2013 ~ The Year in Review

As with most years, 2013 did not go the way I had planned. But in a good way.

I traveled to new destinations (Berlin, Laos, Myrtle Beach, Haiti, Miami, Kansas City) and revisited many others (Bhutan, New Orleans, Thailand, Kauai to name just a few).

I also got myself in the best shape of my life by doing P90X and I made many new friends during the tours I led to Bhutan, Santa Fe and Seattle.

I’m Livin’ the Dream, baby. And there isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t appreciate how lucky I am.

Here’s a little recap of my year:

Salt Lake City
When I’m not traveling abroad, each January and August I travel to Salt Lake City for the Outdoor Retailer Show (above). This massively huge event at the city’s conference center, is a gathering of outdoor companies displaying their latest gear, clothes, shoes, accessories and food. Journalists and retailers get to see products long before they hit store shelves. It’s where I source new travel products for WanderGear Wednesday.

It’s also about friendships as I get to meet up with not only other travel bloggers and journalist but with the PR folks from these companies with whom I’ve developed some wonderful relationships. SLC is darn cold in the winter, but I don’t mind going when it means I see so many warm faces.

Berlin
I attended ITB in Berlin in March. This travel trade show is the largest trade show of any kind in the world. It’s where tour operators, convention and visitors bureaus, destination representatives, PR folks and travel journalists come together. It was incredibly fruitful for me as I was able to meet with tour companies from around the world. These are folks who can help me develop new tours in the years to come. As a bonus, I was invited to speak at one of the workshops.

Bangkok and Bhutan
I was home from Berlin for barely a week and then jetted off to Bangkok where I met participants for our spring Bhutan tour. I love spending a few days in Bangkok before and after these trips to enjoy genuine Phad Thai, foot massages and my fill of watermelon juice.

It was my eighth trip to Bhutan and the country is still as magical as it was on my first visit. I also take delight in seeing the response of our tour participants to this pristine and fascinating destination. It often includes tears of joy and then sadness at the airport when we have to leave the country and each other.

 

Thailand and Laos
After Bhutan, I spent some time in Northern Thailand and Laos to research our hill tribe focused tour scheduled for late 2014. I had spent time in Chiang Mai many years ago but this time I had a guide and had many new experiences including a homestay in a small village and visits with many of the hill tribes that live in the region.

Luang Prabang, Laos was spectacular (and spectacularly hot) and I enjoyed my fill of French pastries and more hill tribe visits.

Myrtle Beach
In April, I spent a few days in Myrtle Beach where I spoke at an event for widows, providing them with tips and encouragement for traveling on their own. I had expected to be in the company of women (and some men) much older than I but was humbled to find widows of all ages, many much younger than me.

While there was some sadness, I was struck by the can-do positive attitudes from the attendees. These folks are determined and spirited and I loved the fact that they had a place to share their hopes, dreams and plans.

Haiti
In May, I went to Haiti to visit villages that were the recipients of water wells funded through Passports with Purpose, the non-profit that I helped co-found. While I’ll be honest that I was not impressed with Haiti (corruption and desperation rule the day), I was impressed by the way Water.org (ahem, Matt Damon’s organization) runs their programs there.

No doubt the people (like the gentleman pictured above) are a lovely lot. But I would have had a better overall feeling of the place had my friend’s iPhone not been ripped from her hands while she was taking a photo in Port au Prince. And the stories of corruption are pervasive – ask anyone who’s been there. It might be the first place I’ve ever been to that I can say I don’t really want to return.

Miami
On the way back from Haiti, I stopped in Miami to work on a couple of stories for Expedia’s Viewfinder blog, for which I’m a contributor. I’ve spent very little time in Florida and this was my first visit to Miami. I was pleasantly surprised, likely seduced by the blue sky and water, and stunning beaches. Oh, and all the ice cream parlors :-).

 

Kauai
I was home for just a few days, and then off to Kauai for a working vacation with Jon. After all of my travels without him, this was a much needed break. We hiked, we ate shave ice and fresh fruit, Jon surfed and I worked on my tan poolside at the Kauai Grand Hyatt (my FAVorite hotel on the island).

Toronto
Again, home for a week and I was then off to Toronto for TBEX (the Travel Bloggers’ conference), where I spoke and also got to catch up with my dear friends in the travel blogging community.

One of the highlights was spending time with some of our WanderBloggers (above) who made the trek to Toronto for the conference. I feel very fortunate to have such talented and dedicated (and gorgeous) bloggers on the site. Thank you, ladies!

Santa Fe
From Toronto, I flew directly to Santa Fe for our Culinary Tour. We all ate very well and I couldn’t have been happier with our group of wonderful ladies with whom I shared lots of fun moments and laughter.

Motorcycle Trip
In between all the work, international travel and culinary tours, Jon, myself and some close friends headed out on our motorcycles to Port Townsend where we spent the night at a beautiful little home on the beach. I haven’t been riding as much these last couple of years but when I do, I so love it. Note to self – more riding in 2014.

 

Seattle
A few weeks after the Santa Fe Culinary Tour, we ran our first Seattle Culinary Tour. We had a large group of ladies. Actually, a little too large for me to handle on my own so I was so happy to be co-leading the tour with one of my very favorite peeps, Joslin (above). She leads some of our other tours, too (she’s headed to Vietnam in March) and will be hopefully be leading other tours later in the year.

Anyhoo, the Seattle group was a mix of new and previous tour participants so new friendships were forged and others rekindled. We’re like that – making friends where ever we go!

Upstate New York
Jon and I went to his annual family reunion in Upstate New York during the summer. We don’t normally go every year but Jon’s Aunt Sally passed away last fall and we wanted to catch up with family after this very sad time in our lives.

San Francisco
Jon is down in the Bay Area every couple of months on business so I decided to join him a couple of times and on one trip we headed up to San Francisco for an overnight (thank you Palace Hotel for hosting us for an evening!). We only had 24 hours in the city but we made the best of it by sampling as many chocolate shops as we could for a story which will be posted on the Expedia blog.

Atlanta
In the fall, I hit the road for a domestic trip that included a stop in Atlanta to visit with family (did you know I was born in Atlanta?). The trip was all too brief but I did get to catch up with my friend, Audrey, from grade school. From GRADE school.

New Orleans
From Atlanta, I flew to New Orleans to research our inaugural Culinary Tour. In addition to lots of eating, I took a swamp tour where I got to hold a baby crocodile. I also visited the areas most affected by Hurricane Katrina. Even though it’s been eight years since this natural disaster, the remnants and pain remain. But there’s also a lot of hope and rebuilding and I was touched by the ways in which the city has grown since that time yet has maintained its wonderful uplifting attitude.

Kansas City
From NOLA, I flew to Kansas City for a speaking gig at Backwoods Luggage. These stores (located mainly in Texas and the mid-west) have become one of my favorite places to speak as there’s always a large crowd of excited women eager to travel.

But 2013 wasn’t all about travel. My experiences are too numerous to mention but a couple of outstanding things include:

Tom Bihn Video Shoot
The folks at Tom Bihn (the luggage company) came to our house this fall to shoot a packing video. You can see it here. Jon and I were among a few couples and families included in this very fun compilation (which also featured our little Fiat 500, aboev!).

30th High School Reunion
At year’s end, Jon and I traveled back to New Jersey for my 30th high school reunion. I got to see people I hadn’t seen since graduation. We all looked as great as we did way back when (imagine that). It was pretty special to catch up with so many of my classmates but a true highlight was reconnecting with my middle school music teacher (above) whom I hadn’t seen in 34 years. We all adored Mr. Singer (actually we all had a crush on Mr. Singer) and were thrilled to discover that he has maintained his charm and warm heart.

*****

Did you stick with me? Holy Cow, what a year!

What can I say except: Life Is Good.

Some of what’s missing here are the friendships I’ve made through leading our WanderTours. Having grown up with three brothers, I love having an instant sisterhood when I travel with our groups. I learn so much about myself, about them and about life. Thank every one of you for being a part of my world. Whether we keep in touch post-trip or not, you can be sure you’ve affected me in one way or another.

I’m also grateful for all my friendships in the travel community including other travel bloggers, my new “family” at Expedia’s Viewfinder, and my incredible staff at Wanderlust and Lipstick and WanderTours. I have many online and real life friends whose insight, feedback and friendship I truly appreciate. We email, Skype, have phone calls and lunch when we can. We also meet at conferences and in our hometowns whenever possible. Working from a home office can be isolating but being part of this wonderful community helps keep me going and inspired.

Here’s to a 2014 that’s equal than or greater to this past year!

Travel Well,

Beth