Just yesterday, Kim Krol blogged about her adventure zip lining in Hawaii, and last week Fran Gallagher wrote about his plans to visit the D-Day beaches at Normandy when he travels to France this week. It got me to thinking about some of the places I still want to visit — some of them as much for certain ubiquitous activities which are associated with those locations as for the places themselves. Both Kim’s and Fran’s experiences are ones I’d like to duplicate, but there are lots more.

For instance, I’d love to visit the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, but somehow just floating over it in a glass-bottomed boat wouldn’t suffice. I’d want to dive into those blue waters and be surrounded by all the beautiful coral and sealife. That would require me to first learn to snorkel or scuba, of course, but if I got as far as Australia, you can bet I’d acquire the skills to enjoy the full experience under the water.

Closer to home, I must admit that I have yet to visit the Grand Canyon (but it’s on my list!). While I look forward to someday standing on the rim and drinking in the views of that great natural wonder, I’d really love the chance to take part in a rafting trip on the Colorado River through it. My sister Robbe actually took such a trip several years ago and had a fantastic time. And really quite close to home is the Pacific Crest Trail, running along the crest of the Cascade and Sierra Nevada mountains continuously from Mexico to Canada. Although I doubt I’ll ever hike the entire length of it, I nevertheless would like to get out on some stretch of it for a week or two and enjoy the beauty and peace. I wouldn’t mind a similar trek on the Appalacian Trail, either.

Some others? Sailing through the Panama Canal (or the Suez). Riding a camel across the deserts of Egypt. Going on safari (photography) in Africa. Hiking across a glacier in Alaska. Riding the bullet train in Japan. Attending a fashion show in Paris. The list goes on and on. Adding to it makes for pleasant daydreams, and pursuing crossing items off gives me travel goals I can look forward to.

How about you? What are some things you’d like to do in this wide world, near or far from home? And what have you already done that you heartily recommend others do?

— Patty Vanikiotis, proofreader