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What: #52 Fly-fish 

When: August 22nd
Where: Pagosa Springs, Colorado
Why: Interestingly, most people got hooked on the idea of fly-fishing from the film A River Runs Through It. Instead, however, I more recently got attached to the idea from the movie Salmon Fishing In The Yemen. As a kid, I did some basic fishing with a reel and learned how to cast and bait a hook. The terminology is the same for fly-fishing, but the motions are very different for casting and tying on a fly. Casting required a lot of repetition to get the hang of the movement, and as our guide had warned us, we forgot almost everything as soon as we had on a fly and were at the water's edge. Luckily, he was very patient with us - and the scenery was so beautiful, staring at the blue sky and clouds reflected in the water, hearing the river running by, feeling the sun warming our backs - and eventually I caught my first fish! It was a catch-and-release program, so we released it back into the wild and kept trying to catch another, which after another hour or so, wasn't going to happen. This is definitely something I want to try again, and hope that I remember all of the specifics to give it a go!

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What: #51 Go to a national park outside of Michigan that I’ve never been to

When: August 18th
Where: Black Canyon of the Gunnison
Why: Growing up, I was fortunate to be exposed to some wonderful places contained in our national parks, places like Yellowstone and the Everglades. Those are the big name parks, and yet there are so many more that go under the radar, and Black Canyon in Colorado is one of those hidden gems. It isn't really on the way to anything else, and so it was just us and a few other visitors enjoying this amazing place. The canyon is striking - so narrow, about 2000 feet down to the river, and incredible colors in the rock walls. We learned a lot about the geology of the area, attended an evening program to learn about lichen and owls and bats, and then a guy in our campground showed us Saturn through his telescope. It was a really memorable place, and a reminder of the beauty on this planet. 

Sun setting after a nice hike

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What: #1 Go to Tashmoo Biergarten in Detroit 

When: August 16th
Where: 511 Woodward, Detroit
Why: My friend Cathy told me about this cool open-air biergarten that pops up around Detroit in the summers called Tashmoo. As a huge fan of Detroit (and not because it's trendy, I've grown up around Detroit and loved the city since childhood), supporting local events like this is always something I enjoy doing. This one was right in the heart of the city during Downtown Detroit Days, in what otherwise is a large vacant building on the main drag (Woodward Avenue). It was a random mix of people in an oddly unused space, but it was set up perfect for a few rousing games of euchre! There was musical accompaniment provided by a great DJ playing classics by such artists as Sir Mix-a-lot and Robin Thicke, and people off the streets coming up to do some impromptu line dancing. Overall, it was another beautiful night to be out in the city, capped off with a bit of food at Lafayette Coney Island. Good times!

Steph and I were feeling good!

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What: #65 Bid on and get something at a live auction

When: June 25th
Where: The home of my parents
Why: Years ago when eBay gained in popularity, I was skeptical and never got on the bandwagon. There are two reasons why this idea didn't sit well with me. First, choosing the price for something is not my idea of fun; case in point, haggling for every little thing on my recent trip to North Africa was not the least bit enjoyable. Second, I am not the type of person who shops for fun. I need a lot of time to mull over decisions, I comparison shop and search for sales, and I prefer using my money for experiences and not really for stuff. So, because the intent of this list is to do things outside of my comfort zone, the pressure situation brought on by a live auction seemed like an interesting idea. A few months ago, a friend of mine told me about a local auction at a furniture store, but I was out of town. It seemed like I wouldn't get another chance - auctions aren't as common as I thought - until my parents decided to have an auction prior to their recent move.

This auction was definitely a bit more emotional than I bargained for because I'm standing there, watching complete strangers bark out amounts of money for items that have been in my family for generations. Watching all of those heirlooms be reduced to a bunch of dollar amounts shouted by an auctioneer at a group of people was difficult. I had gone in hoping to bid on a few things of importance to me, but the things I wanted went for money amounts that surprised me. A lot. Some guy in California called in to bid $900 on an army helmet! The flip side was that things that meant a great deal to me, in more than one case, also went for very little money, and it all happens so fast. Too fast. 

The one thing I was determined to keep was a chair my grandpa had in his home. Upon first glance, it is not something my friends would expect me to want; the material and shape are not really my style. The secret is in the side compartment: this chair has an amazing back massage system in it, run by the kind of good ol' fashioned American mechanics that they just don't make put in things anymore. It has heat, it has rollers, it even has a vibrating foot rest to massage my feet. This means that I don't have to rely on getting pedicures at my local nail spa to enjoy a wonderful relaxing hour or so in a massage chair.

I learned a lot about how an auction is run, and it definitely has merit over a garage sale (*everything* goes). One of the auctioneers was a guy I went to high school with in my hometown, so he was nice enough to point out some key elements as we went along, like that they will group things together to get a better offer, they start with big value items first to get the money flowing, etc. It is interesting, and they really do talk so fast you barely catch what is happening. While I was bidding on my chair against two other bidders, the auctioneer was taking all of our bids and passing them on in lightning speed, and you do get caught up in it, and there is definitely no time to think about how much you are spending in the moment. I had gone in with a game plan to spend under $100, so luckily the other guys bowed out and I didn't have to lose the chair. I actually think I'll go sit in it as soon as I submit this post!

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What: #90 Watch “The Goonies”

When: June 23rd
Where: Ann Arbor Summer Festival
Why: It often is brought to my attention that I missed out on pivotal adolescent rites of passage, such as reading certain books (ex: Lord Of The Flies and the Diary of Anne Frank) and seeing certain films. This was one of those movies that is frequently referenced by friends, and I had no idea what I was missing. Luckily, there was a big screen showing of "The Goonies" scheduled for this year at Top of the Park - part of the summer festival - and so in addition to finally seeing this flick, it was also a chance to spend time at one of my favorite summer traditions, hang out with some friends, and enjoy a really beautiful summer night under the stars. The movie was really good - altho I think I appreciated it more an an adult than I would have as a tween. It was fun to see Sean Astin as such an "impassioned little speech giver" as Stef said, and that was so accurate! He was really a great child actor! And of course, I love adventure tales (I do own the full set of Indiana Jones movies), especially adventure tales with cheesy happy endings!