A Giveaway, A Blogaversary and What's Ahead for 2019
It's been six years - six years! - since I first hit publish on The Unpaved Road. That's a good, long time for me to share my travels, and hopefully inspire you to travel also. I'm grateful for all of you that stop by here each week and take the time out of your day to read about me and the Mister's travels.
A Giveaway To celebrate those six years, I've decided to host a giveaway of my two favorite travel books - 1000 Places to See Before You Die and 1000 Places to See Before You Die, the USA and Canada Edition, both by Patricia Shultz. I've used these books as a preface to almost every trip I've been on. They're sorted by region and give a short synopsis of each of the 1000 Places To See Before You Die. After reading the short overview, I can determine whether I want to do more research on a place and then decide if I want to go there. Easy Peasy. And entering the giveaway is easy, too. Just comment below on your favorite travel book. I'll let the winner know next week of their good luck!
Now, on to travel for the coming year. 2018 was one of the biggest - and therefore, favorite - travel years I've ever experienced. I made my first trip to the Southern Hemisphere, landed on a new continent, road tripped in Europe seeing some places I've wanted to see for a long time, put my toes in the sand at least once per month and managed to visit with family all along the way.
I'm reigning the budget in a bit for 2019. That poor travel budget can't take all these blow out trips and still be left standing for upcoming years. Here's what's on the agenda for the year so far:
North Georgia Mountains
I'm taking Mr. UR to the North Georgia mountains where we've rented a cabin and hope to do a little weekend exploring. There are wineries, state parks, hiking opportunities and of course, drives through beautiful scenery. Hope he likes it as much as I do.
San Diego
I'm headed back to San Diego this spring to visit with family. And I hope to do a tiny bit of sightseeing while I'm there. I think that the flower fields should be blooming so I'm hoping to get there but I'm up for other recs. Anybody?
Charlottesville, Virginia
We're meeting our daughter here in the spring and hoping to do some sightseeing, winery touring and good eating. (Are you noticing a theme?) Any recommendations for here will also be appreciated.
New England
Really hoping to get all the kids together to stay at a friend's cottage. We may not all be there for a full week but I'll take what I can get. I see a little ferry hopping, lobster eating, and kayaking in our future.
New York
I'm working on firming up plans to visit my daughter in New York with family and hopefully - fingers crossed - seeing the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade for my first time! I've been wanting to do this since I was a kid and I would sit on my couch and watch it faithfully every year. Here's to making it work!
And the piece de resistance....
Ireland
The Emerald Isle has been at the top of my list for some time now, and despite visiting England and Scotland, I've never made it to Ireland. The flights and most of the accommodations are booked so it's pretty much a done deal. Woohoo! Can't wait!
Another BIG event is a wedding in the fall - my son and his fiance will be getting married in Western North Carolina. I don't have to tell you how excited I am about this - this mama is happy!
How about you? Do you plan your travel far in advance? Or are you a last minute kind of traveler?
Don't forget to leave a comment about your favorite travel book to enter the giveaway!
Linking up with: Photographing New Zealand!
A Giveaway To celebrate those six years, I've decided to host a giveaway of my two favorite travel books - 1000 Places to See Before You Die and 1000 Places to See Before You Die, the USA and Canada Edition, both by Patricia Shultz. I've used these books as a preface to almost every trip I've been on. They're sorted by region and give a short synopsis of each of the 1000 Places To See Before You Die. After reading the short overview, I can determine whether I want to do more research on a place and then decide if I want to go there. Easy Peasy. And entering the giveaway is easy, too. Just comment below on your favorite travel book. I'll let the winner know next week of their good luck!
 |
| source |
Now, on to travel for the coming year. 2018 was one of the biggest - and therefore, favorite - travel years I've ever experienced. I made my first trip to the Southern Hemisphere, landed on a new continent, road tripped in Europe seeing some places I've wanted to see for a long time, put my toes in the sand at least once per month and managed to visit with family all along the way.
I'm reigning the budget in a bit for 2019. That poor travel budget can't take all these blow out trips and still be left standing for upcoming years. Here's what's on the agenda for the year so far:
North Georgia Mountains
I'm taking Mr. UR to the North Georgia mountains where we've rented a cabin and hope to do a little weekend exploring. There are wineries, state parks, hiking opportunities and of course, drives through beautiful scenery. Hope he likes it as much as I do.
San Diego
I'm headed back to San Diego this spring to visit with family. And I hope to do a tiny bit of sightseeing while I'm there. I think that the flower fields should be blooming so I'm hoping to get there but I'm up for other recs. Anybody?
Charlottesville, Virginia
We're meeting our daughter here in the spring and hoping to do some sightseeing, winery touring and good eating. (Are you noticing a theme?) Any recommendations for here will also be appreciated.
New England
Really hoping to get all the kids together to stay at a friend's cottage. We may not all be there for a full week but I'll take what I can get. I see a little ferry hopping, lobster eating, and kayaking in our future.
 |
| source |
New York
I'm working on firming up plans to visit my daughter in New York with family and hopefully - fingers crossed - seeing the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade for my first time! I've been wanting to do this since I was a kid and I would sit on my couch and watch it faithfully every year. Here's to making it work!
 |
| source |
And the piece de resistance....
Ireland
The Emerald Isle has been at the top of my list for some time now, and despite visiting England and Scotland, I've never made it to Ireland. The flights and most of the accommodations are booked so it's pretty much a done deal. Woohoo! Can't wait!
Another BIG event is a wedding in the fall - my son and his fiance will be getting married in Western North Carolina. I don't have to tell you how excited I am about this - this mama is happy!
How about you? Do you plan your travel far in advance? Or are you a last minute kind of traveler?
Don't forget to leave a comment about your favorite travel book to enter the giveaway!
Linking up with: Photographing New Zealand!
I lived in NE GA for many years and was always in awe of the scenery! My Hubby does the travel planning and puts a LOT of time and energy into the plans. And it always shows with wonderful trips! Thanks so much for linking at My Corner of the World.
ReplyDelete