This is the
fourth year of publishing a list of my best experiences of the year.
The full list had a record thirty-three items and reducing it
down to the top ten was tough, with many memorable and worthy events
not making the final cut. For this truly remarkable year, here
are the best of the best.
10. Having a
Heart Calcium Test Score of Zero
My doctor put
me in a statin to lower my cholesterol, which it did very
drastically, but with a side effect of a nasty rash, so I had to
stop. However, there’s now a new test that measures the
calcium buildup around the heart, an indicator of how much plaque has
formed in the arteries around the heart. My test result was
zero, meaning no buildup and no need for further meds.
9. Taking
the Tullamore D.E.W. Tour
This year’s
top ten list contains four experiences from Ireland, leaving out at
least that many others. Tullamore D.E.W. is my wife’s
favorite Irish Whiskey and learning their history and the distilling
process was fascinating. Getting to taste three separate
samples was pretty nice too. Finally, we all learned that
“D.E.W”, not Dew as we all thought, stands for Daniel Edmund
Williams, who worked for nearly
sixty years at the distillery.
8. A
Sunset Sail Cruise in Key West
A trip to Key
West wasn’t on the list of planned vacations for 2014, but was won
at a conference as one of their big prizes. I’ve seen the
sunset from Mallory Square a dozen times, but no way does that
compare to experiencing it on a boat.
7. Watching
Alan Jackson Perform at The Fraze
There is an
experience missing here that I’m sure would have made the list, but
due to moving the Ireland trip up a week, we had to sell our tickets
to see Darius Rucker at the Fraze. However, the Alan Jackson
concert rocked to It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere and weeped to Where
Were You (When The World Stopped Turning).
6.
Attending the TEDxDayton Conference
This was the
second year for the independently organized, sold-out TED
(Technology, Entertainment, Design) conference at the Victoria
Theatre in downtown Dayton and it didn’t disappoint. A little
more than twenty interesting talks on a wide variety of subjects
sprinkled with a few singing and dancing acts. Hard to pick out
a favorite presentation, but I’ll give it to the final one of the
day, by Toniya Singh, relating her experiences growing up in India
and coming to the USA.
5. Dinner
and Music at McGann’s in Doolin, Ireland
The last full
day in Ireland was spent traveling to Doolin, a small seaside town
near the Cliffs of Moher. The cliffs were awesome, albeit on a
foggy day, but having dinner and listening to real Irish music at
McGann’s, a small locals tavern, that night was even better. The
music was performed in exchange for drinks and was top notch. And
when we asked for four shots of Irish Whiskey as our final toast our
trip, they pulled out four tumblers. When we asked the
bartender to use shot glasses, he complied while stating “that’s
a novel idea!”.
4. Dinner
at the Blue Heaven in Key West
My hat’s
off to Duane who suggested this quintessential Key West restaurant.
Great food, drinks and music. Tables are inside the
restaurant walls but out in the open with chickens clucking and
flying around. The bass player’s instrument was made out of a
old wash tub and he explained its history as we chatted at the bar
during a break.
3. Touring
the Aran Islands
Starting in
Galway City, we took a 45-minute bus ride and a 45-minute ferry ride
to Inishmore, the largest of the Aran Islands. The roads,
property lines, grazing fields and about everything else on the
islands are lined with rock walls, busted out of the ground to
provide land for food and housing. Most impressive were the
cliffs, with no barriers to keep you safe, and braving the high winds
to take some memorable pictures.
2.
Seeing Jeff Dunham Perform in Las Vegas
I’ve
seen all of Jeff Dunham’s Comedy Central performances and when
luck, lots of luck, came together, I was able to watch him perform
live in Las Vegas with his sidekicks Walter, Little Jeff, Achmed The
Dead Terrorist, Peanut and Jose Jalapeno. The act is part
planned, part ad lib, a little picking on the audience and a very
funny couple hours. The second best live comedy I’ve ever
seen, just behind The Producers, on Broadway, starring Matthew
Broderick and Nathan Lane, many years ago.
1. Taking
the Guinness Storehouse Tour in Dublin
Guinness is
my favorite beer, so I guess it's no wonder that the holy grail of
2014 would be visiting where it all began. The highlight
of the tour was learning to pour a perfect Guinness, tilting the
glass at a 45 degree angle while pulling the tap forward, letting it
settle for 119.5 seconds, and topping it off while pushing the tap
forward. Then enjoying the beer in the GRAVITY bar on the top
floor of the Storehouse with its gorgeous view of Dublin.
