You know I love a good Never Have I Ever list! Elisabeth has some good ones and I actually got a 10 out of 10 on one of hers (meaning that I HAD done everything on her NHIE list!) and am striving to do it again one day! Today, however, I have my own list of things that I HAVE done, as this is easier to think up (note that I will be doing a real NHIE later in this series, so stay tuned)! As always, crowd participation is welcomed and I have pasted the list at the bottom so you can copy and paste (Ernie, it is CTRL-C, CTRL-V,😊) and add your answers to the comments! Also, don't forget to fill out --> THE QUESTIONNAIRE!
You can see other posts in the Twenty Questions series here.
1. Eaten at a three star Michelin restaurant. I have actually been lucky enough to have gone to a few of them! Quince, Benu, Atelier Crenn, Single Thread, Eleven Madison Park. I have been to a few two stars (Commis, Aquerello) and one stars (State Bird Provisions) also. However, my favorite are the Bib Gourmands, which are fancy but more affordable places that have not quite made it to one star yet. Often after they get a star the price goes WAY up and it much harder to get a reservation, but the Bib Gourmands are still more reasonable.
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Benu menu |
2. Been to Alaska. After having this on my list for years and years, I finally went in 2023 with my hiking pal Bugsy, and we had a good time hiking, seeing the mountains, looking at the sea, and sleeping in the car (haha) which was quite expensive to rent (it was about $1,500 for 12 days!) but was kind of necessary with the distances covered. There is a train that goes from Seward to Fairbanks, but we wanted to get out into nature, naturally (ha!)
3. Driven a tractor. Well, it was a backhoe, but I am counting it!
4. Competed in a Giant Slalom ski race. I was on the ski team in High School and we also did slalom, but my favorite was the GS where you can tuck and go very fast. I am more about speed than technique!
5. Kissed someone of the same gender. I was with a group of guys and one woman and we got dared, and I did it, but it didn't do anything for me. I guess I am no Katy Perry.
6. Met a celebrity. This obviously depends on what you think of as "meet" and "celebrity" but when I worked at Nordstrom, people would come in all the time. I saw (did not meet) Danny Glover, Vladi Divak, Cindy Crawford (she has big feet!) and helped Kristy Yamiguchi, and Benjamin Bratt (who I think was with Julia Roberts at the time). I also went over to the men's suits department when I got a tip from a friend, and I shook the hand of one of the main SF Giant's players, which of course I cannot remember which now (I think it was Jason Schmidt, but don't quote me on that).
7. Swam with sharks. I did the great white cage dive in South Africa and also swam with a lot of harmless sharks while diving in Australia and Thailand.
8. Drank moonshine. Every country has their version, so I have had some rocket fuel in many countries. In Ireland, it's PoitÃn (not to be confused with poutine), in Bolivia you have to pour a little on the ground in an offering to Pachamama. In Georgia, everyone and their uncle make homemade ChaCha and in Serbia you may burn off your tongue with the Rakija. The list goes on, but if I am offered it, I always say yes.
9. Learned how to use a map and compass. Obviously, and luckily, it has been a while since I have had to use this skill, but it is there just in case!
10. Played Frogger on a ColecoVision. Oh the good ol' days! My friend had maybe three games, and one of them was Frogger. A few years later, my uncle gave us a Nintendo, and I would challenge any of you to a game of Duck Hunt or Mario!
11. Been to a heavy metal concert. Oh the 90s were great, weren't they? My first concert ever was Bryan Adams, who obviously is not heavy metal, but after that, I saw the Scorpions, and I was hooked. Since then, I have seen Metallica, The Deftones, Korn, Rage Against the Machine (if that counts?) and more. Two that I am sad that I did not see due to people dying were Nirvana and Alice in Chains, and I had a Guns n Roses concert booked for April 2020, but we all know how that turned out.
12. Ridden in a helicopter. When I was in Nepal near Mt. Everest, Mr. Lovely got injured, and we had to get helicoptered out to Kathmandu. Of course, he paid for it (P.S. he did not have insurance and that ride cost about $6,000), and had to stay strapped to a gurney, while I got to enjoy the (very good!) mountain views.
13. Walked on a glacier. See above: Alaska. Also I have done this in New Zealand at the Franz Joseph glacier which was very cool. I have also done it in several other places over the years.
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Alaska |
14. Ridden a camel. If you are newer to this space, you may not know that in 2010, I did a trip around the world with my then boyfriend, Mr. Lovely. We did a camel ride in India, but it was not the greatest, as we felt basically cheated by the companies, or should I say, "taken for a ride?" and I hate that feeling. It spurred Mr. Lovely to compare India and Nepal, and he talked so much about it that I made him do a guest post about why Nepal is better than India. Enjoy!
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India |
15. Used a bike to commute to work. In Oakland, I would ride Bertha (the bike) to the BART train several times a week! I miss that ol' broad.
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Bertha |
16. Eaten dog food. When I was a kid, I figured I'd try it. If the dog enjoyed it, maybe I would too. To be honest, it was not that bad. I wouldn't make a habit of it, but if there is an apocalypse, don't turn your back on pet food!
17. Put a body part into each of the five Great Lakes. On my trip across the US and Canada last year, I made sure to do this. I even swam in a couple of them!
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Lake Huron |
18. Dehydrated my own food. As a hiker, this has been a fun thing to learn. I also enjoy making jerky or dehydrated fruit, and this came in very handy when I was harvesting my fruit and could not keep up!
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Dehydrating chicken curry |
19. Run an ultramarathon (more than 26.2 miles). Several of them! You can find more about that here.
20. Been to Mardi Gras in New Orleans. Although I lived off and on in NOLA for about 6 years, I only went to one! Pro tip: the lead up to Mardi Gras is more fun than the week of, as the week of is chaos. However, there are a ton of parades in the weeks before that and they are much more low key!
Your turn!
1. Eaten at a three star Michelin restaurant
2. Been to Alaska
3. Driven a tractor
4. Competed in a Giant Slalom ski race
5. Kissed someone of the same gender
6. Met a celebrity
7. Swam with sharks
8. Drank moonshine
9. Learned how to use a map and compass
10. Played Frogger on an Atari
11. Been to a heavy metal concert
12. Ridden in a helicopter
13. Walked on a glacier
14. Ridden a camel
15. Used a bike to commute to work
16. Eaten dog food
17. Put a body part into each of the five Great Lakes
18. Dehydrated my own food
19. Run an ultramarathon (more than 26.2 miles)
20. Been to Mardi Gras in New Orleans.
Bonus question: have you ever felt ripped off when traveling?