55. Go Whale Watching

In grade eight I went on a school trip to the Gulf Island, which are along British Columbia's coast.  The highlight of the trip was meant to be sailing, but when we heard that a pod of Orca whales were in the area we dropped everything to go find them.  Our captain had connections with the captain of a whale sight seeing company, so quickly we found a large pod of whales called the 'J-pod' and followed them for the majority of the day.

The next day we found out about another Orca, T-14 a large male transient and went to find him.  T-14 was capture in 1976 along with five other Orcas to be put in captivity.  Because of public protest T-14 and his mother were released.  His mother later died so now he travel alone.  I was lucky to see T-14 and he is still spotted around Vancouver from time to time.

45. See the Mona Lisa

Everyone has heard of the Mona Lisa, one of Leonardo Da Vinci's most famous master pieces.  I wondered what made this painting so special, so I put seeing the unique painting on my bucket list.

I went to visit the lovely lady this spring when I went to her home in France.  The painting is kept in an art museum called the Louvre.  The Mona Lisa is accompanied in this museum by hundreds of other paintings and sculptures, most of them containing naked people and are boring and infamous.  I ventured to the crowded room Mona Lisa was kept in, made my way to the barrier a couple meters in front of the painting and took this photo.  I have no intention of returning to the Louvre, but I'm glad to say I have seen the famous Mona Lisa.

14. Grow an Avocado Plant

Ok where should I start...?  Well a couple months ago I was watching the movie 'Red' which wasn't incredibly interesting, but in the movie the main character had a pet avocado which sat in a cup water on his kitchen table.  This confused me so I brought it up later with friend, where I was surprised to learn it is possible for average citizens in any country to grow an avocado plant from an avocado pit.  So I tried it:



It seem quiet simple,  all I had to do was get an avocado from the grocery store, remove the pit and put three tooth picks in so when suspended in a cup the bottom of the Avocado touches the water.  In six weeks the shell should crack and a little green plant should come out.