26 August, 2008

"100 Things To Do Before You Die" Author Dies At 47

I found this news particularly disturbing this morning:

Dave Freeman, co-author of "100 Things to Do Before You Die," a travel guide and ode to odd adventures that inspired readers and imitators, died after hitting his head in a fall at his home. He was 47.
Ted and I are tremendous travel junkies. On our "ninth date," we went to Mexico to climb the pyramids outside of Mexico City. We used to travel out of the country on major expeditions at least twice a year--Vietnam, Cambodia, Peru, and Guatemala have been some of our more memorable trips. But for the last two years, we haven't really been able to go anywhere, part of that is due to buying a new place in a down economy where we can't sell our condo. And first year expenses on an 85-year-old building suck up so much time and money.

But staying home has made us somewhat crabby. We have "itchy feet" as I call it, a general urge to hit the trail, and a bit of an anxious feeling when we are not on the road. I've consoled myself with the thought that we'll start traveling again once the market turns and we can unload the extra properties (my mom's house included). "There's time," I've said to myself.

But I know I need an adventure; in fact, it's one of the last things Ted and I talked about last night before we went to sleep. There are so many places left on our life list, and we'll both be turning 40 in the next year. Some adventures are better when you're younger, and shouldn't be put off.

And then I wake up this morning, and the first article that caught my eye on Huffpost was this one. Dave Freeman hadn't even accomplished everything on his list of 100 things. He and his co-author wrote: "This life is a short journey. How can you make sure you fill it with the most fun and that you visit all the coolest places on earth before you pack those bags for the very last time?"

So that's it--as clear a sign from the universe as you can get. I need to figure out a way to get us on the trail again, and soon, even if it means a few of the planned house projects will fall by the wayside this year.

What adventures have you been putting off? What are you waiting for?

4 comments:

Rae said...

I kept on putting off having adventures and had pretty good excuses to do so, or so I felt at the time. Then, a door opened this spring and I took advantage of the opportunity. I'm leaving in eight days for what will probably be the adventure of a lifetime as I take a year's sabbatical to RV across western and northern Canada, as well as a few states including Alaska.

Life is too short to put off your dreams. There will always be reasons why travel doesn't make financial sense, but if travel is something important to you, then just do it. You'll find the means to do so.

Why S? said...

We've been putting off saving for retirement in order to do many of the things on our list. Lately I've been wondering if that was such a good idea. I honestly didn't think I would live this long. Anyway, this fall we'll be taking a trip to our favorite city, London. We haven't been in many years. The timing is awful but we'll have a free place to stay, so gotta do it.

John said...

Scarlet and I haven't managed the kind of travel log you guys have, but we are definately members of the "itchy feet" clan. My grandmother always joked that we must have Gypsie blood somewhere. My wife says that she "hears the wind in the leaves and knows it's time to go," it must be the Native American blood talking.

We use to travel all the time (we moved an average of every 6 months first three years we were married). Since we bought the house, we've only managed a few, brief out of state trips.

Sometimes the urge to go is so strong that it is physically painful. I find myself driving down the highway and think, "I could just keep going till I reached the sea and the road runs out."

Just about the only thing that stops me is the utter lack of money. I can't wait to unload some of our homes (we too have several) and we can't get rid of them with the economy like it is.

Oh, and having a kid didn't help either on that count.

Ideally, we'd like to live in Europe for a while and somewhere on the beach. We'd love to visit Ireland, Scotland, Scandinavia, Portugal, Spain, Hawaii, Bora Bora, the South Pacific, Uruguay, Canada, and few other spots.

I wish you the best of luck in making it out. The importance of travel can not be overstated.

Jennifer said...

I used to have the want to travel and see everything... then we bought a house, and I realized we just couldn't afford it.

But someday, we willsee everything... maybe as retirees.