My 1,000 Things To Do

Guest Blogging at We Travel 2 this month

2011-04-18T12:58:00.000-04:00

Ben Francis at We Travel 2 has graciously allowed me to be the guest blogger at We Travel 2. You can find my post about Aquitaine, French Beaches, and Bordeaux wine on the cheap on their site.

Thanks Ben! You rock?

Adventure Hoteling at The Hotel Chelsea - guest blogging

2011-03-17T11:12:00.003-04:00

I am guest blogging at All About Travel this month and my post can be found at Ashwani Kaushik's site All About Travel. If you are a writer, or musician you definitely want to add this experience to your visits to New York City. It adds inspiration, or so it did for me.

Adventure Hoteling at The Hotel Chelsea at All About Travel

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6 Nations Experience in Cardiff, Wales

2011-02-20T16:36:00.000-05:00

The shopping experience at Saint David's Mall, browsing the world's oldest record store, visiting Cardiff Castle, going to the Cardiff Bay Opera House, finding a Welsh speaking pub and hanging out for good cask conditioned brew: these are few of the many things I've done in Cardiff, and I will return - hopefully many times.

Cardiff is a world class city in every way, and this is remarkable for it's size: 324,000 in the city, and 1.1 million in the surrounding area. Visiting from Ireland, England, or Scotland makes for significantly fun and cheap holidays. Last year I had the special benefit of being taken on a personal tour of the city by the recently retired city manager Byron Davies, who showed me the ins and outs of 20 years of renewal, and I am thoroughly impressed by this city of beauty, class, and absolutely no pretension.

For all the wonderful things Cardiff has to offer, there is no comparison to visiting during the pinnacle of Rugby season. During the 6 nations tournament downtown comes to life like no other time. The Welsh like their Rugby - sorry for the gross understatement - they love their "Rygbi."

On one of my trips to Cardiff I attended a 6 Nations tournament game between Italy and Wales. For those of you who know Rugby, the outcome was anticipated, with a significant thumping accomplished by the Welsh. The city was busy, vibrant, fun, and the Millennium Stadium is a place the Welsh are quite proud of. (I've been asked more than once, "Have you been to the Millennium Stadium?") It is massive, beautiful, and I don't think there is a bad seat in the house.

If you like Rugby, you have to go to Cardiff in February or March for a 6 Nations Tournament event. If you do not, but have a close someone who does, Cardiff is a great city to be left on your own for a bit of sightseeing, culture, and yes - even shopping.

Pillars of the Saints: Burning Man Re-up, a plan for art installation

2011-01-30T23:36:00.004-05:00

After completing #7 on my list of 1,000 things to do before I die by attending Burning Man last year as part of the Spirit Dream Interpretation Cafe, I simply have to add another item to my 1,000 things to do before I die. Return to Burning Man, and build an art project on the Playa.

So below are some plans for an art project to fit with this year's theme: Rites of Passage. The title of the project is Pillars of the Saints: Passage to the Voice of the Spirit.

At this point there are 5 team members interested in joining me to help make this project a reality, and here is a design of the project below.

The first shot shows the view of the project as it would be seen from Black Rock City as it might be viewed by someone coming across the playa toward the Pillars of the Saints. The pillars and arches represent the passage from this visible existence into a spiritual realm, and so the design incorporates a full arch in the front slowly decaying to almost nothing as someone draws close to the altar of sacrifice.

At the altar of sacrifice a person will be directed to leave behind attitudes, struggles, or anything which they consider to stand in the way of hearing the Voice of Spirit.

At the altar of sacrifice these hindrances will be written down in such a manner as they will quickly disappear. Two ideas which are being considered are: 1) having the participant write the hindrance down on flash paper which will be thrown in the fire, or 2) having them paint the hindrance in water upon a blackboard which will evaporate and disappear in the desert heat.

The wall will be filled throughout the week with writings which are statements from those who have heard the Voice of the Spirit, and shared in writing upon the wall. After the sacrificing the one's hindrance the participant will be directed to pass through the doorway to the opposite side of the wall.

On the opposite side of the wall is a set of three pillars, which will each have their own ladder. Here the participant climbs the pillar, and like the famous St. Simeon Stylites from the 6th century who sat upon a pillar to get away from the crowds who thronged him, and sought the Voice of God, the participant will face the barren desert and wait for Voice of the Spirit to speak to them.

The basic idea of this project is to wait until the Spirit speaks, and like St Simeon and many of the Desert Fathers and Desert Mothers of the 3rd through 6th century not come down until they have heard the voice, which then will be written with the growing number of words upon the walls.

The art installation will be designed with enough information and directions to be self service, and at times our team will be present dressed as monks in brown robes.

This is an unmediated, self directed meditation on the Voice of Spirit art project, and a dream for Burning Man 2011: Rites of Passage.

Whadayathink? We like it. Thanks to our gang and all the helpful voices surrounding us: Horizon, Rocket, Mary the Goth Theologian, Matt the Pirate, Hope, Dennis, and of course the thoughtful artist behind the scenes - Jeff Menasco who added some great artful thought to this design - which of course is still in the stages of being perfected.

Below are two different variations of the pillars which will be used for sitting on. One is a steel design, and the other is all wood. The wood design is modeled after the square altar of sacrifice, and if used (which is the preference at this point) will be burnt with the rest of the project at the end of the event.

Below is the location for the propane tank in the altar. Others will be se tin a similar manner inside the walls of beneath the flame bowls. The walls are 4 feet thick at the bottom, and will fit a compartment with a 100# propane tank with a fire safe compartment. These will be doorless open compartments in the walls.

#39 - Gargoyles and Street Performers in Paris

2010-09-21T11:37:00.001-04:00

I love Gargoyles. The real ones. On cathedrals. So there are really only three words needed for this.

Paris. Notre Dame.

I like gargoyles so much I wrote a gargoyle song.

A true gargoyle (which name comes from the French word for gurgling) is a strange creature carved of stone and used as a water spout for rain to run off on a building. This is why they were called "gargoyles." Today we generically use the term to refer to other carved monsters, called "grotesques" found on cathedrals and other Gothic public buildings.

Of course, there are other locations than the cathedral at Notre Dame in Paris for viewing gargoyles, but Notre Dame is a magnificently fun place. A grand wonder of architecture with a courtyard filled with street performers, and good places to eat within viewing distance. There are also budget hotels in Paris city centre to be found.

So, when you are in planning a trip to Paris, don't forget to make Notre Dame a good long stop, because there is a lot to see. My trip to Notre Dame was a clear, warm summer day with a cool breeze blowing through the trees. A flamenco guitarist was playing in the square in front of the cathedral. There were circus performers juggling and balancing in the square, and art was openly exhibited. There was a skateboarding exhibition happening on the wide walkway coming up to the Cathedral.

Between the fun on the way up to the cathedral, and the awesome wonder of the cathedral it should be on your bucket list. It made my list. I have been there done that, and can check it off my list of 1,000 things to do before I die.

Burning Man update - #7 completed!

2010-09-12T17:23:00.000-04:00

Yes, Burning Man is a crazy experiment in radical self-reliance, and radical self-expression - sometimes too much so, but an absolute blast to be sure. I joined a theme camp, and because we were setting up to serve expresso, and do dream interpretation during the days, we arrived a day before the opening of the gates to set up our "Spirit Dream Interpretation Camp."

I helped pull a 12 foot tall shopping cart mutant vehicle (built by Scott Veatch) from Ohio to Nevada, and back again. Consequently my adventure was extended to two full weeks.

If you have always been wanting to go to Burning Man, all I can say is - oh yeah, do it if you can. Yes, it is true that newbies to the event (called "virgins") are asked to roll in the fine playa dust at entrance to the gate, and (unlike some of my friends) I did not shirk my dust eating duty and initiation into the Burner world. Hopefully I will be able to link to the video of the initiation soon. :-)

Here are a few highlights for me: The temple and all the emotion being poured out as people wrote their dreams, fears, sorrows, and joys on the temple walls. The Burning of the Man on Saturday night - even though there was a dust storm hindering the full experience of the burn, it was a great show of fireworks, fire spinners, and the biggest bonfire you've ever seen. Reciting limericks in a pub which gave a free pint of Guinness to everyone who recited a limerick (our team came with 14 of them, and we turned the place upside down - as chief limerick writer I had my hand on most of those limericks actually). Interpreting dreams and encouraging people with words of wisdom, and watching them fall apart (in a good way) in openness to the working of the Spirit. Traveling around in the shopping cart by night, and meeting the same people we served in the Dream Camp.

Burning Man may be miles away from nowhere near Gerlach, NV in the Black Rock desert, but it seems right in the heart of our culture, and it is no wonder that has become a type of church for the 50,000 people who attend each year.

2011? Return to Burning Man? Maybe, I would certainly love to, but as for now I can scratch it off my list of things to do.

#38 - visiting Kilmainham Gaol in Dublin, Ireland

2010-08-25T09:29:00.000-04:00

The history of Ireland's struggle for independence is to a great degree housed in Europe's largest unused prison. Kilmainham Gaol was closed by the new Irish Free State shortly after independence was reached. For 128 years it housed prisoners. It was an unsegregated prison with men, women and even children (the youngest thought to be 7 years old) in 92 square ft. cells with 5 people per cell.

The jail was restored as a museum starting in the 60's and is now run by an Irish Government Agency. It now houses the history of the fight for independence, and the sad history of famous executions. It was here that 14 leaders of the Easter uprising in 1916 were executed, and black crosses mark the location of the executions.

Dublin hotels in the city centre of Dublin are within a few minutes of Kilmainham Gaol. Items such as the death mask of Robert Emmet, and the history of the Irish rebellion and struggle make this a must visit in Ireland. This makes my bucket list of 1,000 things to do before I die.

The last prisoner of Kilmainham Gaol, Eamonn De Valera later became the Prime Minister of Ireland and then the President of Ireland. Your stop at the gaol may encourage you to more honorable goals.

Update #7 - Headed for Burning Man

2010-08-25T08:43:00.000-04:00

Today I leave Scott Veatch's house helping to pull a trailer with this contraption on it. This big shopping cart is called the blue light special. Scott and his friend Jeff built this thing, and it will be one of the mutant vehicles at the Burning man event, and a part of the Spirit Cafe's outreach to the Burner's.

Visiting Old Dark London - #37

2010-08-20T14:56:00.001-04:00

Some years ago, my friend Mike took me on a tour of London, which included among other things some of the famous occultist Aleister Crowley's haunts. Always up for a little mystery, and coming from the significantly more occultly pregnant city of Salem, Massachusetts, I was excited to be led on a short tour of this sort in downtown London, by my good friend the Neo-Shaman.

The UK is the birthplace of modern Witchcraft and Neo-Paganism as we know it today, and London of course is going to be "the spot" for learning much of this history.

Atlantis Bookshop was one of the strange old man's frequented places, and it still stands, and is still active today. This is also true for Watkin's Books, which has been around for over a hundred years.

Locations such as 67-69 Chancery Lane where the strange old occultist once lived, and practiced his arts can be seen, and The Plough - a Pub and another hangout on Museum Street should be stopped at. These dark and peculiar places in London bring you back to the turn of the century over a hundred years ago, and can give you a significantly creepy sense - unless of course, like me, you are comfortable learning about our wild, weird and wonderfully diverse world.

This is on my list of 1,000 things to do before I die. I haven't died yet, and I've accomplished it - and it didn't kill me.

When you make this a part of you trip to London you will want to find hotels in London City Centre with parking.

For more info a Crowleys Haunts you can check this page describing a Crowley tour.

Las Vegas without the Lost Wages - #36

2010-08-20T13:40:00.002-04:00

I am not a gambler. I am not the kind of person who likes to go into the big cities when I travel - at least not for long, but I have gone for quite a few Holidays to Las Vegas.

Now, I have been there quite a lot because it was my halfway stop from Southern California to Utah each summer. Yes, it is a gambler's paradise, but it has become more than that. Shows, concerts, sporting events fill the schedule of the city's event list, but this is not the thing which captures my attention in Las Vegas.

Las Vegas is a great place for wandering around at night simply to look. It is an architect's paradise with wildly designed hotel casinos in every possible theme. Fountains dance, roller coasters fly through the air, lights beam through the sky, and ships attack one another and the Brittania sinks on the Strip at Treasure Island Hotel and Casino. Wandering Las Vegas during the night is certainly worth putting on a list of one thousand things to do before you die - even if like me, you don't gamble.

St Stephen's: Canada's Chocolate Town

2010-08-20T13:01:00.002-04:00

Just over the border crossing in Calais, ME you enter the heart of downtown St. Stephen's, New Brunswick. A right hand turn takes you past the interactive chocolate museum, which tells the story of rise of the Ganong Brother's success in candy making starting in the late 19th century in St. Stephen's. A block further brings you to the well run, and friendly visitor center.

St. Stephen's is a slightly out of the way stop on the way into Canada's eastern shores. Route 1 in Canada has been re-developed and runs around the city now, but the old Main Street in Calais, ME still brings you to the old border crossing.

I stopped here on my way back from paddling the Bay of Fundy to visit some friends who work and run St. Stephen's University. I had to stay longer to visit the chocolate museum, and buy some wonderful Canadian chocolate to bring home to friends.

Don't travel the east coast of Canada without stopping here. Especially if you have kids. The interactive chocolate museum is a wonderful hands on experience. I like Canada's Atlantic Coast. I'm hooked on the Bay of Fundy, and St. Stephen's will be a regular stop for me on my Holidays to Canada

#35 - Anybody doing "Life in a Day?"

2010-07-23T11:10:00.000-04:00

Along with that list of things I want to do before I die, there sometimes comes along a one-off event, which falls into the category of want to do, or perhaps even (if one should miss it) a 'I am really sorry I did not do that' event.

Filming my day, or parts of it for this production "Life in a Day" is one of those things, which will fall into the category of 'I am really sorry I did not do that' if I don't give it a shot.

Are you going to participate in "Life in Day?" I'll be filming my life. How about you?

Wanna do it? Check out Life in a Day.

#34 - The Do Lectures in the Fforest of West Wales

2010-07-22T13:37:00.000-04:00

The Do Lectures have been listed as one of the great "conferences" in the world. 4 days, 22 speakers, and only 80 attendees in a tent in the "Fforest" sounds like a perfect setting for learning and perhaps even unlearning.

Their website has the list of speakers from the last two years, and this September's lectures will be up after the event happens.

Of course, for a wild theologian like me to be a speaker would be a real hoot, but it looks like everyone becomes a teacher as well as a learner in the Fforest.

So, the Do Lectures make my bucket list of 1,000 things to do before I die. It obviously is making other people's list as well.

More on #26 - Kayaking the Bay of Fundy

2010-07-22T13:11:00.001-04:00

My second day in the Banana car trip to New Brunswick brought me to the town of Alma on the north side of the Bay of Fundy Park. I landed in town, and quickly found Fresh Air Adventure so I could ask about where to put in, and things to do in town.

At Fresh Air I met Daelan (Sp?) and Abby, who immediately were helpful and informed where to eat, and not to eat in town, and suggested it was good to put in right across the street in the Upper Salmon River when the tide was high.

If you stop at Fresh Air Adventure, Daelan is the guy with the tattoos, and Abby is the girl with the blond dreads. They suggested a couple places to eat. Being from Coastal New England I was not as enticed as other tourists by the proliferation of lobster and seafood places, but it was suggested that if I wanted that the best place in town was Tides which has both a Deck with take out, or a sit in fancy eating place in the hotel.

Instead I went to the Octopus Garden. Any place named after a Ringo Starr song has got to be cool. Octopus Garden is a combination blown glass art gallery, and cafe. Rachel the owner is a drummer and she runs the cafe, and her husband is the glass blower.

I visited that first afternoon and met Vernon, who was extremely knowledgeable about places to paddle in the area.

Then next morning I returned. I arrived a little earlier than the 7:30am opening, and decided to help, since Rachel was there and had broken her big toe and was limping around. So, I took down the chairs from the table tops, and set out the sandwich board sign.

Then I saw the guitar on the wall. It said Play Me. I obeyed.

This is my pick for the place to hang out in Alma. Good food, great Panninis, a nice blend of loose leaf teas, and local stuff you can buy. They even have a jam session night on Wednesdays.

I kayaked around the Upper Salmon River and bounced among the rocks going as far up it as I could. Oh, the wonders of a plastic kayak! You can hit hard things and just keep bouncing along without a dent. The evening I stayed there I camped on the lawn at Fresh Air after spending time hanging with Daelan and Abby. I like Alma. I think I'd like to go back sometime. I still have to paddle the coast of the Bay of Fundy Park.

#33 - Shopping at Midnight in Maine

2010-07-20T13:31:00.002-04:00

I really don't care for shopping much, but musical instruments or certain sporting equipment can capture my fancy from time to time. Shopping at L.L. Bean in Freeport, ME is actually fun for anyone at any age - especially if you go after midnight. This is the store which is open 24 hours a day, every day of the year.

Blizzards don't close it down, slow business doesn't distract it's goal of always being open. It is the permanently open store. I've been to L.L. Bean before, but I have never been there after midnight.

On my travels to New Brunswick to go paddling I needed a few things for the kayaking trip, and since I started late at might to drive north, I was able to stop in a L.L. Bean at 1:30am. This is not my typical bucket list item, but I have wanted to stop in at L.L. Bean after midnight for a number of years now.

Check it off. Done. It really is worth the trip to Freeport, ME, which is a beautiful town, and a great place to visit. If you like shopping, you even can go shopping at midnight, and you won't be the only person there - I wasn't. If you are looking for deals to America and are planning on coming to New England, be sure to visit Freeport and the eternal adventure store.

I can scratch this one off my bucket list.

Kayaking The Bay of Fundy - #26 Revisited and Accomplished!

2010-07-20T12:58:00.005-04:00

This last weekend I drove to Hopewell Rocks Park, New Brunswick, Canada. The world's largest tides are only 9 hours drive from Boston, and so I took my $2,000 1994 BMW touring wagon, and my $200 14' sit-on-top ebay kayak and drove to Canada looking like I was riding a banana wagon.

Leaving Friday night I headed straight for Moncton, New Brunswick, and after a few other stops (see next post) arrived at the northern edge of the Bay of Fundy with my banana boat still attached to the car.

Saturday afternoon I visited Hopewell Rocks Park, bought my admission ticket, and signed a waiver at the Interpretive Centre releasing them from any potential disaster. Then I drove to the location where the kayak instructors and tour guides put in for the the tours.

High tide was on it's way. If you want to kayak at Hopewell Rocks, you have to do so at high tide, because at low tide you can walk in the spots covered with as much as 20-25' of water at high tide.

The day was windy and choppy with 3' to 4' waves, and there was one group already out with the guides, but they quickly went in, and canceled the second group due to the choppy seas. I paddled south toward Hopewell Rocks, and came to the sea stacks, and "flower pots." This place is stunning, and it is serious natural wonder worth visiting.

I spent a few hours in the water. I rode up and down the waves appearing and disappearing to the watching crowds on the sea cliffs, and then made my way to the protected little coves of sea stacks. I backed into tight crevices, and paddled back out again. I explored the rugged coast line and the flower pot formations. I chatted with onlookers in the stairwell which at low tide takes people down to the beach, and became a photo op for the other tourists. I avoided going under Lover's Arch, because the waves were too big, and I did not feel like getting smashed between the water and the top of the stone archway.

The water was far too turbulent for me to get out my camera, and take some photos, so my D-40 stayed in the little gortex bag.

The following morning I returned to Hopewell Rocks Park to walk where I had kayaked, and took a lot of photos. I also learned that the park rangers were watching me the whole time to make sure I was safe. They remembered the one solo kayaker out in the choppy waves going up and down.

The Park Rangers are knowledgeable and friendly. One gave me tips on where to head to paddle the next day, Kevin showed me videos of the black ducks he rescued from abandonment at the park, and Shawna gave me some great information on the seaweed and tides.

I am going to be headed back without question. This is a world class adventure location, and can be experienced with a little adventure, or with complete leisure. This is a first stop on holidays to Canada as far as I am concerned, and as for now, I can check it of my Bucket List of 1,000 things to do before I die. Paddling the Bay of Fundy, and going back to walk where you paddled is more fun than driving a banana car. Yep, its true - I'm a Fundy now.

#31 & #32 - Join the Fringe Element in Edinbugh, Scotland

2010-07-12T22:32:00.001-04:00

I can check a visit to Edinburgh, Scotland off of my Bucket list of 1,000 things, but I need to do again, and perhaps consider a repeat trip to be one of the 1,000 things to do before I die.

Edinburgh calls itself the Festival City. What has typically been the month of August with a combination of theater, art, comedy, and music including the famous Fringe Festival has now stretched itself from April to December and even into January of the next year.

Currently there are 12 festivals listed as part of the festival events in Edinburgh with the great majority of events still happening in August.

My August experience brought me to mimes, jugglers, street thespians, bagpipe and drum corps, a klezmer band, and more fun than P.T. Barnum and Walt Disney could dream up. Of course most of the street performance is used as a way to sell tickets to events happening in the over 300 venues across the city, and yet by themselves these street performances are completely entertaining.

When you go make sure to find one of the hotels in Edinburgh city centre so you can simply step outside and walk into the frivolity.

Now my repeat appearance will hopefully be as a performer, and that is why the Edinburgh Festivals is on my list for a second time. I've checked it off once as part of the great audience, and plan to check it off a second time as a performer. There truly is no place like it in the world for festival fun. It's on my Bucket list of 1,000 things to do before I die. Add it to yours - perhaps to join me?

Update on #26 - Kayaking the Bay of Fundy

2010-07-08T13:21:00.000-04:00

I have decided that during the week of July 18th I am going to drive the short 7 to 8 hours up to the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia, and I am going to check off #26 in my bucket list of 1,000 things to do before I die.

My business partner Gareth Gwyn Jones should be meeting me up there for the fun, and my son Elijah will probably be coming along as well. For you silly people who always worry about my safety (considering that this is the world's largest tidal range - about 50"), Gareth is a trained kayak instructor, I have spent more time in the water in competition, and sport than most people spend watching TV (well, maybe that's not true, because some people watch more TV than log in work or sleep hours), and Elijah is a strong enough swimmer/surfer to help out as well.

All that said - I am gonna be a Fundy for in the third week of July! Woo-hoo. Watch out Fred Phelps! Watch out Ken Silva! Okay, maybe that's not the kind of Fundy I mean, but hey I will be a kayaking Fundy for a few days in the Bay of Fundy.

#30 - Never be at a loss for words: Kiss the Blarney Stone

2010-06-20T23:58:00.002-04:00

That's the tradition: Kiss the Blarney Stone and you will never be at a loss or words. My prolific blogging history may reveal the fact that kissing the Blarney Stone could potentially cause me more harm than good, but it still makes the bucket list of 1,000 things I want to do before I die.

The Blarney Stone, also known as the Stone of Eloquence bestows a golden tongue to those who perform the task of lying down bending backwards and kissing the stone from an upside down position. Presidents and famous people from all walks of life have kissed the stone, and over 300,000 people still come to kiss it each year.

It has been said that the stone came from sources as varied as Moses, King David of Israel, and St. Columba, but the most commonly accepted version says that Robert the Bruce gave a portion of the stone to Cormac McCarthy, King of Munster as gratitude for Irish support at the battle of Bannockburn.

The history of Blarney includes the fact that in the 1600's the McCarthy's who owned the castle created a bardic school at Blarney Castle which brought scholars from around Ireland. During the time of Elizabeth I, the McCarthy's were required to surrender the castle, but the ruler of the castle Dermot McCarthy had such eloquent and repeated excuses for not surrendering the castle that Elizabeth remarked, "Odds bodikins, more Blarney talk!" From this point forward the word Blarney has been a part of the English language.

To find your way to to the Blarney Stone be sure to check out car rental Dublin.

#29 - Walk on the Moon! (in Ireland)

2010-06-20T23:34:00.001-04:00

If the lunar landscapes are interesting and appealing to you, if like me, you would like to walk a wild, barren and somewhat dangerous land, you might not have to spend a million dollars to be one of the first civilian tourists to the moon.

The moon is really only as far as Ireland. The Burren is an area of County Clare with a landscape which has been described as lunar. The barren limestone plateau is a patchwork of cracks and fissures, which make it a unique walking adventure. Care needs to be exercised to avoid falling and getting hurt, but the walk is not steep as the limestone plateau is made of rolling limestone rock hills and patches of grasses.

Strangely, arctic, mediterranean and alpine plants grow together in this one region, and the alpine flower: the Spring Gentian is used as a symbol for the Burren. This area also has over 70 ancient tombs, and account for over half of those in County Clare.

This is on my bucket list of 1,000 things to do before I die, but I am sure I will need to fill my rental car tank before making my way to the Burren. Be sure to check out car hire Cork Airport for your rental car.

#28 - Fenway, one the last of the great old ball parks

2010-06-16T19:47:00.001-04:00

My first visit to Fenway Park was during a playoff game with the New York Yankees in the storied 2004 run to their World Series win. Of course, I went to the third game. This was the game where the Red Sox got clobbered 18-9 by the Yankees, and went down 3 games to none. The next four games led to their improbable breaking of the Curse of the Bambino, and their first World Series in 86 years.

I stood by the famed Pesky Pole that night. Somewhere I still have the picture of it. It was a good night to see Fenway. We had the seats, which are no seats: a standing only area underneath the stands on the first level. Yet I ended up somewhere near first base on the second row by the 6 inning, because everyone starting leaving the slaughter.

A game at Fenway is a must see for people visiting Boston. Even if you do not like baseball, it carries a sense of history like few places on earth. Entering the ballpark and looking onto the field for the first time, you can imagine Ted Williams or Babe Ruth stepping to the plate. The Green Monster, the highest outfield wall remaining in a major league park stands glaring at you from left field. The place looks, feels, and smells of the gods of the diamond and takes you back 50 - 75 - almost a 100 years to the times romanced by young men for almost a century now.

Are you planning your holidays to Boston? Fenway Park should find its way into the plans. It will certainly find its way into your heart.

It was once on my bucket list of 1,000 things to do before I die, but I checked it off in 2004. I could have gone again tonight if I had been available - tickets were offered, but oh well - I saw them loose in the most famous series they ever played.

#27 - Reading Thoreau at Walden Pond

2010-06-14T19:31:00.002-04:00

Today I traveled to Walden Pond in Concord, MA just outside Boston. $5 parking is the only cost, and this historic location where Henry David Thoreau spent two years living simply in a tiny one room house he built with his own hands a mile from the nearest neighbor in 1845-1847 has become revered as the home of the conservation movement.

It was on my bucket list of a thousand things to do before I die to read his book Walden on location. Okay - I did not read the whole book today, but as you will see in the video below, I brought it with me to read a little while I was there.

Currently, the water level is especially high in this "kettle pond" which has no stream flowing in our out. It is fed by the rain, and run-off from surrounding hills. Because of the high water table the pond path is closed around most of the perimeter, but a walk around the pond is a gorgeous short - and not too strenuous hike.

Swimming, fishing, and hiking are all available at Walden Pond, and best of all there is a wonderful history, which can not do anything but inspire you.

I think it should be on your list of a thousand things to do before you die. It was on mine, but I checked it off today. So, if you are looking for a Boston city break, I am not sure you've really had the full break without visiting the beautiful home of Thoreau's simple living.

#26 - Kayaking the Bay of Fundy

2010-05-19T13:45:00.002-04:00

The largest tidal range in the world is boasted by Canada's Bay of Fundy, and it is on my bucket list of places to go. In sections of the bay the tidal range is as large as 53 feet! So you can imagine there are things to see in this wild land, which you not find anywhere else in the world.

Chignecto Park is a great place to take this adventure. Paddle out to the famous Three Sisters rock formation during high tide, and go back to walk among these sea stacks during low tide. Nature is at it's wildest and most beautiful in the Bay of Fundy, but of course that's the way it often is - dangerous wildness and awe inspiring beauty are wrapped together in a paradoxical package.

I'm planning on kayaking the Bay of Fundy. It is not enough to see the tide, I want to get right down into it, and feel it beneath me.

Do you want to add this to one of the thousand things to do before you decide to permanently visit heaven? Hopefully we'll meet in a sea cave, or among the stacks of Three Sisters.

Catch cheap flights to Canada, and make your way to the rugged south eastern coast. Join me in Canada - get Fundy with me.

Surfing Dingle: walk on water with Brendan the Navigator #25

2010-05-19T13:03:00.002-04:00

Walking the Dingle Way and placing my foot among the ancient ruins where people still believed in miracles and called heaven down with the force of their faith is one thing, but I want to walk on water.

In the same place from which Brendan the Navigator hails, and hosts the mountain which bears his name there is also some of Ireland's best surfing. Brendan supposedly was born near Tralee near at entrance to the Dingle Peninsula, and established monastic communities around Mount Brandon. Later Brendan would set out on a journey by sea to find the "Blessed Land," or some Edenic variation thereof.

Today there are people who believe that Brendan may have preceded Columbus by 1,000 years to find the Americas. Reaching the Americas in a skin boat in the 6th century would have been a miracle indeed. But I'll settle for walking on water on the shores of the Dingle Peninsula.

With locations like Brandon Bay and a place called "Inch" (how surfer-like is that name?) the Dingle has become a surfer's destination.

Pick up your at car hire Cork Airport, and head to the shores of the Dingle Peninsula. It's on my bucket list as one of the thousand things I want to do before I die. Perhaps we can walk on water together.

#24 - Walk the Dingle Way

2010-05-05T14:38:00.003-04:00

A walk through the heart of Irish speaking Ireland, surrounded by ancient Celtic history with beehive huts (clochain), castles, sea cliffs, beaches, Ogham stones, and ancient church ruins: now doesn't that sound like the walker's dream?

The south western tip of Ireland is made up of a number of bays and peninsulas the northern most of which is the Dingle Peninsula. Starting at the city of Tralee, and typically walking 117 miles in a clockward direction around the Dingle peninsula to return to Tralee some days later, one is carried back into early Christian times in Ireland, and even earlier. The path hugs the rugged coast, and traverses other memorable walks such as the Saint's Way, which is a memorial to Brendan the Navigator as it crosses the highest mountain on the peninsula named after him.

For a list of of activities on the Dingle Peninsula check here, and for your car hire needs go to car hire Ireland.

After having read The Voyage of Brendan a few years back this is on my bucket list of places to go and things to do. How about you?

#23 - Ice Tubes: Surfing in Canada

2010-05-04T19:00:00.002-04:00

Canada. Surf.

Yes, the two words do belong together - at least for some people. The last couple years I have not been out surfing, but I plan to change that. Canada is one of the those places I would like to visit for a surf trip - in the Fall or maybe even the Winter.

Yes, I know it sounds crazy, but first you must realize that the waves on the eastern shores of North America are at their best in the Fall and Winter, and during the occasional late Summer hurricane which travels into the North Atlantic. That leaves late Summer through Winter for the best surf. Considering this I have wanted for quite some time to do a Winter surf trip taking me north from Massachusetts into New Hampshire, Maine, and then yes, into Canada. Quebec, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland - maybe Labrador these are the places I want to go. Maybe some surfing during the the northern lights? Now that would be crazy! :-)

Just remember, a good winter suit, and a thermos with warm water to start. A nearby pub with a fire would be a great addition as well.

So, consider some surf fun in Canada. Canada is making the pages of surf mags these days, and you can find cheap flights to Montreal.

It's on my list of a thousand things to do before I die. Wanna join me?

Learn to play the bagpipes: Update on #13

2010-04-11T17:42:00.000-04:00

You know you want to learn to play the bagpipes. Have you considered going to a bagpipe summer school?

Canada's Prince Edward Island has the school just for you: The College of Piping and Celtic Performing Arts. Affiliated with Glasgow's College of piping, this school people come to learn from all around the world. New Zealand pipers, Japanese pipers, Kuwaiti pipers, Singapore pipers, and yes, even Scottish pipers have learned here.

The College of Piping also has classes in Highland and Step Dancing, and Drumming. Prince Edward Island was originally inhabited by the mi'kmaq, and the 2006 census identified 90 people who still speak mi'kmaq. The population identifies itself mainly as Scottish, English, Irish and French (in that order), so the Celtic influence on Prince Edward Island is strong.

Price Edward Island may be just the place to connect with your inner Celt, and learn the pipes. I'll be learning to play sometime soon, so I expect you will be sitting down for a piping session with me.

If headed to piping school please checkout these cheap flights to Canada.

#22 Go Mumming in Newfoundland

2010-04-09T19:02:00.000-04:00

Winter does not seem like the time to visit Canada, but there is more than one reason to make the trek north in the coldest, longest days of the year. My last winter suggestion for the frozen upperlands was to visit in the winter to experience the Northern Lights. But, there are even stranger things happening in Canada in the winter than the wondrous Northern Lights.

Newfoundland is home to a 200 year old Christmas tradition: Mummers visiting from home to home, or as it is also called among the Newfoundlanders "belsnicklers."

Here in Salem, I organized a Mummers Festival in 2008, but this is not the same as a spontaneous event with masked marauders knocking on your door and taking over your home with a party, demanding to be fed and given drink.

In St. John's there is an annual Mummer's Parade, and it certainly would be worth it to watch the parade, but I want to go mumming in Newfoundland! I want to dress up and go house marauding creating parties as I travel with friends. Who would not want to do that!? It must be on your "bucket list" of things to do before you die.

You will need a ticket to Canada first, if you are going in the fun, festive, albeit cold winter season. Check out the cheap flights to Montreal.

#21 Guinness, Guinness and more Guinness

2010-04-09T17:27:00.001-04:00

As strange as it may seem to someone in the United States, the number one tourist attraction in all of Ireland is a brewery. Of course, this isn't just any brewery, it is the famous Guinness Brewery, and the Guinness Storehouse (as it is called) is high on my list of places to go before I die.

The fact that it is in Ireland is reason enough. The fact that it is a brewery is enough reason for me to want to visit. The Guinness Storehouse rises high on the list apart from these reasons. Its storied history is the reason a stop at St. James's Gate Brewery in Dublin is in order.

The founder Arthur Guinness heard a sermon from John Wesley one Sunday, and it became inspiration for his life's work. As Wesley often enjoined people "Earn all you can. Save all you can. Give all you can. Your wealth is evidence of a calling from God, so use your abundance for the good of mankind." Arthur Guinness went on to practice this command of Wesley's.

He gave large sums to the poor, and helped found Sunday Schools. This same ethic was passed on to the generations of Guinness family members who took over the company. During World War II sent every British soldier a can of Guinness with his Christmas meal.

In the late 18th century when the polluted city water was dangerous for one's health, and the country was in a Gin Craze it was the drinking of Guinness which helped stem the tide of sickness and of severe alcoholism.

You'll need a car to get around Ireland, and can find a great deal at this Dublin airport car hire. Perhaps we'll meet at the Saint James's Gate Brewery. Its on my bucket list. Is it on yours?

#20 - County Donegal and a real Irish pub

2010-04-09T16:36:00.001-04:00

I want to go to an Irish pub - a real Irish pub. I am sure I will need to go County Donegal to accomplish this task.

Wednesday Night I was in Boston in an Irish Pub. Boston is home to a number of good Irish pubs, but when it comes to Irish pubs I am sure I have not really been to one yet. I want traditional Irish music with fiddlers, and accordions, and tin whistles, but I am sure that will still not be a real Irish pub.

What I will be missing is the Irish language, and for this reason going to rugged northern reaches of Ireland and County Donegal to see the stone circles, the dolmens, the castles, the cliffs, and of course - the pubs is on my list of 1,000 things to do before I die.

This list of 115 pubs is a good starting place for finding your way around the pub life of County Donegal. You will also need a car, and can find a good deal at this Dublin car rental company.

Donegal is about three hour drive from Dublin. Along the way you can take a detour and climb Saint Patrick's mountain in Murrisk, but be sure to visit the rugged, beautiful coastline, see the castles, and most of all do a pub tour for the music of Ireland, and the music of the Irish language. This is on my list of things to do. How about you?

#19 - Compete in the World Bog Snorkelling Championships

2010-04-01T13:20:00.001-04:00

My business partner Gareth posted something about this on Facebook today, and the post reminded me that it was something I've been needing to add to my list of things to do before I die. Check out the Youtube embedded video below, and consider what a great accomplishment and wonderful life goal it would be to train for and compete in the Bog Snorkelling Championship in Llanwrtyd Wells, Wales. You just might want to add it your bucket list of 1,000 things to do before you die.

#18 Stone Brewery (Accomplished!)

2010-03-31T22:43:00.000-04:00

Visiting friends and family back in my home area of North San Diego County, California I stopped for a tour at Stone Brewery in Escondido, CA.

They have been in their newest location for a few years and it is impressive. Fine gardens are found at the entrance from the upper lot, and outside the classy bistro. Even the men's bathroom is a work of art. Yet, strangely their facility does not even have their name on it. So, you had better know the address when you pass by.

The micro brew world has taken off in America, and nowhere is this so evident as the San Diego area, which boasts over 30 craft breweries. It has become a haven for fine, innovative ales, and the big daddy of the craft brewers is Stone Brewery. A craft brewer with equipment this large, and making this much beer is a beautiful thing in a world of cheap, watery American beer.

The 45 minute tour begins under the pirate flag, and ends with a sampling of four beers (small samples mind you.) The tour is interactive and allows for questions about the brewing process. Hops are passed around to smell, the malted grain is passed around to taste. The brewery is immaculate, and large. This is an impressive operation, and they highlight fun mixed with a good smattering of irreverence, and education. Our tour guide, Daniel offered all of that.

Beer Advocate describes Stone Brewing as the "All time top brewery on planet earth..." having received the highest rating ever. So, if you like a good ale, this is the place to visit. I went with my friends Steve, Justin, and Jim. They agreed. It was a rippin' fun tour. You should add it to your list of things to do before you die.

#17 - The Gaint's Causeway

2010-03-31T15:29:00.001-04:00

The giant's name was Finn McCool ( Fionn mac Cumhaill in Irish). There are variations on the myth, but the story is that he was challenged to a fight with a Scottish giant, and built the causeway to Scotland to battle the giant Benandonner.

Now one tale says that McCool fell asleep and his wife had to cover him with a blanket to pretend that he was her baby, and when Benandonner saw the size of the baby he fled and tore up the bridge to Scotland behind him.

This geological phenomenon is a classic example of the truth being stranger than fiction. This area of over 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, some almost 40 ft. high, is one of the great wonders of the world. This is Northern Ireland's most visited tourist site, and was voted 4th on the list of natural wonders of the UK by a Radio Times Poll.

Other basalt columns can be found around the world, such as the Devil's Postpile near Mammoth Mtn, California, but the location of the Giant's Causeway on the edge of the Irish sea in Northern Ireland places this higher on my list than the others.

You will want to rent a car if coming from Dublin. The Giant's causeway is 3 miles north of the village of Bushmills, or about 3 and a half hours north of Dublin. This Dublin car rental will give you a good deal.

The Giant's Causeway makes my list of things to see before I die. How about you? Is it on your bucket list?

#16 - Climbing Croagh Patrick (Murrisk, County Mayo, Ireland)

2010-03-31T14:08:00.001-04:00

In a world of pilgrimages, this may not be among the greatest tests at 2533 ft., but it certainly packs a spiritual wallop.

This mountain in Murrisk, Mayo County, Ireland 5 miles from the town of Westport is reputed to have been a place of worship for 5,000 years. Now, whether that is true or not pales in comparison to the legendary connection to Ireland's patron saint, and one of my heros: Saint Patrick.

Patrick of course, was not Irish, but rather was a missionary who felt called to the foreign land from his native Britain (today's Wales.) So, some of my friends celebrate Saint Patrick's Day as a Welsh holiday. Here's my song to commemorate Saint Patrick.

This is the most important Catholic pilgrimage in Ireland. Nearly a million visitors scramble up the scree scattered slopes each year. Some even do so barefooted, though the Catholic Church does not recommend it.

Tradition and a bit of rural myth tell us that in 441 AD Patrick fasted for 40 days upon this mountain, and banished the demons and the snakes from Ireland.

The walk up the mountain includes a statue of Patrick erected by a Westport pastor in 1928, and 7 stations of prayer on the way to the summit.

I am not Catholic, but my interest lies in remembering one of history's greatest missionaries, and prolific church planters, as well as following in the footsteps of one of the most influential Welshmen in history.

If you make this trip you will need a car. Croagh Patrick lies 228 km west of Dublin. You can get some of your best deals at this Dublin Airport Car Hire. Then you'll be off to walk the steps of Patrick in County Mayo, Ireland.

It makes my list of things to do before I die. Does it make yours?

Canadian Northern Lights: Update on #12

2010-03-15T13:59:00.001-04:00

For those of you following my list of things to do before I die. You will have seen that I want to go to the far reaches of the northern hemisphere to see the aurora borealis - commonly referred to as the northern lights. It is #12 on my list.

The northern lights require darkness. From mid-August until April is typically a good time to catch the Northern Lights depending on how far north you are. The best viewing occurs at the darkest and coldest times - January being a peak month for viewing the aurora borealis.

Ontario even boasts a scenic drive dedicated to the Northern Lights among other natural wonders. Visiting the northern lights in the dark seasons in Canada will require bundling up in warm clothing. You will be visiting one of the world's colder climes during the colder months. So, be prepared when you catch a cheap flight to Canada to pack for cold weather, and don't forget to bring your camera.

#15 The Passion Play at Oberammergau

2010-03-15T13:18:00.000-04:00

I first heard about this town in Germany, which performs the Passion Play about the crucifixion of Christ once every 10 years, and has been doing so for hundreds of years when I was in junior high. Since that time I have wanted to go to Oberammergau.

This year marks the 40th running of the Passion Play. In 1633 the town made a vow to God. They would perform the Passion of the Christ once every ten years if they would be spared from the ravages of the bubonic plague. The town was spared, and they have been performing the Passion Play every ten years for almost 400 with breaks, which occurred only for wars. From May through September the Passion Play is performed daily, and is viewed by half a million people. There will be 110 performances in 2010.

I am not sure if I will make this decade's performances, but Oberammergau is a miracle story - and not the least of the miracle being that they kept their promise for 400 years. This puts the Passion Play at Oberammergau high on my list of things to do before I die.

#14 Go to the Busker's Festivals!

2010-03-08T15:23:00.003-05:00

Each summer Canada's largest Busker's Festival enlivens the days and lights up the nights in Halifax Nova Scotia. Six stages on the waterfront become a feast for the eyes, ears and mind. Break dancers, fire spinners, and street performers of all variety take the stages and entertain people for 10 days each August.

Along with a rugged coastline of rocky shores and sandy beaches the Halifax area has a lively nightlife to entertain and keep you busy from dawn to dark. Other events in such as Shakespeare by the Sea, and the Royal Nova Scotia Tattoo fill the summer months with non-stop fun.

In Ottawa, Canada's second largest busker's festival happens at the Spark's Street Mall at the end of July and beginning of August. Street performers on the sidewalks and stages of North America's most beautiful cities help transform a nice time into a unforgettable experience. Add visiting some of the great busker festivals to your list of things to do while traveling Canada. Get yourself some cheap flights to Canada this summer and check out the Busker's Festivals along with everything else Canada has to offer. I'll meet you there, and maybe we can both check it off our bucket list.

#13 - Learn to play the bagpipes

2010-03-06T21:48:00.000-05:00

I have become a significantly accomplished guitar player. I can hokey around on the mandolin. I can handle a few woodwinds still. I can pull off being a simple beat man with djembe or congos, but there are a few instruments I have wanted to learn to play. Accordion is high on my list, but now even higher are the bagpipes - no, not those noisy drive you out the room with your fingers in your ears bagpipes which are made by the Scottish, but these Welsh bagpipes being tuned up by my friend John Glenydd. Well his real last name is Evans, but they call him Glenydd, because that's his house address in Llanfihangel-ar-Arth - how Welsh.

Cadair Idris on Video #2

2010-03-06T17:03:00.000-05:00

Here are the next three video clips. Climbing/arriving/down the next day. Unfortunately I could not get my camera to work early in the morning for the sunrise. It got grumpy and said it too cold. The first three clips of the climb can be found here.

Cadair Idris on Video #1

2010-03-06T16:49:00.001-05:00

I posted pictures of my climb and descent at Cadair Idris here and here before I returned from Wales. For the reason I wanted to do this sleep over go here.

I am finally getting to posting these video clips I took on the climb. Most Cadair Idris photos and video shots are taken in the summer so these show harsher winter scenes with their own unique beauty. Plus it's simple proof I was there and slept on the mountain in the winter. There are about 6 video clips I will post in two blog postings. So here it is:

part two of the video series

How do I get from the USA to Wales?!

2010-03-03T23:26:00.004-05:00

So, on my trip to Wales last month I had to fly into London to get to Wales. Alright, what's up with that? There are no flights to Wales from the US right now.

#11 Accomplished! World's Oldest Record Shop and Young Welsh Musician

2010-02-25T14:05:00.004-05:00

Yeah! I have accomplished #11 on my list of things to do before I die. Right now I am back in Brecon for the evening (so I can visit the brewery in the morning before I head home to Boston), and am sitting in a sports pub called the Lounge.

It is getting noisy around me, but I do a good job of blocking out a noisy world to sit in my own sacred space. It is Football (read "Soccer" for we Americans) Night Man Utd. and West Ham the sign says.

Back to my point: After last week's near miss with going inside Spiller's Records, I decided to meet Sarah Louise Owen in front of the record store. Sarah is from Caernarfon (my favorite city in Wales right now), but recently moved to Cardiff.

I am trying to get Welsh musicians to come to the US through Boston, and wanted to talk with Sarah so we met at Spiller's. So, here's the proof: I met with Sarah, and went to the oldest record store in the world.

#11 on my list of one thousand things to do before I die is accomplished. I even bought a couple Welsh band CDs while there - under Sarah's watchful eye, and helpful hints. I wanted to buy one of her CDs but she insisted on me not doing that so she could give me some of them. We stayed long enough to experience the store, pencil a check on my list (not really), and go to find a place for tea.

Here's Spiller's on the inside. It is not so exciting as a shop, but the mystique is cool enough to make it worth it if you visit Cardiff, and necessary if you are an audiophile. Check #11 off on my list!

Some pics from Wales

2010-02-24T10:39:00.004-05:00

These guys became my buddies in Brecon rather quickly. Then again, the guy to the left is "Skin." That's what he says people call him. He has it tattooed on his right earlobe to prove it. I think everyone in town knows Skin. ;-) This is The Lounge. I think I like the Lounge. I liked Skin too. They found out I pastor a church, and wanted to sing hymns like good Welshmen, but they couldn't sing worth beans.

Stopped at Felinfoel brewery. Now Skin told me about the nickname "Feeling Foul." Of course, others told me that name too. Skin says it was because it was a great brew to drink, but it was a bit rough when you left the pub. Well, I do enjoy Double Dragon. Look at all the antique beer cans here. Spent some time with Phil Lewis at Felinfoel - fun stop. We need more Double Dragon in the US.

Here are some of the students from Atlantic College. We went to St. Illtud's in Llantwit Major. Alish with the red hair is from North Wales, and speaks fluent Welsh. They are looking at a medallion in the stones at St. Illtud's with the zodiac on it. Jeepers! You'd never find that in a modern Christian church.

This is what happens to old men who visit St. Illtud's. They become part of the landscape or the furniture.

And the winner is...

2010-02-24T04:09:00.000-05:00

Stephen Nicholson from Swindon, UK.

He figured out what weird thing I was eating with Mike and Jules at the Turkish Restaurant in Walthamstow. As a pastor of a church there did seem to be be something a bit perverse to eating this dish - kind of like being a television evangelist taking 30 minute offerings, and sending out healing prayer napkins in promise for $100 or more.

But, as Jules said, "Oh these are really quite nice!"

the answer is obvious in the menu photo below.

#12 See the Northern Lights

2010-02-23T18:36:00.000-05:00

What else do I need to say? Going to far reaches of the north and seeing the aurora borealis is high on my list of things I want to do before I die.

Now Mike and Jules are talking about doing in the next 5 to 6 years, and I am currently sitting with them in their home in Walthamstow. Of course, Jules also helped encourage me to be part of the eating weird things event at the Turkish restaurant. Well, okay maybe I don't seriously need a lot of help to do something weird, but she is a pretty good instigator.

So back to the point. They want me to join them when they go to Norway for the Northern Lights. Hmmmmmm...not a bad idea. Then again, Canada is closer to where I live.

Eating weird things in Walthamstow

2010-02-23T07:02:00.002-05:00

Mike and Jules are friends I stay with every time I come to the UK. Everyone who has joined me here has stayed with them as well. They have also returned the favor to stay with us in Salem, MA. So, many of you will know Mike and Jules.

The other night we went to a Turkish restaurant around the corner on St. James Street. A two block walk and we were at a really nice little restaurant in downtown Walthamstow. The place is called Cinar Turkish Restaurant. Seriously good food, and great service.

We looked at the menu and laughed at one item. Then decided to get it, and try it out. Can you guess what is on my fork?

If you can guess what it is I'll buy you a dish of it at Cinar Turkish Restaurant next time we are in Walthamstow together. At the very least I will announce you as winner across my various noisy social networking platforms from Twitter to my Blogs, and add links to you as well.

I am not sure I would have thought about adding it to my list, but eating strange things from other ethnic food groups certainly was going to appear on the list. So this is one of them accomplished - somewhat accidentally.

Near Miss on #11 - Dang.

2010-02-23T05:01:00.001-05:00

So there I was in Cardiff. Looking for a place with wi-fi to connect with Eleri and John. I needed to touch base about the time we were meeting for dinner at their house. In the back of my mind I realized I should be quick, because I could accomplish #11 on my list of 1,000 things to do before I die if I had enough time between communicating with people and going to dinner.

Found the Starbucks (a place I hate for internet connections, because I do not like coffee, and am not on their plan, and have to pay for it), connected and talked with Eleri. Then I made a few more contacts.

I left Starbucks a little after 6pm, and meandered out onto the wonderful market place of Cardiff. Wide shopping mall lanes, which were once streets, Saint David's Shopping Centre is a comfortable market. I glanced across the street from Starbucks, and gloriously in front of me was Spiller's Records.

I made haste across the street, and noticed that behind the overly busy windows it looked too dark for browsing inside. I now stood gloomily in front of the door reading the hours. Spiller's Records closes at 5:45pm. Ouch.

If you make it Saint David's Mall and are looking for Spiller's here is their website. If you find yourself near the Cardiff library you are almost there. Maybe I will see you there. I still have to make it.

Accomplished #1: Descending and Still Alive to Tell the Tale

2010-02-19T20:09:00.001-05:00

Josh asked me if I had a death wish. Sensible enough question I suppose given the circumstances of life. Stephen was regularly posting lifesaving devices and weather reports from Cadair Idris, and even sent along some helpful items for the trip. Jodi just wanted to make sure that I returned home alive.

It is winter and a cold one in Wales with more snow that usual. Even this morning, 4 days after my sleepover on Cadair Idris I am in Caernarfon and it snowed here on the coast this morning. Cadair on the other hand is known for wild and wicked weather. Mountain Rescue spends a good amount of time pulling people off this deceptively dangerous mountain. It's height of just under 3,000 ft. and it's danger factor are not equal comparisons.

I ascended with waterproof pants, Gortex hat (which got lost on the ascent), Gortex coat, heavy gloves, boots designed for subzero temperatures, under layers for warmth, and a subzero sleeping bag in my backpack.

Now, on the other hand it had turned out to be a decent day. Ascending was not going to be the problem on that afternoon. I still had to sleep over in a stone hut. Hidden from the elements - except the dangerously low cold temps.

Sleeping bag did the job. Although I was terribly uncomfortable, I was generally toasty through the night.

So, I arose just before dawn to these sights: A rising sun, lights of the villages below snaking thruogh the valleys, and clouds to the south beneath the mountain top.

Once i had packed my bags it was time to descend the mountain. The sights on the way down were as breathtaking as those ascending the previous day. My hip had not recovered fully from the pinched nerve feeling, and although going downhill was easier it was still a struggle to keep moving. Stopping to take some of these photos helped. There were alien snowscapes, beautiful views, and stream to drink from (hopefully not too much sheep poo in the stream, but then these are the waters at the famous Ty Nant.

Once I arrived at the car park I found my beloved Gortex hat by the car. It had been returned there for me by descending hikers the previous day. This is one of many reasons everyone should come to Wales - it is a friendly, helpful place in my experiences. There were other people preparing to ascend as I returned. Two guys from England, and two Welsh ladies. One lady asked if I had already gone up and back down that day. I replied that I only had come down, because I slept on the mountain.

She replied, "Are you pulling my leg?"

"No, I slept on the mountain last night."

"Are you pulling my leg?" she replied again.

"No, I slept on the top of the mountain last night."

The guys responded at this point, "Well, you have our respect."

I am hoping to get a little decent poetic prowess over this - that's all. Or maybe, having a good story to tell my future grandkids, or spin in a pub someday will be good enough.

for information on climbing Cadair Idris, and it's various routes see my initial post on the mountain.

Accomplished #1: Climbing Cadair Idris

2010-02-18T19:30:00.003-05:00

I pulled into Dolgellau later in the day than I had planned. It was about noon, which meant that I would not begin my ascent of Cadair Idris until 1pm. This would turn out to be perfect timing. Since I was in Dolgellau I chose to take the longer, easier route up the mountain, which was also the closest to town. This is called the Pony Path, and begins just outside Dolgellau at the car park for Ty Nant. Above is the picture of the mountain looking over the farmhouse at Ty Nant. Cadair Idris is an imposing sight despite it's smallness as a mountain.

The Pony Path is one of the easy routes up the mountain, but being out of shape and carrying a large pack with my sub-zero sleeping bag and other overnight needs I was definitely stretched even in some of the early parts of the walk. Somewhere along the second half of the climb I was having some significant pain in my hip, which felt like a pinching nerve. This caused me to have to stop every couple hundred yards as I neared the top, and slowed my progress sufficiently enough to wonder if I would be okay with this crazy plan to sleep on the mountain in the winter.

To make matters worse I had dropped my beloved black gortex hat somewhere along the path while rearranging my gear, and it was too late to go back for it by the time I realized what happened. There were other hikers going up and down the mountain, and I asked them to leave it at the car if they found it on the way down, but I gave up seeing my old hat ever again.

I reached the summit as the last people descending were leaving. Between stopping for the many photos I took and to sit down and rest my hip it was a long slow climb. It was clear for most of the climb. This is somewhat rare for Cadair Idris I am told, but as I reached Pen-y-Cadair (the summit) a bank of gray clouds rushed in from the west like a fast moving train, and enveloped me, and the top of Cadair.

Just below the peak was a stone hut, which is used by campers to spend the night. Needless to say I was the only one there on this winter night. So, I hunkered down in the hut, and set up my sleeping spot on a wooden bench which was frozen with an thin ice sheet across it's top.

This darn mountain had better make poets out of madmen, because I was sleeping on an ice sheet like a madman and the legend that sleeping on the mountain will make you mad or a poet was going to be at least half true by the time the night was over.

Below are some of my many photos of the climb:

a passage up the mountain between some craggy barren trees. The land of Wales so often reminds me of the stories from J.R.R. Tolkien's stories The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. It is such scenes as this which bring this to mind.

As I came to the top of the first section of the walk a couple was standing on the mountain. People of all ages, couples, friends, runners, day hikers, and those on a daily regimen workout were coming and going. This was not a large number on this winter day, but I can imagine that the numbers do grow large in the summer months.

In the second section of the climb this was the first real view of the summit. If you click on the picture you will see the monument cairn which marks the Pen-y-Gadair (the top of the chair) Cadair Idris means The Chair of Idris - for more on the name see my post here

The Pony Path winds close along the edge of steep cliffs as it nears the top. In the winter it is not recommended to stray to close to the edge as ice shelves, and snow banks can give way and go plunging down the face of the mountain.

The cairn at the peak as seen in winter from the Pony Path.

My humble abode for the evening. Toasty and accommodating looking isn't it? This is surely a five-star resort. I'd better get some good poetry coming out of me after staying here!

This is my comfy little set up on a frozen bench in the Pen-y-Gadair hut. Of course the flash on my camera is making look a lot more inviting than the reality of arriving just before sunset with a gray cloud bank chasing me up to the summit.

The dramatic rush of deep gray clouds which enveloped me can not be captured by still photography, but here you can see the front edge of the cloud bank as I near the summit. The mountain went from bright and sunny to gray and dreary in moments.

The next post will cover waking and descending Cadair Idris. The verdict is still out on my insanity or my poetic prowess.

part two of the photos and story

Sleeping at St. Donat's Castle

2010-02-17T16:06:00.004-05:00

#9 on my list of things to do before I die was accomplished a couple days ago. Friday, Feb. 12th I was asked to be the guest lecturer for the Atlantic College students for their Friday evening lectures. I also had the opportunity to sleep over in the "Lloyd George room" so named because the famous Prime Minister slept there. Supposedly Charlie Chaplain once took a bath in the huge tub in the room as well.

This castle is one of the oldest castles still being inhabited in the UK. William Randolph Hearst bought the castle and it become his playground for a time. Other ancient building were dismantled and brought to Llantwit Major in the most southerly part of Wales to enlarge the castle. The room I lectured in was one of these rooms. Known as Bradenstoke Hall it was once Bradenstoke Abbey.

Special thanks to all the students I hung out with for the two days there. I had a blast.

The bathroom in the Lloyd George room was a bit outrageous. Even the toilet was named "The Venerable" That reminded me of St. Bede, but I probably shouldn't have had that thought in my head.

My trip through Wales so far

2010-02-11T07:20:00.001-05:00

I have been in Wales four days now. It has been a whirlwind of a tour so far. Pictures will come soon, but until then here's the quick of the story:

Stayed at Llanover chapel and experienced an evening service on Monday night with students from Korea. Apparently over 500 Koreans a year pilgrimage to Hanover Chapel (English spelling) because Robert Jermain Thomas was martyred in Korea as a missionary, and the Korean Christians come to honor his memory at Llanover chapel. My friend Stephen Price and his wife Stella purchased the parsonage and are fixing it up for people to be able to stay there. They could use your help - check them out here.

The next day I was taken on a tour of Cardiff by the recently retired CEO of the Cardiff Council. Byron Davies is quite proud of his city and gives a great tour with political/historical insights. That evening we had a Welsh North American Business Chamber meeting at the Cayo Arms Pub in Cardiff with about 50 people. Byron and I lead the meeting, and Connie Parry from Tomos Watkin Brewery provided free beer.

Yesterday I was in Swansea, and while at Starbucks (never really a good place for internet access) I ran into someone I knew from serving at the Gorlan in the Eisteddfod at Maes B.

I have since the traveled to the brewery, gone to the Penderyn Distillery in the little village of Penderyn at the foothills of the Brecon Beacons, and I am writing from a pub/coffee-house called The Lounge in the city of Brecon right now. It is the best place I have found yet for a American to get easy internet access from his Mac. BTOpen does not always make it easy. Plus The Lounge is just kinda cool.

I have been all across south Wales so far from Abergavenny (Y Fenni in Welsh) to Swansea, and am headed to the Felinfoel Brewery in Llanelli this afternoon.

I will be here until the 20th, so there are going to be more tales to tell.

Boston's Freedom Trail

2010-02-03T08:50:00.000-05:00

A red line snakes through the city of Boston. Like a child enamored with a grade school teacher your imagination rushes through stories learned in your youth. The trail leads through graveyards with names like John Hancock, and the Old North Church where Paul Revere held his lanterns to declare "two if by sea."

Wisely one begins the Freedom Trail at Faneuil Hall, where John Adams called for independence. Upon returning - your head bursting with history, your heart beating with the wild fight for freedom, you sit down in the marketplace behind Faneuil Hall. In the cradle of liberty you take your lunch break among rows of culinary options, and digest your day in the belly of freedom's birthplace.

Boston is just a four-hour trip north-east from your New York City break. For an adventure all its own you can capture one of the Chinese bus lines (Lucky Star, or Fung Wah) for $15 for a one-way trip. They typically run all day and night beginning in New York’s China Town and dropping you off near Boston’s China Town at South Station.

The Freedom Trail packs loads of history in a small space, and is set among other places of interest such as The North End (Boston’s Italian community and a culinary theme park), the New England Aquarium, and the Holocaust Memorial.

I live near Boston. This is one of my one thousand things, which I have returned to many times.

Nat Sherman, New York City

2010-01-25T21:26:00.000-05:00

Dwarfed among the massive high rise buildings, and flagship fashion stores of New York City is the modest throwback tobacconist reminiscent of the 19th century. The quaint two-story structure with the look of an old clock maker's shop draws your attention back down to street level.

Entering the shop one is transported into a nineteenth century novel, you feel the subtle gentility and antiqueness descend peacefully upon you. This is typically considered the man's world of cigars, but the growing number of women cigar smokers would find this stop not far from Times Square a pleasant surprise.

Nat Sherman Tobacconist is worthy stop for any cigar afficiando on a New York City break. My visit was a peaceful stop in a bustling city. Strolling down the famous 5th Avenue, and turning the corner on 42nd Street I was captured by the quaintness of the building, and once inside I was ushered into a woody library of cigars and tobacco paraphernalia. Helpful and kind staff, a wide variety of their trademark cigars, and a comfortable atmosphere make a stop at Nat Sherman a must stop for the cigar lover.

Adding to my stop at Calle Ocho in Miami Nat Sherman is part of my list I have accomplished already.

#11 - Go to the world's oldest record store

2010-01-21T11:17:00.002-05:00

At this point I am not quite sure how high each of the things on my list I want to do really belong. It is not easy to number them in importance, or interest. So I will number them as they come to me. This does belong on my list of 1,000, and I have a chance of fulfilling it in a couple weeks.

Spillers is the world's oldest record store. It is in Caerdydd (Cardiff), Wales. In 1894 the store was opened, and it has remained in business since then. It is not in the original location, but it is just around the corner in a space they had to move to in 1940, because they needed more room.

For me the experience is increased by the fact that it is in Caerdydd, Wales. This means that the selection of Welsh music will better than anything I can find in the US.

I will be returning with pics from my stop at Spillers, and will post them here.

#10 - Grow Dreadlocks

2010-01-21T10:05:00.001-05:00

On the list of 1,000 things to do before I die I just had to add grow dreadlocks. How could I not add this to the list? I have long had a not so secret desire to have dreads. Just think - I could become the "dreaded pastor!"

I am not sure that I will do it, but I had to add it to the list, and I figure that at some point I just might say to myself, "Ah heck, why not? go for it."

If I do I will consult www.howtodread.com. The pic of the cool dude in mad dreads came from them.

Now be honest - how many of you hold a secret yearning to wear dreads?

Update on #1 (Cadair Idris), and #9 - maybe

2010-01-21T09:55:00.001-05:00

I have my ticket to Wales. I will be headed there on February 5th on an American Airlines red-eye flight, and returning on February 22nd at a decent time of day. I had enough points with a card to have to pay only the taxes, which were over $150, but that still beats any other price.

I will be south Wales for the first week, and then head north. I will spend sometime with Paul Allen at The Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) in Machynlleth, and my #1 thing to do before I die is very near CAT. So I am planning on climbing Cadair Idris. I suppose I might change my mind if the weather is too crazy for climbing and spending the night, but at this point I figure that climbing in the winter is a mad thing to do - that means according to the myth I should come down the next day a poet. Go up mad, return a poet - not a bad exchange. Of course, I could simply end up twice as crazy.

I will be lecturing at a castle on the 12th, and am looking forward to that experience. Atlantic College meets in a castle. Maybe I can find a way to stay there as well, and then I could fulfill #9 on my list as well.

Salem, Massachusetts in October - Must See! Must Do!

2010-01-14T10:01:00.002-05:00

If you are anywhere near Massachusetts in the Fall, there are enough reasons to visit Salem to place it on the list of 100 things to do before you die. If you are on a New York City break, or simply in the New England area Boston is not far, and Salem is a short 30 minutes north of Boston.

Going to Salem was on my top 5 list years ago. So I moved here, and now I run large events each October. It is still on my top 5 list 10 years later.

Reasons to come to Salem in October: 1) This may be the only place in the world where Halloween is a month long holiday! 2) Salem is in the heart of the world's most beautiful Fall foliage, and it peaks in the third week of October typically. 3) American's origins explode in visual history across our city, and not only in reference to the Witch Trials of 1692-1693. 4) For people who love old architecture Salem is a feast for the eyes. There is a reason that Salem is the second most popular tourist location in Massachusetts after Boston.

Salem has great restaurants and a wildly active schedule of fun things to do each October. The events cover its history, simple Halloween shenanigans, fun albeit sometimes kitschy shopping (but who can resist the occasional fun kitsch?!), and spiritual experiences for the spiritually adventurous.

Despite its deserved reputation for being the Witchcity it is a fantastic place to bring your children. October is filled with family friendly events. From the first Thursday of the month when the Halloween Parade begins the season, to the 31st when 100,000 people might descend upon this city of 40,000 Salem is an October visitors feast of the imagination.

If you can't make it on October - don't worry, anytime is fine to come to Salem. I like this place so much I moved here, and after 10 years my heart still considers this home, and the most interesting place I have ever lived. If you make it here be sure to come and say hi.

It was high on my list of 1,000 things to do before I die, and I can scratch it off as accomplished. I live here now.

Update on #7: Got my ticket!

2010-01-14T08:40:00.000-05:00

Yesterday tickets went on sale for Burning Man. They started at 10:30am PST. I did not get home from a lunch meeting until about 2pm EST. That meant I was half and hour later than the online sales began. I went online and started outt somewhere around #8000 in line. Three and a half hours later I had tickets.

See you non August 30th Rob, Scott and the rest of you Streaming Burners!

#9 Sleep Overnight in a Castle

2010-01-08T23:50:00.001-05:00

As is obvious to even the most casual observer of this blog - I am Cymrucentric. The top of my list involves things to do in Cymru (Wales). Although sleeping overnight in a castle anywhere would be fun, doing it in Wales would be even better. Wales has more castles than anywhere in the world for its area. If the English weren't building them to keep the Welsh down, the Welsh were building them to try to keep the English away. So now there 600 or so castles or remains of castles across a land the size of Massachusetts. That's almost enough castles for everybody to own one!

I've been to Caernarfon which walls still run through the city, Caerphilly (where there are working siege machines!), Chepstow sitting high above the Wye River, and a host of smaller ruins some of which names I can not remember. I have yet to sleep in a castle though.

There are some castles in Wales which have become accommodations for tourists. Craig-y-Nos, which I have driven past a dozen times, and have not been able to stop yet was once the home of famous opera Diva Adelina Patti. Castell Ruthin (Ruthin Castle) also offers accommodations and fine dining.

I am hoping to go a little more rustic and hang with some students at Atlantic College where I will lecture in February, and stay the night St. Donat's Castle in the Vale of Glamorgan. Someone's working on that for me - we'll see.

Catch a Moonbow - Cumberland Falls, KY

2010-01-01T21:28:00.007-05:00

During an April in early 1990's we spent a week in Kentucky. Typically one visits thoroughbred farms, and all sorts of horse related locations like racetracks, and museums. We did this as well, but what stands out for me was the phenomenon of the moonbow.

At Cumberland Falls near the Tennessee border is the only location in the Western hemisphere where this occurs regularly. During a full moon, a white bow can be viewed in the spray of the falls at night.

We stayed in a cabin which is part of the Cumberland Falls State Resort Park. The Kentucky Park system is one of the best in the US, and the cabins were comfortable, clean and more than one might expect from a State run program.

Dogwood forest surrounded the area, and at this time in April the flowers were falling from the trees, and spinning like fairies to the forest ground.

Once the sun went down, and darkness crept in upon us, we made our way down to the falls. Scores of visitors were there to experience the moonbow, and stood at top of the falls, or along the railing of the steps which made their way down to the river side at the foot of the falls. During that first visit no moonbow was visible, and it was obvious that the moon was not positioned correctly to catch the mist at the foot of the falls.

Going back to the cabin we decided to visit later after the moon rose higher in the night sky. An hour later we returned. The crowds had thinned a little, but the moonbow was still illusive, and moon and the mist had yet to meet.

I repeated this process of going back to the cabin, and returning to the falls to capture the moonbow 3 more times. By the last visit the others had given up, and I made the trek to the falls alone. Not being one for giving up easily on opportunities for rare phenomenon I returned to the falls at 2:30am. The progressively thinning crowds had now diminished to one other man and myself.

At 2:30 in the morning, there it was - a band of white light like a night time albino rainbow captured in the mist of Cumberland Falls.

For you my friends from the UK, who are looking to experience some of America's coolest things look for the pot at the end of the moonbow at Cumberland Falls you can catch flights to Orlando Florida. If a rainbow has a pot of gold at the end of it maybe the moonbow has diamonds. It certainly is high on my list of romantic scenes to discover. Just be sure to bring someone who can stay awake through the night, or you might be left at the falls with a stranger.

This may be on my list of a thousand things to do, but it is one of the things I have covered, and can scratch off my list of a thousand as accomplished.

#8 - Chase Tornadoes

2009-12-31T19:52:00.003-05:00

There is not much to say about #8 on my list of 1,000 things I want to do before I die, except that I have always wanted to chase tornadoes. Who wouldn't want to chase a tornado?

This certainly tops my list of fun-filled, adrenaline pumping old west kind of excitement. Anybody want to go on a tornado hunting expedition with me sometime? Come on! I know there are others out there who want to do this.

Robert Prentice provides some good information on the best time to chase tornadoes and some more good info here.

A page by famous storm chaser Chuck Doswell with links to other chaser pages.

#7 Join My Friends at Burning Man

2009-12-25T17:01:00.002-05:00

Okay, I know. A pastor who wants to go to Burning Man sounds strange to you - that week long experience of heathenist over-indulgence in the middle of the barren Nevada desert.

I have friends who have been going there for years, and serving the Burners with water for the body, and refreshment for the soul. Rob Mazza, and Scott Evelyn helped start the outreach, and their work has become one of the top 5 spiritual experiences at Burning Man. This is my kind of experience. It is the kind of stuff we have been doing in Salem, MA for 10 years now. I need to get to the Burning Man experience at least once before I stretch out to new outreach experiences.

#6 Walk Hadrian's Wall

2009-12-25T15:56:00.002-05:00

In 122AD the Roman's occupying Britain began building what we now call Hadrian's Wall - probably to hold back the onslaught of those barbaric hordes from further north in what is now Scotland, and to ensure stability of the empire. Good portions of this wall, which is now in Northern England are entact. It is a UNESCO world heritage site.

Walking the whole length of the wall is an 84 mile hike. People typically walk it in the summer, and it is the most walked trail in Northern England. I think I'd like to walk it off-season personally.

I walked the Wye Valley in Wales/England slightly off-season, and we met only a few walkers along the path. Now that is my idea of a walking tour.

I would prefer to camp along the way, but a wall walker could stop in more luscious accommodations - I suppose (from B&Bs to Hotels to a Castle!)

#5 Pilgrimage to Lindisfarne

2009-12-19T12:00:00.005-05:00

I am developing my list of things I want to do, all related to places I want go. As you follow this blog you will note my numbered list items. (Like this one which is #5.) These are the things I have not yet done, and in the early numbering, they are roughly in order of interest to me. There will also be a list of things I have done. These things are not numbered, and may not be included in my 1,000. Who knows, it could take quite awhile to get to 1,000.

My #5 on the list of 1,000 things I want to do before I die is go to the Holy Island of Lindesfarne. This takes me from the Welsh mountains, and seashore of my first 4 things to do across the Island of Great Britain to the Northern English East Coast just south of Scotland in Northumberland.

After a walk of anywhere from a few days, to over a week - depending upon where one might choose to begin - the final day of the Lindisfarne Pilgrimage is a three mile walk across muddy, sometimes dangerously muddy path across the end of St. Cuthbert's way on the "Pilgrim's Way" to The Holy Island.

This advice about the walk on the Pilgrim's Way comes from Wikipedia:

"Visitors wishing to walk between the mainland and the island are urged to keep to the marked path, check tide times and weather carefully, and seek local advice if in doubt. Visitors driving should pay close attention to the timetables prominently displayed at both ends of the causeway and where the Holy Island road leaves the A1 Great North Road at Beal. The causeway is generally open from about 3 hours after high tide until 2 hours before the next high tide, but there is no substitute for checking the timetables for a specific date, and the period of closure may extend during stormy weather."

The Lindisfarne Pilgrimage makes my #5 on things I want to do before I die. Anybody want to go puddle jumping with me? Of course, the pilgrimage ends with Lindisfarne's famous mead. Now that's a fine way to end a medieval trip.

#4 - Coasteering Along the Pembrokeshire Coast

2009-12-15T00:51:00.007-05:00

Wild waves crash against the craggy cliffs. In a land known for having some of the world's highest tides, and fastest ocean currents, small neoprene clad bodies scamper along the edge of danger at once swimming, then clinging to rocks, then climbing, then diving into the roiling seas. This is called Coasteering. I have not done it yet, but since I first heard about this strange sport created along the wild coastline of Pembrokeshire, South Wales I have been yearning to dive into the it.

Here is a description from the gang at Preseli Venture: "cliff jumping, climbing, rock gully swimming, cave exploration, rock scrambling, and wave riding...." Okay, who's ready for that really fun sounding sport?

This makes #4 on the list of things I want to do before I die. Maybe I should have placed it further down the list in order to make sure I don't die before I accomplish many of these.

So here are a couple TV personalities doing some coasteering on a calm day:

Here's what it looks like with a few waves. I want the waves when I go!

Here's a place called the toilet:

#3 Nant Gwrtheyrn: Immersion in Welsh

2009-12-14T10:02:00.012-05:00

The top three things I want to do lie within a short distance of one another. This third on my list of 1,000 lies along the pilgrimage route to Ynys Enlli. It is the Welsh Language and Heritage Centre at the once abandoned quarry town of Nant Gwrtheyrn now restored as place for immersion in Welsh language learning. Week long lessons in a wide range of levels from rank beginner to fledgling poets can be found at Nant Gwrtheyrn.

This centre lies in the heart of Wales most Welsh speaking area along the North coast of the Llyn Penninsula. Perhaps there is no more magical area in the world to learn a language. Nant Gwrtheryn is also known as Vortigern's Valley, and here as with the rest of the Llyn Penninsula Arthurian legend pulses through the landscape.

#2 Ynys Enlli, Wales: The Pilgrimage to the Isle of 20,000 Saints

2009-12-10T12:20:00.015-05:00

My life is turning upside down right now, and I am wondering what comes next. What my future years will be filled with. I guess I am a little lost. One of the things I find myself wanting to do is walk to weird and wonderful places - places filled with magic and romance (truly using the word romance in its classical sense, that is.)

Why do lost people go on long walks into the unknown? Why does the aborigine use the confusing season of the transition into manhood to send young men on walkabouts? Why do religious seekers go on pilgrimages to strange and distant places?

I suppose like lost souls before me, I really am concerned with the "why" right now, and less with the where. My first of the 1,000 things is to go the top of Cadair Idris to spend the night and become a poet. This, my second "where" starts only a couple hours drive away from Cadair Idris at Caernarfon Castle in Caernarfon, North Wales.

Caernarfon Castle breaks my heart. It is a sadly beautiful and haunting place. I cried openly when I visited there 4 years ago.

Within its walls is housed a Prince of Wales exhibition. It begins with the death of the last native born Prince of Wales Llywelyn ap Gruffud on December 11, 1282. After his betrayal, the English crown established their own Prince. The English Prince of Wales was suppose to have spoken no language but Welsh throughout his life, but that never happened, and it is only a side note of the exhibit.

Caernarfon is a fitting beginning for a pilgrimage to one of the holiest sites in Celtic Christendom: Ynys Enlli, or Bardsey Isle. The walk begins in infamy, and ends in the distant memory of ancient glory.

Ynys Enlli lies 1.9 miles off the tip of the Llyn Penninsula. It's name in Welsh means Isle of Currents, but the Viking name given to it (Bardsey) may refer to the place of the bards.

Stretching down the northern coast of the Llyn Penninsula (variant English spelling: Lleyn) a walking trail hugs the rugged coast of the Irish Sea. From the walls of Caernarfon to the town of Aberdaron is 60 miles. At Aberdaron the ferry leaves for Ynys Enlli. This is a walk through the heart of Welsh speaking Wales, and a trip from castle to castle with views of some of the most spectacular coastal scenery in the world.

Ynys Enlli is called the Isle of 20,000 saints, who are said to be buried beneath its soil. In 546 St. Cadfan established a monastery there, and by middle ages it was declared that three pilgrimages to Ynys Enlli was equal to one pilgrimage to Rome. In this mythological and historical mix the legends of King Arthur join the Celtic Age of the Saints. Some believe that the real Arthur and Merlin were here on Ynys Enlli as well. Here Arthur was brought to be healed after the battle at Camlan, and Merlin is supposedly exiled on this same isle until Arthur returns again someday.

The pilgrimage visits the shrine of St Beuno at Clynnog Fawr, and passes through Nant Gwrtheyrn a formerly deserted quarry town on the seashore now developed into a Welsh Language and Heritage Centre. To the east lies views of the Snowdonia mountains. The seaside walk is awash with the mythology of Arthur and Merlin, and stories from the Ancient Celtic Saints.

For these reasons the pilgrimage to Ynys Enlli makes my #2 on the list of 1,000 things to do before I die.

Getting a Little Moore Cuban in Miami

2009-12-10T08:19:00.017-05:00

8th Street in Little Havana Miami is a plain low lying neighborhood of simple 1920's-1940's architecture without the art deco design - boxy storefronts, stark sidewalks, and a wide boulevard. There is almost no shade to offer the visitor a place of respite from the hot southern sun.

The simple shop exteriors hide a world of Cuban treasures. Stepping behind the storefront doors you are transported into another world. At the corner of 8th and 15th El Pub Restaurant provides the weary traveler with the best in Cuban sandwiches, and cafe con leche.

A short walk down the block, brings you to one of the many cigar shops - in this case the home to Moore and Bode. Sharon Bode Moore who has been dubbed the queen of the Miami cigar world may even be there to greet you, and discuss her degree in theology, the significance of the butterfly and sword of St. George logo, or the organic tobaccos they use for their cigars.

Been there – done that. This was worth being on my list of 1,000 things to do before I die. A return trip to visit the other cigar shops may make my list as well. Calle Ocho in Little Havana is without a doubt my favorite neighborhood in Miami. This actually makes for a pretty cheap Florida holiday.

Swimming with Big Fat Mermaids in Florida

2009-12-09T09:12:00.011-05:00

Among my list of 1,000 things to do is swimming with mermaids - not real mermaids unfortunately, but 17th century sailors referred to those friendly, slow moving aquatic mammals called manatees as mermaids.

This has got to be at the top of the list of family holidays to Florida. On the west coast of Florida, we visited the people at Birds Underwater on a clear, still morning. We geared up in wetsuits, and headed out by pontoon boat onto the Crystal River.

During the three hour tour we snorkeled the shallow, glassy, cool waters of the Crystal River. Three times we came across the slow moving mermaids, and were able to slither quietly into the water and swim within inches of them. A family of three circled around the boat, almost inviting us to join their family time.

During our search through the lagoons of the Crystal River we found ourselves looking face to face with an alligator turtle. Looking grotesquely fearsome and prehistoric we stayed our distance as best we could, but figured if we were going to swim with princesses, we might have to face some dragons too.

Why not try a swim with the mermaids as part of your 1,000 things to do? This is one I've accomplished already.

#1 Cadair Idris: One Day to Becoming a Great Poet, or a Madman

2009-12-08T18:37:00.003-05:00

There are great romantic adventures in this world, and among them is a mountain climb, and wild camping experience in the southern edge of the Snowdonia mountain range of Northwest Wales.

This is not an amazing adventure because of the great height of the mountain or the danger factor, though steep cliffs don the north side Cadair Idris. Rather, ancient legend says that the mountain was the armchair of a giant: Idris, who was a master of poetry, astronomy, and philosophy. It is said that today those who sleep on Pen y Gadair, the summit of the three mountains which comprise Cadair Idris, will descend the following day insane or as poets - if they live through the night.

The climbs range from easy to difficult. A steep scramble up the Fox Path moves among loose cliff scree, and can become dangerous in difficult weather. The Pony Path is the easiest, but longest climb beginning in nearby Ty Nant. The mountain affords some of the best rock climbing in Wales. When the days are clear you will be able see the Cambrian coast perhaps all the way to Ireland on one side, and on the other side down the sheer cliffs to the dark waters of Llyn Cau, which legend calls a bottomless lake. Of course, it is Wales, and this mountain near the Irish Sea is noted for radical and quickly changing weather, so dress appropriately and be prepared for anything.

There is a hut at the top of Pen y Gadair, which can be used to get away from the cold winds of the mountain top, and a cairn marking the summit. Camping on the mountain is allowed, but one should be considerate in the spring when lambing season is occurring. No permits are required to sleep on the mountain.

Although this is only the 18th highest peak in Wales, it has become the second most trekked mountain in the country. Perhaps this is why the Welsh are noted for their complex and beautiful poetry. It is believed that ancient bards stayed upon the mountain in search of inspiration. Today bards young and old scramble the sides of Cadair Idris in search of their own inspiration.

With four main paths ranging from expert to beginner levels, beautiful views, and most of all for the romance of the mythology Cadair Idris makes the top of my list of 1,000 things to do before I die.

Other information on Cadair Idris:

A great blog post with fabulous photography.
A list of the main Cadair Idris walks
Trekking Cadair Idris from Dolgellau

Where to stay in Dolgellau

Please note: There is a variant spelling to Cadair Idris --> Cader Idris