I suppose the nicest way to describe this year would be that it was interesting. But to be more accurate, I would say it was a very challenging year. The only truly exciting part of this year was return to international travel. Each trip had its own associated problems but in the end each trip was fantastic. After 2 years of not using a passport, I was back at it again. And this time with a very shiny new passport.
My first official stamp in my new passport was Mexico. We were heading there for wedding that was supposed to happen in 2020. We spent some time in Mexico City but mostly in San Miguel de Allende. At this point COVID testing to return to the United States was still a must. Waiting for those results was anxiety provoking but luckily, we were negative and could return home. It was such a nice trip as got to explore new things in Mexico City (as had visited before) and got to visit San Miguel de Allende which is an awesome colonial town north of Mexico City.
After that, I got more wanderlust. I scrutinized countries COVID testing requirements and we decided to go to the Azores because if fully vaccinated you weren’t required to obtain COVID testing prior to arrival. Unfortunately, rules kept changing a month before our trip all Americans needed pre-travel testing. Then, we got COVID several weeks before the planned trip to the Azores. Basically, the trip hung in the air to see if we would end up testing negative or not because they would not accept a letter of recovery either. We basically did not plan anything other than the flight which we were tied to unless we tested positive the day before. It was so stressful but we luckily were able to go as we were fully recovered. We ended up planning the whole trip as we went.
As restrictions eased, my desire to travel more increased as anticipated. We found cheap tickets to Turks and Caicos, but then found out only allowed personal item. It was an airline that previous allowed full carry-on bags. Thanks to my excellent packing skills we went with everything jammed into personal items. It ended up being an incredible trip with stunning beaches.
Our last trip of the year was planned to go to the World Cup. I requested some time off but then once we realized when the USA games would be had to beg to switch my assigned holiday from Christmas to Thanksgiving so that we could attend the World Cup. We had tried to get tickets via the lottery without success and then had significant difficulty getting take it on the secondary market. We realized we could not get into Qatar without official tickets and even if we did the accommodations were astronomically expensive. Disappointment set in as I lost my Christmas holiday, and we would not be able to attend the World Cup either. After scanning for affordable flights over the world we elected to go to Spain with a 24-hour layover in Lisbon, Portugal. Europe was a great alternative as they are super into soccer, and we had fun finding places we could watch all the games while traveling around. Time leading up to this trip was extremely busy and stressful, so planning took the back burner. We ultimately booked a hotel in Lisbon and the first night in Barcelona and ended up having to plan as we went. The trip was incredible. For seasoned travelers there were a lot of hiccups this year of traveling. Now that all this pre-COVID testing is out the window, I am happy to get back to more normal international travel for the next year.
As for the blog, I had high hopes of being more prominent on social media this year, but it has been slow maybe with all the balancing of the full time/overtime job and other crazy stressors of this year. I have been really learning about photo editing and photography more. I finally feel like my blog is bulky enough to start networking and sharing with all my friends and family which was my goal by the end of this year (ended up with later friends and family launch in 2023). I am really hopeful to get more content up but to start really getting up on social media. I am so very impressed by all the travel bloggers out there. I have a newfound respect for all the effort and time that goes into making an awesome blog.
2023
2023 is going to be an epic year for just that! I have a good feeling of happy roads ahead. This upcoming year is my 40th birthday. I am trying to decide where I should travel for this epic milestone. My work has me request off weeks in advance so I have a few more weeks off where I have to figure out where to go. The world is my oyster and can’t wait to see where I end up this next year!
countries Visited
Mexico
Turks and Caicos (British Overseas Territory)
Portugal
Spain
USA States visited
Maryland
Delaware
Georgia
Tennessee
Virginia
Connecticut
Florida
International Cities visited
Mexico City, Mexico
San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
Providenciales, Turks and Caicos
North and Middle Caicos, Turks and Caicos
Sao Miguel, Portugal
Furnas, Portugal
Lisbon, Portugal
Barcelona, Spain
Madrid, Spain
Granada, Spain
Cordoba, Spain
Toledo, Spain
Seville, Spain
Awesome cities explored
Miami FL
Washington DC
Baltimore MD
Dover, DE
Milford, CT
Nashville, TN
Palm Beach, FL
USA National parks visited
1. Everglades
2. Biscayne
3. Hampton National Historic Site
