Some of us celebrate our birthdays with cake, and a party with friends. Others choose quiet nights at home with close family.

There are some who don’t want to celebrate at all. All of those things are ok. But then, there are some like Duane Hansen. And that is a whole other sort of birthday celebration.

Hansen turned 60 and decided to paddle his way into the record books in style – by getting inside an 846-pound floating pumpkin and taking a trip down the river. 

He may just have beaten a world record, too. All it took was a dream and a bit of fertilizer. Well, a lot of fertilizer.

So in late summer, along with family, friends and two official witnesses for the record-breaking river adventure, Nebraska resident Hansen made his first gourd voyage.

Duane Hansen prepares to get into a boat he made out of a pumpkin. Photo by the City of Bellvue/Hansen

“Once you have a goal like that, and you’re so close, there’s no way I was quitting,” Hansen told ‘Today’.

When I went down that river, for a long way, it was tough, I was done. But I was determined.”

Hansen said he has grown gourds for as long as he can remember, but just recently developed an interest in making giant pumpkins grow.

“You have a lot of failures growing giant pumpkins,” Hansen said. “I mean, I thought I could grow stuff. I thought I could grow anything. Well, these humble you.”

According to a Bellevue City (Neb.) Facebook post, Hansen walked into the mayor’s office and requested witnesses for his attempt to break the world record. Hansen’s goal, he said, was to beat the world record for “Longest Journey by Pumpkin Boat,” which was currently held by a man from North Dakota.

Duane Hansen prepares to get into a boat he made out of a pumpkin. Photo by the City of Bellvue/Hansen

 “We were very surprised when we saw the hollowed-out pumpkin and realized that he would be sitting in the pumpkin for 11 hours while floating down the Missouri River,” said Phil Davidson, who works in community relations for the City of Bellevue. Davidson and Lisa Rybar, a Bellevue Community Foundation board member, served as the official witnesses.

Hansen arrived at the Bellevue Public Boat Docks at 7:30am, and figured he would be done roughly six hours later. Instead, it took 11, he said, and more than 38 miles were traveled, with Hansen never getting out of the pumpkin, affectionately named the S.S. Berta.

Once you’re on the river, that damn thing was so tippy, it was unbelievable. It was like riding in a cork,” Hansen said.

“You just could tip over at any second. You’re using your balance the whole time. I’ve never paid so much attention to any one thing in my entire life.”

“I’m glad I did it. I mean, 30 miles is a long ways to go in a pumpkin down a river, but I’m sure someday somebody will try to beat it,” said Hansen. “I turned 60 the day before I did this, so I’m not no young punk, you know? If somebody beats me, I have just enough experience at this now. I would probably try to do it again.”

Duane Hansen paddles his way to a world record in a pumpkin. Photo by the City of Bellvue/Hansen

The Guinness World Records is reviewing Hansen’s application to qualify for breaking the current record.

Regardless, Hansen said he is proud of what he did. And, he’s already got a new idea for his next adventure, thanks to his daughter, Morgan.

“She told me, ‘Dad, I got this idea. Can you grow a pumpkin big enough for me and you go down the river?’ I’m like, ‘Oh, Morgan,'” Hansen said, laughing. “I might be able to grow a pumpkin that big because I’ve learned a lot, so you know what? I think that might be our next goal.”

For a look at the birthday boy and his unique pumpkin, watch below.

Sources: Today | The Guardian