64. Graduate From High School

After twelve years of counting down I finally made it!  Last week I finished diplomas, and a few days ago was the cap and gown, and the prom. It was a long busy day, but overall was a lot of fun.  The day began when we put on those funny black dresses, and those weird square hats with the tassels.  The graduating class was lined up in alphabetical order, and sent into a gym full of proud family members,  and friends.  After many heart felt speeches we were all called up, given our diplomas, and then finally as a group, we through the weird square hats up into the air. All of which occurred before 11:30am.

As soon as cap and gown was finished I took some photos with friends, and family, then left the school to prepare for the prom.  At this point it would be much more simple to be a boy then a girl; all guys have to do is possibly shave, comb there hair, and put on a suit.  For us ladies it is a far longer process; first I did my makeup, then my hour plus long hair appointment, followed by painted my finger nails, and finally I put on my prom dress.  It was so exciting to get to wearing the dress I bought over six months ago.

My escort- a close friend of mine- picked me up at my house, we both admitted the other cleaned up good.  With our matching corsage, and buttoner we set out for the exciting evening.  I don't know how prom works at other schools, but ours started with the grads meeting up for a group picture, then with our escorts we walk to the arena, which was decorated in an Winter Wonderland theme.  Inside we had  an evening of celebrating with friends, and family.  There was a dinner, then more speeches, and finally some music was put on to dance.  By the end of the night my dress had a big rip in the back from the end being stepped on while I was walking, and the bottom was muddy from the floor being wet, luckily I only intended to wear the dress once.  The evening ended when the grads were loaded into a bus, and headed to the safe grad party to celebrate together.  It was the last time my class of 2012 will all be together, but I will be left with many good memories from that night.

PS. I apologize for the length of this post, but I thought since it is such a milestone it would be ok.

55. Go Whale Watching

Well...the title should be Go Whale Watching For A Second Time, but I thought I would just add it in because it was a different type of whale then I watched before.  After this I only have one last bucket list item left that I completed in Hawaii, I promise!  While going out to Molokini Crater to go snorkelling I got the unexpected surprise; humpback whales were still in the Hawaiian waters around Maui.  It was quiet entertaining watching their dorsal fin rise, and fall, or the random flipper come out of the water.  It was most exciting when suddenly the large whale would jump out of the water landing on it's back, though this happened few times, and I was unable to get a picture.

I didn't find the humpback whales as interesting as the killer whales I saw in the Gulf Islands, but it was still a cool surprise.  Maybe if I had never seen a whale before it would have held the same excitement as the first time I went whale watching.  If in Hawaii I don't believe that going on a whale watching tour would be worth it.  The humpbacks are in the Hawaiian area from December to May, and if you travel on a boat to a snorkel tour like I did you will see them, plus after getting back I was able to see them from the shore, which was pretty awesome.

71. Stand At The Summit Of A Volcano

Not only did I get to stand on the top of a 10 023 ft volcano, but I also got to watch an amazing sunrise from it's peak.  I'm not surprised that this bucket list item was accomplished in Maui, Hawaii is a group of islands created by inactive volcanos. We had to leave the condo around 3:30 am, and drive in the dark up the dormant volcano of Haleakala.  It was interesting going from swimsuit weather at the base to putting every piece of warm clothing I owned on as we approached the summit.  Wrapped in a blanket, sitting at the summit I watch the sun creep over the horizon.

The bottom photo is of my mother, and I at the summit minutes after the sunrise.  If in Maui I would highly recommend going up to watch the sunrise on Haleakala.  It was an amazing opportunity, though I had to get up early for the drive, and the weather was extremely cold; the view made it all worth it.

11. Go Zip Lining

On a trip to the city my Dad surprised us, and took my family zip lining. In Calgary, Alberta there are three large ski jumps on the hillside, which were used for the 1988 Winter Olympics.  Today the biggest of the jumps is no longer used for ski jumping, but has been converted to the start of one of the three zip lines located at Canada Olympic Park.  I started with a ride down the training line, it is short, and simply to get the hang of what it it feels like, and to learn how to stop.  The first photo is of my Dad, and I at the top of the first zip line.

The second photo is the view from the base looking up at the big ski jump where the largest of the zip lines starts.  The last picture I took from the ski jump, just before I went over the edge.  I had no clue what to expect when I learned that I was going zip lining.  It started with putting on these awkward harnesses, then going out to the long cord. After my harness was attached to the line a latch was pulled, and meters above the ground I went hurtling down the hill.  For the longest run there was a small parachute I had to throw out behind me, to slow myself down.  The ride was exhilarating, though I think I would have enjoyed it more if I wasn't as worried about throwing the parachute, or getting into the position the rider should be in when they reach the end.  Hopefully I'll get to try zip lining again, next time I'm thinking over a rainforest.

8. Get a Henna Tattoo

Getting a henna tattoo has been a long time bucket list item, so when I say a store in Maui that had the sign Henna Tattoos on the window, I knew I would have to go there before my flight home.  I found time a week before my vacation ended.  It was hard to choose what design to get, because there are so many, but in the end I chose a cute little turtle. First the artist drew the design on my back with sharpie marker, and after I confirm it, she started to apply the henna chemical.  It didn't take long to get the tattoo, but it took around an hour for the chemical to dry, so I had to be careful not to bump it.  My turtle lasted around two weeks, before it started to fade.

I could never get a permanent tattoo; that is one item that is not on my bucket list.  I have no problem with people who get them, and the line about how gross they will look when you are old, and your skin has sagged, doesn't really affect me.  I could never find something that means something to me now, and would still be important to me years later.  My parents can rest, knowing they don't have to worry about me coming home with a poorly planned tattoo.

1. Try Surfing

Well I finally accomplished my number one item, the item that started the whole bucket list!  Surfing was amazing, a must have on every Bucket List.  This was another item I accomplished in Hawaii, and was probably the highlight of my trip.   I started with taking a two hour lesson with Big Kahuna Adventures Maui, there were two instructors for a group of ten of us, which worked perfectly fine.  They lesson provided each participant with a board, rash guard shirt, and special shoes.  The instructor start with teaching water safety, then how to paddle, and finally how to standup.  After about half an hour we went to the water. The lesson was quiet simple, we would take turns going over to an instructor, wait for a wave to come, and they would give the board a push, normally you would paddle yourself, but being inexperience it is hard to get the speed needed on my own.  After traveling in front of the wave for a few seconds I would pop up from my stomach onto my feet, and ride the wave till I got close to shore, then turn around, and paddle back out to the instructor.  I was extremely pleased with the company I went with, I would definitely recommend them.  After two hours of paddling my arms were extremely exhausted.

Later that week I went back to Big Kahuna Adventures Maui and rented a surfboard for a couple hours.  The waves weren't as good that day as the day of the lesson.  I'm not sure if it was because the lesson was in the morning, and I rented the surfboard in the afternoon, or if it was just an off day.  Despite the smaller frequency of waves I was able to start myself of paddling, and without any assistance I successfully surfed many waves.

120. Use My Underwater Camera Underwater

After my camera broke this summer I bought a new one.  I'm a little hard on electronics, so I decided to go with one that is shock proof, freeze proof, mud proof, and water proof; I can't possibly break this one.  I bought the Fujifilm FinePix XP20 digital camera from Costco, and I have been extremely happy with it, but after having it for six months I was sad to say I had not yet tried the underwater feature.  Hawaii posed the perfect opportunity to try out my camera underwater while snorkelling.

I took many pictures of coral, fish, and anything unique I found underwater.  If anyone were to travel somewhere tropical I would definitely recommend taking an underwater camera.  It was perfect for documenting my snorkel experience, or to use on the beach, because sand cannot get inside the seal.  It is my perfect camera, because I have no concerned it getting wrecked no matter what I'm doing.

78. Go Snorkelling In The Ocean

I've been snorkelling before, but never in the ocean.  While in Hawaii I went snorkelling at least six times (like every second day).  The water was amazing, it was clear, and the temperature wasn't too bad.  I personally love spending time in the water, and snorkelling is a nice relaxing activity.  Bellow is a photo of my sister, and I enjoying snorkelling together.

While in Hawaii we went on a tour on a boat out to the Molokini Crater, and to Turtle Arches (Aka Turtle Town).  There are many groups that do similar tours, the only differences are the number of people on the boat, what food is available, and if they stop at both destinations for snorkelling.  I went with the Pacific Whale Foundation Molokini Snorkel. The Staff was extremely nice, there was both breakfast and lunch on the boat, and even though there were over one hundred people on board, the boat didn't feel that crowded.  I went with the earliest tour, which started at 8am, I would highly recommend that because the water is calmer, and nicer for snorkelling.  Molokini Crater had beautiful, extremely clear ocean, and is a must see if your ever in Maui.  Turtle Town was alright it was cool to see a few gigantic green sea turtles (I'll talk more about them in 117. Swim With Sea Turtles). Turtle Town is not actually a specific place, it is wherever the turtles are.  It is easily accessible from land, so if I were to return I would possibly go on a tour that only goes to Molokini Crater, and do the Turtle Town by myself.  I was extremely happy with the tour I went on, my only complaint would be since it was through the Pacific Whale Foundation the environmental aspect was pushed a lot, and eventually got a little annoying.

I almost forgot, because of the time of year I went while driving to the crater we got to watch humpback whales, which was really cool.  While at Turtle Town I saw a shark!  It was shocking, and terrifying, though now I'm pretty sure it was a reef shark, which are not know for being aggressive.  I was off on my own looking for turtles when I say the shark swim by not more then three meters from me, lets just say my heart beat probably tripled in speed.

19. Go To Hawaii

So I have official been to Hawaii!  I went to Maui, one the many Hawaiian island, and stayed in an area of the island called South Kihei.  I had an absolutely amazing ten days, it was a great stress reliever from a busy school semester.  The island was beautiful with unique tropical plants, and warm beaches.  The ocean wasn't as warm as I had expected, though it was still very comfortable to swim in (for some reason I thought it would be warmer).  I stayed at a condo in the Castle Kamaole Sands Resort, I 100% recommend it, unless you spent in a much higher price range, I did not see a better resort.  It was easily in walking distance of the beach(which was a good beach for snorkelling and boogie boarding), the grounds were well taken care of, and it had a reasonably nice pool.  I am vague about specific things I did in Hawaii, because some are other bucket list items, in later posts I will go into more details.  Bellow is a photo of the view from my plane window as we circled, preparing to land in Hawaii.

Things I liked about Hawaii:

1.  Obviously the warm weather, it was in the high 20's for the whole trip.

2.  The beautiful ocean full of the unique ocean creatures.

3.  Unlike Caribbean Islands I've visited, Hawaii felt safer, not sure exactly why, possibly because it is an American state.  Anyway I felt perfectly comfortable walking down to the beach alone, with no fear of anything happening to me.

4.  The relaxed atmosphere.

99. Visit The Coliseum In Rome

I thought it was appropriate to follow the Trevi Fountain with another Roman bucket list item.  While in Rome I had to visit one of it's most famous landmarks, the Coliseum.  The gigantic, ancient structure finished construction in 80 AD, and for it's age it's in great condition.  It's has survived multiple earth quakes along with humans deconstruction.  The bellow photo shows the Coliseum from a short distance away, I took it from in the tour bus.

The second photo shows the Coliseum, from the inside.  It was unbelievable, I wondered while walking around the building, who built the incredible structure, and how?  I imagined the bull fights that used to happen in the centre, all the brave gladiators that risked their lives. The Coliseum was extremely interesting, and a must see if you find yourself in Rome.

P.S. Bucket List item 19 followed by item 1 will soon be complete!