The Perpetual Tourist

When I was a little kid, I wanted to be a paleontologist, a firewoman, a professional basketball player, an Olympic speed skater, a flying trapeze artist in the circus, a zookeeper, a dolphin trainer, an actress, a writer (hey! I got one!), a candy taste tester, the Easter bunny, a professional Nintendo player, and a carpenter. Most of these ambitions faded as I realized the glory of such professions was small compared to the hard work (and often danger), and my college didn’t offer Nintendo classes. While I no longer harbor hopes for many of these occupations (though I think Easter bunny may still be within reach), it would still be cool to get to live a day in the life of some of these people.

Most of us had high hopes as children, and some people never let go of these dreams. Others may not constantly daydream about what could have been, but would still relish the opportunity to fulfill such goals. Enter Cloud 9 Living. This company is built around the idea of experience gifts, and offers you the chance to live a day in the life of many of those professionals you once dreamed of becoming.

The company has loads of experience gifts to choose from, so I recommend browsing their website to see if any of your childhood (or current) dreams are attainable through Cloud 9. Here are some of the ones that caught my eye:

Americas Cup Sailing - Spend the day sailing aboard a racing yacht in the San Diego Bay.

Dogsled Tours - You can tour the Colorado wilderness with a team of huskies in this adventure. It’s your choice whether you drive the sled or just ride along.

Private Ninja Lessons - Every boy I knew in kindergarten wanted to be a ninja. With this package, you train with a master in ancient martial arts techniques. You probably won’t be a very effective ninja after only one day, but it’s a start.

Stunt and Special Effects Workshop - This one is for people who like playing with fire. You work on a stunt playground with a Hollywod special effects coordinator, learning how to stay safe while testing your limits.

Air Combat Mission - With the help of experienced instructors, you do 75% of the actual flying in these Top Gun air combat exercises. You can keep it basic or try sophisticated aerobatic maneuvers.

The experience packages are available in many different regions of the country, so you might find one near you, or you might work the adventure into other travel plans. I’ve highlighted a lot of adventure packages, but there are tamer ones, too, like posing for a photo shoot as you live the life of a supermodel and dozens more that don’t require safety training.

Unfortunately, even though they have enough experiences to satisfy even the highest ambitions of our childhood imaginations, there’s no Easter bunny experience. Oh well.