It’s been just over four years since I’ve last updated my blog and, well, as we all know – quite a bit has happened since then… personally… globally… it’s been an adventurous four years in more ways than I can adequately describe in one post. Since this is in fact a personal blog, we’ll gloss over the global COVID-19 pandemic since, of course, we all experienced it. Personally, however, there is QUITE A BIT that probably shouldn’t be glossed over.
Before I go any further, thank you to those who noticed that my blog hadn't been updated in years, and thank you to those who asked about when I will update this blog again. My blog accountability buddy, Tom, and I decided we would both update our blogs in some capacity by August 1st. So, with only a few hours to spare, here is my update.
I’m not even sure how to go about covering all that’s occurred during the time since my last post. Maybe the best approach is to hit the monthly or yearly highlights and possibly expand on some during future posts? It looks like my last posts included some details from my July 2019 trip to Alaska which I had the great pleasure of experiencing with my father. I also started to post about a road trip I took during the summer of 2020 to visit Canyonlands and Bryce Canyon in Utah and the four designated National Parks in Colorado (Mesa Verde, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Great Sand Dunes, and Rocky Mountain) although I never actually posted about Bryce Canyon or any of the Colorado parks!
Yes, I think the best approach is to review the highlights for each year and perhaps I’ll elaborate on some of the following in the future. In the meantime, other 2020 highlights that were never posted about included:
Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in December of 2019, marveling in all the scenery (and animals, duh!) on a five-day Safari in Tanzania, and relaxing on Zanzibar (January 2020)
Running my first half marathon: The Houston Half Marathon (January 2020) days after getting my heart broken (more on that another time)
Running my first marathon: The Los Angeles Marathon (March 8th, 2020)
Panic shopping for my first global pandemic (March 12th, 2020)
Cancelling a trip to stay at Phantom Ranch in Grand Canyon National Park
Cancelling a rafting trip to the Colorado River
Cancelling a trip to Quebec/Montreal
Cancelling so many trips… Forgetting life as I once knew it!
Taking many, many online classes, workshops, etc.
Hosting countless family Zoom calls that lasted hours and hours… and hours!
Learning to bake bread (once yeast was finally back in stock at my local supermarket)
Flying to Austin, Texas (June 2020; did not get COVID)
Hiking many trails with friends in the Los Angeles (before they closed the trails)
Flying to Buffalo, New York to spend time with family and friends (July-August 2020)
Flying to the Adirondacks from Buffalo to hike 20+ miles (July/August 2020)
Hosting virtual workshops related to hiking, the outdoors, etc. as well as a virtual book club
Visiting Acadia National Park in Maine (and Boston, too; September 2020)