Shred your bucket list: Why ‘must-have’ travel plans are ruining your vacation

CUMBERLAND, MD. It’s not what most people would call a bucket list destination. Located on the banks of the Potomac River, it offers quite pleasant diversions. A quaint pedestrian-only strip of local businesses. An old-fashioned steam engine that transports tourists to the Allegheny Mountains.

But the Taj Mahal, this is not. Still, when I think back to the moment I’ll kick the proverbial bucket and the travel experiences I’ll remember most—it’s a scorching summer afternoon in a mostly unremarkable city breaking to the surface—it’s not the first time I’ve glimpsed the magnificent mausoleum in Agra.