01 Jan 2017 – A Year in Travel
2017 flew past too quickly. Looking back I am always grateful for the simple things in life: a roof over my family’s heads; the best fresh drinking water; we don’t have to go hungry; we can enjoy the small and free pleasures of life; access to the internet; and the ability and means to travel! We are lucky. In 2017, we took many family trips and I was able to experience and visit some new countries and cultures. Let’s review 2017 – A Year in Travel.
January
The Silver Dollar, Louisville, Kentucky
Kentucky – The land of tobacco and bourbon. We took a family trip to Louisville to celebrate my wife’s mother’s 80th birthday. It was bloody freezing with daytime highs hovering around 20°F (-7 °C). Needless to say, we did not really venture out apart from a misguided excursion for a couple of drinks – It all went sideways in The Silver Dollar, then I remember entering Gerstle’s Place, but not leaving. Pangs of guilt and a two-day hangover ensued!
February
Playa Norte, Isla Mujeres, Quintana Roo
First off was a trip down to Mexico. In Guadalajara, I took a side trip to Lake Chapala and Ajijic, then onto Mexico City and finally my first trip ever to Cancun and Isla Mujeres which was amazing. Shortly after Mexico, I got to spend a week in The Biggest Little City in the World, Reno, Nevada – The National Automobile Museum is amazing if you like old cars. Finally, I took a trip down to Santa Barbara, California and stayed at the luxurious Bacara Resort & Spa.
March
Tsukiji Fish Market from Royal Park Shiodome
I first visited Seoul, South Korea back in 2004, and went back 13 years later to see how things have changed. From Seoul, I travelled to Osaka and then Tokyo – My first time to Japan! What an amazing country and I satisfied my sushi addiction in true fashion! Back across the Pacific, with less than 24 hours back at home I took to the skies again up to Banff, Alberta to cause a kerfuffle and work on my Molson muscle!
April
Chacalilla Beach, Chacala, Nayarit, Mexico
Back to Mexico – this time to the sleepy beach-town of Chacala, Nayarit, located about 100km north of Puerto Vallarta. Oh, we were wrong! The quiet town of 300 people grew to over 10,000 as Mexicans flocked to the beach to celebrate Easter! Never again! Later in April, I flew down to San Diego for a couple of nights at Paradise Point – The southern California weather was fantastic and the vibe is always relaxed and refreshing.
May
Eagle Falls, above Emerald Bay, Lake Tahoe
I did not step foot on a plane in May. Instead, I got to stay home and play at beautiful Lake Tahoe. A drive around all the way around the Lake is always awe-inspiring – and I always drive around clockwise as to stay close to the shoreline for those impromptu photo stops! To celebrate several birthdays we took a family staycation and treated ourselves to a couple of nights at the Aston Lakeland Village right on the beach in South Lake Tahoe.
June
Sky Combat Ace, Lake Tahoe
I have not been back to Washington DC since 1987, and only remember doing a quick drive by the White House 30 years ago. This time I took a full day Segway tour to take in all of the sights. We also took our first camping trip of the year to Nevada Beach, Lake Tahoe and the weather cooperated!! Finally, the single, most exciting thing I have ever done – I got to fly in and pilot and Extra 330 aerobatic plane over Lake Tahoe and Desolation Wilderness – Truly amazing!
July
Drinking Guinness in O’Donoghues Bar, Dublin
Straight after the 4th of July Independence Day celebrations at Lake Tahoe, I headed over the pond to the United Kingdom and Ireland. Starting off in London then onto Dublin where after an evening of Guinness fuelled idiocy my cohorts and I started playing the lying down game, otherwise known as dead planking. Needless to say, we continued this fad in Manchester and London again, after which, I had some pretend adult time with real family in Bristol and Porthcawl!
August
Lake Tahoe Balloons
What the heck! Back to Louisville, Kentucky again. This time I decided to entertain myself by visiting strange places on Atlas Obscura – I was unsuccessful in visiting the Waverly Hills Sanatorium but did manage to see the Cave Hill Cemetery, Muhammad Ali’s grave and Kentucky Fried Chicken’s Colonel Sanders final resting place. We closed out the month with a trip to the Yosemite Valley. Oh, and then I took to the air again with Lake Tahoe Balloons
September
My Lady Diana moment at the Taj Mahal
My second new country of the year was India. Being a loyal United customer I flew the long way around, San Francisco to Newark, then onto Mumbai. I was able to explore Mumbai, stay in Chennai, discover New Delhi, and visit Agra and the Taj Mahal. India was everything I hoped for and more: the people; smells; flavours; history; architecture; and traffic! And yes, I did get diarrhoea, but not until the end of my trip, while staying at the 5-star Oberoi in Gurgaon which have very nice toilets!
October
The new gondola at Oakland Zoo
Have you ever been to Oakland? Me neither! I didn’t go there by choice, it was the location of an event I had to attend and I had to stay the night. Did you know Oakland had a zoo? Me neither! My function was at the Landing Café on top of a hill which is only accessible by a gondola – the view of the six Bay Area counties is spectacular. If you are in the Bay Area enjoy a day at the Oakland Zoo.
November
Family pose at the Tower of London
We have not gone to the United Kingdom as a family for a few years. So, we decided on an off-the-beaten-track itinerary after landing at London Heathrow. After we spent a couple of days in Bristol with family we took a road trip through Wales. Starting with Porthcawl and the castle in Chepstow we drove to Betws-Y-Coed for the night then onto Anglesey – Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, Caergeiliog, Holyhead, South Stack and Trearddur Bay. After overextending ourselves we head back to London to hit all the sights in just one day.
December
Up above LA in the OUE Skyspace
I just love Los Angeles – It’s one of the greatest cultural melting pots in the world. Last year I stayed in Koreatown. This year I stayed in Little Tokyo. After being in Tokyo itself earlier in the year, it really was like being back in Japan, from the excellent Sushi restaurants to the kitschy Japanese supermarkets and souvenir stores. Needless to say, I did venture back to my favourite restaurant in Koreatown, Dwit Gol Mok (DGM) – Everyone should visit this place once in their life!
We closed out the year by flying to Kauai, Hawaii on New Year’s Eve – a great way to ring in the New Year and 2018. Aloha!