2019 Travel Year in Review

I won’t bore you with all the itty-bitty details, but this past year was pretty great travel-wise!

• January-February: Three-week honeymoon in New Zealand. We book-ended the trip with stops in Hawaii before and after, which nicely split up the travel time from Seattle, and allowed us to visit family. New Zealand is AH-MA-ZING. We drove around both the north and south islands. I would go back to New Zealand because there is so much more we want to explore!
• May: Went back to Hawaii, Oahu specifically, for Memorial Day weekend where I ran a half-marathon with my cousin. A quick trip but can’t complain when I get to have a hefty helping of family time and good food with sunshine!
• June: Day trip to Bainbridge Island. Sometimes it’s nice to get away from the city even just for a bit.
• July: Spent the Fourth of July in Canada! Also, camping on the Oregon Coast. Relived a great childhood memory involving cheese.
• August: Ran a half-marathon in Vancouver, Canada.
• September: Spent Labor Day weekend in Alaska. Highlight was going to Denali, an unplanned trip to Denali!
• December: Japan – Always a time to catch up with relatives and eat a lot of good food. Oh, and go a bit crazy shopping …

I’m not one to pick favorites but the highlight of the year was going to New Zealand. Within New Zealand, there were so many friendly people we met and different terrains we explored, but the most memorable place we went to was Kaikoura. It’s a small coastal town and even though I am a city girl, I loved it. It was so peaceful and pretty — oh, and we were lucky enough to kayak with dolphins!

My 2019 travels will be hard to beat next year, but it’s not a competition. I’m grateful for all the memories I have and look forward to the adventures 2020 has in store. (Because there will be many!)