce), it is quite possible that my dad’s ancestors actually paid taxes to my mom’s ancestors!

I have found a line that links me to kings’ of England, Scotland, France, Prussia, and Wessex!

I’m standing outside of Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, at about 16:50.

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I read the sign that says proper attire is required. I start to worry because I’m wearing my Chacos sandals. I hope this isn’t an anti-open-toe shoe type of thing. I’ve wanted to eat at Ruth’s Chris for years… literally. This is number 82 on my bucket list.

I am in Tampa, Florida, tonight. When I got to the hotel, I managed to get a quick workout in, a brief nap, and then decided to look for food with my phone. I first opened the Waffle House app (every smartphone user should have this app) to see if any locations are nearby. I see one but realize quickly that it’s one that I’ve already been to. I then open the “Around Me” app to see what restaurants are nearby (another handy app if you travel at all). I spy a nearby Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse!

They are finally open for dinner at 17:00. I decide to play it cool, pretending that I’ve eaten here at least 40 times. I walk in and smile at the greeter. I request a table for one. She grabs a menu and leads me to a small booth in the dining area. I have concluded that my Chacos have passed the dress code test… either that or she paid no attention.

I peruse the menu when my waiter, Chris, comes to bring me some water with lemon and some bread. I ask him what he suggests, and he points out “Ruth’s Classics,” which would let me pick out a soup or salad to start out, a main course and side, and then it comes with a bit of dessert. I tell him that sounds great. I choose the chicken and tortellini soup as my first course, then a 6 oz filet and lobster tail as the main course, and a side of green beans with roasted garlic. All for the not-so-modest price of just under $60. I agree that this is a considerable amount to pay for food, but I am chasing dreams on a bucket list, after all (plus I just got paid on Friday).

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I have to talk about this 6oz filet. When I first saw it on the menu, I was worried that I wouldn’t be getting enough to get full. Six ounces is like an oversized McNugget, after all. Turns out- this was, by far, the best piece of red meat I have ever eaten… and I love red meat! Not sure what it was seasoned with, but it was cooked perfectly (medium) and went well with the lobster tail.

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Now that I have undone everything I tried to do on the elliptical machine earlier today, I’m fat and happy, to say the least. I feel incredibly blessed to be checking #82 off of my bucket list!

Finding Flint

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Today I am one step closer to crossing an item off of my overly ambitious bucket list. Number 74 on the list is to stay at every single overnight that my work offers. Flint, Michigan, can now be checked off of that list! This is one of the many locations that Southwest Airlines decided to keep after inheriting it from the AirTran Airways acquisition.

After checking into the hotel and changing clothes, I thought it would be a great idea to venture out and find something suitable for dinner, this being my first Flint experience. I asked one of the girls at the front desk if they knew of a good, non-chain restaurant better than fast food but not too expensive. She said she knew just the place and suggested that I go eat at Sandals Grill & Chill. I wrote down her walking directions, and it wasn’t too long of a walk. I found an empty parking log and a ‘For Sale’ sign out front when I arrived. I guess it wasn’t meant to be.

As I walked back toward the hotel, I saw a sign for Redwood Steakhouse. I went inside and immediately noticed a sign that read: Proper Attire Required. I worried that my running shorts, t-shirt, and Chaco sandals weren’t going to cut it. Thank goodness they didn’t mind. I guess they just wanted to make sure all my private parts were covered.

Chicken Valpolicella: Breast of chicken, dredged in seasoned flour, sautéed with olive oil, garlic, tomatoes, pesto, butter, parmesan cheese, and finished with Valpolicella wine. Served on a bed of pesto-flavored linguine. I agree that the picture sort of makes it look like vomit-on-chicken with green stuff, but it was actually very delicious!

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A few years back, I had a dream that I was sitting on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry with a bunch of other people. I remember we all sat in a large circle on the stage, waiting for our turn to sing. Suddenly it was my turn to sing. I stood up and walked up to the microphone… I heard a band start playing the accompaniment to the song Bring on the Rain by Jo Dee Messina. As I inhale to start singing the song, I wake up.

I have loved Jo Dee Messina’s voice since I first heard her recording of Heads Carolina, Tales California. Bucket list item number 56 is to hear her sing live. I think this would be a fun night! Here’s the video- Bring on the Rain. Enjoy!

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Coming in at number 26 on the bucket list is to go to Disneyland for more than one day consecutively. I often work flights in and out of southern California and I see the little kids with their Mickey Mouse or Minnie Mouse ears, or their princess shirts and I ask them how long they are going on their vacation for. It’s quite common to find that are going for at least a week. That may be a little excessive, but I’ve never been for more than one day.

When I was young, it was quite a big deal for my family to go to Disneyland. I remember we’d drive to California one day, spend most of the second day at Disneyland and then day three was driving back to Arizona. This was huge! A few years ago, I got to spend the day with my friend Arron there, but that was still just one day. This needs to happen!

Here are some pictures from my day at Disneyland with Arron (this happened back in February of 2009):

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Number 8 on the bucket list is to go to The Blue Lagoon in Iceland. I’ve been on layovers in Reykjavik on my way to Scotland and have seen it advertised in the airport and all over. It looks awesome- maybe some of you have been there before? What was your experience like? I’m certain it’s a tourist trap but would love to have that experience. Check it out!

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Bucket list item #7 is to attend a Beth Hart concert. I know I’ve posted about her before, but I’m slightly obsessed. The first song I ever heard her sing was L.A. Song. I love the unique tremolo in her voice. *WARNING: THIS SONG HAS SOME HARSH LANGUAGE*

Here is a video of Beth singing my favorite song of hers, a song that haunts me, My California:

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One winter night when I was living in Logan, Utah, I was on the Utah State University campus and after an evening class, I walked outside. I noticed that there was an odd red hue to the sky. I found some friends outside and was discussing what this might be. My guess was that for some reason, we could see part of the northern lights or the Aurora Borealis. I had never heard of the lights being seen this far south, but the next morning while listening to the radio, the news confirmed that that’s exactly what we were seeing in the sky.

I would love to see those lights in all their glory. I think it would be amazing to see that colorful dance in the sky. Even though I can say that I have seen the northern lights now, I’ve decided to add this to my bucket list. Bucket list item #4: I’d love to see the Aurora Borealis in all it’s glory!

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Coming in at number 13 on my bucket list is to go to Cancun, Mexico. Technically, this could be crossed off my list- I did fly down to Cancun on January 29th for work, but I never actually left the jetway. Since it was a turn, I was only on the ground for about an hour. I managed to snap this picture with the operations agent, and then we boarded the new passengers and headed back up to the states. I’ll cross this one off my list as soon as I get leave the airport.

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During the summer of 1993, like most summers, I found myself with my parents at our annual family reunion in Hartsville, South Carolina. I remember talking with some of my cousins about how difficult it was to find work in my hometown of Thatcher, Arizona. It seemed that all of the businesses owners didn’t want to hire anyone unless they were family. My aunt Debbie suggested that I try to get a job with her kids, Josh and Meg at The Dillard House in Dillard, Georgia.

Josh called up his manager and asked if I could come to work with them for the rest of the summer. His manager asked if I was a Mormon. When Josh answered in the affirmative, I got the job. The fact was that Josh, Meg, and some close family friends, like the Ben and Andrew Thornal were among the best, hardest, and most dedicated workers at The Dillard House at the time and had totally given Mormons’ a good name. I never even had to interview for the job.

For the rest of the summer, I lived with my cousins in Franklin, North Carolina. While I was there, Josh told me so many stories about growing up in the area. Once he told me that as a boy scout, his troop got to hike part of the Appalachian Trail. I love to hike! I’ve been fascinated by this trail ever since that time.

Years later, when I was living in Baltimore, Maryland, I had the opportunity to go camping and hiking in the beautiful Shenandoah mountains with my roommates Jeff and Nate. I saw that part of this famous Appalachian Trail made it’s way through this beautiful country. This is when I decided that I would love to someday hike the length of the trail. I have added this to my bucket list (item #3). Obviously, I’m not going to take the several months off of work that this hike would require. The trail is 2,184 miles long, and stretches from Mount Katahdin in Maine, all the way down to Springer Mountain in Georgia. Like so many others, my plan is to hike the trail in segments, eventually having hiked the entire thing.

Going back to what I was talking about before- the summer of 1993 was spent, in part, working at The Dillard House. It was truly an incredible experience. Someday I would like to go back to The Dillard House and eat and stay there. This time I’ll go as a guest, not an employee. It’s a great place for a getaway! I have added this to my bucket list as well.

http://www.DillardHouse.com