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What: #23 Buy front row tickets to an event

Where: New York City
When: December 21st
Why: As one settles into their career and manages to work out a budget to pay bills and buy food and still save for retirement, it can sometimes feel very uncomfortable to splurge, even if there is a very good rationale behind it. For me, most of my splurges are related to travel; it's rare that I buy a new clothing item or some decorative accessory for my home. I'm much more of an "experiences" person than a "things" person. With that in mind, I found myself planning a trip to New York City to visit some friends over a long weekend, and decided that as an adult, I finally wanted to see a show on Broadway. Not just any show, but a show currently starring one of my favorite singers - Sara Bareilles. Therein lies the rationale for splurging on front row tickets; it's not only a Broadway show, but also basically a concert to see and hear one of my favorite singers!

The show - "Waitress" - is based on a movie starring two actors I really like, Keri Russell and Nathan Fillion. Yet, somehow, I did not like the movie. Perhaps it wasn't something I could relate to or appreciate at the stage of life when I watched it ten years ago. I plan on watching it again in the next few weeks to revisit the story and characters and hopefully connect to it. Either way, I'm still really excited for my first Broadway show, and my front row tickets to see Sara Bareilles!

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What: #18 Take Amtrak somewhere new

When: October 23, 2017
Where: Milwaukee to Chicago
Why: In other countries, travel by train is so much easier, and it is always frustrating how inconvenient it is to get between cities here in the US. Even to hop between Detroit and Chicago, the scheduled trains are few and far between, the prices aren't low enough to consider it, and the timeliness is, well, lacking. When talking to friends in other countries, they are appalled to hear about our trains running 30-40 minutes late, and flabbergasted when we talk about them running hours late. This is simply unheard of when train travel is considered abroad. Still, the idea of train travel is so appealing to me. It's a way to see the world go by outside your window, but without the stress of being in the driver's seat, to see countrysides and small towns from the luxury of a vehicle that allows for freedom of movement and snacks and comfortable seats.

So it was that when determining the logistics for visiting friends in both Chicago and Milwaukee over a long weekend, train travel entered the conversation. It felt odd, like being a backpacker in my own country, but really it was not as inconvenient as I had feared. In Milwaukee, the hotel where I stayed was a short 15-minute walk to the train station, and even on a somewhat rainy and blustery afternoon, it wasn't too bad. No security lines, so corralling of passengers, I just walked right into the station and boarded my train. It was actually easier than in Europe, in a way, because there is only one train at a time in most American rail stations, so I didn't need to find the correct platform or be certain to be in the right car.

The ride back to Chicago was pleasant, watching the autumnal colors out the window, passing farm fields and woods and sections of the upper midwest that I hadn't before seen. For my money, this was a great option to driving or flying, and I'll consider it again in the future!