The Princess List

I’ve been meaning to do this forever–and have been asked by countless people to do it–so without further ado, here it is: Princess Alethea’s List of Things to Do Before She Dies. I’ve had this list in my head since I was a very little girl, and I will try to remember as much as I can. I reserve the right to add to or alter things as I remember/do them. (I will simply strike through the ones I’ve accomplished.) Feel free to steal any of these things and put them on your own list.

And no, I will NOT call this a “bucket list.” In the Kontis family, buckets are something you throw up in.
“Daddy, I feel sick.”
“Do you need the bucket?”
The “bucket” wasn’t always an actual bucket–sometimes it was a trash can or other similar receptacle–but it was always referred to as the “bucket.” This is a list of my life goals. This is not a list I would like to associate–in any way, shape or form–to vomiting. (Except for the one about Deep Sea Fishing, which is explained via the link.)

1. Be published by the time I’m 30. (Apex Magazine/AlphaOops/Elemental – 1996)
2. Go to the top of the Eiffel Tower. (1984)
3. See the Pyramids in Egypt
4. Climb the Castle at Chichen Itza (I’m not sure folks are allowed to do this anymore.)
5. See the Grand Canyon (1998)
6. Hug a tree in the rainforest
7. Stand on a iceberg
8. See a whale (in its natural habitat)
9. See the aurora borealis
10. See the sun *not* set on midsummer (somwhere in a polar circle)
11. See the redwood forest
12. Go deep sea fishing (I’m leaving this one unchecked, since my first attempt at deep sea fishing was such a disaster)
13. See the space shuttle launch (2007)
14. Go up in a hot air balloon
15. Go to the top of the Sears(Willis) Tower (2009)
16. Hit the New York Times bestseller list (The Dark-Hunter Companion – 1997)
17. Learn to sail
18. See a volcano (Oregon 2008 — I also saw the Goonies house & Haystack Rock!)
19. Ride a trolley in San Francisco (2008)
20. Run in a 5K race (2009)
21. Visit the Azores
22. Be in Mexico for Dia De Los Muertos (and see a parade)
23. Be in England for Guy Fawkes Day
24. See the sun set into the Pacific Ocean (July 2007)
25. Own a Hope Chest
26. See the D.C. Cherry Blossoms (2014)
27. Flush the toilet in the Southern Hemisphere
28. Win the Andre Norton Award (nominated: 2013, 2014)
29. Have a four-poster bed
30. Visit Niagara Falls (2014)