Bucket List

Dear Friends,

When I thought my days were limited, six years ago, we had to make some hard decisions. Do I continue to work for 2 1/2 years and get my full retirement and risk my life? It was all a gamble. The stress was immense for a number of reasons, mostly the stress, I put on myself. I wanted to save every child, run a model special education program, write grants for my school, finish my PHD, be super mom, super Nana and super wife. It didn’t work. I just stress ate, gained too much weight, and felt like I wasn’t doing anything well. When decision time came, Eugene ask me a question, “If you were kidnapped and held hostage, how much money should I pay to save your life?” What a silly question. Of course, whatever he needed to pay. I would want to live. There was my answer. He said he didn’t want to lose me before we completed our bucket list. So, with a great deal of hesitation and concern, about our financial situation in our old age, we decided to retire early. We knew that we would have to be very creative, in order to travel like we wanted to. It has worked so far. Traveling the world on a budget.

Some things you may need to know about us, in order to fully grasp our specific situation. We have been poor, REALLY poor. So we do know how to survive on less. When we decided to get married, we knew we have many obstacles to overcome. Eugene was still a senior in high school. I had no college education. We had 2 children. We had no money in the bank. Sometimes, we worried that there wouldn’t be enough food. Because of our age difference, in a small town, we were often ridiculed. At one point, our neighbor called us “white trash” and said we would never amount to anything. It was hard on my children Julie and Joe. I worked two jobs and Eugene was in school with school work and sports. When I agreed to marry him, I had three stipulations: 1) Raise my children as his own. He has done this 1000 times over. He loves Julie and Joe, as though he was their biological father. They feel the same way about him. I will forever be thankful for that gift. 2) Both of us would go to college. Eugene always talked about going to college. It was a dream for him. This was not a typical path for his family. I didn’t want to be the one to stand in his path. I also had dreams of going to college, initially as a lawyer, but choose education, because that was more practical for a mom. We did it! Four years and two more children later, we graduated from college and both secured good jobs. I still worked as a waitress at night, and taught during the day. Eugene worked full time and coached ball teams, helped with homework, and practiced sports with each child. Finally, 3) He promised that he would retire, when I did, because I didn’t want to grow old alone. SO, fast forward to 2016, we both walked away from our awesome jobs, retired early (Eugene was 46, I was 56) and have been fulfilling our BUCKET LIST, ever since. We have worked, invested, saved and worked some more. In the end, it has been worth it. We now work part time (when we are not traveling) and working on our bucket list, one adventure at a time.

I am sharing this because I think you need perspective into the path we took. We knew that we were poor once and worked our way up. We are not afraid to work, but the job does not define who we are. Now, we are travelers. Hoping to inspire and brighten others’ lives. We never know when the last day will be. So live life to the MAX and try to inspire others to follow their own dreams.

Jamie & Eugene

There’s a rich world of travel experiences out there, The only question is, where will you go first?

Dear Friends,

Below is our bucket list. It is not the complete list still adding to it.

  1. Travel to all 50 states in the US (we missed North Dakota) going this fall
  2. Parasail. Completed: Lake Tahoe (2018)
  3. Submarine Completed: Cozumel – second largest barrier reef in world (2019)
  4. SKY Dive Completed: 1/2 way, indoor skydiving with Sharon in Orlando
  5. Raft the Grand Canyon. Completed: 2019 with Cory, Justin & Natallie
  6. Take a sailboat under Golden Gate Bridge. Completed: 2018 on 96 day cross country trip
  7. Visit Alcatraz Completed: 2018 on 96 day cross country trip
  8. Seattle Needle. Completed: 2018 on 96 day cross country trip, stood against the glass
  9. Blow Glass, make my own design Made my own glass blown bowl, with Cory, on the Alaskan cruise
  10. See a Las Vegas Show Justin’s 21st Birthday 2010
  11. Dune Buggies in Desert 2010 with Joe & Justin
  12. Snorkel Everywhere! Mexico, Nassau, Hawaii, Aruba, Curacao,
  13. Tour the Whitehouse, DC. Completed with our granddaughters, Veda & Zara 2018
  14. Changing of the Guards in DC. 2018 with Veda & Zara
  15. Silent Marine Corp Parade 2018 with Veda & Zara in DC
  16. Do the Philly Steak Challenge. Completed 2020 in Philidelphia
  17. Stand on the Continental Divide Completed 2019 Eugene on east side, I was on west
  18. Yellowstone National Park Visited in 2018
  19. Yosemite National Park Visited on 96 day cross country 2018
  20. Blue Ridge Parkway. Drove it in 2020 Tennessee trip
  21. Glacier National Park Visited 2018
  22. Niagara Falls. Many visits
  23. White water raft the New River Several times, throughout our marriage
  24. Grand Tetons Visited in 2018, Jackson, Wyoming
  25. Go to a Rodeo 2018 in Montana
  26. Napa Valley vineyards. Completed touring California in 2018
  27. Drive from Miami to Key West Florida tour in 2019
  28. Go up in Arches, St Louis, Missouri. Kansas trip 2012
  29. Scottsdale, Az Desert tour 2020
  30. Las Vegas , NV Many times, so much to see & do
  31. Visit the Hoover dam Took the Hoover Damn Comedy tour. AWESOME!
  32. Key Largo, Florida VIsitied the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary
  33. Hot Air Balloon Festival, New Mexico. Went with Cory, Justin, Natallie, Carrie, Aunt Carol & Gerry 2018
  34. Sedona, Arizona 2020 with Cory, Justin and Natallie
  35. Chicago, eat at top of Sears (Willis Tower). 2018 Cross country trip Visit
  36. Visit Prince’s home. In Minnesota, 2018
  37. Mall of America Visited In Minnesota, 2018
  38. Attend Bike Week, in Sturgis, SD 2018
  39. Crazy Horse and Mt Rushmore. Cross country trip 2018
  40. Black Hills, SD Cross country trip 2018
  41. Visit the National Museums in DC. During Washington DC trip with granddaughters, Veda & Zara 2018
  42. Visit Salt Flats, Utah Went to Speed Week in 2018
  43. Visit the Mormon Tabernacle. Were not permitted inside, but toured the grounds
  44. See the Kennecott Cooper Mine from above. 2018 cross country tour
  45. See Old Faithful Geyser erupt 2018 cross country tour
  46. See Devils Tower in Wyoming 2018 cross country trip
  47. Visit the Fuller House, House San Francisco visit 2018
  48. SKY Tram over Redwood Forest. Oregon 2018
  49. Drive through a tree Washington 2018
  50. International Hot Air Balloon Festival, NM. 2019 w/ Cory, Justin, Natalie, Carrie, Gerry & Aunt Carol
  51. Disney World & Parks FL. many times
  52. Kennedy Space Center. FL. many times
  53. Arches National Park Utah 2019
  54. Bryce Canyon. 2020
  55. Tombstone, Az. Fl/AZ OH trip 2017
  56. Virginia City, Silver City Tour 2018 Road trip
  57. Cadillac Ranch, Amarillo TX 2020 AZ/FL trip
  58. Go Sand sledding in White Sands NM
  59. See Corolla horses, Outerbanks. 2020 OH/FL trip
  60. 4 -Wheel in sand dunes Florence, Oregon 2018
  61. Visit the largest ocean cave in US. 2018 Oregon
  62. Go whale watching Alaska 2018
  63. See the Salmon run the ladders. Seattle, 2018
  64. Visit Mt. St Helens Oregon, 2018
  65. Stand on 45th parallel 2019 bucket list trip
  66. Visit Pearl Harbor 2021 Hawaii trip
  67. Ride on the White Pass & Yukon Railway. Alaska 2018
  68. Petrified Forest National Park. 2020 Az/Oh/Fl trip
  69. Lighthouse tour in New England 2021 East coast tour
  70. Drive Rt 66 2 018 road trip
  71. Great Smokey Mountain National Park. 2020
  73. Drive the corvette with top down, coastline rain/shine 2021 East Coast trip
  74. Denver, Colorado 2018 with Mom
  75. Lancaster, Pa visit Amish country. 2015
  76. Savannah, Georgia historic tour. 2021 East Coast Trip
  77. Newport, Rhode Island Mansion tour 2021 East Coast Trip
  78. Eat Lobster in Maine 2021 East Coast Trip
  79. Eat shrimp from food truck 2021 Hawaii
  80. Visit Gypsy Horse Farm Ocala, Fl 2020
  81. New Orleans AZ/Fl trip 2019
  82. Swim with Dolphins Florida 2108
  83. Road To Hanna Hawaii 2021
  84. Pearl Harbor Hawaii 2021
  85. Polynesian Culture Center Hawaii 2021
  86. Napa Valley wine tour. 2018 Road trip
  87. San Antonio River Walk. 2019 Az/Fl/Oh road trip
  88. Visit all 7 Central American countries. Mexico, Honduras, Belize, (Guatemala. Nicaragua, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Panama to go)
  89. Go to a wine & paint night 2021 Az Cory & Carrie
  90. Sail across the Atlantic to Europe April 2022, Transatlantic cruise
  91. St Augustine, FL Christmas lights. 2017
  92. San Antonio, Tx Alamo 2019 Az/FL trip
  93. Big Sur CA Drive the Bixby Bridge
  94. Drive a race car
  95. Fly a plane
  96. Ride in a helicopter
  97. Go deep sea fishing 2018 Florida
  98. Go salmon fishing
  99. See a Broadway Show in NY City
  100. Statue of Liberty 2012 Eric & Brittney’s Wedding
  101. Ride Staten Island Ferry 2012 Eric & Brittney’s Wedding
  102. Times Square
  103. See the sunrise & set over the ocean in1 day. 2017 Florida
  104. Geneva-On-The-Lake 2015 Julie, Veda, Zara & Mike
  105. Shenandoah National Park 2018 Road. Trip
  106. Hershey, PA Tour Chocolate Factory 2010 with my Mom
  107. Los Angeles, California
  108. Graceland, Memphis 2020
  109. Grand Ole Oprey
  110. Walk the largest suspension bridge, Gatlinburg. 2020
  111. See Big Ben, London
  112. Buckingham Palace (changing of guards)
  113. Stonehedge, Wiltshire
  114. St. Peter’s Basilica, Rome
  115. Eifffel Tower
  116. Arc de Triomphe
  117. Coliseum in Rome
  118. Trevi Fountain
  119. Leaning Tower of Pisa
  120. Florence Cathedral
  121. Sagrada Famalia, Barcelona
  122. La Grand Place, Brussels
  123. Berlin Wall
  124. Cube Houses, Netherlands
  125. Acropolis of Athens
  126. Matterhorn, Switzerland
  127. Red Light District in Amsterdam
  128. Tulip gardens, Amsterdam
  129. New Zeland
  130. Outback in Australia
  131. Great Barrier Reef
  132. Still writing