12Dec 2018 by Dave Macleod No Comments
#26 Gamble in Las Vegas

#26 Gamble in Las Vegas

BUCKET LIST, TRAVEL
This bucket list item was completed on 31st December 2012 in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. After I started working on my bucket list, my friend Kyle was inspired and began working on his own bucket list. I described the process that I followed, which was enough to get him started. He began his research and started adding items to his list. One of the items he had on his list was to compete in the World Series of Beer Pong (WSOBP), which is held in Las Vegas each year. The 2013 tournament was scheduled for three days beginning on 2nd January. One night in March of 2012, Kyle and I were having some drinks with our friends and began talking about the WSOBP. One thing led to another and we…
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05Dec 2018 by Dave Macleod 1 Comment
Summer Bucket List 2019

Summer Bucket List 2019

GENERAL
Well, it’s that time of the year again, when the southern half of this world gets to enjoy summer. I have had a long and busy winter and am looking forward to some fine weather reaching New Zealand. Summer officially kicked off this week so we are into it. As always, I have come up with five items that I want to complete this summer. Take my mum and Lexi black water rafting in the Waitomo Caves Jump at Skydive Bay of Islands Complete the Old Ghost Road mountain bike trail Spear a kingfish Surf more Black water rafting is probably one of the highlights of New Zealand adventure activities. Neither my mum nor Lexi have gone before so I thought we should cross it off their lists this summer.…
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21Nov 2018 by Dave Macleod No Comments
[#38 Lesson] Cherish Adventures with Your Close Friends

[#38 Lesson] Cherish Adventures with Your Close Friends

BUCKET LIST, LESSON, TRAVEL
This life lesson relates to my previous blog #38 Eat at a White Castle Restaurant. During this adventure I flew to Florida with two of my closest friends, Dave and Branden. The purpose of the trip was to buy a BMW and drive it back to Canada. On paper, the task sounded easy but we had to overcome multiple challenges and worked together to make it happen. A combination of time pressure and a Category 3 hurricane made our trip even more exciting. I have known Dave and Branden since I was five years old and grew up on the same street as them. We have always been close friends but it seems like every time we go on an adventure, we become closer. This was not our first adventure…
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07Nov 2018 by Dave Macleod No Comments
Happy Birthday BucketLaunch!

Happy Birthday BucketLaunch!

GENERAL
This month, BucketLaunch is turning one year old! Running BucketLaunch, posting content and helping others plan and achieve their bucket list dreams has kept me very busy over the past year. And guess what? I have loved every minute of it!!! I am thankful for all of the fans who subscribe and follow my BucketLaunch pages. It is all of you that make this worthwhile when I see the shares, comments and likes on social media. Making an impact on the world is not an easy thing to do by yourself but all of you are helping me to achieve this goal. Here are a few stats, from the past year, that I want to share with you: 178 followers on the BucketLaunch Facebook page 800+ followers on the BucketLaunch Instagram page…
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24Oct 2018 by Dave Macleod No Comments
#38 Eat at a White Castle Restaurant

#38 Eat at a White Castle Restaurant

BUCKET LIST, TRAVEL
This bucket list item was completed on 26th August 2011 in Green Brook Township, New Jersey, USA. The idea for this bucket list item came directly from the 2004 movie, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle. For those of you who are not familiar with this movie, I will elaborate. The movie follows the epic journey of two party animals who spend their night in search of their next fix, White Castle hamburgers. White Castle is known for being open late and their $1 sliders. The movie is filled with humour and life lessons and has become a bit of a cult classic for my generation. When I added this item to the list I thought it would be a funny achievement to eat at a White Castle restaurant…
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10Oct 2018 by Monika Giacca Millar No Comments
Travel Insurance… Yes, You Do Need It!

Travel Insurance… Yes, You Do Need It!

GENERAL, INFORMATION, TRAVEL
As a Travel Consultant I get to send my clients off on amazing trips all around the world. They send back photos, postcards … hey, sometimes even a souvenir. That is my favourite part of the job, and it’s why I love doing it. My least favourite part of my job is working with my clients who have had a crisis before or during their trip. I’m here to help, and I’ll always do the best I can … but when my clients opt out of travel insurance and something goes wrong, the consequences can be devastating. I’m not here to be a downer, but I want to tell you all about travel insurance, what you should look for, and how to avoid paying massive unexpected fees on your journey.…
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26Sep 2018 by Dave Macleod No Comments
Credit Card Travel Benefits: Frequent Flyer Points

Credit Card Travel Benefits: Frequent Flyer Points

GENERAL, INFORMATION, TRAVEL
This blog post is the second of my Credit Card Travel Benefits Series and continues on from Credit Card Travel Benefits: The Basics. Frequent flyer points are a great reward for anyone who loves travelling and they build up quickly when using your credit card for every purchase. However, when I received my first credit card, I did the math and realised that it would take me about 2-3 years of spending to earn enough frequent flyer points for a short haul flight across Canada. This wasn’t good enough for so I began to play “The Credit Card Game”. The Credit Card Game is something I invented to help me maximise my frequent flyer point’s earnings. The game is played by me, against the major credit card companies (although they…
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12Sep 2018 by Dave Macleod No Comments
2010 Roundup

2010 Roundup

BUCKET LIST, GENERAL, LESSON
Over the past several weeks I have been posting the stories and lessons that I have learned from my bucket list adventures in 2010. In the inaugural year, I managed to complete six items from my bucket list and each one taught me a valuable lesson. My bucket list progress from year-to-year can be tracked using the graph I have created. In case you have missed any of the stories or lessons from my bucket list adventures, here is a roundup. #86 Go for a Polar Bear Swim Completed on 1st January in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. [#86 Lesson] Just Start!   #9 Give Blood Completed on 28th January in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. [#9 Lesson] It Feels Good to Help Others   #97 Become Vegetarian for a Week Completed…
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29Aug 2018 by Dave Macleod No Comments
Shark Cage Diving Stewart Island, NZ

Shark Cage Diving Stewart Island, NZ

BUCKET LIST, INFORMATION, TRAVEL
This particular bucket list adventure was not from my list, it was actually from my girlfriend’s list. When Lexi told me she wanted to go shark cage diving, I made sure to invite myself along. This was not an adventure I was going to miss out on. It was getting late in the season when we decided to book it but we managed to get on the second last trip of the season, on 2nd June. We flew down to Invercargill the day before, where we had booked accommodation. It was a beautiful day across the whole country when we flew down to the tip of the South Island. As we were flying between Christchurch and Invercargill we were in awe of the incredible views of the Southern Alps and…
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15Aug 2018 by Dave Macleod No Comments
Land, Sea and Sky Birthday Extravaganza

Land, Sea and Sky Birthday Extravaganza

GENERAL, INFORMATION, TRAVEL
After 21, there are not many birthdays to get too excited about until you turn 30. I am still a couple years away from that milestone but this year I wanted to do something awesome for my birthday. One day I came up with the idea of the Land, Sea and Sky Birthday Extravaganza. For those of you who don’t know, New Zealand is the outdoor capital of the world! And with that kind of reputation, I intend to take full advantage of it. I told my mate, Jesse, my idea for the LSSBE, which involved going away for the weekend and doing three different adventure activities to conquer these three environments. The destination… Taupo! I have a group of friends, here in New Zealand, that share my addiction for…
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