2019 ended up being a big year of travel for me! I toughed it out on many Basic Economy flights and found some crazy flight deals thanks to Skyscanner. I made it to 12 different countries (4 of them I had been before) and 8 states (plus Washington DC). My 2019 adventures brought fun times on each trip with a few mishaps thrown in. 2020 will have many more adventures in store.
January
My year started out ringing in the New Year in New Jersey. We celebrated with family and then headed to spend some time in New York City. NYC is one of my favorite cities in the entire world! There are so many exciting things to do and delicious places to eat. It is even more magical in the wintertime with so many holiday decorations up. This time we opted to spend some time exploring more of Brooklyn.
During MLK Weekend, I headed to Paso Robles with my husband, Casey and my two friends Kaitlin and Emily. We spent three days wine tasting around the area and enjoying delightful restaurants. I would recommend this area for anyone who loves wine. It is a great deal cheaper than Napa and many of the wines were just as good.
February
A 4-day weekend in February led to finding a fantastic deal to Washington DC. We spent several days re-exploring the city. It had been 7 years since my last trip to this capital city! My favorite part of visiting Washington DC is walking the monuments and exploring the museums. Although it was a bit crowded due to the holiday weekend, we crammed a lot into three and a half days.
March
March means spring break for teachers in my district. This year, my mom and I headed to Cartagena on our free JetBlue tickets we had received from “The Talk.” This was my second time to Colombia in a year and I loved exploring what Cartagena had to offer. My favorite was the day we spent on the Rosario Islands. I also enjoyed the hotel we stayed at! It had an amazing rooftop pool and was located right on the beach. We added a few days at the beginning of the trip to Panama City and checked off another country. I enjoyed wandering through the ruins and the rooftop bars in Panama City.
April
At the end of April, Casey and I made the drive to Phoenix. This time, we explored the Gilbert area and hiked up to Dobbins Lookout. The weather was perfect for outdoor activities. Gilbert has some great breweries to hit up.
After Phoenix, I took my students to the science camp on Catalina Island (CIMI). We spent three days exploring the areas of the camp, snorkeling, and hiking. The students have such a fun time and I love seeing the joy it brings them.
May
The summer travel season started early for me this year. In May, my mom, Casey, and I headed to Illinois for my cousin’s college graduation in Peoria, Illinois. We flew in and out of St. Louis. Therefore, I got to explore a few things in St. Louis I did not get to on my last visit there and I made sure to eat as much custard as possible. We also squeezed in a pitstop in Springfield, Illinois to visit all of the Lincoln Sites.
The first official summer 2019 adventures consisted of a long weekend to Albuquerque. For Memorial Day weekend Casey and I headed to visit our friend Stephen, in Albuquerque. We spent the weekend hiking and eating a ton of delicious food. During Memorial Day Weekend Albuquerque has a wine festival where you can taste wines from many of the local wineries.
June
June brought an amazing Eastern Europe trip with my mom! We visited some spectacular and unique cities. What was awesome about Eastern Europe is everything was budget-friendly and it was way less crowded than other parts of Europe during the summertime. We went from Vienna to Bratislava, Budapest, Belgrade, Sofia, Skopje, and Bucharest. I would love to go back to all of these cities and explore more of them.
July
The end of June and beginning of July consisted of a two and a half weeks trip to New Zealand. Casey and I scored a deal on our airfare and there were actually a ton of budget-friendly activities to do in New Zealand. It was an amazing country to explore and I highly recommend it to everyone, especially Queenstown.
For the last of my summer 2019 adventures, Casey and I squeezed in one last trip to Canada at the end of the summer. He had to go to Toronto for work, so I tagged along. We also spent the weekend wine tasting in Niagara and explored the Niagara Falls area.
August/September
Labor Day weekend this year was spent on a girls trip with my friends Chloe, Kaitlin, and Emily to Page, Arizona. We hiked to Horseshoe Bend, wandered through Antelope Canyon, and relaxed at Lake Powell. It was an enjoyable and relaxing weekend that was perfect for anyone who loves the outdoors.
October
October brought a trip with a group of friends to the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta. We spent the weekend hanging out and exploring some new parts of Albuquerque. The Balloon Fiesta was such an amazing experience and it is totally worth making the trek to Albuquerque to go.
The following weekend brought a trip to Phoenix for our friend’s graduation. This trip to Phoenix, we explore more of Scottsdale and downtown Phoenix. Did you know that Arizona actually has some decent wine tasting regions? Scottsdale has several tasting rooms from local wineries. It makes for a great day hitting up the different tasting rooms.
November
In November, we celebrated Casey’s grandpa’s 90th birthday in Las Vegas. This time we stayed near Fremont Street and explored the arts district. We also had a family slot tournament (which I highly recommend for any large group). Hanging out with family is always an adventure, especially in Las Vegas.
Part of my Thanksgiving break was spent exploring Oceanside and San Diego. Oceanside has a surprising number of breweries to explore. San Diego is always filled with wonderful adventures. This time we opted to explore Balboa Park. Did you know Balboa Park has free parking? Make sure to get there early in the day to get a good parking spot.
December
The last of the 2019 adventures brought a trip to Colorado Springs to spend time with our family. Colorado Springs is home to the United States Air Force Academy, some gorgeous places to hike, and some really cool bars (including an old school turned into a bar).
My 2019 adventures brought a ton of fantastic memories and was a great year for traveling. I predict 2020 will also have some great adventures in store.
