“To travel is to take a journey into yourself.”

– Danny Kaye

If there is one thing that every kid dreams about being when they are older it’s an astronaut. The appeal of be able to travel outside our world and into the great unknown is every kid’s goal at one point. Space, even now, still fascinates everyone to some extent. The universe is so incredibly large and complex that it is just hard not to wonder. But to become an astronaut and to truly experience space is grueling work. One must go through rigorous training and extensive practice, to even be considered in traveling up into space. And even then, it is not always a guarantee. However, to still fulfill this kid dream of mine of being an astronaut item number sixteen on my bucket list is to experience zero gravity.

There are many ways to experience zero gravity, but, unfortunately, the only one that is offered to the public for a fairly reasonable price is by plane. The zero gravity of space is simulated by the plane flying a series of parabolic flight maneuvers that counter the forces of gravity and allow the passengers to experience no gravity. The airplane is essentially flying up and over hills, creating pockets where gravity seems to just disappear and everything inside the plane begins to float. The duration of weightlessness during each parabolic maneuver is approximately 10 seconds. Which may not seem like a lot time, but it actually is when adding everything up all together. A typical zero gravity flight consists of approximately 10 parabolas, giving the passenger roughly two minutes of total weightlessness

When researching possible packages and places to experience zero gravity, one company kept on popping up, Zero Gravity Corporation. The Zero Gravity Corporation offers the “Zero-G Experience” package, which includes includes 15 parabolas, a ZERO-G flight suit, other ZERO-G merchandise, and a photos or video of the experience. However, this package was extremely expensive, which caused me to find another company instead, Zero Gravity U.S.A.. Zero Gravity U.S.A. uses similar techniques as Zero Gravity Corporation, however, the trip is in you own personal plane. So rather than being on a plane with ten other people, Zero Gravity U.S.A offers rides with just you, the pilot, and the “weightless coach”. This allows for a more personal experience, enabling you to be able to do somersaults and other flips and tricks with ease and comfort. Another advantage to the zero gravity package from Zero Gravity U.S.A. is the cost. Whereas Zero Gravity Corporation is $4,950 dollars per person, Zero Gravity U.S.A. is slightly less than $3,000 dollars per person, making the whole thing much more affordable.

However, the one downside to Zero Gravity U.S.A. is that the company is based out of Florida. Meaning that to experience zero gravity from the package offered by Zero Gravity U.S.A., one has to travel to Florida first. As a result, the price of gas and or the price of an airplane ticket will add onto the price of the package, therefore increasing the price of the overall trip. Personally, I have never made the drive to Florida even though I have family that lives there, so I would be more comfortable flying than driving. Unfortunately, as mentioned, this adds to the price. The average flight to Florida from Philadelphia is about $175 dollars. As a result, the total price of item number sixteen on my bucket list is $5,125 dollars.

“No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home

and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow.”

-Lin Yutang

Since having this blog, I have revealed a lot about myself. I have shared my likes and dislikes, parts of my childhood, plans for my future, etc. Now, I am going to get even more personal by sharing my dreams with you. At least what I think is a dream…

This might sound weird, especially since I haven’t provided relatively any context to the subject, but I can’t remember if I have rode an elephant before. I know when I was younger and used to go to the zoo often, I would ride the camels all the time. But I can’t remember if there was an attraction at my local zoo where I got to ride on top of an elephant or not. I have this vivid image in my head and I feel like I have, but I have no actual recollection of it. That is why I think this “memory” that I have of riding an elephant is nothing but a dream, that I somehow morphed into an actual memory. Yet, I’m still not entirely convinced because this “memory” has such a realness to it, that it doesn’t feel like a dream. Yet, I know it probably is one, since I have looked back at my zoo’s website and it says nothing about offering elephant rides to visitors. I even went as far as to look at every zoo’s website I have ever gone to, to see if they offered it instead, and still no luck. However, dream or not, my fifteenth item on my bucket list is too ride an elephant and or travel to the Savanna, preferably both. Like I mentioned earlier, I went to the zoo a lot when I was younger since both me and my sister were huge animal fanatics. We loved almost every animal there was and being able to see them at the zoo at a fairly close range was always so exciting. Even though I have grown up quite a bit since my younger years, I still love animals just the same and it would be amazing to see some of them actually up close and personal on a safari trip.

Now, safari trips can range widely in cost. It mostly depends on what you are doing, how long you are staying, and the level of luxury you are willing to pay. However despite all this, safari trips still are usually on the more expensive side, sometimes ranging from $800 to $1000 dollars a night. But a good way to save money and get a better deal is to go off-season for a safari trip. During this time, the weather is cooler, animal sightings are better, and prices are lower. Upon my research, the best off-season destination for a safari trip is South Africa during the May-July winter months. Here, I was able to find a trip at the Samara Private Game Reserve, a ten-suite lodge, that costs only $175 dollars per person per night. Although the reserve has only rhinos, cheetahs, antelopes, and zebras, there is an elephant park called the Addo National Elephant Park, that is just three hours away. Thus, checking off both parts to my bucket list item. A round trip flight to Johannesburg, South Africa which is the closest airport to the Reserve is only $1,167 dollars. In addition to the $175 dollars a night, if I were to stay there a total of five nights, then that would only cost $2,042 dollars. Which is pretty cheap considering that I could have been paying up to a $1000 dollars a night. A real dream come true!

“I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake.

The great affair is to move.”

-Robert Louis Stevenson

Being in the midst of the current Rhetoric and Civic Life project, the Issues Brief and Advocacy assignment, reminded me of a project I did back in grade school that required similar passion and creativity. Way back when in fifth grade geography, when learning about the different types of land, we were assigned a project that required us to create an island of our own personal interest. This island could be and contain anything we wanted. So, for example, if you were a fan of candy you could create a candy island filled with cotton candy trees and chocolate waterfalls. With this island project everything was up for imagination.

Rather than go the creative route, I chose to base my island on one of my interests. As a result, little fifth grader me decided to create an environmentally-friendly island called “Recycle Island”. The island consisted of nothing but different environment initiatives, such as sustainable housing, wind and solar panel farms, and the most important, a proper recycling system. As you can tell, I was a wild fifth grader. But, honestly, this should come as no surprise since my Civic Issues Blog is also centered around the environment. From when I was little to now, the environment and nature, as a whole, have interested me greatly. It has played a big part of my life for a very long time and because of that many of my bucket list items pertain to it. Much like this one. Similar to visiting the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, number four on my bucket list, I plan on visiting the Amazon Rainforest for item number fourteen on my bucket list.

The Amazon Rainforest in South America, like the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, is also filled with a mosaic of ecosystems and a diverse range of vegetation and animal types. The Amazon Rainforest, which is known for being the largest rainforest on Earth, is estimated to have about 30 percent of the world’s species within its borders. Its biodiversity, or biological richness, is absolutely astounding! It would be a spectacular place to visit to experience all of the wildlife. And that is exactly what I hope to do some day.

From the research I have done the best time to visit the Amazon Rainforest is between the months of May and June. This is because May and June are midway between the rainiest months of the Amazon and the hottest driest ones. The most common way to experience the Amazon is at a ‘jungle lodge’. Most lodges feature private rooms, family-style meals and daily excursions, however, the rates and prices for these rooms vary wildly and seem to be costly. Fortunately, not far from the jungle is the city of Manaus, the region’s largest city and the quickest and easiest route into the jungle. Here, in this city lies many other housing options that are much more reasonable in price, therefore making things easier. As most items on my bucket list, the most convenient and cost-effective way of traveling is by airplane. The average price for a ticket to the Amazon Rainforest by flying into Manaus is about $1,747 dollars. The prices do appear to rise in late May, early June. However, the price is still reasonable at only $2,000 dollars.

“Once you have traveled, the voyage never ends,

but is played out over and over again in the quietest chambers.

The mind can never break off from the journey.”

-Pat Conroy

We are all taught certain things when growing up. Whether it is morals, rules to live by, or even something simple like manners, we are all taught at an early age pieces of information we will remember and carry with us for the rest of our lives. For me, something I remember learning early on, before I could even conceive or fully grasp the idea of it, was that Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world. Yes, I will admit this is a particularly weird thing to learn at such a young age, but my family has been nature enthusiasts since I can remember. I grew up watching channels like the Discovery channel or the National Geographic channel, learning about the world around us. So, since I can remember this fact that Mount Everest is the highest mountain on this Earth has always been fascinating to me. And as a result, item number thirteen on my bucket list is to visit Mount Everest.

As the tallest mountain in the world, standing at 29,029 feet high, Mount Everest has become synonymous with challenge and adventure. However, item thirteen on my bucket list is to not climb Mount Everest or to even climb to the top of the mountain. No, my bucket list item is to just merely visit Mount Everest and see its wonders for myself. Although I see the appeal in wanting to climb the Earth’s highest mountain, I, personally, have no desire in climbing it. There are countless risks involved with wanting to trek up the mountainside. In addition to possibly contracting altitude sickness or even hypothermia, there are also several natural disasters that could occur while climbing such as avalanches. All these factors combined make it extremely difficult for me to see the positives in wanting to climb Mount Everest. However, despite all this, Mount Everest still remains the pinnacle of mountaineering achievements for people all around the world (just not me).

According to multiple sources, the best time to properly view Mount Everest is during the mountain’s dry season, which is around the months of May and October. These two periods are an ideal time to visit Mount Everest because it hardly rains during this time, resulting in the most clear days for being able to see the peaks. Not only that, but during these periods the daytime temperatures are above freezing and in the afternoon the ice melts. However, to actually travel to Mount Everest to see all of its beauty, one must first take a plane ride over there. The typical price of a flight around the months of May and October to Nepal is about $985 dollars. To get to the base of Mount Everest one can either take a bus or a train from the airport. The bus or train starts from Lhasa to Shigatse then finally to the base camp. The flight to Nepal along with the cost of the bus or train ride to get to the base of Mount Everest, which is around $50 dollars, makes the total trip just slightly over a thousand dollars at $1,035.

“The impulse to travel is one of the hopeful symptoms of life.”

-Agnes Repplier

When traveling the amount of places and things a person can explore and discover are infinite. However, usually the places people choose are eerily similar. This list typically contains a foreign country, city, or small town, almost never a mountain, beach, or cave. With so much of the world to discover it seems more fitting to choose something unique rather than something stereotypical. As a result, item number twelve on my bucket list is to explore one of these unique places, more specifically a cave. The place I think would be the most intriguing to explore and discover is the Son Doong Cave, also known as the Hang Son Doong Cave, in Vietnam.

The Hang Son Doong Cave is known as the world’s largest cave, stretching more than five kilometers (or three miles) long and reaching heights of 200 meters ( or 650 feet). The cave, which is located in the Quang Binh province in Vietnam, was only just recently discovered back in 2009 by British cavers. It wasn’t until 2010 that the Hang Son Doong Cave was determined to be the largest cave ever discovered due to the size of its cross-section. The name “Son Doong”, which means “mountain river cave”, is fitting when describing this cave because of the unique characteristics it possess. The ecosystem found inside Hang Son Doong is as unique as it is large. The cave, which was created 2-5 million years ago by river water eroding away the limestone, has ample amounts of foliage and microorganisms. Not only that, but the cave is also so large that it has its own localized weather system, making the Son Doong Cave, in my opinion, truly magnificent.

Unfortunately, despite all this, the journey to Hang Son Doong is not that simple. With the exception of having to do two full days of intense jungle trekking and river crossings just to reach the entrance, to actually be selected in traveling there is an adventure all on its own. Since the cave’s discovery, it has become quite the tourist attraction. However, to preserve the cave from mass development and destruction the British cavers and the tour company, Oxalis, that now runs the expeditions have put multiple restrictions on the type of tourism that is allowed at Son Doong. Although it is completely open to the public and anyone is allowed to visit, the Han Son Doong Cave limits their tours to just once a week between the months of February and August. The amount of people allowed on a tour is also limited to just 10 customers per departure. Thus, making the possibility of traveling there that much more difficult. To actually travel to Vietnam and to the Son Doong Cave, a plane ride is the only option. The average flight from Philadelphia to the Quang Binh province in Vietnam is about $1,400 dollars. This along with the cost of the expedition, which is around $3,000 dollars, makes the total cost of the trip just $4,400 dollars.

“We travel, some of us forever, to seek other states,

other lives, other souls.”

-Anais Nin

In my very first post on this passion blog, I discussed the importance of my bucket list and what it means to me personally. I also went into great detail the emotional significance many of the items have. However, with this specific item that is not the case. Although item ten does hold some importance to me and my personal goals, there is no symbolic reasoning or elaborate backstory behind it. The only reason I included it within my list is because it just seemed necessary. Item ten on my bucket list is to travel to all seven continents in my lifetime.

The most difficult aspect in estimating the cost for this particular item is how much airfare will cost. Usually, I am aware or have some general idea of what country or city I am traveling to in these posts, however, not with item ten. I have not given any prior thought to what country or city I will be traveling to when traveling to these continents. Although it is less than ideal to not know where I am traveling to, since I can be a bit of a perfectionist, it does make the trip more adventurous and spontaneous. Nonetheless, I will still try to give some rough estimate of the cost for the sake of this blog (and my sanity).

The easiest and, fortunately, the least expensive continent to travel to is North America. And although I have already traveled North America, more specifically the United States, I still find it a necessary part of the item to complete and check off. So, if I had to choose anywhere in North America I haven’t been yet, it would probably be Niagara Falls on the Canadian side. Particularly the Canadian side, because from what I have heard the Canadian side is more picturesque than the American. A typical bus trip from Philadelphia to Canada is estimated to be about $45 dollars.

Much like North America, I have already traveled the continent of Europe. The first time I traveled to Europe was the summer before my senior year of highschool, where I had the amazing opportunity of traveling to Scotland and England for two weeks with my school. Fortunately this May, I am getting to return to Europe for a second time and travel Italy with my family. Even though the flight and all the airfare costs have already been accounted for, I am still going to include the amount into the overall estimate just as a reference. So, the average flight from Philadelphia to Venice, Italy is around $868 dollars.

Thankfully, many of my items on my bucket list overlap so estimating the cost for some of the other continents isn’t that difficult! So for Asia, Africa, and Australia, three out of the seven continents, I have already estimated the cost of traveling there in previous posts. For Asia, the cost of airfare is estimated to be about $950 dollars. For Africa, it is $1,167 dollars and for Australia airfare costs around $1,400 dollars.

The final two continents, Antarctica and South America, are a little bit more difficult in estimating cost. As previously mentioned, I have given little thought about where I would be traveling to within these continents. Therefore, as a result, the estimate might be a little off. From some very quick research, the cheapest flight to South America appears to be to Santa Cruz for only about $300 dollars. The cheapest flight to Antarctica is not a flight at all but a cruise. The cheapest cruise I could find was around $6,000 dollars, which in my opinion is outrageous, especially since flight costs were almost twice as much. As a result, this brings the total cost to a whopping $10,730 dollars! Granted that I won’t be paying this all at once and will instead be spread across my lifetime, it is still extremely shocking to see that to travel to all seven continents it costs that much.

“I haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on my list.”

-Susan Sontag

I often boast about the impact traveling and exploration can have on a person’s life, however, one of the biggest impacts on my life, if not the biggest, was not traveling but art. From an early age, I knew art was going to be something I would love for the rest of my life. In preschool, one of my teachers was exceptionally good at drawing and every morning I would sit beside her and watch her draw. Although most of her pictures were nothing more than mere sketches, the way she drew the lines and curves with such ease fascinated me. With the flick of her pencil she could make a simple curve into a blooming flower and what once was an assortment of lines transformed into a building.

As the years continued on and my interest in art only grew, I realized that many of the fundamental principles I was using on my pieces, I was also using towards life. I no longer viewed things as they were, but rather as an art piece. I began to notice the colors, the lines, and motion in everything. My surroundings took on a new form and I found myself completely captivated by what I saw, especially by the sky. The sky is the quintessential art piece, due to its variation in color and texture from the weather. That is why, whenever I am outside, no matter where I am or what time of day, I am always focused on the natural beauty of the sky.

For this reason, item number nine on my bucket list is to go stargazing at Cherry Springs State Park. This park, which is fortunately located in Pennsylvania, is famous for its great stargazing views. Cherry Springs is classified as a number two on the Bortle Dark-Sky scale, a nine-level numeric scale that measures the night sky’s brightness. This essentially means that the night sky in Cherry Springs State Park has almost no light pollution, therefore you can see everything from stars to planets to even the Milky Way. It is described as being “the last best refuge of the natural night sky” in the eastern half of the United States. To be able to go here and stare into the sky and see a world beyond our own is unimaginable.

Thankfully, this particular bucket list item is completely manageable and doesn’t seem to require much financially. So much so, that it might be the most inexpensive item on this entire passion blog, possibly my entire bucket list. The easiest part of this process is entering Cherry Springs State Park, which will be no challenge since there are currently no entrance fees or day use fees for any state park in Pennsylvania. However, if I did want to camp out and spend a night or two in the park there are cottages available that range from $55.66 to $139.62 dollars a night. Much of this trip’s costs will come from the price of the bus ticket, which isn’t much considering how close Cherry Springs State Park is to Penn State. A typical bus ticket from State College, PA to Coudersport, PA is around $26 dollars, but it can go up to $40 dollars depending on the day of the week. Thus, making the total cost of the trip just $26 dollars!

“Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer.”

-Unknown

On trend with last week, item number eight on my bucket list also pertains to traveling throughout the United States rather than flying to another country overseas. However, item eight differs slightly from the previous item because it involves traveling all of the fifty states more extensively.

If you were to only know one thing about me it should be that my favorite place in the United States is Bar Harbor, Maine. So much so, that I plan on living there in the future. Now, I have been to Bar Harbor quite a few times. Ever since my family and I first traveled there a couple years back, it has become a typical vacation spot during our summers. I don’t know exactly how, but every time I go to Bar Harbor it is somehow better than the last time I went. My favorite place in all of Maine is Arcadia National Park. Arcadia is a 47,000-acre park that is located in Bar Harbor and words cannot describe how stunningly beautiful this park is. Everything in the park, from the mountains, to the lakes, and even to the vegetation is so picturesque it is unbelievable. After visiting Arcadia National Park multiple times, it has ignited within me a passion to visit as many parks as I can in my life. As a result, my eighth bucket list item is to try and visit all 58 National Parks located throughout the United States.

With this item it is particularly difficult in calculating the cost, since a majority of it depends on different variables such as the amount of miles it takes, the price of gas, and also the price of admission into some of these parks. The price could range from being relatively inexpensive to extremely costly, but since there is no way of determining all of that it will remain unknown for now. However, there is a deal currently going on that could reduce the cost moderately. The National Park Services are turning a hundred years old this year and throughout all of 2016 on select days National Parks and other sites all throughout the country that usually charge an entrance fee will offer free admission to everyone. While some of these select days are just the one day, others are five days or even the whole week. This is extremely resourceful in reducing the cost of the overall trip, which still remains uncertain.

This situation of not knowing the cost, although isn’t common in my other blog posts, I think best exemplifies the overall theme and purpose of my blog. As it has already been established, I value travel and traveling very highly in both my life and life in general. I feel that travel is one of the few delicacies we get to experience in life that is extremely simple in gaining perspective on ourselves and others. Traveling doesn’t necessarily mean going to another country or even another state, it could, for all purposes, mean just going around the corner or down the street. Traveling, to me, is the process of exploring the unknown. It is not so much about where you go, but what you discover while you are there.

If this is truly my last passion blog, then I am extremely proud to have come this far. This blog, in a way, was its own little trip. Traveling through the items on my bucket list and exploring the details that each one requires led me to discover things about myself and my passions that would have otherwise gone unknown.

“We wander for distraction, but we travel for fulfillment.”

-Hilaire Belloc

If you can’t recall, the very first post I uploaded onto this blog discussed the difficulty I found in talking about one of my passions. I thought none of my passions could ever be of any significance for me to write about for sixteen straight weeks. However, seven weeks have passed and I now find the task much more manageable and actually quite enjoyable too. When I began this blog I assumed I would only be exploring the details of the items on my bucket list. But since then, I have come to discover that I am also exploring parts of myself and my personality that I don’t normally get to. In the two months I have been doing this, I have noticed that a majority of my bucket list items, if not all, involve traveling out of the country. Although I have only posted the first couple items so far and I still have quite a bit more to go, it still makes me wonder if there is a deeper meaning behind so many of them not involving the United States. Ironically, my seventh item on my bucket list does involve traveling within the United States.

A couple years ago when I traveled to San Diego, California for the summer, my family and I went to the famous San Diego Zoo. Despite me having been to both California and the San Diego Zoo before, I realized that since I was older I was able to doing more activities than I was the first time I went. One of these activities that I was exposed to was zip lining. Up until that point, I was the only one in my whole family that hadn’t gone zip lining before. So to be able to finally zip line and over a zoo of all places was really exciting for me. While we were going through training, our instructor mentioned at one point that the place that we would be zip lining over, which was the La Jolla Indian Reservation, was the second longest zip line in the United States, the first being in Alaska. Ever since, I have wanted to zip line the first longest zip line in the United States, making that the seventh item on my bucket list.

Located in Hoonah, Alaska, the Icy Strait Point Zipline stands as the longest zip line in the United States at 5,495 feet long. Although Icy Strait Point is mainly a tourist stop for cruise passengers, according to their website anyone is welcomed to embark on “the adventure of a lifetime.” The minute and a half ride is fairly inexpensive costing only around $120 dollars per person. This is not including any add ons such as pictures or video, which could add to the overall price of the trip. Since I don’t live in or even remotely near Alaska, the only possible way to travel there is flight. Unfortunately, upon further research, I found out that since the city of Hoonah, Alaska is very small I would have to take a connecting flight, requiring me to pay for two separate flights. A typical flight from Philadelphia to Juneau, Alaska is about $640 dollars, while a flight from Juneau to Hoonah is only about $81 dollars. Thus, making the price of the two flights along with the price of the zip line trip a total of $841 dollars.

“I would rather own little and see the world,

than own the world and see little of it.”

-Alexander Sattler 

Since having this blog, I have revealed a lot about myself. I have shared my likes and dislikes, parts of my childhood, plans for my future, etc. Now, I am going to get even more personal by sharing my dreams with you. At least what I think is a dream…

This might sound weird, especially since I haven’t provided relatively any context to the subject, but I can’t remember if I have rode an elephant before. I know when I was younger and used to go to the zoo often, I would ride the camels all the time. But I can’t remember if there was an attraction at my local zoo where I got to ride on top of an elephant or not. I have this vivid image in my head and I feel like I have, but I have no actual recollection of it. That is why I think this “memory” that I have of riding an elephant is nothing but a dream, that I somehow morphed into an actual memory. Yet, I’m still not entirely convinced because this “memory” has such a realness to it, that it doesn’t feel like a dream. Yet, I know it probably is one, since I have looked back at my zoo’s website and it says nothing about offering elephant rides to visitors. I even went as far as to look at every zoo’s website I have ever gone to, to see if they offered it instead, and still no luck. However, dream or not, my sixth item on my bucket list is too ride an elephant and or travel to the Savanna, preferably both. Like I mentioned earlier, I went to the zoo a lot when I was younger since both me and my sister were huge animal fanatics. We loved almost every animal there was and being able to see them at the zoo at a fairly close range was always so exciting. Even though I have grown up quite a bit since my younger years, I still love animals just the same and it would be amazing to see some of them actually up close and personal on a safari trip.

Now, safari trips can range widely in cost. It mostly depends on what you are doing, how long you are staying, and the level of luxury you are willing to pay. However despite all this, safari trips still are usually on the more expensive side, sometimes ranging from $800 to $1000 dollars a night. But a good way to save money and get a better deal is to go off-season for a safari trip. During this time, the weather is cooler, animal sightings are better, and prices are lower. Upon my research, the best off-season destination for a safari trip is South Africa during the May-July winter months. Here, I was able to find a trip at the Samara Private Game Reserve, a ten-suite lodge, that costs only $175 dollars per person per night. Although the reserve has only rhinos, cheetahs, antelopes, and zebras, there is an elephant park called the Addo National Elephant Park, that is just three hours away. Thus, checking off both parts to my bucket list item. A round trip flight to Johannesburg, South Africa which is the closest airport to the Reserve is only $1,167 dollars. In addition to the $175 dollars a night, if I were to stay there a total of five nights, then that would only cost $2,042 dollars. Which is pretty cheap considering that I could have been paying up to a $1000 dollars a night. A real dream come true!