The Changing of the Guard ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery was one of the most intense things I've ever watched. I did it during a trip to Arlington.
- A Day Zero Project goal of P.J.’s has been completed!
Goal completed: Travel to 5 new cities I have never been before.
Date completed: Labor Day Weekend, 2011.
Number: 49 (remember, these goals will not all be done in order. It’s a random list where the numbers actually are).
Description: To visit five cities I hadn’t been to before, whether it be a day trip or several days.
Why I wanted to do it: Why not? Seemed like a pretty cool goal!
How I did it: With having a little “extra” time this year, I got done with this one a little quicker than I thought I would. Alas, it started last year and I finished it this past Labor Day.
The cities I visited were:
- Portland, Maine.
- Washington, D.C.
- Arlington, Va.
- Chicago, Ill.
- Worcester, Mass.
Now, I realize they aren’t all the most exciting places in the world. Alas, it was just to help me find some new places. (A side note, I was in DC and Arlington when I was really, really young. But, I don’t remember any of it. Therefore, I am counting them). The reality is, I enjoyed each city I went to. I did more in some than others. For example, I was in the Chicago area for several days, but only spent one full day in the city. I got to see and roam Washington D.C. a bit and Arlington was spent mainly at a friend’s place and the national cemetery. I explored Portland quite a bit and enjoyed my time there. I stayed outside of Worcester for a few days, but had the chance to see a little of the city and eat there.
For the most part, I had a reason to visit each of these places. I had friends in the D.C./Arlington area; I was seeing a friend graduate from Navy basic training in the Chicago area; I went to Worcester and surrounding places because of a disc golf tournament and Portland, well, it seemed like a fine place to visit. I had wanted to go to Maine and head to Bar Harbor, but weather made me decide to stick it in Portland for a few days instead and I’m glad I did!
Overall, it was fun seeing these cities — even as much or as little as I was in them. For the most part, if I knew I was going to spend time in the city, I used TripAdvisor a lot to pick places to eat and then utilized geocaching and such to help me find some cool places to see. I hope, before this Day Zero project of mine is over, that I have the chance to visit a few more cities to add to this list.
About P.J.’s Day Zero Project: Day Zero is a project where people come up with 101 things to do over 1001 days. I started the project on Oct. 10, 2010 with an anticipated finish date of July 8, 2013. Goals will not be revealed until they are completed. A private list is at the Day Zero website and the list will be made public upon completion of the project. It’s my thoughts that if things are kept private, should I not do them, change or find a way around it, I’d only be cheating myself.
One day while driving, I came to a stop at a red light. I looked both ways and made sure no one was coming, then proceeded to make a left turn. A few seconds later it hits me — you can only make a right on red. I felt like such an idiot.