This ended up being an interesting year for travel in our household.
On the professional side of things, Brian traveled more this year than any other. While the airline and hotel points are great for stretching our travel budget, it’s felt a little like we’re back to the long-distance relationship we maintained the first six years we were dating. Thankfully I’m good at entertaining myself while he’s away. And having a fur baby to keep me company helps!
On the personal side of things, we continued to balance local adventures and learning about the amazing places in our relatively new backyard here in the Pacific Northwest with trips beyond our small corner of the earth.
As I look back on our 2017 adventures—the good, the bad, and the ugly—the following ‘top 10’ memories and milestones come to mind:
- Following our trips to Hawaii and Alaska, Brian has now visited all 50 states!
- For the first time in five years, we didn’t take an international trip together (with the exception of going to Canada a few times—does that count?).
- We kicked up our hiking expeditions a notch and ended up summiting four local mountains: two relatively small ones, one medium one that required actual rock climbing, and one big one that we accomplished with Brian’s brother.
- Our travel plans to Japan fell through when I realized how hot it is there in September. On the upside, #Japan2018!
- We went on our very first couple’s trip to Vancouver via train. Good news: given our similar interests, we had an awesome time traveling with our friends. Bad news: a landslide caused Amtrak to cancel our train back to the U.S. and we had to creatively scramble to find a way home!
- I finally made it to Disneyland and Harry Potter World!
- My second annual birthday motorcycle trip was a huge success—we took four days to travel 750 miles to ten towns across Vancouver Island, British Columbia.
- My plan to visit one new Seattle neighborhood a month died out about half-way through the year. However, the ones we did explore were fantastic: International District, Greenlake and Ravenna, Ballard, Capitol Hill and Fremont.
- I made it back to Ohio to see family and friends three times this year, almost hitting my goal to visit quarterly.
- One of the travel highlights of the year for me was bicycling to the coast of the Big Island in Hawaii’s Volcano National Park at sunset to watch hot lava flow into the ocean.
Our 2018 travel plans are still in flux now that I’ve been accepted to Purdue University to finish my master’s degree, but the following ideas are definitely on my radar:
- Returning to California wine country
- Tackling some overnight hiking and camping trips
- Finding ways to tag along on Brian’s work trips
- Summiting more mountains!
- Taking our trip to Japan
- Planning Brian’s first overnight train experience
Regardless of where 2018 takes us, I know it will be an adventure. Happy travels and happy new year!
2017 Travel Recap
January: Oahu and the Big Island, Hawaii
February: Chelan, Washington
March: Vancouver, British Columbia
April: Camano Island, Washington
May: Medina, Ohio
June: Kitsap Peninsula, Washington
July: Vancouver Island, British Columbia
August: Dirtyface Mountain, Washington
September: Juneau, Ketchikan and Sitka, Alaska
October: Snoqualmie, Washington
November: Granite Falls, Washington
December: Fidalgo Island, Washington
Heather's Compass 
Happy New Year Heather! Thanks for sharing this recap – looks like you had a great time 2017!
Wish you all the best for 2018 :)
Thank you! All the best to you in the new year as well!