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Travel Goals

My girlfriend bought me the book, 1000 Things to See Before You Die, a few Christmas’ ago.  That first night I must have stayed up all night going through the book trying to see how many of the 1000 things I’ve done in my life.  I think I had about 20.

A few weeks ago, my friend Dave Ford wrote a blog post titled, Life Long Travel Goals.  I decided to take a run at it myself.

John Brennan’s Travel Goals (completed tasks are in bold)

7 Wonders of the World

The Great Wall of China, China.  Source: ?

• Machu Picchu, Peru
• The Colisseum, Rome
• Petra, Jordan
• Christ the Redeemer Statue, Brazil
• The Great Wall of China
• Chichen Itza, Mexico
• The Taj Mahal, India
• The Great Pyramid, Egypt (Last remaining Ancient Wonder)

Wildlife (in the wild)

Orangutans, Sabah, Malaysia.  Photographer: John Brennan

• Polar Bear
• Africa’s Big 5
  • Lion
  • Elephant
  • Buffalo
  • Black Rhinoceros
  • Leopard
• Orangutans - (Borneo, March, 2007) [pictured]
• Gorilla
• Blue Whale
• Giant Panda
• Elk - (Cross country road trip, Yellowstone, August, 2006)
• Black or Brown Bear
• Dive with sharks
• Swim with a dolphin
• Take an African safari
• Ride a camel in the desert - (Negev Desert, Israel, May, 2008)

Places to Live (like a local for at least 1 month)

View from our house in Mission Beach, San Diego, CA

• New York City
• California - (2006-now) [pictured]
• Europe
• South America

The 7 Summits– Climb the highest mountain on each continent

Mount Everest North Face.  Source: Flickr.

• North America- Denali (Mt. McKinley) - Alaska, USA
• South America- Aconcagua - Argentina
• Africa - Mt. Kilmanjaro - Tanzania
• Australia - Kosciuszko
• Europe - Mt. Elbrus–Russia
• Asia - Mt. Everest - Nepal (I’m being realistic, but I want to step foot and maybe first basecamp) [pictured]
• Antarctica - Mt. Vincent
• South East Asia - Mt. Kinabalu - (Borneo, March, 2007)

Events and Festivals

New Years Eve, Times Square, New York.  Source: Flickr

• Oktoberfest (in Germany)
• Burning Man, Nevada
• New Orleans Jazzfest
• Chinese New Years (in China)
• Carnival (in Brazil)
• Holi Festival (India in March)
• Mardi Gras in New Orleans
• New Years Even in Times Square - (Dec, 2002) [pictured]
  
• Bonnaroo in Tennessee
• Go to a Super Bowl
• Go to an Olympics

Natural Wonders

I’m floating!!!  Dead Sea, Israel.

• The Grand Canyon, Arizona
• Victoria Falls (between Zambia and Zimbabwe)
• Iguazu Falls (between Brazil and Argentina)
• Dead Sea, Israel - (Israel, May, 2008) [pictured]
• The Great Barrier Reef
• The Galapagos Archipelago
• The Northern Lights (the Aurora Borealis)
• The Fjords of Norway
• The Amazon Rainforest

Monuments

Eiffel Tower, Paris, France.  Photographer: John Brennan

• The Basilica di San Marco, Venice - (June, 2006)
• St. Peter’s Basilica, the Vatican, Rome
• The Acropolis in Greece - (June, 2006)
• The Alhambra in Spain
• Gaudi’s La Sagrada Familia, Barcelona, Spain - (June, 2006)
• The Statues of Easter Island, Chile
• Hagia Sophia, Turkey
• Kiyomizu Temple in Japan
• The Kremlin in Russia
• A Castle in Ireland
• Eiffel Tower, Paris, France - (June, 2006) [pictured]
• The Pyramids of Giza, Egypt
• Stonehenge, United Kingdom
• The Sydney Opera House, Australia
• The Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, London, England
• Disney World, Florida (or Disney Land in LA)
• Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, CA - (Nov, 2005)
• Pike Place Market, Seattle, WA - (June, 2004)
• Mount Rushmore, South Dakota - (Aug, 2006)
• Empire State Building, New York City
• Sears Tower, Chicago, IL - (Aug, 2006)
• Statue of Liberty, New York City
• Buj Dubai, Dubai, UAE
• Taipei 101, Taipei, Taiwan
• Petronas Towers, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - (March, 2007)
• Universal Studios, Hollywood, CA

Museums

Louvre, Paris, France.

• El Prado in Madrid, Spain - (June, 2006)
• The Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy
• The Hermitage in St. Petersburg, Russia
• The Louvre in Paris, France - (June, 2006) [pictured]
• Musée de l’Orangerie in Paris, France
• The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, USA
• The British Museum in London, England
• The Tate Gallery in London, England
• The Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, Holland

U.S. National Parks

The Chandler Tree, Redwoods Nat’l Park, California. Pictured: Me and my bro

• Yellowstone, Wyoming - (Cross country road trip, August, 2006)
• Yosemite, California
• Redwoods, California - (Cross country road trip, August, 2006) [pictured]
• Death Valley, California/Nevada
• Everglades, Florida
• Denali, Alaska
• Arches, Utah
• Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico
• Crater Lake, Oregon
• Hawaii Volcanoes, Hawaii
• Mount Rainer, Washington - (Summer, 2004)
  
• Olympic, Washington - (Summer, 2004)
• Shenandoah, Virginia
• Zion, Utah
• Rocky Mountain, Colorado

Spiritual Destinations

“The Kiss.”  Western Wall, Jerusalem, Israel.  Pictured: Me

• Jerusalem - (Israel, May, 2008) [pictured]
• Tibet
• Varnasi, India
• Mecca

Other adventures I need to try at least once

At 13,000 feet.  Snohomish, Washington

• Skydiving (July, 2004) [pictured]
• Paragliding (July, 2007)
• Bungee Jumping
• White water rafting a Class 5 (did class 4 already)
• Ride in a hot air balloon
• Take a helicopter ride
• Wing suit to experience true “flying” — see this
• Go scuba diving
• Experience weightlessness
• Ride the Trans-Siberian Express across Asia
• Drive across America from coast to coast - (Cross country road trip, August, 2006)
• Drive the Autobahn