Fort Worth’s Ultimate Bucket List

Do you have a travel bucket list? Either one you’ve written down or one that just resides in your head. Maybe you’re a planner and have a spreadsheet with separate tabs, timelines, and packing lists for each bucket list item. Or maybe you’re more of a daydreamer, and the things you’d like to do before you kick it float serenely by like clouds, changing shape as they go.

Maybe you dream of going on an African safari, or taking a dip in the Ganges, or kissing your significant other in front of the Eiffel Tower. Those are all wonderful ideas, but for most of us, far-flung adventures are relatively few and often too far between. Regardless of what’s on your bucket list, many items likely fall into the “Some Day” category, so we suggest you consider expanding that list to include some local list items that you may not have considered. You need is a local bucket list.

Author Celestina Blok

100 Things to Do in Fort Worth Before You Die is essentially that: a Fort Worth bucket list. Written by well-known local writer and third-generation Fort Worthian, Celestina Blok, and published by Reedy Press as part of a nationwide series, 100 Things To Do In Fort Worth Before You Die may just be the definitive guide to exploring our fair burg. At the very least, it is an enlightening collection of activities to satisfy your peripatetic longings. Of course, there are things in the book that you’ve already done. I mean who hasn’t had a margarita on Joe T’s patio? Many of us have done that this week, some of you twice. Or thrice.

While you will certainly recognize a good number of the Things, there will be several surprises and perhaps even a few headscratchers. For instance, did you know Fort Worth is home to the second-longest-burning light bulb on Earth? Now you do! (You’re welcome.) You’ll have to read the book to discover where to track down this marvel of not-so-modern science.

Did you know when you’re the first in line at the beautifully renovated Isis Theater in the Stockyards, you get to choose the movie everyone will watch? No pressure. When was the last time you took the family bowling at Cowtown Bowl on River Oaks Boulevard? Or spent a day swimming and picnicking at Burger’s Lake, home to the most professional roster of lifeguards west of the Pacific Ocean? Have you ever counted alligators at the Fort Worth Nature Center or taken a flight in a WWII-era warbird? You can do all that and about 93 other things without ever crossing I-820.

100 Things to Do in Fort Worth Before You Die crosses generations. It will entertain you, your parents, your kids, and your grandkids for years. When out-of-town guests begin to verge on wearing out their welcome, hand them the book and challenge them to spend a day knocking as many things off the list as they can while you go drink margaritas at Joe T’s. While you may not set out to do any or all of the things every week, month, or even year, you will be inspired to see, learn, and do things in our fascinating city you never even knew existed.

While you can find 100 Things to Do in Fort Worth Before You Die for purchase in the travel book section of that online retailer, we suggest buying locally at Monkey & Dog Books, Jabo’s Ace Hardware, or if you must, at Barnes & Nobel and Walgreen’s stores.

However, the best way to get your hands on one is to buy a signed copy directly from Celestina Blok on her Instagram page, @100thingsfortworth, and it won’t cost you a dime more. Be sure to follow Celestina on Instagram so she can remind you about recurring and time-sensitive items on the list, like Angelo’s annual anniversary celebration on St. Patrick’s Day. Green beer and barbecue, yeehaw!

Your bucket list doesn’t have to be a repository of only difficult-to-attain, “maybe one day” dreams. Keep it local and pursue some of those things that are easy to cross off the list. After all, isn’t that what lists are for? You’ll get a feeling of accomplishment and have a truckload of fun.

By the way, I take mine frozen with salt.