My 50 Before 50 Bucket List Ideas: Happy Half Century!

(UPDATED NOVEMBER 2022) Nothing like a birthday to get your mind thinking about all the things I want to accomplish before hitting the significant  50 milestone. Having recently turned 47 years old, I am quickly approaching the magical half-century age of 50 and am thinking about my 50 before 50 bucket list. I have decided to put my bucket list entries to paper (or the web in this case).

Now I am not one who is upset about growing old. I consider it a blessing and a privilege, so no worries from this Southern girl. I’ve been anxiously awaiting 50 for quite some time now because it is then that I vowed to start my own Red Hat chapter.

Reasons to Have a Bucket List

Everyone needs to have dreams and goals to aspire to. It also is a benchmark for measuring the incredible adventures or accomplishments you’ve already had in your life. Maybe your bucket list contains unreachable entries for health restrictions, high cost, or some other factor that stops you from meeting them? So be it, at least you can think it and dream it, and that is all about keeping your vivid imagination well and in working order.

So, without further adieu, I leave you with my 50 Before 50 bucket list of challenges I look forward to doing before turning 50 years old.

Please warn my husband, Eddie, that he is going to be very busy.

50 Before 50 Bucket List

1. Take a long overdue cruise through New England. New England’s gorgeous scenery has been on my list for over fifteen years now, and something always comes up or the price is too high. (COMPLETED 8/2019)

2. Continue my annual tradition of attending Nashville’s CMA Music Fest with my daughters, our girls outing for the year. This June year will make our 6th year, so we are off to a good start. (COMPLETED A FEW MORE YEARS, BUT QUIT GOING FOR DANGEROUS REASONS)

3. Take a cheesy Big Red Bus trip

4. Have a weekend getaway with my friend and cohort, Judy Adamson, from Murfreesboro, TN. We would be dangerous together! (unable, my friend passed in 2022)

5. Sharpen my photography skills. I have never had any formal classes, nor do I know how to work the great camera I own, but that will change soon. Knowledge is power. (COMPLETED)

6. Do something epic for my 25th wedding anniversary. It has always been a dream of mine to hit the significant 50 milestone with Eddie Pittman. (COMPLETED WITH A TRIP TO PARIS, SPRING 2019)

7. Learn to eat sushi in a fancy restaurant properly. Same with dim sum. (COMPLETED)

8. Go on an RV trip. (COMPLETED 3 TIMES)

9. Attend a bluegrass festival.

10. Hit 50K followers on social media. (COMPLETED)

Bucket List 11-20

11. Meet 1 of my top 10 stars. I have been blessed with meeting so many celebrities in my life (Barry Gibb being the highlight…twice!), but I have my sights set on meeting Will Farrell or seeing Jeff Lynne of ELO perform. (COMPLETED JULY 2019)

12. See the Biltmore Estate in Asheville and hang in the hipster town. (COMPLETED 8/2020)

13. Indulge in Portland, Oregon’s incredible food scene. (COMPLETED)

14. Visit all 50 states. This might be my biggest goal to accomplish by the time I turn 50. (I would have achieved this without the setbacks of the passing of my mother and 13 weeks early delivery of my first grandchild) As of Nov 2022, I still have Connecticut to go.

15. Work with one of my two dream brands. (COMPLETED)

16. Become savvy using anything with points, like credit card rewards and airline miles. (COMPLETED)

17. Wander the European Christmas markets, preferably with my family, in Germany and Austria.

18. Cruise with cruise lines I have not yet cruised with, such as MSC, Disney, and Holland America.  (COMPLETED A FEW TIMES NOW)

---

---

19. Attend Oktoberfest up close and personal in Germany.

20. Prep my Florida house to be an Airbnb rental. Why not make money while I am traveling? I do live at the beach and have a killer pool. (Somewhat fail- We get a homestead exemption so the Florida house is not possible, but we are on Airbnb with our five homes in Boquete, Panama)

Bucket List 21-30

21. Take my dog Priscilla on an international trip. It would probably be to our second home in Boquete, Panama, but she is open to suggestions.

22. Exchange houses with my cousin so I can explore the beautiful state of Colorado and see my family that lives there. (and a Broncos game) (planned and failed due to Hurricane Irma)

23. Become a proficient gardener.

24. Go on the “Behind the Scenes” tour at Disney.

25. Go to Iowa, Montana, North and South Dakota, and Idaho. All these states are appealing to me, and I cannot wait to see what unique flavor they have to offer. I do not have a single friend who has ever been to any of them for a “vacation.” (COMPLETED AUGUST 2020)

26. Start an exercise program to use these 40+-year-old muscles that need toned and attention. It is never too late to take better care of yourself and be the best you can be. (COMPLETED SEPT. 2019)

27. Revisit Disneyland. (COMPLETED JUNE 2019)

28. Attend Albuquerque, New Mexico’s International Balloon Fiesta. (not complete, but I did hot air balloon ride in Gallup, NM)

29. Go on a girls’ trip with all new friends.  (COMPLETED)

30. Send 500 postcards to my readers and followers of Wherever I May Roam Blog. I love sending and receiving mail, and I figure others do, too. It is something inexpensive that only takes a little time to bring a smile to someone’s face maybe. Send me your address, and I will put you on my list! (COMPLETED)

Bucket List 31-40

31. Work with a major cruise line or Marriott Corporation, professionally. (COMPLETED BOTH)

32. Visit the Lone Star State of Texas and explore all the areas I have been waiting for all of my life to see. Urban Cowboy hot spots and Ewing Ranch, here I come! (COMPLETED)

---

---

33. Learn and become knowledgeable in SEO language. (COMPLETED)

34. Take time to practice and use what I learned from Spanish classes, especially when in Panama at our second home.

35. Start my own Red Hat Society.

36. Tour the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. Now I do not even like Bourbon, but the tour sounds like so much fun, and perhaps Dierks Bentley will fly in on his private plane. (#dreamer) (COMPLETED SEPT. 2020)

37. Head over to Washington, DC, and take my dad to see the monuments and museums. (COMPLETED AUGUST 2019)

38. Take a cooking class outside of the US.

39. Get back to doing yoga and perhaps go on a yoga retreat.

40. See Budapest and explore its rich history. It is one of my top bucket list destinations. (COMPLETED)

Bucket List 41-50

41. Take another cruise with my parents. For seven years, our family cruised with my parents and in-laws during the Christmas holidays. These were incredibly special memories and my folks are entertaining to hang with on the cruise ship. I hope we can make that happen again. (scheduled for Dec, but my mom was too ill to cruise again. The family went without the parents, but they were missed a bunch)

42. Have afternoon tea somewhere swanky! (COMPLETED)

43. Be the mother of a bride. I cannot wait to see one or both of my girls married (though I dread shedding all those tears) and look forward to whatever wedding celebrations they may choose. (COMPLETED)

44. Fill my passport. (COMPLETED, NEW ONE PURCHASED NOV 2022)

45. Host the “Adjuster 5” to a girl’s weekend at my home in Florida. These four lifelong friends are incredibly special to me. I want to share my home with them and create new memories.

46. Have a piece of my work published in a publication I like. (COMPLETED)

47. Take a trip through New England by car or RV and explore Delaware, Rhode Island, Vermont, and New Hampshire. (SCHEDULED AND POSTPONED DUE TO COVID UNTIL 2021)

48. Take a trip via train. It does not have to be fancy, but my dream trip would be across Canada to see the scenery. (COMPLETED OCTOBER 2021- AMTRAK)

49. Take another Viking River Cruise. I cruised the Rhine with Viking Cruises and some friends and had a fantastic time. I hope to sail with them again on the longships. Destination anywhere! (COMPLETED SPRING 2019)

50. Attend a professional football game each year as I have done in the past. I like this annual tradition that doesn’t break the bank and allows me to see different teams each year. Go Steelers! (FAILED)

Heading into the Half Century Mark

I hope you enjoyed my 50 before 50 bucket list. Wish me luck in getting there.

Do you have a list of things to achieve, either over a short time or even a lifetime goal? My words of encouragement are, “If you don’t start, you can’t finish.”

Take it one day at a time to make your dreams come true. I wish you lots of luck!

Hugs and kisses, Melody

Pin This Post For Later!

Check out some other posts by WIMR:

Best Things to Do in Denver, CO

95 Reasons to go to West Virginia