When people asked me what I was up to this year, I quickly replied, “Staying busy.” And while it was a standard answer, it was also true. I traveled over 120 days this year, at least one week out of every month. It included 11 states, two of which were new to me, and one overseas adventure. Last year’s new year celebrations were casual but signaled the beginning of an eventful year. I’m excited to reflect on 2015 and look forward to what 2016 will bring.
January: New York City
It was a cold January as I hopped a delayed flight to New York City for a trade show job. It wasn’t as bad as it had been in prior years, but still much colder than back home. My sister was no longer working with me but I was still able to meet up with some friends like Kelsi, who I worked with in Australia and now lives in Connecticut. I treated myself to my routine of ramen at one of my go-to restaurants and visited the Morgan Library and Museum.
February: San Francisco
My boss asked me to come work another trade show in San Francisco, a place I hadn’t spend as much time as I wanted to. During that time, I got to meet up with a friend, see a screening of a documentary, a travel writing reading with the legendary Don George and explore neighborhoods like Chinatown and North Beach. I also got to visit the Anchor Brewery and ate bun cha at a Vietnamese restaurant. And I had plenty of solo dinners.
March: Surgery and Louisiana
Only a few days after returning from San Francisco, I went in for surgery on my foot. I’ve had bunions for a while but years of running finally made the pain too great to ignore it. Recovery was, blessedly, fairly quick and I was out and about in less than a week. I used cold compression therapy and crutches around the house but was in a walking boot afterwards.
Because of my intense fear of missing out, I left three weeks later to go on a media trip around Louisiana. I had a great time, made friends and gained a lot of good content from it, but I was too stubborn to slow down. I was exhausted after only a few days and also had one of the worst eczema flare ups of my life. The ten days in a bus, constantly packing and unpacking, with 30 people was too much for me. I also celebrated six years of Caroline in the City!
April: Mississippi Blues Trail and Father-Daughter Road Trip
I went on my first trip of three this year to the Mississippi Blues Trail, starting in Memphis and working my way through Tunica, Clarksdale, Indianola, Greenwood and Hernando. A few days later my father and I embarked on a cross-country road trip.
He’s a bass fisherman and was competing in a national tournament in Oklahoma. We stopped a number of places along the way and I even did some road tripping on my own to northwestern Arkansas, specifically the towns of Bentonville and Eureka Springs.
May: Charleston, Jekyll Island and Tupelo
I celebrated my five-year college reunion in style with a girl’s weekend in Charleston, my former home. My former roommate and I rented an apartment and spent a long weekend eating at our favorite restaurants and reliving our college days. Also on the itinerary for the month was a trip to Tupelo, Mississippi for the Elvis festival and a weekend on Jekyll Island for the opening of the Westin hotel there.
June: South Georgia and Alpharetta
Before the annual trade show in Atlanta, I was able to go on two short trips regionally. The first was to south Georgia, including stops in Athens, Augusta, Statesboro and Albany with an emphasis on the food of the region. The second was to Alpharetta, which is actually only 30 minutes or so from my house. But I learned a lot about the local shops and eateries that make it up.
July: England
I turned 27! It was, of course, spent at work. A few days later, my sister, mom and I hopped on a plane to go see my youngest sister, who was studying abroad in Oxford, England. We spent a few days roaming the campus and learning about the town’s history before finishing up our time in London, one of my favorite places in the world. I went on a tasty food tour and met up with some of my dearest blogger friends.
August: New York City
Summer brings another trip to New York City. I added another day onto my trip to maximize my time and was able to meet up with friends from all over, check out Saturday Night Live: The Exhibition, eat all the food and, of course, work like a maniac.
September: Orlando and Georgia
Speaking at a travel conference in Orlando started off my month and after a few days hanging out with blogger friends and networking, we played hooky at the Magic Kingdom. I also had an Atlanta staycation in celebration for my sister’s 21st birthday.
I spent a relaxing few days at Barnsley Resort in Adairsville, where my grandparents live, and learning more about Henry County, a suburban area south of Atlanta. I also spent the day at Howard Finster’s Paradise Gardens, the home of my favorite folk artist.
October: Augusta, Senoia, Boone and Florida Road Trip
As fall hit, I spent a long weekend in Augusta, a city northeast of Atlanta, and went on a Walking Dead inspired tour in the town of Senoia, south of Atlanta. My parents and I drove up to North Carolina to visit my sister, where it finally felt like the season. Then there was the two-week road trip from Macon down to Fort Lauderdale for a travel bloggers conference. Along the way, I stopped in Gainesville, St. Petersburg, Tampa and Sarasota.
November: Oxford and Central Louisiana
Before Thanksgiving I had the chance to go to Oxford, Mississippi with a great group of ladies. I’d wanted to check out the college town for ages and got to see what the fuss was about. Hint: it was well deserved. After that, I hopped back on a plane bound for central Louisiana to see the holiday lights in Alexandria, Minden, Shreveport and Natchitoches.
December: San Antonio and Myrtle Beach
I capped off the year with a trip to a new state, specifically to San Antonio, Texas! I was so surprised at how much I enjoyed myself (more on that soon). I stayed at a gorgeous boutique hotel in a former brewery, checked out the art museums and ate all the tamales. Then I took a road trip to Myrtle Beach, a place I spent a lot of time in college but had never seen as a tourist. More on that trip soon!
I can’t wait to see where I end up in 2016! The only place I have planned so far are a trip to New York City in 2 weeks (come see me speak at the New York Times Travel Show!), a wedding in Tennessee, a road trip to south Georgia and a trip out West this summer.
Looks like you did a lot of traveling in 2015. Here’s to more travel and fun in 2016.
Oh! Such a busy year! Tour in every month, even two tours in a month sometimes. Crazy!