Perhaps it’s a psychological illusion, or maybe just me but each passing year seems to go more quickly than the last, for example it felt like just yesterday that Sam and I were about to embark on our trip to China…yep, and that was a full year ago!
Seriously, this year the months have just flown by, fortunately punctuated by my four-day-flips and vacations, of which, admittedly there have been quite a few this past year…although not much different than normal. 🙂
Let’s see…after finishing our trip to China I dropped Sam back in Toronto so she could fly out to Florida to spend time with my ex and grandparents (seriously. what a life!). Then deciding last minute that I didn’t want to spend it alone in Toronto I jumped on a plan Dec 30 and went to Vancouver for the New Year. Spending a couple of days skiing and enjoying the west coast vibe – such a great start to the year.
February saw me spend two weeks in Australia visiting family and spending time with my best mate Craig. It was a perfect time of year to take a break from the wintery weather in Toronto and treat myself to some sunshine and cold beer. The perfect sojourn if you will!
My next trip was in early April to Montréal where I helped Zach move out of residence after his first year of University. Actually it was more of a setting him up in his new apartment in the neighbourhood known to the McGill students as the “ghetto” which is full of student housing and adjacent to campus. Of course this included a number of trips to IKEA to procure furniture for the new digs. 🙂
May found me taking a long weekend and driving to Lake Placid in upstate New York to explore the beautiful Adirondacks. There was so much to see and do in this area with great hiking trails, mountains, pristine lakes and the like. Such an awesome experience, and one I would highly recommend for a weekend getaway!
Next up was June with a four-day-flip to Jacksonville which I used as my home base with a couple of day trips, the first a mere two hour drive away to Savannah, Georgia. Savannah is an incredible city, especially the old downtown core with its large, old oak trees, myriad parks and gorgeous 18th and 19th century architecture. Awesome!
The next day I took a road trip down the coast to St Augustin, Florida. This settlement is one of the oldest in North America with its Spanish heritage on display for everyone to see. Surprisingly another gem and often not on anyone’s radar and only a hour away from Jacksonville.
July also saw Sam and on a road-trip to New York City to drop her off at Columbia University for summer school. You can’t go wrong with a long weekend exploring the boroughs of New York, especially in the summertime with so much to explore, it’s definitely a matter of prioritizing what you want to do in this incredible city. So much to to see and do!
At the end of August I took Zach back to Montréal to settle into his new apartment and get ready for school, with only one additional trip to IKEA…bonus! What did students do before this place opened? 🙂
In early September I set off on my big trip to Japan.
Tokyo is one of those cities that everyone should go visit at least once in their lives, it’s a bit like Vegas in that way. As you read in my prior stories I had been in search of the “Old Japan”, and I definitely found it in Kyoto. This was my favourite place during my time in Japan, now its not to say that either Tokyo or Kanazawa weren’t great, but there was something that captured my imagination in Kyoto. Possibly the extremely friendly locals and, or the amazing little hole in the wall restaurants, or the traditional lifestyle. Simply amazing!
My well documented 24 hours in Singapore was fabulous. As you know it was the first time I’d had the opportunity to visit Singapore with a camera and I wasn’t disappointed. Singapore is a modern and diverse city, and felt a little like Disney’s Fantasyland, but stickier. Yep, it’s perched almost on the equator.
The icing on my virtual travel cake was my week relaxing at a spa in Ubud, on the island of Bali in Indonesia. For everything Japan (clean, friendly, ordered) was, Bali was not… It’s funny as I write this as I sound like a snobby tourist, but as I journaled in a recent story there was definitely an edge to Bali that I wasn’t expecting.
Then most recently another four-day-flip, this time to New Orleans which I documented last week so no need to delve into the details on this adventure…
My final trip of the year will be to Australia. Sam and I leave on December 19th and return January 6th. Zach is also visiting Australia at Christmas, but primarily visiting his friends Tilly and Jess in Melbourne, although we will get an opportunity to see him.
Yes, it’s been quite a year of travel..like most years I suppose. Now, if I add up all my trips, including road trips and flights I’ve calculate that I’ve traveled over 110,700 kilometers. Wow, its crazy when you add them all up.
Just to put this into perspective – if you travel around the earth at the equator or widest point it’s 40,075 kilometers. My travel year has seen me travel the equivalent of 2.76 times around the earth’s circumference.
Now that an ah-ha moment if ever there was one! If that was all in a plane (traveling at approximately 600 km per hour) it would be the equivalent of 184.5 hours or 7.69 days in the air. Now my year also included a lot of road trips but what amazes me most is how quickly each of these trips add up, but also how quickly they go.
Makes your think…not that I would change a thing mind you. 🙂
Until next week…
Ciao
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