The Boston Bucket List

The first summer after I moved to Boston, I drove up to Vermont for a race, and one of my wonderful teammates from the New England Relay let me crash at his apartment.  It was a fateful visit that precipitated the creation of the most discussed decoration on my refrigerator for the next three years: the bucket list.

My friend had taped to his bathroom mirror a bucket list of the things he wanted to do while he lived in Vermont, because he knew he would only be there for a couple years.  He had crossed off the things he'd already accomplished, and left plenty of room to add new items as suggestions and ideas came up.

I immediately started to draft my Boston Bucket list in my head, and put it on paper as soon as I got home after the race.  It changed drastically over the years as I learned about more and more awesome things to do in New England.  Every time friends came over, they would inspect the list to see what new things had been checked off since their last visit, and people were constantly suggesting things that I could add.

I know many people view the bucket list idea as a bit cliche and tired.  But you know why it's a brilliant idea to make one and keep it somewhere very visible?  Because then you actually do all the things you wanted to do!  And when it comes time to move on, you have no regrets.

How many times has a weekend snuck up on you and suddenly you've got this beautiful Saturday and absolutely nothing planned for how to while away the hours?  And you think to yourself, "Dang it, self, I know there are a bunch of things I've been wanting to check out in Boston, but I can't remember any of them off the top of my head at the moment.  Guess I'll sit here and watch movies instead."  We all need to have our lazy days, but mostly all I have to say about that is - Fail!

I found my list also was very handy for getting people to come along for the fun without me even extending the invitation.  Someone would see the list, give it a scan, and then mention that they've always wanted to go cranberry harvesting too!  Well no problem, when I look into making that particular adventure happen, I shall give you a call.

So without further ado, here is the famed document that occupied pride of place in my kitchen and provided the road map that helped me make the most of my years in Boston.

Even though I didn't even make it through all my ideas, I see the things I did do and I know with complete confidence that I enjoyed my time in New England to the absolute fullest.  If you're interested, you can find the stories about many of these excursions on this blog, although the bucket list is definitely the older of the two and covers a lot more ground.  Thanks a million times over to the folks who contributed to this stockpile of adventures, and to the folks who came along for some of them!  Let this inspire any of you living in or visiting Boston and New England, because the possibilities are endless.