Travel
Well, another year has come to an end. It was a good year overall for me, like many of these recent years past. Life has been great and only looking to get better in 2019. Most of this year was spent saving money with no real plans to use it until December. Frugality juxtaposed by luxury. From the deserts of southern Arizona to the private beaches of the Caribbean, I took in a nice variety of the world this year.
I believe my first trip out of Phoenix was to Tucson. I know it’s just down the road but I went with the purpose of getting into portraiture. Since I like to travel, I made a trip of it to explore downtown Tucson on Congress and eat at El Charro. I even stayed at Hotel Congress which was interesting and planning on making that my go to hotel when I’m visiting Tucson. I photographed a model named Sofie. She was patient with me as I had no idea what I was doing. Thank you once again, Sofie.
A few weeks after returning from Tucson, I hopped on a quick flight to Las Vegas to visit my friend who was there on a work retreat. This particular trip to Las Vegas was the first where I didn’t feel like I had to do anything. Slept late, lounged by the pool, napped, ate dinner, and took photos. One of the best trips to date.
I usually like to spend the summer in Phoenix which sounds crazy but I use that time to relax from spring travel and prepare for fall and winter adventures.
Took a family trip to San Antonio, Texas. Not a fan of the area of San Antonio we were at but the Alamo and La Tierra were really nice.
The day after returning from Texas, I was expected on business to Seattle, Washington. I had never been to Seattle before and it was beautiful seeing different vegetation and spooky fog.
October brought cooler temperatures so I took another trip to Camp Verde to see Montezuma’s Castle and visit the Out of Africa Park again. Vicky and Buddy from Buddythetravelingmonkey.com joined me and I had fun showing the Miami based blogger around my state.
My big trip of the year was an interesting itinerary. A few cities in the US and a beautiful island in The Caribbean. My first stop was New York City to visit my friend and be a photo nerd. December is really cold in New York City. I even bought gloves but they weren’t enough at some points. We both got some great photos of one another.
Next came a trip to sunny and beautiful Miami, Florida. Vicky and Buddy were gracious enough to show me around not just Miami, but the Everglades on the Florida’s southwest coast to go on an awesome airboat ride. It was my first time being on an airboat and had a great time being a tourist.
After a week in the Miami area, Vicky was gracious enough to drive me several hours down the road to Key West. Duval Street was pretty crazy. Not really my speed anymore but it was nice to experience it and learned a lot from Vicky regarding the chain of islands. I also got to see the Southernmost Point which is something I’ve always wanted to do. Hemingway’s home was also amazing.
Vicky and Buddy also joined me on my only international trip to Turks and Caicos. I feasted on the great food and was feasted on by the bugs while on the northern end of Providenciales. I had never been on such a secluded beach. It was a surreal experience like something you’d only see in a movie. Something I will never forget.
My final trip of the year was to Jerome. Since I was sick of airports and airplanes, I decided to make the beautiful drive. I’ve always wanted to go to Jerome to enjoy a central Arizonan town with a distinct vibe, art galleries, and haunted history. It was cold and spooky but I had a lot of fun just going somewhere with no real plans on what to do or what to see. Just walk around taking photos until I get hungry and eat. Sometimes trips like these are more fun than being somewhere around the world.
Even now, I’m writing this while watching the world outside my window fall to sleep.
Destinations:
Tucson, AZ
Las Vegas, NV
San Antonio, TX
Seattle, WA
Camp Verde, AZ
New York City, NY
Miami, FL
Key West, FL
Providenciales, Turks and Caicos
Jerome, AZ
I honestly don’t know where I’ll be going in 2019. Perhaps I’ll get to travel and spend more time on creative things like this blog and my photos. A few possible trips to Central Mexico have been talked about but we’ll see what happens. Perhaps I’ll travel more around Arizona and neighboring states as I’m becoming a fan of the road trip.
The list of destinations I’d like to go to has been shrinking and travel will always be a part of my life but right now, it isn’t the most important thing. I’m just happy that I have my health and have had so many great experiences at my age. I’ll take them as they come.
Life
Nothing too exciting happened to me this year. Worked mostly and ended up getting offered a new position that starts at the beginning of the year. Met a special lady, lost that special lady. She’ll always have a special place in my memories.
This year I made it a point to try to improve and practice my photography. Reaching out to models to build on my skill while I’m not traveling. I created a new site for general photography related posts. Taking travel photos is my first joy but I’m having fun trying to get people photos they enjoy of themselves. I have a long way to go but I know I’ll improve as days go by.
Explored the downtown Phoenix area and other surrounding cities at night for some interesting photos. I’m starting to try to get into some video related work as well. I just have to get a few more things in place but slow progress is better than no progress.
Because of the portraiture, I really improved on my Lightroom and Photoshop skills.
Didn’t really watch any TV which feels good to say. If I did watch a show, I don’t remember it to be honest. Daredevil? I seriously think that was it.
I do know I listened to tons of music which I’d rather do anyway. Most of my favorite times consisted of putting in the headphones, firing up Lightroom/Photoshop/WordPress and just work into the night. Here’s my top songs of 2018 playlist. Mostly Chillhop and rock music.
As years go on, and with more goals having been accomplished, it feels like there are fewer worlds left to conquer. Still, I’m sure I’ll find something to keep me busy. I feel so much better after a productive day of creating something and putting it out for the world to see. Even if nobody sees it, I still had fun with the whole process.
Hoping to see you all next year and hoping we’re all better people than we were when this year started.
As I like to say, wasted minutes will eventually turn to wasted years.
phxdown 