Hamilton

If your bucket list involves the questionable thrill of sharing road space with animals that can casually dismantle your rental car, Cambridge's African Lion Safari is a gloriously strange place to start. Imagine Jurassic Park, only replace velociraptors with exceedingly mellow giraffes and lions who lounge like bored royals, disdainful of your frantic iPhone photography. Established back in 1969, during an era when seatbelts were optional and common sense negotiable, the park lets you cruise your vehicle through sprawling acreage where zebras trot alongside your mirror, and baboons eye your wiper blades like seasoned automobile thieves casing their next score. Go early in the morning, when animals are feeling fresh and frisky rather than lethargic from midday sun and tourist ennui. Pack snacks, a water bottle, and a spare dose of humility-because nothing humbles you faster than a rhino nonchalantly deciding your Toyota makes an inviting scratching post. Budget around $40 per adult, book online a week ahead during busy weekends, and consider the guided bus option if your car insurance policy doesn't explicitly cover ostrich-related vandalism. Even if you spend half your time nervously muttering brief prayers or calculating the resale value of your car after monkey mischief, you'll emerge with an undeniable sense of awe-and at least one legendary anecdote to impress (or terrify) dinner companions for years to come.

Sure, museums are traditionally solemn spaces, hushed temples of culture where you shuffle respectfully, contemplating dusty relics behind glass. But the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum in Mount Hope gleefully flips this script on its head-think less quiet reverence, more roaring engines and gleaming fuselages that practically swagger beneath the hangar lights. Stepping into this remarkable hall of flying legends, you quickly realize it's not just an idle wander among relics; this is your chance to feel the thrill of thundering down a runway in an actual WWII-era bomber, praying quietly that all original rivets still have a sense of duty. (Spoiler alert: they do.) For around $200 to upwards of $3,900 (depending on just how badly you've always wanted to channel your inner Spitfire ace), you can strap yourself into a genuine vintage aircraft and feel history come alive, turbulence and all. Aim for an early morning visit-you'll dodge crowds, capture postcard-worthy sunrise selfies, and potentially catch the airplanes stretching their wings in the day's calmer skies. Book at least a month ahead to secure your seat, bring a good jacket (it can get breezy up there) and sunglasses for your inevitable aviator selfie. Sure, the cost may seem steep, but consider this: when else will you get to casually drop "Oh, when I was soaring over Hamilton in a Lancaster bomber..." at your next dinner party? Flying in these lovingly preserved relics isn't just an expensive thrill-it's a fiercely memorable salute to history wrapped in a bucket-list joy ride.