2014: A Decent Traveling Year

Well, you all know I'm a travel freak; thus, I have to recap my year in terms of my travel adventures. There's no way I could ever top my fab year of travel in 2013, but 2014 actually wasn't too shabby in the travel realm! I certainly got to see a little more of the good ol' USA this time around, a trend I hope to continue.

Vegas in January

The year rang in with a freakin' bang in Las Vegas. Not my first time at the strip, but definitely a fun trip. January is the month to go to Las Vegas, in my opinion: not too hot, not too crowded, just a whole lotta fun. And tons of fireworks.

Tijuana in March

I caught a Mexican futbol game on a random Tuesday night trip over the border. For those of you that don't know, San Diego literally sits right on the border...it takes me all of 20 minutes to get to a whole other country. I also really like to advertise Mexico because I feel it unfairly gets bad press painting it as an unsafe, unworthy vacation spot. Pish posh! The Mexican people are a lively, endearing bunch and while Tijuana is not the most beautiful city I've seen, it's a worthy destination brimming full of culture and good food.

England & Scotland in July, August

It was back to ol' Blighty in the summer for graduation and an excursion to Scotland.

First off, London (my love). It was lovely to see my home away from home once again; I'd even call it therapeutic.

Catching up with my "mates" (I always got chastized for saying "friend"), riding the tube, eating sticky toffee pudding, and just being there made me smile from ear to ear. It was the best homecoming I could ask for, since London will always be another home for me. 

I certainly got my fill of London, so of course a side trip to Edinburgh and the rest of Scotland was in order. Man, Scotland is NOT to be skipped, let me tell you! 

Before leaving the U.K., I had one more day trip in the works: lovely Cambridge. 

 We toured the university by way of punting, totally worth it! 

Austin, Houston, and College Station in October

I went to Texas on a work trip, so it was three cities/towns in one go! It was nice to drive through the Texas countryside, which I found refreshing and beautiful. I also got to meet up with an old friend and a new (blog) friend. Of course, Austin still retained its charm from the last time I visited. 

Phoenix, Flagstaff, and Tucson in November 

 Another work trip. It was all about those desert sunsets and (GORGEOUS) mountains in Arizona. I foolishly didn't know Flagstaff was so elevated and would be so freezing in November. Note to self: do not wear a dress without tights in 35-degree weather. 

New Orleans in December 

As you know, I ended the year in NOLA, which was as lively and eclectic as I hoped it would be (complete with an awesome trip to a southern plantation). 

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So there you are! I went to about 8 new cities/towns I hadn't been to before, and 6 overall trips. Not too shabby indeed. As you suspected, I've already booked my next trip for this month. I'll reveal soon where I'm off to (wink). 

Travel on, my fellow wanderlusters! 

Day 03 - A picture of your street

I knew this would be the most boring picture out of all of the challenge. I don't live in some cool metropolitan area with fascinating architecture. I live in suburbia...I've pretty much lived in suburbia all my life. Maybe that's why I'm itching to get away...and maybe that's why I chose a sepia tone for the picture. ha. It's also SUPER gloomy today, so everything looks nasty! (and yes, I took this picture in my car--see the reflection?--because I felt slightly crazy taking pictures of a suburb. haha).

Well since I got that ugly pic out of the way, how about I show some more interesting ones from the weekend?

Friday night, I went to the Goo Goo Dolls concert. And herrrrreee's Johnny!

Johnny Rzeznik ^

I get a kick outta 40-year-old stars that still rock their old hairstyles. heh heh. But that is besides the point, because this man sounded AMAZING! "Name," "Slide," and "Iris" were captivating to listen to (and it was nice that we were so close).

The only drawback to the concert was this crazy lady that was standing by us. And when I say crazy, I mean a tiara and a fur wrap-wearing, sippin' on (TOO MUCH) Gin & Juice, CRAZY LADY. What began as an annoyance, became a reason to change spots when she hollered out, "Being depressed sucks!" and," I know you're laughing at me, but I don't care!" When she started yelling at a tall dude in front of us for being...tall, that's when we took the cue to find a new spot.

But I digress, because on Saturday and Sunday...I was in Ensenada, Mexico. Yep, here are some more pictures:

Gotta have the water shot!

Wine-tasting :)

This highly inappropriate banana dude creeped me out!

Watching the U.S. vs. Ghana game. Sad that we lost, but at least we didn't get slaughtered like England and Mexico. Ouch! Especially because I watched that Mexico game in Mexico. Pobrecito!

That was my weekend. Did those pictures make up for my boring shot up above? Hope so!

Breaks put the life back into me...

This is a cool looking pic from one of our dances, so I thought I'd share. It's not from this week or anything, I just like the lights in the picture. Kind of trippy!

Anyway, my day today? It involoved a random trip to Ensenada, Mexico--pretty water and cliffs, rice and beans, Big Jesus (a statue, my friends), churros, a strawberry daquiri, and new bracelet for $2 and some great, great times.

Spring break is making me a lot less stressed, which is the point anyway, right? So I'm happy that I've been relaxing a bit more and reading textbooks a bit less.

Yeah, I'll go back to learning soon enough. But tomorrow? Possibly the beach or a movie or shopping. Depends what I'm in the mood for....