2016 My Year in Travel: Accomplishments & Lessons Learned

Since last year I published my New Years post a week late, I figured I’d make a tradition out of it. So here it is, my year in review:

 

 

 

Accomplishments in 2016

  • Finally tried a real polish pierogi
  • Finally moved to California
  • Hiked Angels Landing at Zion
  • Saw Bryce Canyon and Antelope Canyon
  • Drank my first Hand Grenade in New Orleans
  • Partied on 6th St. and Rainey Street in Austin
  • Made it back to Berlin and discovered my favorite neighborhood: Kreuzberg
  • Finally visited Norway and hiked two of my favorite trails: Trolltunga and Kjerag
  • Visited Iceland completely unplanned
  • Visited Wales also completely unplanned
  • Made it to my 4th continent when I visited Colombia
  • Somehow made it back from Cuba without any money
  • Went scuba diving for the first time since my freak out on the Vandenberg wreck
  • Started making money off of web design. Hire me please!
  • Ran through the dunes of White Sands
  • Started getting my first free rooms through the blog
  • Watched the sunrise in Monument Valley
  • Watched the sunset in Arches National Park
  • Had my second crazy night out in Vegas, but this one was completely free
  • Visited Chicago again and attended a show at Second City
  • Hiked a lot of mountains around the San Diego area
  • Road a boat down the Intercoastal
  • Went bar hopping in Krakow
  • Almost finished writing about all of this.. almost.

Lessons Learned in 2016

  • You’re never too old to make a lot of new friends
  • Not to eat Qdoba at 2am in Nashville, because you will get food poisoning and it’s not pretty
  • It’s never too late to do the things that you want to do
  • That car payments/insurance/registration are all stupid expensive
  • That there is a life size stone replica of Stonehenge somewhere in Virginia.. it’s called Foamhenge.
  • That one night in New Orleans is probably enough
  • Watching the sunrise in one place and set in another in the same day is pretty magical.
  • That Apple Maps isn’t as reliable as Google Maps, and it can send you a mile down a dirt road of an Indian Reservation.
  • That there is no better adrenaline rush than climbing a really dangerous trail
  • That you can get almost anything for free in Vegas as long as you’re a girl
  • That long distance relationships are really really difficult
  • There’s no better feeling than living in a place where other people vacation
  • Or grabbing a few beers with your parents
  • All you need in life is someone to make you laugh.
  • That Krakow has one hell of a bar scene
  • Not everything always goes as planned, and that’s okay. It’s more of an adventure when things go wrong.
  • To always try things that scare you and to always ask questions you’re scared to ask
  • That Cuba doesn’t accept any American credit cards or debit cards
  • That the Blue Lagoon is actually heated by a power plant
  • What a concussion feels like
  • That I need to learn to salsa
  • That you need to arrive early to Tayrona National Park
  • No matter how far you travel or where you move, you’re friends and family will always, always be there.. and when you see each other, it will always, always be as though no time as passed at all.

 

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