2017 was quite a year! It took me to 32 cities in 14 states and 4 countries. Whether it was for family, friends, work, blogging, or just to get away, I was on the go each and every month — and I had such a wonderful time pulling together travel guides for all of you along the way!
THOSE TRAVEL GUIDES HAVE COME A LONG WAY, BABY
One of my favorite things about blogging is hearing that readers have taken my recommendations and I love hearing when y’all have added something to your travel itinerary because you read about it here — so keep updating me on your trips! Also, I’ve loved evolving my travel guides to best help you. Seriously, compare the beginning of 2017, or even 2016, to now. They’ve come a long way!
Now, let’s look back at a few of the highlights from 2017…
JANUARY AND FEBRUARY
I started off 2017 with a couple trips with friends out to Deep Creek Lake, and while those didn’t make the blog, I’d highly recommend it to anyone looking for a quick rustic getaway from the DC area. In February, I headed north to Boston (this amazing view was from the top of the Marriott Custom House hotel) thinking it might be fun to experience a true New England winter / the flight was $70 round trip. I might plan a warm weather trip next time…
Next, I went south to Winston-Salem for a friend’s birthday and absolutely fell in love with the city. I’d love to go back and do a proper blog trip and travel guide because there’s just so much amazing creativity brewing in that city. Pair that with the history of the town and you have an awesome Southern weekend. February ended with a trip out to Vowinckel, PA for the annual ranch weekend at my brother in law’s family’s ranch, which apparently I never did a blog post on!
MARCH
Okay, where didn’t I go in March? I started off with a stay in Richmond at the historic Jefferson Hotel. Then, it was down to Asheville, NC for my sister’s bachelorette (another city I’d like to revisit for a proper travel guide post!), from there I went to Austin, TX for SXSW, and finally, went down to Costa Rica to kick back and relax.
APRIL AND MAY
April and May were a bit slower on the blog travel, but in April I had a fun weekend in New York City with Adam’s family, followed by a day trip up to Annapolis. May started off with a trip up to Brooklyn for Create + Cultivate and ended in the Blue Ridge Mountains for my little sister’s wedding.
JUNE
June started off with a trip to Charlottesville for my college reunion, which was, OF COURSE, an amazing time. Then, it was a few coastal trips with a weekend with friends in Fenwick Island, DE, and a trip to Annapolis.
JULY
Straight from Annapolis, I went out to Minneapolis for the first time for Adam’s niece’s baby naming. I was so impressed with the beauty of that city. You can’t beat wine on the lake and baseball games in mild weather. July ended with a trip to Charleston that required not one, but three, travel guides PLUS three outfit posts. I just can’t get enough of that city. Here’s a link to my guide on the food, guide on the history, and one on the shopping.
AUGUST
August brought trips to Charlottesville and Virginia Beach. We had a wonderful time in Charlottesville, as always, and I got some beautiful blog pictures and a delicious meal out of this trip.
SEPTEMBER
A slow summer came to an end in September where we started the month with another trip to Charlottesville and Richmond. Then, it was a quick trip to Philly — I actually still have a second blog post to do from that trip, whoops. The second half of the month brought our big Europe trip to Paris, Bordeaux, and Iceland. You can find five travel guides from that trip — Paris Part One, Paris Part Two, Bordeaux, Reykjavik, and the Ring Road.
OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER
In October, we pretty much stayed put except for a trip out to Shepherdstown, WV for a friend’s wedding, which was a surprisingly cool little town and we ended up sticking around all day Sunday to explore.
November started off with the most relaxing weekend ever in White Sulphur Springs, WV at the Greenbrier. The entire travel guide is eye candy. The last trip of November was out to Austin, TX and Lampasas, TX for Thanksgiving. I went to my first Texas football game and finally have an understanding of real college football.
DECEMBER
I closed out the year with a wedding in Charlottesville, followed by a trip out to Louisville, KY to explore the bourbon trail (I definitely need another trip out there on the books!), and, finally, back to Richmond for Christmas.
SO, WHERE TO NOW?
Whew, after that year, where do we go next? Well, I have a ski weekend next weekend, followed by another trip down to Charlottesville, this time for a basketball game, then it’s Las Vegas and Ireland, both in March. Then, there’s Nashville for Memorial Day and a wedding out in Sonoma, to which we’ll tack on a trip to San Francisco. After that, we’ll just have to wait and see, but I do have both a bachelorette and a honeymoon to plan!
