Curtis' Advice... Ten Things You Should Do Before You Die

1. GO SKYDIVING

Skydiving has to be the most incredible ride of a lifetime. Taking a leap-of-faith out of the cargo hold on a B90 King Air airplane at an altitude of approximately 30,000 and free falling for about 2 minutes requires courage or just an “I am dying anyways” attitude. At this height, it requires breathing pure 100% oxygen, so to prevent getting the “bends” that could result in death.

2. DOCK WITH THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION

Can anyone spare a little extra change of about $20 million to book a trip to spend a week on board the International Space Station. Wow, this vacation would be the trip of a lifetime. Just imagine, staring out from the International Space Station and gazing at the awesome blue marble that we know as Earth and experiencing weightlessness would be a hoot, too. You’ll be sent a postcard or an email or something for your donation.

Fact:
The International Space Shuttle has taken more than 293,141 images of the earth. The Space Shuttle has taken more than 287,116 images, the Mir with 2,512 images and the Skylab with a mere 37 images that are stored in NASA’s databases.

3. EDGE OF SPACE SUPERSONIC JET RIDE

Ok, you don’t have a spare $20 million to spend for a 7-day trip to the International Space Station. That’s fine, but you don’t have to give up. How about considering a trip to the edge of space in a British Jet Fighter called the Lightning? Just think about it for a minute. Imagine flying 60,000 feet high over the earth at a speed of 50 thousand feet per minute and seeing the curvature of the earth. Now, that would fill a barf bag up with a stomach full of excitement.

Fact:
To put 60,000 feet in perspective, it’s like stacking 41.29 Empire State Building one on top of another and still fall a little short of the height that this flight would take you.

4. TAKE A RIDE ON A RUSSIAN MIG-FIGHTER JET

The modern-day cold war will just have to wait until after we get our chance to take a ride on the legendary MiG-29 or the extraordinary MiG-31 Foxhound, while pulling G’s way beyond the speed of sound. The best thing is that the Sokol Aircraft Plant in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia is not that far from Alaska, so if we book this adventure right, then we have the chance to see Alaska, too.

Fact:
The MiG-31 Foxhound can travel at a top speed of 1,865 mph using its power- plant of two 34,171-lb after-burning thrust Soloviev D-30F6 turbofans.

5. DIVE TO THE TITANIC ON-BOARD A SUBMARINE

If you feel more comfortable exploring the mysteries beneath the oceans, then visiting the world-famous Titanic must be at the top of any things to do list before you die kind of thing. For a mere $35,000 you could be one of the chosen few to see first hand probably the world’s most famous shipwreck. Traveling down to 3800 meters to the ocean’s bottom where light is a stranger this deep below the surface and the beast are tough.

Fact:
Only 706 passengers and crew managed to overcome the tragic sinking and the elements out of more than 2222 passengers and crew.

6. CLIMB THE GREAT PYRAMID OF EGYPT

Following in the footsteps of King Khufu and travel back in time to 2720-2560 BC to marvel at the engineering masterpiece of one of the Seven Wonders of the World, the Great Pyramid of Giza. An estimated 2.6 million blocks weighing as much as 70 tons apiece were used in the construction of the Great Pyramid. Can you imagine the sense of achievement that it would be to climb to the top of the 482-foot Great Pyramid and panning the vast desert landscape?

Fact:
The subterranean chamber leads to a passage that descends 345 feet beneath the earth. It’s foundation covers thirteen acres and has lost 33 feet of all of its dimensions due to erosion of its marble encasing that once was used to protect the pyramid from the brutal desert elements.

7. VISIT THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA

The Great Wall of China was built in the Qin, Han and Ming dynasties as defensive fortifications during the Warring States Periods of the Yan, Zhao and Qin dynasties. However, it did not become known as the Great Wall until the Qin dynasty. The construction required an army of labor that included soldiers, prisoners and average people to complete the more than 4163 miles of the wall. With a history of more than 2000 years, this is one destination that cannot be missed out on.

Fact 1:
It took “The China Great Wall Academy” 45-days to survey all of the 101 sections of the Wall in different provinces. That’s one time-consuming job.

Fact 2:
The Chinese call the Wall “Wan-Li Qang Qeng” when translated 10,000-Li Long Wall, which 10000 Li equals about 5000 km. It was built solid with a thickness of 30 feet at its widest area and a mere 15 feet at its narrowest sections.

8. COVERT OPS

Live out your wildest dream of becoming an ultra-secret covert agent and assigned a mission to take down the enemy hideout and complete the mission. No, you don’t have to join the military to experience the action of a realistic covert operation and receive covert ops training before the mission begins.

Incredible-Adventures.com offers such a vacation for the most extreme vacation adventurers among us. I found this website while researching for this article and was amazed at what some people are willing to do, just to add a little adventure in their lives. Sure, combat pistol training and high-speed evasive driving excises might sound exciting and becoming secret agent 021 (3 times more lethal than 007) has always captured the attention of many young men and boys the world over.

Fact:
Dropping down behind enemy lines operating under deep cover and carrying out missions only a few high-level government officials have approved is normally referred to as Covert Ops (Covert Operations).

9. DIVING WITH SHARKS

After watching the movie Jaws, it seemed like the perfect extreme vacation that would scare the heck out of you and overload the senses with unthinkable excitement. Great white sharks circling the cage like a prehistoric stealth bomber planning its attack. The only thing that is between you and them is a stainless steel cage. Every time the sharks crash into the cage with the power of a truck, the strength of the engineering is being tested. Diving with sharks is on this list, because the attraction can eat the spectators.

Fact:
The world-record for the largest Great White Shark was caught in 1948 and measured at 21 feet long almost 5 feet longer than the average size Great White Shark.

10. TAKE AN AFRICAN SAFARI

One of the coolest vacations that a person could ever take is booking an African safari. Just think how amazing it would be to actually observe nature’s magnificent beasts roaming free in the wild. Loins resting under the shade, while hippos waddle about in the mud holes and elephants standing guard out in the distance. Look! There is a pair of giraffes grazing on those trees and checkout those rhinos as they charge. Pilanesberg National Park is South Africa’s fourth largest national park comprising 212 square miles of nature at her best.

Fact:
Pilanesberg National Park is the home of Africa’s Top Five animal attractions including lion, leopard, black and white rhino, elephant and buffalo, not to mention the zebra, hippo, giraffe and crocodile that an adventurer may be faced with on an African Safari.

Final : KISS YOUR GIRLFRIEND (for boys only)

Maybe you are not ready to do this when you are alive, so DO NOT loose this wonderful chance to do that... Instead of kissing her, make her kiss you !! haha ~muaks