CONTENTS INTRODUCTION GALAS, PARTIES, AND GET-TOGETHERS: MARVELOUS WAYS TO MIX, MINGLE, AND MEET NEW FRIENDS Opening Night $$$-$$$$ Create Your Own Club! $-$$$$ Go behind the Scenes on Broadway, at the Opera, or Anywhere $$ Host Your Own Literary Salon $ Mr. Hearst Will See You Now $$$ Join the Explorers Club $$$ Find Your Congregation or Community $ Throw an Annual Theme Party $-$$$ Own a Hot Auction Item $-$$$ Enjoy a Polo Match in the Summer Sun $$ Share Your Birthday with Someone Famous $ Be a Delegate at a National Convention $ Check Out Classic and Vintage Car Shows $-$$ Get Your Own Crown and Royal Entourage $ THRILL YOUR TASTE BUDS: FOOD AND WINE EXPERIENCES Spend an Evening in a Wine Cave $$$ Take a Turn as an Apprentice Farmer $-$$ Learn to Cook Another Language $-$$$ Become a Master Fermenter: Make Your Own Pickles, Beer, Bread $ Harvest Wine Grapes in France (or Work in a Vineyard) $-$$$ Make Your Own Customized Coffee $-$$ Follow the Pie Rules of Conduct $ Try a Meatless Monday and Cook Up Something New $ MAKE YOUR MARK: IRRESISTIBLY FUN DIY ACTIVITIES AND SKILLS Find Your Own Food $-$$ Build It Big: Create Something of Lasting Value $-$$ Open Your Own Bookstore $-$$$ Shift into a Higher Gear: Drive a Stick $$$ You're On! Be in a Professional Opera $ Develop Your Own Line of Food Products $$-$$$$ Become an Art Curator $-$$ Attend Jewelry School at Van Cleef & Arpels $-$$$ Create Your Family's Memoir $ Live like Martha Stewart for a Month $$ Found a Festival $-$$$ Sail Away at a Wooden Boat Festival $-$$$ Designate Your Own Meditation Room $ LIFE IS LEARNING: MUST-KNOW NEW SKILLS Sail with the Big Boys $$$ Around and Around You Go: Drive a NASCAR Car $$-$$$ Pick Up and Play: Take Up a New Instrument $-$$ Learn a Secret Language $ Cook Your Way through a Cookbook $$ Attend Oxford $$$ Get Your Hands Dirty: Participate in an Archaeological Dig $$$$ Restore an Object You Love $-$$ Learn a Long-Lost Skill for Today $-$$$ Drive a Real Train on a U.S. Railroad $ Get Silly at Clown School $$ CREATE AND INSPIRE: ART, FILM, THEATER, AND MORE! Let Me Count the Ways... Become a Poet $ Take Up an Art and Create Often $ Start a Journal-and Stick to It $ Bespoke Shoes: Custom Made Just for You! $$$ Share Your Words at a Poetry Slam $ Become a Songwriter or Lyricist $$ Enter the Magic Castle $$ Reenact History $ Down in Front! Host Your Own Themed Movie Nights $-$$$ Draw, Paint, or Create Art in a National or State Preserve $ Score a Role in a Big-Budget Movie $ Be Like a Boy Scout and Learn Basic Survival Techniques $ Create a Motivational File $ Make a Documentary $-$$$ Revive the Art of the Handwritten Letter $ GIVING BACK: MAKE YOUR MARK Run a Marathon $-$$ Become a Citizen Activist $ Volunteer in National Parks $ Those Who Can, Teach Others: Share Your Skill and Inspire Others $ Been Meaning to Give Something Up? Do It! $ Serve on a Grand Jury and Help Deliver Justice $ Help Create a National Park Larger than Yellowstone $-$$$ Be in the Olympics $$ Dig Up a Fossil $ Become a Theater Producer $$$ Participate in Audubon's Annual Bird Count $ Run for Office $ Start a Humanitarian Movement $ Participate in Cutting-Edge Scientific Research $ Get Ready to Be a Hero $ Focus on Family $ OFF THE BEATEN PATH: ONE-OF-A-KIND TRAVEL EXPERIENCES Great Ways to Get There Leaving on a (Private) Jet Plane $$$ Ride in a Vintage Bike Race in Tuscany $$$ See the World on Horseback $-$$$ Make a Pilgrimage in Spain $$$ Learn How to Use All Four Wheels at the Overland Expo $$-$$$ Cross the Seas in an Ocean Liner $$$ Old Roads, New Experiences $$$ Hike the Trails of the World, from California to the Alps $$$ Drive a Boat down the Canals of France and Germany $$$ Historic and Literary Destinations Stay at an Actual Artists' Colony $$$ Forget African Safaris. Try an Indian Safari! $$$$ Attend a Masked Ball in Venice $$$-$$$$ Explore the Literary South $$$ Tour Literary and Book Towns $$-$$$ Travel Iceland's Ring Road of Fire and Ice $$$-$$$$ Walk in Our Leaders' Footsteps: Visit Presidential Homes $$ Join Dylan Thomas's Birthday Walk $$-$$$ See an Opera under the Stars $$$ Rekindle Memories down by the Sea $-$$$ Dip Your Toes into a Piece of History-Literally. Visit One of the World's Top Pools $-$$$ Learn How to Survive in the Wild $$-$$$$ Experience Autumn on the Road $-$$$$ Visit the World's Christmas Markets and Dickens Fairs $ Bedding Down Private Lives $$-$$$ Live in a Castle $ See the United States in a Silver Bullet $-$$$ Have a Literary Sleepover in a Famous Author's House $-$$$$ Talk to Strangers $ Stay in the Favorite Hotels of the Stars $$ A Castle of One's Own $$$$ EPIC EXPERIENCES Sample Delicious Port in Portugal $$$ Drink in Gehry's Celebrated Architecture in Spain and France $$$ Spend Twelve Months Skiing on the Slopes $$$-$$$$ Take a Trip around the Globe $-$$$$ Swim from One Continent to Another $$ Embark on an African Safari by Foot $$$$ Jump in with the Big Boys $$$ Travel Your Own Silk Road $$$ Have Dinner Up in the Eiffel Tower $$$ Dine Sixty-Five Floors above New York City $$$ Travel with Your Favorite Baseball Team $$$ Own a Tiny House Just for You $$ Let's Go Racing: Be Part of a Car Race $$-$$$ Surf the Best Waves in Europe $$$ GLAMOROUS GOALS AND GETAWAYS Snuggle Up in an Ice Hotel $$$ Get Done Up and Be a Star in Photos $$ Have a Dish at a Restaurant Named after You $-$$ Celebrate Mardi Gras without the Crowds $$$ Up, Up, and Away! Ride in an Old-Fashioned Airplane $$ Shop the Best Flea Markets Do What Scares You $-$$$ Glam It Up! $ Shhhhh! No Talking: Go on a Silent Retreat $-$$ Get a Producer Credit in a Documentary $$$ Dress to the Nines: Rent the Runway and Wear Couture Fashion $ Say Yes to Your Next Opportunity! $-$$$ AFTERWORD ABOUT THE AUTHOR
