2011 in Hindsight

2011 has been a FABULOUS year! As in, maybe one of my favorite years ever. And the craziest part about that statement is that I only left the country once, when I spent a total of seven hours in Canada just last week.

How can that be!?! Here’s how:

1. I moved to a great new city
2. I traveled extensively domestically (20 US states/territories)
3. I got to start over

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In February, I loaded up a minivan and relocated to Washington, DC from California via a nine state roadtrip with one of my best gals from college.

2010, though full of international travel, was a really rough year. So when 2011 rolled around, I saw it as a mulligan for my entire life, and DC was at the center of that.

I immediately fell in love with the city; its vibe, arts, people (not to mention its thriving brunch and happy hour culture).

I moved into an apartment and neighborhood that I adore and that feel more like home than anywhere has in a long time.

I found a stellar group of DC-based travelers/bloggers for monthly DCTravelTweetups, joined a group of 15 scholarly ladies in what is probably the best book-club in the entire US and became Co-VP of Events for the Social Media Club of DC.

Between museums, embassies, concerts, protests, rallys and gallery events, there was never a shortage of things to do.

I got to listen to the Dalai Lama speak in July, spent Easter morning at Arlington Cemetery, stood outside the White House the night Osama bin Laden was killed, “survived” Hurricane Irene and the DC earthquake and feel as though I’ve discovered how to thrive in a city that I become more enamored with on a daily basis.

And DC has been a great launching point for heaps of domestic travel. 2011 included trips to:

– Los Angeles, CA – Crossville, TN – Chicago, IL
– San Diego, CA – Oklahoma City, OK – Milwaukee, WI
– Lake Tahoe, NV – Williamsburg, VA – Madison, WI
– Lake Havasu, AZ – Ocean Beach, MD – OshKosh, WI
– Gallop, NM – New York City – Fajardo, Puerto Rico
– Amarillo, TX – Boston, MA – Sacramento, CA
– Little Rock, AR – Outer Banks, NC – York, PA
– Nashville, TN – Wilmington, NC – Buffalo, NY
– Memphis, TN – Myrtle Beach, SC – Niagara Falls, NY
– Portland, OR – Richmond, VA – Annapolis, MD
– Santa Cruz, CA