Number 50: Write Your Name Over a Star on the Walk of Fame

Completed 26 April 2014.
Chuck Norris - Hollywood Walk of Fame.

The Hollywood Walk of Fame, icon of Hollywood and the entertainment industry in general... and I had to write my name over one. Now because that's technically vandalism and I'm not an American citizen I couldn't risk doing something (like getting a criminal record) as it would prevent me from completing other things from the list that need to be done in the US. 

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Number 67: Visit...

Completed 30 April 2014
Update j: The Grand Canyon, Arizona

The Grand Canyon, a sight not uncommon to be included on bucket lists around the world. Coming in at one of the "7 Natural Wonders of the World", epic in size and scale.

So like as with everything else of my trip, initial step was planning and reviewing tour companies on sites like Tripadvisor, and cost was largely not an issue as it was something I was happy to pay for. I ended up deciding on Adventure Photo Tours (www.adventurephototours.com), as it seemed to be at least a bit more photographic orientated with their 6-1 tour including helicopter flight and landing on the base of the canyon.

 
It was going to be a full day with an early start and late finish, so after making sure batteries were charged, SD cards clear and all camera gear packed I was out the door to wait for pickup. 

First stop was the Hoover Dam which in my experience was a bit disappointing, however that may have just been the tour only allowed us to view from the one side and it wasn't the impressive picturesque side. Honestly, this was the reason I didn't do many "tours" while in America, because I like to see things at my own pace and explore. But still that was done and on to the next. 

After a long drive, though some very pretty country, the next stop, was the Joshua Tree National Forrest. We had a look around, took some photos before continuing on our way, although the single road to the canyon was undergoing some serious road works which lead to some significant delays. But we got there in the end. 

Now you start off at a base camp which has buses that travel around to a few lookout points, however we decided to take the helicopter flight first before visiting the lookouts and getting lunch. I have to say, I would have paid the entire days fee just for the helicopter flight itself. It was amazing and worth every cent. 

Flying over and through the canyon is something I will now recommend to anyone who is visiting it. When we landed on the base of the canyon, we were able to get out, walk around and snap some photos before getting back in and flying out. 

Next was a cruise around via the shuttle buses to two different lookout points and a silly little village that was a typical tourist trap, which no offence to the people that built it. I have no interest in that lame type of activity (although the food was amazing, granted). 

Unfortunately number 67 won't be marked as complete until all of the sites listed have been visited. 

Colosseum, Rome, Italy 
Uluru, Australia 
Machu Picchu, Peru 
The Pyramids at Giza, Egypt 
Christ the Redeemer, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 
Sydney Harbour, Australia 
Taj Mahal, Delhi, India 
Great Barrier Reef, Australia 
Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco 
Grand Canyon, Arizona 
Angor Wat, Cambodia 
The Great Wall of China

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Number 42: Hit Your Targets

Completed 1 May 2014
Beretta M9, Remington 788 .223 Sniper Rifle, FN P90 and Heckler & Koch MP5
The Gun Store, Las Vegas

So go shooting, number 42... what better place to do this than America and what better place in America than Las Vegas. Sin City, The Diamond in the Desert where the firearm laws are lax and pretty much anything you want to do is on the cards provided you can pay.

Now I initially when I started searching there wasn't actually too many websites/gun ranges that where around. But I found one that offered the setup and experience I was looking for, www.thegunstorelasvegas.com.

Browsing there website, I found the basic package I wanted, a simple "Pick 3". and went about selecting the weapons I wanted to fire. The original plan being the .223 Sniper Rifle, the Glock 17 Carbine and the Beretta M9.

So the day rolled around while I was on my 6 week USA trip and we caught the shuttle out to the shooting range. After we checked in, we were asked to pick our targets and weapons for the pick 3 package. I changed it up on advice that "You're only here once" and picked a full machine gun (MP5) along with the Beretta M9, the .223 rifle and the weapon from Stargate the FN P90.

Beretta M9
The first gun I have ever fired and really not as scary/loud as I thought it was going to be and far less kick. Although it should be a fairly easy to use weapon since it's used by the United States Navy, United States Army and the United States Air Force. My accuracy was terrible and my range instructor could not work out my camera for this first one, so no photos, sorry.

Remington 788 .223 Sniper Rifle
The bolt action on this one was a huge amount of fun and my accuracy was great, although granted the target was not nearly far enough away. But still a lot of fun, fire, up, back, forward, down, fire.

FN P90
Now this was my favorite weapon I got to fire, the gun they use in the majority of Stargate SG-1. It was great, lightweight, quiet, practically no kick and easy to hold, aim and fire. If earth ever got attacked by the Goa'uld this would be the weapon I would run for as well. Good choice Stargate command.

Heckler & Koch MP5
This was the full on machine gun I picked out of the line-up since it was one that was generally my favorite (apart from sniper) in games like Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield which my mates and I used to play. As for the gun itself, ea sy to hold and lightweight, but the kick really did add up after more than 4-5 shots in a row. A strong up and to the right pull which you can see on the targets.

Overall, a great experience and worthy of being on the list. Something I will definitely look to do again in future.

Mark 42 as done.

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Number 38: See These Animals in the Wild...

Completed 17 May 2014
Update r. Eagle/Bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)

So this is an update for Number 38: See These Animals in the Wild for the eagle. 

Now while I was on the tour for the Grand Canyon there was possible sightings of eagles however I was unable to get a photo or confirm that they were actual eagles as America has quite a few birds of prey species a number of which look similar to eagles by an untrained eye.   

The tiny town of Walden, nice little place.

So I had written seeing an eagle off, thinking it wasn't going to happen, when one morning in the Rocky Mountains during the storm chasing tour when we were staying in a small town called Walden. 

Bob the amazing storm AND bird spotter. (yellow jacket)

We looked up and saw the most iconic of all the eagles. An American Bald Eagle circling high overhead, at first I wasn't sure if it was what I thought it was, but Bob (one of the drivers from the tour and super awesome guy) was fairly knowledgeable on birds and wildlife and he was able to confirm that it was a Bald Eagle. 

Number 38 won't be marked as complete until all of the animals listed have been seen in the wild.

Panda
Rhino
Hippo
Grizzly Bear
Elephant
Hummingbird
Giraffe
Koala
Manatee
Gorilla
Lion
Monkey
Penguin
Kangaroo
Tiger
Crocodile
Orangutan
Eagle
Polar Bear

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Number 36: Visit Every Country/Continent

Completed 24 April - 29 May 2014
Update c. USA/North America

So this is an update for Number 36: Visit Every Country/Continent for The United States of America and North America. 

There is a few updates to come from this trip, so I'll be brief in this one and just give a rough overview of where I went, why I went and mention a few of the other updates that are to come.  

About a year and a half ago, my mother mentioned that they would be in America the same time as my 30th birthday and that I should come over. To me sounded like a great idea and opportunity to attempt completion of a few things on my list. So I launched into saving mode and subscribed to all the local airlines mailing lists for deals. 

The rough draft plan

Many hours of research later and changed plans (since America is kinda huge and I ran out of time and money before I could see everything) I ended up with the rough plan of where I was going, for how long and what to do. 

American!

Can't do America without Walmart

Over 100 flavors from this vending machine

The plan was: 
Land in Los Angeles and spend a few days
Head to Las Vegas for friends and family meet-ups and birthday
Then off to Tucson for the Boneyard
And finally over to Oklahoma City for storm chasing before back to L.A. and home. 

In those few stops there was about 5-7 things from the list that could be either completed for partially completed. 

Number 11: Storm Chase a Tornado
Number 36: Visit Every Country/Continent
Number 38: See these Animals in the Wild
Number 40: Get a Free Upgrade on a Plane
Number 42: Hit Your Targets
Number 50: Write Your Name Over a Star on the Walk of Fame
Number 67: Visit...
Number 68: Save Someones Life

Not marking it as complete yet as there is a still more to visit. 

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