Good morning 2012. Here’s my AWESOME life so far. #NewYearsDay

While watching the ball drop in Times Square last night, I got to thinking about the time Shannon and I went to see that happen in person years ago.  This got me thinking about the remarkable life I’ve somehow lead over the past [insert obscure number to make my age seem insignificant] years.

So this morning I present: “the story so far.”

Shannon & I watched the ball drop in Time Square in New York City back in 2005.

Other notable things we’ve done in New York:

• Went to the top of the World Trade Center.  (That’s where the photo above was taken.)
• Saw the Rockettes perform at Radio City Music Hall on Christmas Day.
• Got engaged on the top of the Empire State Building.
• Saw a couple of Broadway shows.
• Visited Central Park, the zoo, and a few museums.

We’ve driven cross country from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean.

We do a lot of driving:

• We’ve driven as far north as New York (from Florida.)
• We’ve driven as far south as Key West (to the Southernmost Point.)

We once rode the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror by ourselves.

Theme parks we’ve found our way to:

• Magic Kingdom
• EPCOT
• Animal Kingdom
• The Hollywood (aka Disney/MGM) Studios
• Disneyland
• California Adventure
• Universal Studios Florida
• Universal Studios Hollywood
• Islands of Adventure
• Busch Gardens Tampa

We’ve been to the Alamo in Texas.

We’ve had beignets and coffee in the French Quarter in New Orleans

I’ve been to the Daytona 500 with my pal Joey Snackpants.

We’ve been twenty feet under the ocean in the Bahamas.

We saw the damn Hoover Dam in Arizona and Nevada.

We’ve dropped in on Myrtle Beach, South Carolina (and confirmed that it is almost just like most parts of Orlando, Florida.)

We’ve gone white water rafting on the Arkansas River in Colorado.

Other amazing things we’ve done in Colorado:

• Went white water rafting again the next year… in class five rapids.
• Drove to the top of Mount Evans (the highest paved road in the U.S.)
• Went tubing in Clear Creek near Golden, CO.

We ate crab cakes on the harbor in Baltimore, Maryland.

We’ve been surrounded by alligators on an airboat in the Everglades.

We’ve been to the top of the Washington Monument in D.C.

Other Washington D.C. adventures include:

• Did a tour of the White House during Christmas.
• Walked ALL of the Smithsonian Museums.
• Visited all the major monuments including the Jefferson, Lincoln, and Roosevelt.

We have been to the top of the sombrero at South of The Border (South Carolina.)

We’ve visited the Chichén Itzá pyramid and ruins in Mexico.

More Mexico zaniness that ensued:

• We went diving at Cenote Ik Kil Mexico (a giant sinkhole in the ground.) 
• We ate tacos and drank beer and tequila.
• I went to a 24 hour Walmart with some friends.  (Trust me; this counts as an adventure in Mexico.)

We’ve been to the Grand Canyon.

We’ve been to Las Vegas a number of times.

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, but I can tell you this much:

• We once saw the Spice Girls perform at Mandalay Bay.
• We saw Holly Madison’s real fake boobies in Peepshow at Planet Hollywood.
• We saw the Beatles Cirque de Soleil show “Love.”

More important Chicago adventures included:

• Going to the top of the Willis (Sears) Tower.
• Eating pizza (at Gino’s East.)
• Visiting that Art Institute and other local museums.

We’ve been to Indianapolis, Indiana a couple of times.

I’ve visited Los Angeles, California a couple of times now.

Some highlights:

• Joey Snackpants and I crashed the Occupy Los Angeles protest and grabbed food in Chinatown.
• Shannon and I drove down the Pacific Coast Highway and saw the sights.