2023 Travel Year in Review
Happy New Year! I canโt believe how quickly 2023 flew. It was easily one of the best of my life and also the hardest. In 2023, I made a career pivot to travel blogging full time despite being no where near a sustainable income (yet). Still, I went on some incredible trips, worked with so many wonderful travel partners and tourism boards, and got married!
I canโt wait to share more about my travels last year including the highest highs and the lowest lowsโฆlooking at you DCA.
Travel by the Numbers
Countries visited: 5ish (US, Puerto Rico, Canada, Turkey, The Maldives)
US states visited: 11 (California, Nevada, Tennessee, Florida, Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, Ohio, DC, Washington, Oregon)
Cities visited: too many to count! (Washington DC, Seattle, La Conner, Portland, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Luis Obispo, Cleveland, Port Clinton, Orlando, Clarksville, Johnson City, Knoxville, Gulf Shores, Orange Beach, Istanbul, and more!)
National parks visited: 1 (Great Smoky Mountains National Park)
Total flight legs: 52! I spent 6 days and 11 hours of time in the air in 2023 according to the Flighty app!
Top Travel Highlights of 2023
Rediscovering my hometown, Los Angeles
I started the year off with a bang, traveling to my hometown, Los Angeles for an epic 2-week rediscovery of the city. Iโm a big believer that everywhere is a travel destination. Someone is visiting your hometown for some reason.
Yes, I did grow up in objectively one of the biggest tourist destinations in the world, but that still doesnโt mean that I did a lot of the things travelers do.
On this trip, I got to create my own itinerary and check off those boxes. I finally did the Warner Bros Studio Tour, drove the coast from Malibu to Laguna Beach, saw the Academy Award and Grammy Museums, revisited both Getty museums, witnessed the sunset from Griffith Observatory, and finally tried a ton of food that was on my list like pupusas from Grand Central Market, banana pudding from Magnolia Bakery, and Sidecar donuts.
If youโre looking for some LA itineraries, I have you covered here!
Two bylines in Matador Network
This year I had some incredible opportunities that came quickly and with a stroke of luck. I landed a wonderful press trip on behalf of Matador Network to Las Vegas with Pursuit to experience their amazing FlyOver attraction. I met some wonderful people and even teamed up with Pursuit and Matador again to cover Banff National Park!
You can read my articles on Matador Network on Vegas here and Banff here.
Touring Portland with my local family
Similar to my trip to Los Angeles, I was so excited to visit Portland this year. I have local family in Portland so Iโve been a number of times, but until 2023 never as a travel blogger in charge of my own itinerary.
I (joyfully) dragged my aunt around the city to do all the โtouristyโ things like visiting all the gardens in Portland, Multnomah Falls and beyond, an incredible donut tour and food cart tour, and one of my favorites: the OMSI laser show (we saw Dark Side of the Moon and it was epic!).
Peep the Portland itinerary here.
Skagit Valley Tulip Festival
On that same trip, I started in Seattle and because it was spring, my trip coincidentally coincided with the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival. There are a number of farms in north Washington that have thousands of tulips in bloom.
Itโs always been on my list, but since it only runs in April, it can be tricky to see.
It was truly so beautiful, if not (understandably) crowded. Iโm so grateful I got to check it off my travel bucket list this year!
Related read >> Tips for seeing tulips in Washington
Listening to Star Wars by an award-winning Tesla Coil
This was not on my BINGO card this year, but boy am I glad it happened.
Iโm so grateful to have worked with Visit Johnson City on a wonderful campaign. They created a super fun itinerary for me and the highlight was their award winning Tesla coil that can play musicโฆlike anything you could possibly want.
They played a few Star Wars songs for me and I must have looked like a small child because I was giddy listening/watching this thing go!
Highly recommend a trip to Johnson City if you find yourself in East Tennessee.
My first travel conference: WITS
I went to my first travel conference this year! While Iโm no stranger to traveling for conferences (in fact, this is still my favorite recommendation for students to travel), this was my first conference about travel creation.
The Women in Travel Summit (WITS) took place in San Juan, Puerto Rico and I was so grateful to have been chosen for a press trip by the tourism board hosting the event โ Discover Puerto Rico. I went on their culinary discovery trip (similar itinerary here) to the mountain region of Puerto Rico and not only did I do some fantastic activities, eat some amazing food, and see a unique side to Puerto Rico, I made some long-standing friends!
I got to meet internet friends in real life, too! It was a win all around!
My bachelorette party trip to the Madonna Inn
I always knew that my bachelorette party would be a trip with my bridal party. When my maid of honor suggested the Madonna Inn, that was all I needed to run with the planning (because my Type A travel blogger self could not surrender the reins to someone else haha).
We stayed in their Imperial Family room (one of over 100 uniquely themed rooms). We dined at their over-the-top steakhouse, went to the drive-in, and saw the beautiful Sensorio light exhibit in Paso Robles.
Overall, it was such a special trip to reconnect with my family since we live so far apart now.
Discovering my new home, Knoxville
Can you sense a theme? I love โtravelingโ to destinations that arenโt necessarily a destination in our minds. For me, that was my new home, Knoxville.
We moved here in 2022 and because of the career pivot and just the chaos of moving, I hadnโt really explored the city fully. That is until 2023 when I got to work with our wonderful tourism board here, Visit Knoxville.
We crafted an itinerary and I got going finding all the wonderful things to do in Knoxville! Iโve now returned to many of them and Iโm so glad to share with my audience all the wonderful things to do here!
Related read >> 45+ things to do in Knoxville
Enjoying the stunning underrated beaches of Gulf Shores
Again, this was not on my BINGO card. In fact, like many people, I had no idea Alabama even had beaches.
Cut to me driving into Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, Alabama and my jaw dropping. Yโall it is so gorgeous here. These beaches are pristine and itโs such a fantastic outdoorsy destination because just blocks from the beach (if that) there are biking and walking trails in the state parks.
The small shops are beachy chic and the restaurantsโฆwhewโฆdonโt get me started because Iโll start drooling through the screen. Think fresh seafood, unique flavor palates, and classic fare done right. YUM.
AND THE SUNSETS! These literally may have been better than the ones I saw in the Maldives this year!
Being able to bring my mom on a press trip
Never did I think I would land so many wonderful partnerships this year, but one of the best was being able to bring my mom as a plus one to Chattanooga.
Sheโs been a big inspiration for my curiosity, love of diverse cultures, and adventurous spirit. Weโve traveled together since I was a kid, so being able to flip the tables and bring her along on a hosted trip was such a treat and a delight.
We kayaked, danced, and played lots of pinball the way you only can in Chattanooga!
Food tour of Istanbul
Discovering a destination via food is the way (cue Mandalorian voice). Our honeymoon this year was to Istanbul and the Maldives and we started off the whole shebang with a 6 hour food tour of Istanbul to taste the flavors on both continents since Istanbul spans Europe and Asia.
We tried so much incredible food and the dishes were so flavorful!
Plus, I discovered my new favorite foods โ simit (a type of sesame bagel) and hazelnut paste (aka fฤฑndฤฑk ezmesi), which I brought home.
Visiting the FREAKING Maldives
Yepp, thatโs the tweet. We did the freaking thing!
I planned this trip over the course of a year, leveraged credit card points in a way I never had, and we finally made it! We stayed in an overwater bungalow and a beach villa for 9 days and paid $0 for the hotel stay.
We snorkeled with manta rays, swam with sharks, relaxed in our private pool, dined in the worldโs first ever underwater restaurant, and watched the most stunning sunsets.
It was the trip of a lifetime and a clear winner in this highlight roundup!
Related read >> How much it costs to visit The Maldives
Travel Lows of 2023
I hate sharing highlights only because that never portrays the full story, so here are some of the lowest lows this year.
The annoying journey home from DC
Oh DCA, the way you so badly got on my sh*t list this year. It all started with this. I was taking a late flight home from DCA (Washington DC). The flight was supposed to leave at 8pm.
8 pm soon turned to 8:30 pm, then 10 pm, then 11 pm, then 11:30 pm. Then the dreaded CANCELED.
I waited with the rest of the sorry saps in the hope of getting rebooked by American. While I waited in line, I went on the app and tried to rebook myself, which I highly recommend doing. If you see something, just grab it! Unfortunately, the next flight out wasnโt for 2 more days (shoutout small airports).
The lady at the customer service counter could do absolutely nothing for me (no compensation, hotel booking, or anything) because it was canceled due to weather. Reminder to know your compensation rights per the Department of Transportation.
So, I turned to my travel credit card, which is how I paid for the flight originally.
I got a hotel and rental car on my own dime. After the rental car company saying they didnโt have a car even though I had a reservation, I managed to get one, brave the 7 hour drive (which turned into 10 hours), and make it home.
But it was a trek and a not fun one at that. Luckily, because I did everything through the same credit card, I could file a claim through their insurance department and get reimbursed. I got $700 back, which was my hotel, car, gas, and extra meals I wasnโt anticipating.
The lesson: always book flights with a travel credit card so you have travel protection insurance!
Getting sick on our honeymoon to the Maldives
This was the biggest womp womp of the year for sure. After meticulously planning this honeymoon of a lifetime to the ultimate bucket list destination and despite wearing masks on our 18 hours of flights, we were sat next to a very clearly sick woman, who was unmasked.
We both ended up with colds and were unable to scuba dive since we were congested and that prevents you from equalizing properly. Such a bummer.
The lesson: Keep wearing masks, pack more cold medication (we had some but not enough)
Also getting sick for my first Halloween Horror Nights
Ya girl is a delicate little flower especially the tummy and especially in the heat. So the scalding hot Orlando heat + theme park food was a recipe for disaster.
My stomach was a problem child for my first ever Halloween Horror Nights experience. While it didnโt stop me from walking the houses, dueling a Death Eater, and watching the Nightmare Fuel show, I absolutely could not try any of the fun, themed food.
I was itching for the Last of Us ravioli, themed drinks, and spiral taters, but alas, Iโll keep my fingers crossed for next year.
The lesson: Listen to your body and donโt forget to prep for the heat
Getting the worst sunburn of my life in Puerto Rico
Iโm wincing just thinking back to this one. The culprit: an hour of kayaking and prioritizing bug spray over sunscreen in my rush to get ready.
This was absolutely the worst sunburn of my life. It happened to my ankles and the worst parts were the excruciating pain that seriously distracted me from my amazing itinerary and that it was causing intense swelling.
This was when I was at WITS (the travel conference), so I had to keep sneaking back to my hotel room to put my feet up and will the swelling to go down.
And 7 months later, I still have a noticeable tan line from the burn.
The lesson: wear more sun protection clothing instead of relying on sunscreen lotion
That sums it up! We did it! Cheers to 2024!
Looking for more travel stories? Read these:
- The 2022 travel recap (it was much different than this year by the numbers)
- How my family traveled because of Halloween
- My hilarious photo diary of Japanese food from my 13 year old eyes
- Our horrible road trip from Hell (transmission? who needs that??)
