#6: Learn to surf

The number one question I received when I returned to MA, after my failed attempt at moving to San Diego, was "did you learn to surf?". The answer was "no". What a total bummer, I lived in San Diego, a surf city, and I never even tried to surf. I would regret not taking advantage of this one, I was sure of it.

Well as fate would have it I ended up back in San Diego a few months later. This was my second chance to do all the things I didn't do the first time around. My brother must have known how essential it was that I learned to surf if I was going to live here, because when he came out to visit just a few weeks later, he pushed for us to take surfing lessons.

The lessons went pretty well, but there really isn't a lot you can teach someone to prepare them to surf. Everything you need to know can be taught in about five minutes, the rest of the lesson is trail and error. I guess the good thing about taking a lesson though is that it gives you the confidence to get out there and try it.

I have been surfing for about two years now, and I definitely don't feel like I'm a pro at it. Progressing at surfing is such a slow process. I seldom feel like I am improving from day to day, but when I look back 18, 12, or even 6 months ago, I can see the progress I have made...even though I haven't realized it.

Surfing is an interesting past time. I cant think of anything else that can be peaceful, scary, beautiful, relaxing, exhausting, and fun, all at the same time.

#13: Go to Legoland

When I was in third grade I remember reading a Lego magazine and they had an article on Legoland, I thought  this place is amazing...I had to go there! Little did I know I just found my first bucket list item. 

Well I eventually grew up, gave my box of Legos to my nephews, and never thought of Legoland again, that is until I unknowingly got a job just a mile away from Legoland. Fate? Maybe. At 27 years old I knew I wasn't going to enjoy Legoland, but with free tickets offered I remembered I had promised myself as a kid I would see this place, and I couldn't turn my back on that. I toured the park in record time, and now I can check it off my list. Little Jeff...you screwed me on this one!

#22: Play with a monkey

Well I am definitely stretching it with this one but if I don't check it off the list now I am afraid I never will, besides at least I don't have to worry about this monkey tearing my face off.

I got to shake this guys hand at the Santa Monica pier for $1, what great luck I have!

#7: Drive cross country, #14: Visit New Orleans, #31: Have a real Philly cheesesteak

Well I have done this one twice actually, does that give me bonus points?

My first time driving cross country was after losing my job in San Diego. It was in the middle of the recession and I was having a real difficult time trying to apply for unemployment. I would sit on the phone from 8am to 5pm everyday, trying to get through to file a claim but had no luck. I was running out of money, and feeling very homesick, so I made the decision to go back home to Massachusetts. I decided to take advantage of my situation, and convinced my then ex-girlfriend Pauline to fly from Boston to San Diego just so she could drive cross country with me, and she reluctantly agreed (this is why I love her so much).

With our route planned, the car packed, and a credit card in my wallet we were off. Our first stop was El Paso, TX...what a sketchy dump. Next we were in Austin, TX. We both loved Austin, and I still regard the chicken fried ahi tuna that I ate for dinner here the best meal of my life. New Orleans was next, and again we had a blast. We gambled, drank hurricanes, and made a pit stop to use the bathroom at a gay bar unknowingly, where I had my first sexual assault...good times, but too bad it wasn't on my bucket list. Philly was our last stop before home. Pauline's cousin lives here so we stayed with her, and she took the day off to show us around town which was great! We saw the Rocky statue, ran the rocky stairs, and had lunch at the famous Pat's Steaks...what more could you want? After Philly we were headed home. We went from palm trees and sunshine to dirty slush and snow in just five days.

Even though Pauline vows never to drive cross country again I think she would agree that it was a blast of a trip and we made a bunch of memories.

My second drive cross country came just a few months after my first. The company out in San Diego I had worked for previously had lost their head drafter and was looking for a replacement. The money I was offered to take the job was enough for me to actually consider going back, and enough time had gone by that I forgot about how homesick I had been when I was living there just a few months back. The only hurdle I would face would be Pauline, I wouldn't go without her...not this time, but for some reason Pauline agreed to move to San Diego with me...she cried over it, but she agreed.

Pauline stuck to her vow to never drive cross country again so I was stuck looking for another co-pilot, thank god for my friend Joe, who is always up for an adventure. Unfortunately for Joe I was heading off on my own and not pack to my parents basement, so I wasn't in the position to rack up my credit card driving cross country this time around, and we were taking the much less exciting Northern route.

With very little planning, and no set route or final destination mapped out, we were off. About six hours into our first day the check engine light in the car came on. We pulled off the highway to look for a service station and in the process Joe ran over a curb and blew out the tire. We had to unpack the trunk of all my possessions just to get to the spare, but thank god, it was a full size spare. Six hours into our four day journey and it was not looking pretty. Thankfully the rest of the trip went smoother. We stopped in Cleveland, OH., Lincoln, NE., and Grand Junction, CO. which lead us right through the Rocky Mountains... AMAZING! I don't know what we were thinking driving 3000 miles with a check engine light and on a spare tire, probably not a great decision on our part, but f it, we made it...and in great time!

I will forever be grateful to Joe and Pauline for going through these journeys with me. Maybe one day we can do it again, but if so we are taking an R.V. and a month off work.