#56: Savannah's Historic District (Page 610; 2nd Ed pg 757)

May 15, 2007: Walking around beautiful Savannah
The historic homes are so fun to see from the outside....

and the inside!

Verdict: We loved Savannah. I'd go back there in a heartbeat. Great scenery, great food, great people.

#55: Mrs. Wilkes's Boarding House (Page 609)

May 15, 2007: When Lacey was just a few months old, we ventured out on our first "Family Vacation" to South Carolina and Georgia. We spent a day in Savannah and absolutely fell in love with the city. Our big meal of the day was at Mrs. Wilkes's Boarding House, which serves family style (we didn't know any of these people) all-you-can-eat platters. This home/restaurant opened in 1943. Cost: $15 per person cash or check only (in 2007).

Verdict: If you're in Savannah, go out of your way to eat here. If you're not, I wouldn't make a special trip.

#54: Walt Disney World Resort (Page 605; 2nd Ed, pg 753)

I've been to Disneyworld a few times, but my most recent was April 30, 2009. My husband watched the kids while I ventured out on a "Womancation" which kicked off at Disney World!
Thundermountain Railroad.... one of my favorites!

And a new discovery - Dole Pineapple ice cream drinks. One of the highlights of the day!

The first time I went to Disney World, I stayed at the Grand Floridian. We didn't stay there on this trip, but I made sure to go and visit and walk the grounds. I absolutely love this hotel. It is so beautiful, clean, classy and picturesque. It reminds me a lot of Hotel del Coronado.

Aside from our brief visit to the Grand Floridian, we stayed inside the park from the minute it opened until the minute it closed. What a great day!

Verdict: Wouldn't everyone in the world agree with me that Disney World is a must-do/see/experience before you die?

#53: South Beach (Page 604; 2nd Ed pg 752)

July, 2002: I booked a Carribean Cruise with two of my friends that started and ended in Miami. We decided to fly to Miami a couple days before the cruise and stay at South Beach. Here we are in front of Gianni Versace's house where he was killed in 1997. But the true highlight of South Beach for us was the beach itself...... because we ran into Leonardo DiCaprio and Toby McGuire. They were there with friends and jet skis. We talked to Leonardo for a few minutes, but alas, we weren't brave enough to ask for a picture!

Verdict: Because of our celebrity encounter, it made it one of my favorite memories and spots. However, without that encounter, the beach itself isn't anything above and beyond any other beach. Although, Ocean Drive is pretty cool to experience.

#52: Winterthur Museum (pg 596; Listed as Brandywine Valley in 2nd Ed, pg 744)

May 9, 2009: For my husband's 31st birthday, we got a baby-sitter for the weekend and drove up to Brandywine Valley and spent the morning of his birthday at Winterthur. Winterthur was owned by the famed du Pont family and is not considered one of the world's premier museums containing 17th-19th enturey American antiques.
The home (well, mansion) is impressive, no doubt. But the gardens..... beautiful! Especially in the Spring! Du Pont loved gardening and spent much of his time and money developing the 979 acres into gorgeous landscape.
Verdict: Beautiful and impressive. But wouldn't make it into my top 1000.

#51: Yosemite National Park (Page 584; 2nd Ed pg 733)

April 23-25, 2004: While living in Southern California, a friend and I decided to take a 3-day weekend and head up to Yosemite. This is where we stayed, the Wawona Hotel.
We walked to the bottom of beautiful Bridal Veil Falls.

And we visited the beautiful and famous Ahwahnee Hotel.

We spent the entire next day hiking. First, we hiked to the top of Vernal Falls and then continued on to the top of Nevada Falls.

You have to look really closely to notice that I am standing inside the middle of this tree. That gives you some perspective on how massive these treese are in the Mariposa Grove.

Bridal Veil Falls

Stopping for a pic in the middle of our hike.

We made it to the top!

And what trip to Yosemite is complete without experiencing Half Dome? We didn't hike Half Dome (but I will next time I visit and there WILL be a next time!) But we did see Half dome at sunset and from many different angles during the day. Breathtaking.

Verdict: Absolutely, a must do, must see, must experience before you die!

#50: California's Wine Country (Page 583; 2nd Ed pg 713)

April 25, 2003: I was living in Southern California and a friend and I flew to Sacramento where we rented a car and ventured out on a 3-day road-trip of Northern California. Our first stop was Napa Valley.
We visited several of the wineries. Here I am in front of Niebaum-Coppola Winery.
Verdict: I don't even drink and I loved this! The vineyards are beautiful, the towns are charming and the wineries are interesting and fun to tour. You could easily do this for a day or two and couple it with some of the other great things to do in Northern California (which is what we did).

#49: San Francisco's Cable Cars (Page 581; Listed as San Francisco in the 2nd Ed, pg 727)

July 20-22, 2001: My friend Beverly and I flew to San Fran from Vegas, where we were living. We had lots of things on our agenda to do while visiting this fabulous city, but chief among them was getting on a famed San Francisco Cable Car!

Verdict: This is another thing that I think you can very well die without having experienced. I wouldn't travel to San Francisco solely to experience this. But.... if you happen to go to San Francisco to see the other sights (that are a must before you die, such as the Golden Gate Bridge), well, then you might as well ride a Cable Car! They are fun, quaint, charming and quite enjoyable!

Note:  The 2nd Edition simply lists "San Francisco" and San Francisco, with the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, Coit Tower, Fisherman's Wharf, etc is absolutely a must do before you die!

#48: Hotel Del Coronado (page 580)

March, 2002
I love the Hotel del Coronado because it's beautiful, classy, historical (open since 1888, has hosted nearly every US President, countless celebreties including Marilyn Monroe as Some Like it Hot was filmed here, etc) and most importantly because my parents spent their honeymoon here.
Verdict: Okay, so of all the things you need to do before you die, I don't necessarily think this has to be one of them. But if you have the time (and the money)....... well, then, I wouldn't miss it!

#47: Pacific Coast Highway (Page 578; 2nd Ed pg 724)

April, 2003: Check out this view. It looks like some lush foreign land, but it's the good ole' USA.... from the viewpoint of the PCH!
An undiscovered coast. Or at least it felt like it. One of our stops along the PCH - one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen and yet NOBODY was there. Literally not one single person.

Another view from the PCH in Northern California (between San Francisco and Oregon border)

Hearst Castle

My Hearst Castle (located in San Simeon, not too far off the PCH) was actually on a separate trip, but like Hollywood, due to the fact that I lived just minutes from the PCH in Huntington Beach, I couldn't just pick one time I'd been there since I have driven on the PCH hundreds of times. However, two times that stand out are my purposeful PCH drive where a friend and I flew to Sacramento, rented a car, headed for the coast and drove up North. Truly some of the most breathtakingly beautiful sights I have ever seen. And the second time is when I drove to Hearst Castle with some friends. Hearst Castle sits atop "Enchanted Hill", the name the owner, Mr. William Randolph Hearst, called the hill where he built this magnificicent 115-room mansion. We took a day-time tour (fabulous) and a night-time tour (even more fabulous). The night-time tour had people dressed in clothes of the time and acting as if they were guests. So you saw people lounging by the pool, playing billiards, in their room reading the newspaper, etc. It was fun to have that "feel" of the home.

Verdict: Absolutely gotta do it! But, while the PCH runs along almost the entire coast of California, my personal preference is up North. More scenery and less traffic!

#46: Hollywood (Page 575; Listed as Los Angeles in 2nd Ed, pg 716)

October 12, 2002: Admittedly not a very good picture of me in front of the Kodak Theatre. But here's the thing. I lived in Orange County for 2 1/2 years, so I've been to Hollywood so many times that it just never really occurred to me to take pictures of it. But I found one. Not a good one, but at least some proof!

Verdict: If you find yourself on the West Coast to go to Disneyland, drive the PCH or go to the beach, why not come visit one of the most famous "towns" on Earth? But, honestly, I wouldn't go out of your way. It's over-rated, run amok with tourists.

Note:  The 2nd Edition does not have this listed separately; rather it has it listed under "Los Angeles."  And LA and it's environs including Hollywood, Disneyland, the Getty Center, Beverly Hills, Downtown LA, etc is absolutely something you must see before you die!

#45: The Getty Center (Page 574)

March 20, 2004: The Mission Statement of the Getty Center, in part, is as follows: "The J. Paul Getty Museum seeks to further knowledge of the visual arts and to nurture critical seeing by collecting, preserving, exhibiting and interpreting works of the highest quality."
Verdict: This really is a beautiful place to walk around with an extremely impressive collection of art in all forms. And to top it off, it's FREE! So, if you're in California (I was living there at the time I went), why wouldn't you go? But, do I really think this HAS to be something you do/see before you die? Well.... No.

#44: The Grand Canyon (pg 568, 2nd Ed pg 706)

February 2000: I was living in Las Vegas and the guy I was dating at the time and I decided to drive to and from Grand Canyon in a day since neither of us had ever seen it. As 1000 Places to See Before You Die states, "Few things in this world produce such awe as one's first glimpse of the Grand Canyon." I couldn't agree more.
Nearly every good picture I have of this trip is obviously with my then boyfriend, but now that I am happily married to someone else, I didn't really want to post any of those pictures, so my pictures, unfortuanely are slim pickings! It doesn't really matter since pictures don't do it justice. You just have to see this in person!

Nature worked on this for billions of years.... and it was worth the wait!

Verdict: Absolutely one of the most amazing visual experiences on Earth. I absolutely hope to go back again with my husband and kids and to stay for several days.

#43: The Inside Passage and Glacier Bay (Page 565; 2nd Ed pg 703)

June 22-29, 2001: My friend (and former college roommate) and I cruised the Inside Passage of Alaska. We left from Vancouver, British Columbia.
Our first stop was in Ketchikan, the "Salmon Capital of the World." It was in the 50's and rainy the day we were there and we were told that it rains >2/3rd's of the days here with 162 inches of precipitation annually. Even so, it had a population of 15,000 people, making it Alaska's 4th largest city.

Our next stop was Juneau, a beautiful city! There aren't any roads into or out of Juneau, so you must travel there by boat or plane. It is the capital of Alaska and, at the time, had a population of 33,000 people. We started out our day by going kayaking. We saw swarms of Bald Eagles - absolutely gorgeous!

After kayaking with the Eagles, we decided to go whale watching. This was one of my favorite events of the whole week. We each spent $100 and it was worth every penny! We were on a fairly small boat with 13 other people along with the captain and a guide. They took us out to Auke Bay and we saw several humpback whales, including a baby. We saw them spouting, going on deep dives where we saw their tals in the air, etc. In my journal, I wrote, "The coolest was when they did this bubbling feeding. The whole school of themc came up at once and then circled around the fish to trap them and eat them. That was so cool! Words and pictures can't describe it. It was so neat and so beautiful to see all of them in their natural habitat."

Since I didn't have a good camera with me at the time, this postcard will have to serve as a sampling of what we saw!

Skagway, Alaska is just off the Lynn Canal and is where the Klondike Gold Rush of 1898 began. Gold seekers began here to do the 45 mile trek over the White Pass toward the Klondike gold fields. The population boomed during that time, but today (2001), only 750 people live in this town. We boarded the White Pass and Yukon Route Rail Road. My comment in my journal was "It was neat but not worth the $94 we paid to go on it."

A picture of our train.

Hubbard Glacier in Yakutat Bay. We came within 1.2 miles of the face which, we were told, is the closest the ship had been able to get all season. My journal: "There were big ice chunks floating everywhere and you could see parts of it breaking off which was followed by a noise that sounded like thunder. It was beautiful and fascinating. Hubbard glacier stretches over 90 miles making it one of Alaska's biggest. It is 6 miles wide and 300 feet high."

Other stops we made were to Valdez, Seward and finally Anchorage. Verdict: Everybody must visit the Inside Passage at least once in their life! The wildlife and raw beauty of the Earth is something that must be seen in person!