Birthdays: Go Where You’ve Never Gone Before and Do What You’ve Never Done Before – A 49-Year-Old Tours Gold Rush Country

Good morning, Live Better than a Billionaire-a-Holics!

Having been to dozens of boring 50^th birthday parties, I found myself a little depressed by the thought that something similar would be foisted on me by well-meaning family and friends. While I was still 48, such inquiries began. I resolved to avoid the boring 50^th by having a fabulous 49^th through becoming a true 49er!

My father and I had attended to many Super Bowl games together. We agreed that many of our favorite moments had come when Joe Montana and Jerry Rice had provided excitement for the San Francisco 49er’s offense. Yet neither of us had ever seen a 49er game in San Francisco. With that as a core idea, I also realized that my Dad and I had never been to the old gold mining towns in northern California, although he had promised to take me from the age of six. Dad had recently been diagnosed with Parkinson’s and found it hard to get around. I knew that his days of carefree travel would soon be at an end. This seemed like a perfect opportunity for us to have one last trip alone together.

At the 49er game, Jerry Rice set a career receiving record that day; and although the 49ers lost, we had a great time. While in Gold Rush country, we stayed at beautifully restored bed and breakfast inns, toured old mining camps and even went down into the most successful mine in that area’s history. It’s a memory that I will always cherish. And it cost a lot less than a typical 50^th birthday celebration.

If you have a "major" birthday coming up, don't let nature take its course . . . take over planning your own event. By personalizing it to a theme that you care about, you can have a much better time, spend less money and thrill some of your family and friends with your inventiveness.

Here are a few theme suggestions to get you started:

17th birthday -- Still Just a Kid!

19th birthday -- Teenager's Last Hurrah!

22nd birthday -- Lethal Weapon

29th birthday -- Still Trustworthy . . . after All These Years

34th birthday -- Mid-Life Crisis!

39th birthday -- Jack Benny Look-Alike Costume Party

42nd birthday -- 21 Again!

49th birthday -- Not Yet a Senior

55th birthday -- Cruising Speed

59th birthday -- 40th Anniversary of Being an Experienced Teenager

63rd birthday -- 21 Again!

65th birthday -- Full Speed Ahead

Obviously, some of these years may have special meanings in your lives, as 49 was for me. So feel free to improvise based on those special meanings!

Donald W. Mitchell, Your Dream Concierge

Copyright 2005 Donald W. Mitchell

Be sure to check out my blog dated May 16, 2005 on how to plan Your Dad's Best Father's Day! and May 30, 2005 on Plan Your Best Fourth of July!