2023 Travel Recap

When I reflect on 2023, one of the words that comes to mind is ‘new.’ This year was full of tackling first-time experiences, making the most of opportunities that came our way, and learning more about ourselves.

Some of our new experiences included:

Traveling to a new continent: South America
Visiting new countries: Monaco, Wales, Chile, and Argentina
Welcoming a new family member: Molly, my new sister-in-law (also my first time officiating a wedding!)
Exploring new national parks: Mesa Verde and Black Canyon of the Gunnison
Trying new activities for the first time: Cross-country skiing, through-hiking, multi-day camping, motorcycling the highest road in North America, attending the world’s largest rodeo, standing in four states at once, participating in King Charles’ Coronation in London, England

After a lot of hard work and reflection, this year we also achieved our goal of taking a planned career break. We are looking forward to having more time to focus on our family and friends, health, and personal passions and pursuits in the coming year.

This includes some bucket list adventures we have planned for 2024, like motorcycling from Wyoming to Alaska, slow traveling through several Nordic countries and the Baltic States, and attending the Macy’s Thanksgivings Day parade in NYC.

It also includes things we’ve been meaning to do but needed a more flexible schedule to accomplish. For me, a short list includes volunteering, girls’ trips, and trying via ferrata; for Brian, it includes taking some advanced motorcycle classes, hunting in Wyoming, and mapping several new-to-us motorcycle trips.

The new year will mark my 40th trip around the sun, and my intention is to spend it enjoying the people, places, and activities I love as well as discovering new people, places, and experiences that help me continue to learn and grow. May 2024 be a year of self-discovery, reflection, and peace.

I wish you a wonderful new year and all good things in 2024.