Unlike past years, when I’ve kept my travel plans under lock and key, I decided at the start of 2018 to be more transparent about where I was definitely going this year and where I hoped to go.
And then, not only did I share those plans in January, I provided an update on my travels a few months ago. Now I’m back with another update (let's just call it my quarterly update) on my travel plans for this year.
To refresh memories since my last update, which was written in mid-May, I traveled to New Orleans, Austin, Nashville, Paris, Barcelona and the South of France (including Monaco). And that was all in the span of a month, which is a lot for someone who’s not a full-time traveler. Here are a few of my favorite photos from those travels:
Since that trip to the South of France, I’ve traveled to a few more places:
Hamptons
In July, I did a quick trip to the Hamptons since my mom was in town for work and specifically requested a quick trip to the Hamptons. My mom, sister and I had a great time driving through the towns, getting our lobster fix and taking a break from the city.
Baltimore
My next NYC break took place in the form of a weekend trip to Baltimore, Maryland, a city I’ve passed more times than I can count but had never actually visited. And you know what? I really enjoyed Baltimore. I did a sailing tour, stayed in the cute Fell’s Point neighborhood, walked a ton and had my first true Maryland crab cake. It was great.
South Florida
For a few weeks in August, I decided to work from Florida since I hadn’t been there for longer than a day since last December. Florida in August is no joke (😅) but I’m so glad I went. I spent time in Coral Gables, ate out a few times in Miami Beach, did yoga in the park in Boca Raton, relaxed on the beach in Delray and spent time with my family in all of the above.
Arizona
That same month, I found out I had to travel to Phoenix for work at the beginning of September, so I did what any normal person would do: I arranged my trip to arrive a day early and then I booked a day tour to the Grand Canyon. And I loved it! It was a very long day, made longer by the crazy Labor Day traffic we encountered, but it was overall amazing.
And here’s what’s coming up:
California
Back to California I go, this time for a combination of work and play (I mean, is it ever just work?). I’ll be attending a conference in San Diego, which will be my first time visiting that city, and then spending some time reacquainting myself with Los Angeles. The few days I spent in LA earlier this year definitely weren’t enough.
Las Vegas and a Nearby National Park
During the same California trip, I’m making a little detour to Las Vegas, which will be very interesting for me since I have not been to Vegas in 11 YEARS. I’ll be honest, I’m not the biggest Vegas fan, but I’m looking forward to seeing how it’s changed (and how it’s stayed the same). I’m also using my Vegas location as a jumping off point to visit a nearby national park (which I’m very excited about!).
Canada
Work is once again taking me on a (hopefully) bleisure (business + leisure) trip. I’ll be there for a few days working, and I hope to squeeze in a little bit of fun in between. I always tell people I never go north between October and May, but I guess that rule is about to be broken. Keep ya posted on how it goes.
Marco Island and South Florida
Later in the year I’m heading back to South Florida and squeezing in a quick visit to Marco Island on the west coast of Florida. It’ll be my first time in Marco Island and also right when the weather is starting to get seriously cold in New York, so the timing couldn’t be better.
Jamaica
Just as I did last year, I’ll be heading to Jamaica for the holidays where instead of snow and hot chocolate, there’ll be lots of sunshine and rum punch (not that I’m a big rum punch drinker or anticipate actually having rum punch, but I felt it was a good contrast to the hot chocolate). I’m also looking forward to going and seeing my extended family.
Sadly, I don’t think I’ll get to Copenhagen, Chamonix or Oman this year, BUT never say never and there’s always next year, of course.
