2020 Year in Review: 8 Travel Highlights of 2020
Starting last year, I’ve decided that each year I’ll be recapping my travels with my top travel moments, travel by the numbers, and sharing fun stories that I may not have had the chance to share. Before writing my 2020 recap, I went back to my 2019 travel recap to see how 2020 compared. Boy, am I laughing at myself now. One of the first things I claimed in 2019, was that it felt like one of my least traveled year…I had visited Israel and many US locations. HA! You ain’t got nothing on 2020!
Still, I am pretty proud of how this year turned out. I rediscovered how important it is to explore your own backyard by traveling locally, and some incredible ways to travel from home. I was truly impressed with the outpour of free resources, virtual experiences, and art during quarantine times.
Without further ado, here’s my travel recap for 2020!
Travel by the Numbers:
Countries visited: 1 (just the USA)
US states visited: 13 (I really only passed through 6 of them driving across the country twice)
Cities visited: 5 (Orlando (FL), Los Angeles, Savannah (GA), Jekyll Island (GA), Flagstaff (AZ))
National Parks visited: 2 (Great Smoky Mountains and White Sands)
Total flight legs: 0
Total time road tripping: 94+ hours
Miles driven: 5500+ miles
Top Travel Highlights:
1. Riding Flight of Passage at Walt Disney World with my Grammy
It might sound simple, but this was no small feat. In fact, it honestly felt like a miracle when it really happened. For a few years I was hell bent on this idea – to get my LA family (primarily my 86 year old Grammy) to Walt Disney World to experience the world of Avatar, Pandora. Avatar is one of my Grammy’s favorite movies, so I knew she needed to experience it first-hand!
I began planning a trip for October 2019… the stars were aligning. I was coordinating with 4 groups of families to meet up in Orlando, FL to visit Walt Disney World. A couple weeks before the trip, however, my Grammy tripped and became minorly injured. I had to reschedule. So I chose January 2020. I rebooked and rearranged everything. My Grammy got better. Soon enough we were at Walt Disney World. She was experiencing Pandora and loving it! The first time we rode Flight of Passage, where it feels like you’re riding on an Avatar-esque dragon through the beautiful Pandora landscapes, was unforgettable. A definite highlight.
>> Read more: How to Plan a Family Vacation to Walt Disney World
2. Visiting Wormsloe Historic Site
I always say I don’t really have a bucket list…just lots of things I’d love to see, do, experience, etc. Bucket lists just feel like there’s this impeding deadline. Either way, I have always really wanted to see Wormsloe Historic Site, with it’s beautiful mile-long road that’s lined with dramatic Spanish-moss covered oak trees. It’s one of those places I feel like all travel bloggers have epic photoshoots from. It’s in Georgia, so of course, I had to see it! We ended up passing through Savannah, Georgia to visit Jekyll Island and stopped to visit.
It was truly a beautiful place. I could have stared at those trees forever.
3. Playing Tourist in Los Angeles
If you’re new to Periodic Adventures (first of all, hi!), I’m from Los Angeles originally. I didn’t start this travel blog until I moved away years ago so anytime I want to write LA content, it’s tricky because I don’t have photos. Who takes photos of their hometown for fun anyway? I definitely never visited some of the most touristy areas…at least never to take photos.
That changed a few weeks ago. I hadn’t visited my family in a year so given the pandemic, we drove across the country to be with them for our winter break. One day while I was there, I scooted away to do a speed round of playing tourist. I visited Rodeo Drive (and the Golden Triangle), the Spadena House, The Pink Wall on Melrose Ave, and Hollywood Blvd. Believe it or not, all those things are pretty close to each other.
It was really fun seeing my city from a tourist’s and travel blogger’s perspective!
>> Read more: Local’s Budget Travel Guide to Los Angeles
4. Camping During a Hurricane
A highlight, you say? Yes, really. This year marked the first time I went camping. I started small earlier in the year and learned a lot of beginners camping tips. After a couple trips, we visited Great Smokey Mountain National Park and went camping for 5 days! Coincidentally, there happened to be a hurricane on its tail end passing through. We don’t have any fancy gear so we assembled a tarp over and under us to protect our little tent from the heavy rain and crossed our fingers. It was very loud, but we stayed dry.
Who would have thought that someone who literally had never been camping prior to this year could handle a hurricane?
The Great Smokies were beautiful, especially because it was fall so all the leaves were multi-colored.
5. Photographing the Stars at Driftwood Beach
I’ve always wanted to dabble in night photography. It’s not as easy as it looks and to get the epic photos you often see, you need lots of patience and editing software to overlay many photos. Still with my amateur DSLR camera, I was excited to try my hand at it.
We woke up at the crack of dawn and headed to Driftwood Beach in Jekyll Island, GA where there are huge trees that have drifted ashore. It makes for some interesting photography subjects. Despite the 30+ bug bites I got from this trip, this was a super fun excursion. If you squint really hard you can maybe see Orion in my photo below (if not, I tried haha).
6. Sampling Local Donuts in Atlanta
I don’t think I can recap the year without mentioning how much fun we had spending one day in Atlanta. Yes, it’s only an hour and 30 minutes away, but again – this was the year for exploring your own state!
Honestly the highlight of Atlanta was trying Simply Done Donuts. I really really love donuts. I even hunted down a bunch of donuts in Dublin, so this visit shouldn’t come as a surprise. Simply Done Donuts are minis, which means you can try lots of flavors for the equivalent of one regular sized donut! I had French Toast, Apple Pie, Snickers, Cookies & Cream, Maple, and more!
7. Adventuring in Chattanooga, TN
Our weekend getaway to Chattanooga was a pleasant surprise. I wasn’t really expecting too much, but it blew me away! We went hang-gliding, which was INCREDIBLE and we stayed in the most stunning Airbnb I have ever been to! It was Indiana Jones themed and I was in heaven.
8. Snow in Georgia!
It really doesn’t snow in Georgia and if it does, the whole state shuts down. It’s very rare. But, in February it snowed! We quickly decided to head up to Tallulah Gorge to see it in snow and it was just so beautiful. A true once-in-a-lifetime type thing.
>> Read more: Day Trip Itinerary to North Georgia Waterfalls
As always, with another year in the books, I want to thank you for reading…not only this post but my travel blog. It’s grown a lot this year and that’s all thanks to you, my readers. I am so grateful for you. Cheers to more to come! Happy 2021!
