I LOVE comparing where I thought I’d travel in a year to where I actually traveled. It’s so interesting to see where I end up – whether a planned trip completely changes course, or I take an unplanned trip entirely. I went into 2021 being dead set on Yellowstone. By April of 2021 I had purchased a flight to Hawaii. One evening in October 2021 thinking about how much I missed Broadway shows. A few days later I had booked an AirBnB and purchased two show tickets for a weekend getaway in New York City. With me, there is no telling.
What happened in 2022?
Surprises
- In January I took an unplanned day trip to Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania NMP.
- One weekend in May I picked up for the day and headed to Thomas Stone, Fort Washington, and Piscataway Park.
- My biggest surprise of the year was my fall trip. I had an AirBnB booked in Brooklyn, NY. As the time drew closer I knew that trip was not the vibe I wanted. Going to NYC requires a LOT of walking, little sleep, and it’s not cheap. I wanted to have a more relaxing trip, which is how I ended up at Steamtown NHS in Scranton. There seemed to be a lot to do there over two days, and I was able to fit in Upper Delaware SRR, which was an added bonus!
- My Christmas break day trip was supposed to be Philadelphia but I ended up going to NYC with my mom instead. I purchased Amtrak tickets and they wouldn’t give me a cash refund but they did give me a voucher, so expect a trip to Philly soon!
Went as planned
- Nothing major about my big summer trip changed. I paid for my Dry Tortugas ferry ticket in June 2021, and that is the trip I took in 2022. Originally I planned to drive but ended up flying due to gas prices at the time.
- I planned to do Flight 93 because I have always wanted to go to the anniversary ceremony they do on September 11th. September 11th fell on a Sunday so I made a weekend out of it and was able to do Johnstown Flood as well!
What I consider unplanned
It’s considered unplanned if it never made it on my list. Every January I sit down and make a list of all the parks I’d like to get to that year. This normally includes the parks I will see on my big trip and a few others, since there are quite a few left I can do in a day or weekend trip. Neither Fredericksburg nor any of the Southern Maryland parks were on my list.
The Maryland parks are always somewhat in my mind because that’s my home state, but Steamtown and Upper Delaware SRR were absolutely nowhere on my radar!
The parks on my list I never made it to were Greenbelt Park, Prince William Forest Park, and the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Where I’m headed for 2023
January
I’m headed to Davis, West Virginia on my first ski trip since high school and I am SO excited. I used to be a decent skier and I miss it so much. I doubt I am able to go consistently, but I’d love to go at least once or twice a year moving forward.
February
Back to Orlando I go to visit my brother! We plan on driving out to Tampa to do Busch Gardens one day, and the other day I’m not sure!
April
Nothing is planned yet, but I will definitely do something over my spring break. I’m thinking Philadelphia since I have the Amtrak voucher, but I’d also really like to stay in a cabin in Shenandoah.
June
My “big trip”, as I refer to it, is Colorado and Utah! The flight is booked so I can’t change my mind. I plan on doing a giant circle and hitting Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Great Sand Dunes, Mesa Verde, Arches, and Canyonlands. There are also 4 smaller park sites I will do along the way.
July
I’m 75% sure I want to go to Long Island for a few nights. I would do Fire Island NS, Sagamore Hill NHS, spend a day in Brooklyn, and spend a day in Manhattan.
Besides that trip I will probably spend 1 night outside Ocean City to spend some time with my mom at the beach. I also will most likely visit my dad in Norfolk over his birthday weekend.
August
I am camping for a few nights in Shenandoah again.
October
I will take a fall trip but I don’t know where. Which is kind of fun – it’s the only thing I’m not sure about in 2023. It will probably be within a 3-4 hour radius again. Trips I’ve considered the past few years were to Ricketts Glen State Park, the Catskills, Dolly Sods, New River Gorge NP, or back to North Carolina to hike. Maybe it will be to one of those places, maybe not!
December
I will do a day trip over Christmas break, but who knows! This is the first year I did one as extreme as NYC. In the past I’ve done Gettysburg, Arlington National Cemetery, and Washington DC.
Thanks!
If you read this entire thing, thank you! Every single year I plan a trip and end up doing something completely different. I thought it would be fun to start documenting what I plan vs. what I actually do so I can look back for years to come.
Since I’ve got multiple bigger trips under my belt, I really want to do more weekend trips. In the past I thought I couldn’t go somewhere because I didn’t have a week to spend. For example, I put off Flight 93 for so long because I wanted to combine that with the other Western PA parks and do a multi-day road trip. I finally decided to just do Flight 93 and Johnstown Flood and it was an awesome trip. I saw and did a lot in just 2 days. Of course I will still take a big trip each year (as I’m able!) but I’m trying to get away from the mentality that everything needs to be extravagant.
So here is to 2023 and trying to get to cool places, eat good food, and drink good beer as much as I can. Whether it’s for the day, a weekend, a week, or more!
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