Being able to explore new countries, cultures, and adventures is a dream come true. At 32, I’ve visited 38 countries and participated in countless extreme adventures that I thought only existed in movies and dreams. I mean, who actually pilots a jet pack or a fighter jet? Who jumps from an airplane, rides in a hot air balloon, performs aerobatics in a biplane, and swims with whale sharks all in the same weekend? Bucket List Publications isn’t just a blog or a website; it has helped me live in a dream world. It has made my daily life better than my wildest imagination. Sometimes it’s exhausting just trying to think up my next big vacation or adventure. My imagination/dreams, fellow travel/adventure bloggers, social media, The Trip Tribe, and Great American Days are my go-to sources for travel and adventure inspiration.
Dreams and imagination are always the beginning of an idea, a thought embedded in my subconscious that waits to emerge like a butterfly from a cocoon. Since I was a young girl, I can remember having a reoccurring dream about being able to fly. I don’t have wings or a parachute; I can just fly. It’s never scary or intimidating; it’s always beautiful and I’m more beautiful because of it. It’s this lingering dream that makes me want to test the limits of flight. When I’m riding in an elevator, flying in a plane, or standing at the top of a mountain looking down, my initial thought is, “I want to jump!” “I want to fly!” “I want to feel the wind rushing by me!” (Don’t get me wrong, I want to be attached to something.) I understand a dog’s desire to stick his head out the window. That’s what being in the sky is like for me. I explore my imagination and dreams, put them to paper, and I find ways to make them happen. They are what kick-start “the list” and put ideas into practice.
Matt- expertvagabond.com
Fellow travel/adventure bloggers have become the travel agents of today. When I’m trying to create my yearly bucket list or put my dreams into action, I usually search travel blogger sites before anywhere else. Watching the slider on The Expert Vagabond site is more inspirational than any commercial or advertisement. It was under the South Africa category on this site that I first started dreaming about an African Safari. First-hand experience and recent pictures make travel/adventure blogs my first stop when exploring a dream.
Social Media sites like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest are like an instant shot of adrenaline. All I need to do is look at GoPro or The Extreme Bucket List on Facebook and dozens of ideas for new experiences and destinations invade every crevice of my brain. They’re automatic storyboards for great experiences.
Discover your dream experiences by browsing through an extensive list of trips, meet amazing people online and connect with them offline, and earn credits by joining trips, inviting friends, and more. That sums up The Trip Tribe. On a daily basis, I get lost in the profiles of other travelers who crave similar trips and experiences. You can see their age, hometown, relationship status, and travel interests all in one location. The Trip Tribe is eHarmony for travelers but rather than looking for a date, you’re looking at your next best friend in travel. You can sign-up here, for free, and see what I’m talking about.
Great American Days is a goldmine of inspiration and information. Any time I’m traveling to a new location in the United States, I pull up their site for unique ideas. Sometimes I’m limited with my imagination because I don’t know that certain activities are possible; Great American Days takes the guessing out of what’s available. Race car experiences, wildlife encounters, flights, lessons, tours, camps… the list goes on. They have more than 6000 amazing experience gifts for every budget, taste, and occasion.
Your ideas and bucket lists extend the reach of my imagination to the far corners of the world. From polar bear expeditions in northern Canada to mingling with penguins in Antarctica, from shark diving in South Africa to heliskiing in Japan, your stories and ideas have shown me that anything and everything is possible.
Dream. Live. Create. Share. Join me as I explore the limitless possibilities of the world.
“The purpose of life, after all, is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experiences.”
– Eleanor Roosevelt
Bucket List Publications 
Thanks for sharing some great sources… following your adventures is an adventure in itself!
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That’s too much of fun. thanks for sharing
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Carry on dreaming and doing, I’m not going to jump out of a plane, but I hope to throw so e fir coins into that fountain in Rome.
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All abo-oard!
Always nice visiting with you to catch up on your adventures, Leslie.
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I want to make an extreme bucket list! I have had bucket lists, but they used to comprise of read such and such, get drivers lisence, visit mexico… There is so much more out there to do and see. Thanks for sharing!
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Pingback: Inspirational Sources for Travel & Adventure | Just Me and My Thoughts
I have so many things on my extreme bucket list, but very few dollars to fund them. Any ideas?
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Pingback: Inspirational Sources for Travel & Adventure | English M 5/2013
Being me Lesley 🙂 – I would like to know more about the psychological process you use to enable you to bring your dreams to fruition. I like to get to know people and am always interested in how they work things out! I love the thought of you as a child dreaming about wanting to fly – the dream can be taken as a representation of life and you are certainly flying… Like I’ve said before, it’s lovely to hear you, as much as the activities and dreams you bring to fruition.. Janice
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It’s simple. My husband and I are crazy 😉 We think about what we want and stop at nothing to make it happen. I don’t believe in restrictions and limitations. Everything is possible.
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So, the next question I would ask – if you don’t mind, is. How did you turn doing what you want – stopping at nothing to make it happen, earning a living and putting a roof over your family’s head, whist doing so, into a business? Janice. 🙂
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I’m not going to lie and say that it works for everyone. I decided that I wanted to write a travel blog so I quit my teaching position and started writing, but my husband’s salary was enough to pay the bills until I got started. That being said, I would have found another way; I just didn’t have to. I couldn’t spend my entire life doing a job that wasn’t the absolute best fit for me. You just have to decide.
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Hi Lesley,
Thanks for responding. I really appreciate your candidness in your reply. Especially as I am new and trying to find my own inimitable way to earn a living as a Writer/Blogger – travelling through life.
I am interested in what people do, why they do it and how. So I’m always interested to hear about you in your posts as well as your adventures.
Thank you once again, keep dreaming up new adventures and living life to the full. Regards, Janice 🙂
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Thanks for the list– I’ve only really looked at traditional resources (NY Times, Guardian, etc) so reading travel blogs is new to me. It’s been tricky culling through them all but I just clicked through on your recommendations and they look right up my alley– love the expert vagabond.
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A great taste of inspiration. Currently trying to save for travel. Time to get the Bucket List fulfilled 😉
As with the comment by String Theory, I also wonder how some people manage to AFFORD to live their dreams . . . . espsecialyl with the current economic situation the world faces :-\
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Great ideas and sources, have reblogged on http://yearinnz.wordpress.com/
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Thanks for the list and the inspiration. What I find incredible about your journey is that you now do it with your young child. There is no holding you back. And what an interesting life you’ve created for her.
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wow such a wonderful weekend Lesley..you are a true inspiration for all of us lady…hope I get to meet you one day 🙂
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This is great!! Thanks so much for sharing! Traveling is one of my passions. 😉
Diana
http://www.ManhattanImageandStyle.com
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I thought about jumping out a plane but I don’t think I’ll ever do it but i will live through you lol.
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Nice going. When did you start all of this……blog/adventure? Is this your full time life? Cheers.
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When did you start your blog/adventure? What made you start it? Is this your full time life? Awesome.
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