It’s the end of another year and while I started out strongly, writing about some key adventures, I lost momentum in the middle of the summer. I need to go back and fill in those holes because I had a truly amazing travel year. The end of my “See The Country” bucket-list is almost near; I did 2 more states, and only have 1 left. I started my new bucket-list obsession – “See Our Neighbor To The North” with 2 quick visits to key cities. I spent some serious time exploring our national parks and monuments – seeing a few “new to me” ones in my new states as well as revisiting a key childhood park. Though out the year, I visited friends scattered across our vast country, saw my fair share of concerts, art exhibits and special events and even the Mouse. I went on another New Kids cruise to a “new to me” Caribbean island and soaked up the sun in the Art Deco’est place in the USA. But the biggest trip of all was to Iceland its northern most capital in the world, Reykjavik.
Year End Summary
States Visited: NJ, NY, PA, DE, MD, VA, FL, LA, CA, WA, CO, MN, ND, SD
Countries: Canada, Turks & Caicos, Iceland
Key Cities: NYC, Philly, Baltimore, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Minneapolis, St Paul, Duluth, Fargo (does that count?), Denver, San Diego, Seattle, New Orleans, Richmond. Montreal, Vancouver, Reykjavik
Art Towns – Palm Springs, Golden
Parks: Joshua Tree NP, Delaware Water Gap NRA, Voyageurs NP, Teddy Roosevelt NP, Pipestone NM, Grand Portage NM, Cabrillo NM, Shenandoah NP, Great Falls NP, Eisenhower NHS, Maggie L Walker NHS
Concerts: Frankie Vallie, Stevie Wonder, Pat Benatar, Kool & the Gang, Shaka Khan, Weird Al Yankovik, Maroon 5, Sutton Foster and the National Symphony Orchestra, and New Kids on the Block plus a few new Broadway shows
New Aquariums: Great Lakes Aquarium, Miami Seaquarium, Vancouver Aquarium, Minneapolis Sea Life Center, Sea World San Diego
Ghost Tours: Reykjavik, New Orleans, Williamsburg
Iconic or Plain Ole’ Amazing Sites: Disney CA, Gulfoss, Geographic Center of North America, The Geysir, Mall of America, Lake Superior scenic highway, Mississippi River (the headwaters and the endwaters), Vancouver Harbor and the site of the Olympic Opening & Closing Ceremonies, the Capilano Suspension Bridge, Delaware State Fair, USA National Bike Race in Golden, Luray & Skyline Caverns, Roadside Americana in ND and MN…. And so many waterfalls! (falls in Delaware Water Gap, though out MN, Iceland, Canada and here in Great Falls).
