Sunday, April 27, 2008

#201-210

#201. Swim out to a buey in the ocean. Jess and I took a cab out to Blue Bay in Curacao. It was a pretty secluded and quiet beach for most of the morning that were there. A couple naked kids were frolicking in the surf as a 50 something woman lay out with her gigantic bosom soaking in the rays and subsequently burning. She decided the best way to deal with this was to go scuba diving and putting on bottoms, but no top. However, these bright red mammaries were no deterrent as I swam out to the buey. Unforunately, I wasn't able to battle a wild barracuda. There was some risk of me stepping on a sea urchin or an unfriendly crab, but I would hardly categorize that as heart pounding thrill excitement. I took a walk around the area afterwards, and saw more of the common features of both Curacao and Aruba, rocky beaches. Lizards slithered and lurked in the shadows made by boulders while I ripped my feet to shreds while walking along a deteriating path.



#202. Drive an ATV. Seems like every trip to Mansfield, OH holds such wonders and amazement. I hopped on an ol' 4 wheeler that Drew Foster's dad had at his house in the country. I crashed through woods, chased deer around, and almost killed myself a couple times. Apparently getting up to 55 mph on the road and 50 in the fields is a little unsafe. But, being covered in mud and soaked from the streams made it totally worth while. Towards the end of our outting, it started raining and every little rain drop felt like BB's shot straight into my face. Squinting, peering through eyelashes, I made my way back to the house, thankfully not wiping out and faceplanting into a ravine or asphalt. I must own one immediately.

#203. Grill outdoors in sub-freezing weather. Sometimes a man needs his steak seared by an open flame. He yearns for that charcoal flavor, outdoor aroma, and warm pink center....
So I'll fire up the grill even if its snowing outside. Even if my feet are practically frostbitten while I stand on frozen concrete.

#204. Learn to play Rook. This is one of my step dad's favorite card games to play with his side of the family. I've played it a couple times, but my partner and I crashed and burned because I'm no pro. Rumor has it my Aunt Irene and Uncle Smokey are the family pros. I've never seen them lose.

#205. Be in International Waters. I was really hoping that some crazy ass pirates would comandeer the ship I was on and I would have to have to start kicking ass and taking names like Steven Seagal did in Under Seige. It was extremely uneventful and I wished I would have seen dolphins or a post-apocolyptic jet ski army ready to rape and pillage all in sight. Instead, I drank foo-fi drinks by a pool and rode the line between being burnt and bronzing like a Greek God....or geek.

#206. Climb a mountain. Right outside Sperryville, Virginia is Old Rag Mountain. It is an 8.8 mile circuit hike with granite faces, and a fantastic rock scramble at the top. Atleast for east coast peaks. I clambered up to the top and as I made my descent, storm clouds started rolling in. I heard the thunder long before the clouds though. I tried to quicken my pace but the downpour that ensued, soaked me to the bone. Luckily, daypack is waterproof and my camera and phone were left undamaged. It was a great ride out to the mountain, a slice of farmland Virginia. But then again, a picture is worth a thousand words.





#207. Be in the Bermuda Triangle. Again, I'm glad I averted disaster while traveling through here. I'm glad my plane and ship did not mysteriously disappear without a trace...or coming back with Sailors horribly disfigured and mangled into the very bulkhead.

Again, I couldn't resist....heres a little history for you:

The Bermuda Triangle, also called the Devil's Triangle, is an imaginary
area that can be roughly outlined on a map by connecting Miami, Florida; San
Juan, Puerto Rico; and the Bahamas, an island chain off the coast of the United
States. Within that triangular area of the Atlantic Ocean have occurred a number
of unexplained disappearances of boats and planes. Additionally, readings on
directional devices do not operate normally inside the triangle.

Unusual events in that area date back in recorded history to 1493 and
the first voyage of Christopher Columbus (1451–1506) to the New World. In his
log, Columbus noted that his compass readings were askew within the area now
called the Bermuda Triangle, and he and his crew were confused by shallow areas
of sea with no land nearby.


#208. Travel south of the Tropic of Cancer. It got pretty hot even in the early days of March, but I can only imagine how hot the Equator must get in July or August. God damn, I love hot weather....just not when I'm in my Dress Blues.

#209. Peel an orange in one piece. Oranges are one of my favorite fruits but peeling them was always a pain in the ass. I knew a fella who used to eat the peel as well as the pulp. I've been amping up my orange intake lately and I pulled of this feat during work last week. I laughed a little aloud when I did it...people looked at me like I was odd. You know, I haven't made a good Sammich with oranges in a long time.

#210. Convince someone to make their own list. Trace Billet. Good luck. Make a list thats better than mine.



Update: Another brave soul has taken the endeavor to start their own list. Congrats Joe...make this list as manly as you can.


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