2013 In Review

December 31st, 2013

SURPRISE!  I am back momentarily to review my fabulous year!  Even though I have been non-existent the last few months, I have been quite busy offline completing life list goals and finding ways to better myself inside and out.

Earlier this year I posted about 10 things I was looking forward to most in 2013.  I did everything but one goal.  I decided early on that I would postpone sky diving until I was closer to my goal weight.  As of today I have lost more than 25 pounds this year, and in fact I have lost a few pounds this month despite the dreaded holidays!  So hopefully, I can do the skydiving next year!

So here is my year in review....

1. Experience Mardi Gras

I posted all about my Mardi Gras experience here.  

2.  Visit the Pyramids

I didn't visit the pyramids once, but I visited it TWICE.  The first time I went a sand storm had hit the area so the clarity was so poor.

The first time visiting the pyramids I rode a camel to one of the pyramids.  His name was Michael Jackson, so yes folks, I rode Michael Jackson.  Minus all the annoying people trying to hound you to buying ugly knick knacks, the pyramids were beautiful!  I even got a chance to climb the side of one of the pyramids, and a little outside of Cairo I was able to crawl inside one of the pyramids (not an easy feat as it seemed like they were built for midgets!).

3.  Visit Petra

 

It is no wonder why Petra was voted one of the Seven Wonders of the World.  The day was exhausting and I did two hikes that day.  I think all in all I climbed almost 2000 stair steps that day (needless to say I should have had buns of steel afterwards), and walked over 20km.  After an exhausting day at Petra we returned that evening to see Petra at night (it was horrible, do not go!). 

4.  Go on a Hot Air Balloon ride over the fairy chimneys of Cappadocia

 

This was the upset of the year!  I had a horrible hot air balloon experience, and will probably never do a hot air balloon ride after this!  It started off bad when the company would not allow my friends and I to be in the same basket compartment, so I was all by myself on the other side of a 28 person hot air balloon basket with tourists that couldn't even speak English.  Midway through our ride it started to POUR RAIN, and it was sooo foggy that we couldn't see a thing!  It was extremely scary because you could hear other hot air balloons closeby but couldn't see them.  I could even see the panic in the drivers eyes.  

When it was time to land we crashed into a tree!  By the time I exited the basket I was soaked down to my undies!  We were never given the champagne we were promised either.  A few weeks later a bunch of tourists DIED using the SAME COMPANY WE USED!  I wrote a nasty review on tripadvisor over the experience that garnered lots of attention.  I am thankful that we left that experience ALIVE.

   

5.  Go Sky Diving

I skipped this goal for several reasons.  I was planning on doing this while I was island hopping in Hawaii.   Then when I paid to hike an active volcano and go star gazing up on Mauna Kea Summit I noticed I had already spent $400!    So I figured those two things I could only do in Hawaii, while sky diving I can do almost anywhere!  So I substituted sky diving for two amazing experiences....

Hiking around Volcano National Park was one of my favorite travel experiences.  Two weeks prior  the government had shut down, so I was so glad the government decided to get its act together right before my visit to the Big Island so that the park could be open.  I did some hiking around some amazing lava flows, and even did some hiking in the pitch black carrying a flash light!  

Mauna Kea Summit is one of the best spots in the WORLD to star gaze.  Because of the location of Hawaii you can see constellations from both the northern and southern hemisphere.  Mauna Kea nearly took my breath away as we took an overland truck up the 14,000 foot mountain.  One of the gals in the truck got horrible altitude sickness and was attached to an oxygen tank, and vomiting our entire time up there.  Since then I have become an astronomy junkie and have quite a collection of astronomy books.

6.  Hike to Neuschwanstein Castle 

It took me three visits to Germany to finally visit Neuschwanstein Castle, and to also learn how to properly say it.  Most of the hiking trails were closed due to the weather (it had snowed a few days prior), but I did take the near hour paved hike to the famous bridge that gives you the best view of the castle.  Most people either took horse carriages or buses to the top, but I am glad I did the hike as it was a great little workout and made the experience less like a tourist attraction.  

7.  Relax in Santorini

 

Santorini quickly became my happy place despite having to spend so much time trying to disinfect myself from the bed bugs I collected from Turkey!  My friend and I had this amazing room overlooking the ocean, and we rented a car, drove around the island, and lived to tell you about it!  Because the tourist season hadn't officially started we had the island nearly to ourselves.  We headed to some beaches and were sometimes the only people there!  Bliss!

8.  Visit where the hills are alive with the Sound of Music in Salzburg, Austria

I am referring to the Julie Andrews version of Sound of Music and NOT the horrible Carrie Underwood rendition!  I posted all about my amazing Salzburg experience here.

9.  Visit Istanbul

While in Istanbul my friends and I rented an apartment through AirBnB and took taxis and walked all over the city.  We had Turkish delights and visited many historical mosques!  The weather wasn't in our favor, but the food was amazing.  

10.  Drive the Road to Hana

Who made this road legal to drive on?  I don't think I have been so scared being a passenger in a car!  The winding and narrow roads nearly had me on the verge of going into cardiac arrest.  On the way to Hana (in Maui) we made several stops to beautiful beaches, did some short hikes, visited waterfalls, and even bought delicious banana bread off the side of the road.

Honorable Mentions:  Visited Luxembourg (my 49th country!), revisited the beer halls of Munich, traveled to North Carolina for a friends wedding, made a maid-of-honor speech for my best friends wedding in Maui, revisited the Acropolis in Greece, visited a friend in Cologne, Germany, and visited Ephesus in Turkey.  I also took a quick weekend trip to Las Vegas to watch the Beatles Cirque Du Soleil show.  I also learned to swim, became a gym rat going to the gym 3-5 times a week, became obsessed with zumba, and ran my first 5K. 

Next year I am planning to run a few more 5K's (a friend is trying to talk me into a half marathon), visit New Orleans for Jazzfest, visit friends in Miami, get a Disneyland annual pass so I can go ALL THE TIME, travel to Ireland, go gorilla trekking in Uganda, sunbathe in Zanzibar, and go on safaris in Tanzania and Kenya.

As an added bonus, here is a video my family made during Christmas.  Now you know where I get my sillyness from....


Happy New Year, and see you next year!!