This Week's Bucket List Additions 2

Every week, I am inspired to try out new adventures and I've decided to keep track of new additions to my bucket list each Friday.  You can see what I added to my list last week here and this weeks additions below.

-Spend a night at an ice hotel. Difficulty rating: 7 out of 10
When I saw the British super-agent James Bond visit an ice hotel in 'Die Another Day' I knew I HAD to visit one for myself someday.  I think most kids dream of adventures in igloos and giant snow forts, I know I certainly did.  So when I realized that people really do build massive hotels out of ice, I was filled with childish excitement.  It seems that every December in Sweden they build the world's largest Ice Hotel from scratch, including a bar, a church, reception hall and enough rooms for 100 people.  It's not cheap, simple accommodations for 2 in a snow room with sleeping bags runs about $500 a night, but what a truly unique experience!  Plus there are all kinds of exciting things to do while you're there.  You can watch the northern lights from horseback, go dog sledding, watch cultural performances and even go on something called a 'moose safari'.  Moose Safari!  I'd love to visit the world's largest and first ice hotel, but there are several others I'd be just as happy to visit, including one in Japan.

Hanging out in an ice tunnel I built with my wife after a recent blizzard

copyright Jeff Howick 2011

-Try the new pretzel M&Ms.  Difficulty rating: 1 out of 10
I know I'm a little late to the bandwagon on this one, but I love it when new varieties of M&Ms are released.   A new M&M flavor is a tiny reminder that humanity is still making progress in our slow forward march toward utopia.  It's a very small step toward perfection, but it's exciting none the less.  Here are my top 3 flavors of M&Ms:  #1 Dark Chocolate.  Dark chocolate is always a superior choice to milk chocolate in my book.  #2 Mint.  Usually these come out around Christmas, so I have a lot of warm memories associated with them.  #3 Peanut Butter.  This is the first 'new' variety of M&M introduced in my lifetime, and it blew my mind.  I doubt the new pretzel M&M will make it into my top 3, but eating a new flavor of M&M is still worth a mini-celebration.

Hanging out in a previous Halloween costume

copyright Jeff Howick 2011

-Take dancing lessons with my wife.  Difficulty rating 4 out of 10
After watching 'Billy Elliot' on Broadway, I was inspired to add more dancing to my life.  So I decided to try and find a place to take dancing lessons with my wife.  Ballroom dancing would probably be fun, but I think I'd prefer something more like swing dancing or salsa dancing.  I guess we'll just see what options are available nearby.