Your Bucket List Disappointments

[Jimonlimon]

Cruise Pros and Cons

Cruising was it for us. So many people raved about them. So we went on a true bucket list item, an Alaskan cruise. Spent 3 days in Seattle on both ends and had a really good time.

Then we tried the Caribbean. No thanks. We have enjoyed all-inclusives in many of these places. Stopping for 1 day with 4,000 other folks was NOT the same....

Wife and I had no real desire but sister-in-law wanted us to go. I've been on 2 Caribbean and one California/Pacific coastal.

Wife doesn't love them. I do. Especially where the water is warm. We manage to go snorkeling almost every stop. The California cruise ship and people were all great but without warm water to swim in not something I'd repeat.

I agree though about "stopping for 1 day with 4,000 others" isn't great. It is nice to get a brief sample of a new location and decide whether we would go there for a land-based vacation.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

The view out the window from the pointy end at night was something I'll always consider myself truly fortunate to have experienced.

You aren't kidding. It is something than can't really be put into words. I know I had some of my deepest contemplations about life, the universe, and everything else during those crossings. I think a short stint as a bush pilot in Alaska would evoke similar contemplations.

Edit: This reminds me of a physician/pilot that was killed when he crashed his Piper Cub in Alaska back in 2008 at the young age of 33 (Shaun Lunt). He was living a life that most would envy and went on these flying adventures often. The pictures he took were absolutely breathtaking. Here is a quick tribute with pics: http://photographyblogger.net/a-tribute-to-shaun-lunt/

Perhaps I need to add "seaplane" rating to my bucket list and knock that out on my next Alaska trip.

 

[Koolau]

You aren't kidding. It is something than can't really be put into words. I know I had some of my deepest contemplations about life, the universe, and everything else during those crossings. I think a short stint as a bush pilot in Alaska would evoke similar contemplations.

Edit: This reminds me of a physician/pilot that was killed when he crashed his Piper Cub in Alaska back in 2008 at the young age of 33 (Shaun Lunt). He was living a life that most would envy and went on these flying adventures often. The pictures he took were absolutely breathtaking. Here is a quick tribute with pics: A Tribute To Shaun Lunt – Pilot and Photographer

Perhaps I need to add "seaplane" rating to my bucket list and knock that out on my next Alaska trip.

Ah, yes, the Piper Super Cub with the "fat tires." A "STOL" almost before people started creating purpose-built STOL aircraft.

A buddy at Megacorp had a son who got his initiation to commercial flying in Alaska as a bush pilot. It was all that was available at the time. Had to get the hours in. Don't know the equipment he flew. Buddy had lots of hair raising stories to relay from his son. As soon as he could, the kid got a j*b with a charter company. For several weeks he flew right seat for a gig transporting U2 to their concerts. Lots more interesting stories - but not quite as dangerous.

Probably my biggest aviation bucket-list disappointment was never taking any aerobatic training (other than spins.) Probably just as well.

 

[qwerty3656]

Maybe not what you're looking for, but I completely blindsided by how boring going to a rodeo was - largest gap between my expectations and reality

 

[Sunset]

Maybe not what you're looking for, but I completely blindsided by how boring going to a rodeo was - largest gap between my expectations and reality

Sounds like when I went to a football game, sitting up high looking at the teeny tiny figures down there, and they stop the game for commercials so we watch them standing around talking, while folks at home watch a commercial
Very boring. Probably if I drank a few beers it would improve along with the looks of the fellow attendees

 

[Trailwalker]

Sounds like when I went to a football game, sitting up high looking at the teeny tiny figures down there, and they stop the game for commercials so we watch them standing around talking, while folks at home watch a commercial
Very boring. Probably if I drank a few beers it would improve along with the looks of the fellow attendees

You just reminded me of one of my biggest disappointments. I'm a big Springsteen fan. I went to a stadium concert where Bruce was a tiny little figure in the distance. The only way to see what was going on was on one of the video monitors. Then the guy behind me threw up on my seat. Pretty much swore off stadium rock concerts after that.

 

[Koolau]

You just reminded me of one of my biggest disappointments. I'm a big Springsteen fan. I went to a stadium concert where Bruce was a tiny little figure in the distance. The only way to see what was going on was on one of the video monitors. Then the guy behind me threw up on my seat. Pretty much swore off stadium rock concerts after that.

Yeah, drunks really ruin it for all the tokers.

 

[foxfirev5]

You just reminded me of one of my biggest disappointments. I'm a big Springsteen fan. I went to a stadium concert where Bruce was a tiny little figure in the distance. The only way to see what was going on was on one of the video monitors. Then the guy behind me threw up on my seat. Pretty much swore off stadium rock concerts after that.

Best concerts ever. '74 & 75 at Penn State. Bruce , Clarence and the gang gave the ultimate long shows. I saw them at HoJo's the day before and even got to work on teardown. Some things are not worth waiting for FI. Seize the moment.

 

[DAYDREAMER]

The first time i saw hawaii (Oahu), I was totally disappointed. I couldnt believe how dirty it was. The red dirt on the streets everywhere. I was expecting this lush, beautiful, perfection. Everything looked run down to me.

I have since learned to love the beaches, and Shaved Ice, and BIKINI'S! Not so much the the thongs. So, ya, add Thongs to the list of let downs. They just show to much arse.

 

[Car-Guy]

The first time i saw hawaii (Oahu), I was totally disappointed. I couldnt believe how dirty it was. The red dirt on the streets everywhere. I was expecting this lush, beautiful, perfection. Everything looked run down to me.

That's how I feel about San Francisco "now", which initially was on my bucket list... 30 to 40 years ago it was one of my favorite places to visit (which I did often). Now, not so much.

 

[Teacher Terry]

When I first moved to Reno 26 years ago I loved San Francisco. The last time I was there in 2019 everything stunk like urine and I can barely smell so a normal person would have been gagging. Tons of garbage even in the streets, sidewalks, etc.

 

[Steeler75]

Probably my biggest aviation bucket-list disappointment was never taking any aerobatic training (other than spins.) Probably just as well.

Took lessons for aerobatics while in college. It was so exhilarating, knowing no matter what attitude you find your self at in the future, you have the skills to recover (well most of the time!).

Favorite story was flying a 152 aerobat with 70+ year old instructor who had on occasion fallen asleep on the way to the practice area. One time while she was asleep I started a barrel role maneuver and she woke up while we were inverted and told me to pull the nose up…

Ended up doing a 4g split S because of that (yes there was a G meter in the aircraft). She never fell asleep again during our flights.

 

[Koolau]

The first time i saw hawaii (Oahu), I was totally disappointed. I couldnt believe how dirty it was. The red dirt on the streets everywhere. I was expecting this lush, beautiful, perfection. Everything looked run down to me.

I have since learned to love the beaches, and Shaved Ice, and BIKINI'S! Not so much the the thongs. So, ya, add Thongs to the list of let downs. They just show to much arse.

It's so true that Oahu and especially Honolulu has every problem that any other good sized urban area has. It disappoints me as well. It's kinda sad that folks don't take better care of Paradise. The good news is that it IS easy to find oases of beauty all over the Island.

Shame on us, but we rarely even go to the beach anymore. (Old skin doesn't do well in the sun.) The only thongs we wear are on our feet. We have a great view of the Pacific from home, and I actually like that view more than beaches for the most part. We like to whale watch from Diamond head, we have a few favorite shady beach parks and then three or four times a year, we go down to Waikiki and play tourist. It's funny how you learn to live with the trash and dirt. After all, most people just "live" in Hawaii. They aren't tourists. They have j*bs and families and problems and cancer and heart disease, etc.

My favorite T-shirt is "I'm not a tourist - I live here." I often wear it when we go to Waikiki. YMMV

 

[rk911]

The first time i saw hawaii (Oahu), I was totally disappointed. I couldnt believe how dirty it was. The red dirt on the streets everywhere. I was expecting this lush, beautiful, perfection. Everything looked run down to me.

I have since learned to love the beaches, and Shaved Ice, and BIKINI'S! Not so much the the thongs. So, ya, add Thongs to the list of let downs. They just show to much arse.

same for us except it wasn't Hawaii, it was Hollywood. the street walkers, bums and other assorted lowlifes were not what we expected.

 

[MuirWannabe]

Never thought I’d say this. We always wanted to go to New Zealand. Every picture, every movie (LOTR), every person has always led me to think NZ was magically beautiful with glorious sites at every turn.

Reality for us after 3 weeks on the islands. Terrible weather, unimpressive cities and roads (except Wellington), terrible food and service, and not particularly friendly locals. Most stunningly, scenery that was far from gobsmacking. Rather pedestrian compared to so many other beautiful places we’ve been. Was a complete miss versus our expectations.

Granted the Fiordland NP area is nice. But weather in this area is also uncooperative for viewing typically.

I always prefer land tours versus cruises. However, NZ may lend itself better seen via cruise. Cause the inland is nothing special.

 

[Badger]

We have only been to NZ once to the south island about 30+ years ago and fell in love with the country. Enough so that we talked for years about retiring there. Our trip consisted of renting a small RV and touring for a couple of weeks. We traveled all over the island stopping at all the small towns, sampling beer and occasionally meals at pubs, stopping for mid afternoon tea and scones, white water rafting the Shotover River, and hiking trails. My wife even did a bungy jump outside of Queenstown. We have traveled all over the US and many countries all over the world and found the folks in NZ to be the most friendly we have ever met (Australia is a very close second).
Sorry you didn't have a similar experience but maybe a few things have changed in all that time.

Cheers!

 

[MuirWannabe]

It’s possible some things have changed. Perhaps they are just not ready yet for visitors after their brutal lockdowns. But the scenery was for us a surprise disappointment. So I don’t know.

 

[DrRoy]

Never thought I’d say this. We always wanted to go to New Zealand. Every picture, every movie (LOTR), every person has always led me to think NZ was magically beautiful with glorious sites at every turn.

Reality for us after 3 weeks on the islands. Terrible weather, unimpressive cities and roads (except Wellington), terrible food and service, and not particularly friendly locals. Most stunningly, scenery that was far from gobsmacking. Rather pedestrian compared to so many other beautiful places we’ve been. Was a complete miss versus our expectations.

Granted the Fiordland NP area is nice. But weather in this area is also uncooperative for viewing typically.

I always prefer land tours versus cruises. However, NZ may lend itself better seen via cruise. Cause the inland is nothing special.

That's hard for me to wrap my head around. NZ is sort of a dream location for me, but it is so far away and expensive to get to. Perhaps you went at the wrong time of year for weather?

 

[DrRoy]

Why did it take 5 years, was there something special about the permit, does this mean pretty much anyone wanting to see it and take a few photos has a many year wait ?

I didn't see that there was a reply to this. You have to apply to a lottery to get the permit for The Wave, and the odds are not good.

 

[MuirWannabe]

We definitely had poor weather. Terrible weather. Rain every day. Like the whole Pacific Ocean was dropping. Not just rain, but clouds causing very low visibility. The locals mostly indicated it wasn’t unusual but I don’t know.

Tbh, it’s hard for me to wrap my head around as well. I had NZ on a pedestal prior to ever going. Thought it was a guaranteed winner. Thus my surprise and why I posted on this thread. It’s definitely our greatest bucket list disappointment. Never saw it coming.

 

[Sunset]

I didn't see that there was a reply to this. You have to apply to a lottery to get the permit for The Wave, and the odds are not good.

I did read up on the lottery for getting to see it.

One question, do you pay for the lottery each time you apply, since it seems a person may have to play the lottery for years before "winning" ?

 

[Koolau]

That's hard for me to wrap my head around. NZ is sort of a dream location for me, but it is so far away and expensive to get to. Perhaps you went at the wrong time of year for weather?

My previous cardiologist has a sheep ranch in NZ. He eventually retired there. He's a "southern boy" (Georgia? Alabama??) Anyway, now, he's really a southern boy. I'd still like to check out NZ if there's enough time left on my clock.

 

[explanade]

I've been to NZ 2 or 3 times, I think the scenery hype is very warranted.

Mostly weather has been good for me, though one year, I had terrible hay fever while I was there.

 

[Helen]

I did a 4 week Flying Kiwi Adventure tour of the south island. It was amazing. I have backpacked throughout the Pacific North West, but found the south island to be even more spectacular. The company that runs it is excellent and we had an excellent guide and assistant. It's a New Zealand based company and the others on the tour were from all over, not predominately American which was a plus for me. The ages of the people on the trip were really spread out.

I did sea kayaking, white water rafting, a 3 day backpacking trip, hang gliding, ice glacier hiking, a swim with the dolphins and amazing day hikes.

https://flyingkiwi.com/

 

[aja8888]

I did a 4 week Flying Kiwi Adventure tour of the south island. It was amazing. I have backpacked throughout the Pacific North West, but found the south island to be even more spectacular. The company that runs it is excellent and we had an excellent guide and assistant. It's a New Zealand based company and the others on the tour were from all over, not predominately American which was a plus for me. The ages of the people on the trip were really spread out.

I did sea kayaking, white water rafting, a 3 day backpacking trip, hang gliding, ice glacier hiking, a swim with the dolphins and amazing day hikes.

https://flyingkiwi.com/

I thought this thread was about bucket list disappointments?