2017 was such an incredible year, particularly for travel, that I’m still working to wrap it up 12 days into 2018. I visited 28 cities in 5 countries and 9 states, much of it alone and the bulk of the rest with family.
CITIES I VISITED IN 2017
Roughly in order but didn’t include repeats.
- Aguanga, California
- Scottsdale, Arizona
- Arcosanti, Arizona
- Costa Mesa, California
- Morro Bay, California
- Seaside, California
- San Jose, California
- Cayucos, California
- Los Angeles, California
- Bangkok, Thailand
- Siem Reap, Cambodia
- Angkor Wat, Cambodia
- Da Nang, Vietnam
- Hanoi, Vietnam
- Ha Long Bay, Vietnam
- Hong Kong
- Anaheim, California
- Malibu, California
- Jacksonville, Florida
- Havana, Cuba
- Augustine, Florida
- Nashville, Tennessee
- Winston-Salem, North Carolina
- Colorado Springs, Colorado
- Denver, Colorado
- Laurel, New Jersey
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Fanwood, New Jersey
- New York City, New York
THREE FAVORITES
Really, REALLY, ridiculously hard to decide.
- Angkor Wat, Cambodia
Visiting the Angkor Wat ruins, which is more of a “place,” than city was easily one of the highlights of my 2017 travels. It is well visited and for good reason. It is akin to a historic site in a national park – both natural and man-made beauty. One of the best moves I made was not to sit at the lake with hundreds of tourists but to stand by the entrance of the main temple so that I was one of the first people in. Allowed a period of quiet to explore.
I’d love to go back to Cambodia and do a sunset bike visit to Angkor Wat. I spend hours and hours there and there truly was more to see.
My blogs on Angkor Wat here and here.
- Havana, Cuba
There were so many unique aspects of visiting Cuba that made it a fascinating trip and one I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to take.
The historically cold Cuban-American relations that made it a difficult, though not impossible, place for Americans to travel make it a place that many Americans have not been to despite its proximity to Florida. Isolated by the withdraw of Russia and its own government, Cuba’s architecture and vehicles are often referred to as “stuck-in-time” and provide no shortage of photographic opportunities. (Though there’s a sadness to the beauty – Cubans don’t drive retro cars simply because they look cool. It’s necessity and availability.)
The specialness of the trip to Havana was increased by getting to share it with my dad – and seeing first-hand where my “rough” travel planning style comes from. My dad’s social nature also opened up conversations with locals that I wouldn’t have otherwise had and gave honest insight into everyday life in Havana. Visiting Cuba was really fun, it was also really eye-opening for me and made me appreciate our democratic government, flaws and all, more than I had before the trip.
My Cuba blogs listed here (there are a bunch).
- New York, New York
I hadn’t been to New York in years but because I had been a number of times growing up and since, I wanted to visit New York while our family was in New Jersey and wanted it enough to go with my dad and cousin in sub-thirty degree weather but I wasn’t expecting to have such a visceral, positive reaction. I was impressed by New York. It’s size. It’s palpable energy. Its variety – from the uber-modern WTC station to historical churches to $$$$$ shopping to damn good Chinese food and Ukrainian food just two sub-way stops away, NYC really does have it all. And of course, the hilarious contrast between pissed off New Yorkers trying to get to and from work and awe struck oblivious tourists.
I don’t know how I would like living in a big city but I sure do love visiting them and it’s a little hard to return to sleepy Cardiff-by-the-Sea after big city trips even though it is a beautiful, safe, coveted place to live. Foreshadowing here? I’m not sure.
New York blog here (with another in the works)
