Traveling 9 to 5

Changing how you spend your 9 to 5

  • About
  • Destinations
    • RTW
      • 2012 RTW Itinerary
      • Our 2012 RTW Packing List
    • Africa
      • Botswana
      • Namibia
      • South Africa
    • Asia
      • Cambodia
      • Hong Kong
      • Indonesia
      • Laos
      • Singapore
      • Thailand
      • Vietnam
    • Europe
      • Spain
    • North America
      • Costa Rica
      • Mexico
      • United States
    • South America
      • Argentina
      • Brazil
      • Ecuador
      • Peru
  • Travel Resources
  • Eat
  • Exercise

My “Before I’m 33 List”

October 2, 2013 by Caroline Eaton 18 Comments

Why 33?

30 is too soon and 35 is too far off in the future. 33 works out well for my time schedule, and boy do I have a lot I want to do before then and now!

Check out what we crossed off our list in 2012: One Year Around The World in Photos

1. Croatia – One of my best friends recently returned from Croatia and since then, I have seen it popping up across my fellow travel bloggers. It’s beautiful, it’s relatively affordable, it’s on the top of my list.

2. Sky Dive – We’ve been trying to jump out of a plane for awhile now…Of course we could run to any sky diving establishment and just jump, but we want to make sure we trust the instructors, and most importantly we are in a cool location.

3. Zion National Park – I saw a photo essay on The Planet D one time and I was sold. Incredible photos. Photos that I want to be taking and standing where they are standing in complete awe of the nature around me.

zion

See more at The Planet D

4. Yosemite – We spent the first half of the year in California and never made it down to Yosemite. We tried to plan an impromptu 8 hour drive down there but just couldn’t find the right time. The good thing is we will be back!

5. Grand Canyon – I’ve seen the Tour de France, the Running of the Bulls, and explored Easter Island, but have yet to see the Grand Canyon. One of the most beautiful natural wonders is sitting in my backyard and I have yet to visit!

6. Yi Peng Lantern Festival in Thailand – Last time I was in Southeast Asia I celebrated Songkran which is incredible. Next time I want to experience the Yi Peng Festival.

neverendig
photo via Never Ending Voyage

7. Spend 2 – 3 months in India – I’m waiting for a very good friend to get married in India (one day!) and hopefully we can plan a long trip through India in addition to attending an Indian wedding!

8. Alaska – We tried to get there this past summer and our schedule filled up. I love glaciers, and being in Glacier Bay National Park would be a surreal experience. I’ve heard the best way to visit is drive up – it’s a long drive but one worth taking. There are of course plenty of cruises, one in particular we have our eye on – we will see what happens.

9. Colombia – Only invite me to join you on a trip, if you really don’t mind me coming. Two friends of ours, one who is from Colombia, mentioned they will be in Colombia next June and we should come along. Last time someone nonchalantly invited us along we ended up meeting LandingStanding for a month-long Hawaii vacation. Colombia plans are starting to brew at Traveling 9 to 5.

10. Eurail across Europe – Last time Josh and I got a Eurail pass and took it across Europe we were 21. Looking back at our trip we had so much fun and left with incredible memories, that being said we sped through each city. I want to go back to a few cities and give them second chances and there are so many I have added since.

Let's get real, I can't afford this one... but I can dream.
Let’s get real, I can’t afford this one… but I can dream.

11. Rent a villa in Tuscany for a month – We love Italy and are planning to rent a villa in Tuscany for a month. After falling in love with Sonoma, we’d love to see the Italian wine country and gorge on some delicious Italian food, wine and espresso.

12. Return to Maastricht, Netherlands – I will most likely include this in my Eurail trip across Europe. We studied abroad in college at Maastricht University and fell in love with this university town with cobblestone streets.

13. Scuba Dive in the Barrier Reef – We learned to dive in Indonesia and were spoiled with the crystal blue waters and variety of fish swimming around us. Since then we dove in the Galapagos Islands, and it seems only right to get to the Barrier Reef before the reef isn’t there anymore.

Photo via Away Stay Blog
Photo via Away Stay Blog

14. Swim with whale sharks – This has always been on my list and I’ve tried a few times but apparently I am always in the wrong place during the wrong season.

15. Badlands National Park – It’s only a 14 hour drive from where I am now, I see a future road trip in the works. While we are out there we might as well stop by Mt. Rushmore – anyone else up for the drive?

16. Finish my e-book: The Art of Being ____ – I started an e-book a year ago. Finished the e-book. Got self-conscious about releasing the e-book. Redesigned the e-book. Edited and re-edited the e-book. and it is still sitting on my hard drive. One of these days I am going to release it…and it will be sooner than later!

art of being ______ e-book

17. Get back to running half marathons – Half marathons are a good challenge for me. Marathons are rough on anyone’s body. Unless you train well, refuel correctly and strength train with a proper stretching routine during marathon training you are most likely doing more harm to your body than good. I like the half marathon distance and plan to run at least 1 a year until I am 33.

I’m sure I’ll edit this over the next few years, but for now I feel good with this list. Now to decide where to start first!

Filed Under: Inspire

Comments

  1. Steph says

    October 2, 2013 at 8:42 am

    I like it! I don’t have a travel bucket list but I just started a “cooking bucket list” of things I want to learn over the next couple of years. It does keep you focused!

    If we invite you guys to come visit us in Sayulita this winter, will you do it?

    Reply
    • Caroline Eaton says

      October 2, 2013 at 8:49 am

      A cooking list is a good one – that is a big goal of mine, to become a good/better cook (right now I am pretty pathetic). And yes, Sayulita sounds amazing – when will you be there? 🙂

      Reply
  2. Laura4NYC says

    October 2, 2013 at 8:53 am

    Great list! I’ve done the Grand Canyon – it is truly amazing. I can recommend spending a week down there and just walking around. A lot of things on your bucket list sound cool and like something I should add to my plans… Now, if only I had the money…! 🙁

    Reply
  3. Explorista says

    October 2, 2013 at 9:01 am

    Wow, we are similar! I’m actually going on a month long road trip to (mostly) California next year, so crossing Grand Canyon (which I’ve seen before but BF hasn’t), Yosimite & Zion of my list! If you decide to revisit Maastricht, would love to join and see it again!

    Reply
  4. Marla says

    October 2, 2013 at 10:22 am

    I just made my top 10 a few weeks ago (a reaction to listening to “wake me up” too many times). My list was based on countries, but the whale sharks and Grand Canyon are also things I am dying do. I’ve been to 25+ countries, how have I not been to the Grand Canyon?!?!?

    Badlands was a favorite childhood road trip of mine, make sure to visit the caves 🙂

    Reply
    • Caroline Eaton says

      October 2, 2013 at 10:29 am

      I feel the same way on the Grand Canyon, We’ll make it there soon! What was the top country on your top 10?!

      Reply
      • Marla says

        October 7, 2013 at 6:55 pm

        Antarctica!!! It would actually work out pretty slick because the best time of the year to go is over xmas/new years…which I usually have off work anyways.

        Great list, good inspiration!

        Reply
  5. Alex says

    October 2, 2013 at 10:34 am

    Make sure to knock the Europe ones off when Jade and I are there after graduation so we can join you! 🙂

    Reply
    • Caroline Eaton says

      October 2, 2013 at 10:40 am

      Yes! Let’s start planning NOW!

      Reply
  6. InSearchofWonder says

    October 2, 2013 at 7:12 pm

    It’s is about time for you to put it in you guys calendar!!!
    Colombia Trip on May-June 2014. How cool will that be? Touring the coffee region, the coast….in daydreaming now 🙂

    Reply
  7. Justin says

    October 4, 2013 at 10:40 am

    Hi Caroline,

    I love the list! I have also been planning for my 30th birthday already (even though I’m 28). I am thinking that Fiji will work nicely!

    I am so happy you included Colombia on your list. We have named Colombia “The Next Great South American Backpacking Destination.” You can check out the article here:http://www.insearchofwonder.com/the-next-great-south-american-backpacking-destination/

    Our plan is still to be in Colombia in June and it would be awesome if you meet us there! We are planning to visit for about 2.5 weeks and will be in Bogota, Santa Marta, and the coffee region. You would love it!

    Justin

    Reply
  8. Allie @ 6000 Miles to Home says

    October 4, 2013 at 2:26 pm

    This is an awesome list – and I love the idea of saying before 33…30 is definitely too soon. I might work on a 33 list of my own :). Let me know when you guys plan to make to Yosemite, Jimbo and I will meet you!

    Reply
    • Caroline Eaton says

      October 4, 2013 at 3:03 pm

      I expect to see a before 33 list on your blog 🙂 and Yes, we will most definitely call you when we roadtrip down there!

      Reply
  9. eemusings says

    October 4, 2013 at 7:50 pm

    Oh, no way! You studied in Maastricht! We stopped in briefly this summer enroute to Amsterdam and LOVED it.

    Reply
    • Caroline Eaton says

      October 5, 2013 at 8:18 am

      Yes we loved the city! It is somewhere we could see ourselves living, not just traveling through!

      Reply
  10. Dan Lester says

    October 5, 2013 at 10:19 am

    Glacier National Park is in Montana, not Alaska. Maybe Glacier Bay or others?

    Reply
  11. Juliann says

    October 6, 2013 at 4:49 am

    I think I’ll duplicate most of your list and just change the 33 to 50. 🙂 I hope you get to do all of these, no matter at what age!

    Reply
  12. Jordan McDonald says

    October 9, 2013 at 11:27 am

    Fun idea, y’all. Skyler and I are headed to South America today for the last leg of our RTW. If you are headed to Colombia anytime soon, we think we’ll be there in roughly January/early February.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Follow Us!

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • Instagram
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Categories

Advertisement

Advertise Here
  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Featured Links

Hosting by Bluehost
  • Archives
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Inspire
  • Travel
  • Photography

Copyright © 2025 · Modern Portfolio Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in