When I look back through all the photos I took this year, it is easy to sum up 2024 in one word – busy! There were a lot of new memories made in much-loved countries that we traveled to this year (Denmark, Spain, Portugal and France), some incredibly fun road trips closer to home and a couple of work trips thrown in between! It was a great year, and I feel so incredibly grateful to have been able to go on so many amazing adventures. Here’s a look back at my favorite travel moments of 2024!
Celebrating Peter’s 50th Birthday in Turks & Caicos
Eight hours after ringing in the new year we hopped on a plane for a week of fun down at Club Med in Turks & Caicos in celebration of Peter’s birthday. We spent much of the week relaxing on the beach, enjoying the resorts activities, partying at night and also took a puppy for a walk on the beach with Potcake Place!
Experiencing The Solar Eclipse
In April Emma and I traveled up to Cleveland, Ohio with my parents to view the solar eclipse in totality. This was one of the most amazing experiences of my life that I will never forgot. Not only because it’s something I may not be able to experience again, but also because I got to share it with my parents and our extended family in Ohio.
Weekend Anniversary Trip
Later in April Peter and I celebrated our 20th (did I just say 20th?! YIKES!) wedding anniversary by taking a weekend hiking trip up in Shenandoah National Park. Since we live not too far from the mountains, we tend to go hiking there a couple of times a year. The photo on the left is us on one of our first trips to Shenandoah National Park after we got married (awww) and now look at us 20 years later!
Even though I love hiking, I am not one for actually staying up in the mountains overnight, so this was something new to me. Turns out I really enjoyed it! Now Peter and Emma are challenging me to get even further out of my comfort zone and camp out where we have to cook over a campfire.
Visiting Family In Denmark
In May we took a two week trip to Denmark to see Peter’s parents and daughter Emilie. We had an absolutely lovely visit with family (as always!), revisited some of my favorite places in the northern part of the country, indulged my passion for history a bit and also explored some new places as well! One of the really cool things about Denmark is that it’s history spans so many centuries but it’s also a relatively small country, so in just a few hours you can visit historical sites ranging from neolithic burial mounds to Viking graveyards to WW2 bunkers!
Weekend Trip to the Smith Mountain Lake
In August my parents invited us to spend a few days with them at the house they rented at Smith Mountain Lake here in Virginia. While Emma has invited herself along with them when they’ve gone before, this was the first time Peter and I have been there. It’s actually my first time vacationing at a lake resort, and I must say it was a lot of fun! We enjoyed drinking coffee while watching the sun rise over the lake, swimming in the afternoons, then eating dinner while watching the sunset. Lots of laughs were shared and memories made!
Reuniting with Family in Spain
In September I headed to Spain and Portugal for a 2 week work trip and it just so happened one of my stops was in Sevilla so I was able to stay with one of our past exchange students and his family for a few days before meetings began, as well as see our second Spanish exchange son. They were such incredible hosts and I cherished my brief time with them. We went to all the famous places around Sevilla, ate delicious food, and shared beautiful moments together.
After my time in Sevilla, my coworker and I continued on to Bilbao and Santander, where we met up with one of her past exchange students. I have never been to the northern part of Spain before, so I was really excited to see both cities. We only spent an afternoon in Bilbao with her exchange daughter Luz as our guide. It is a beautiful city, an interesting mix of both French and Spanish architecture. We also took a really bad one-hour boat tour that took us through derelict boat yards on a old boat with no tour guide. It was so bad we could do nothing but laugh!
After our day in Bilbao, we continued on our way to Santander where between meetings for work, my coworkers exchange daughter took us on tours of her city. We had such a fun time with her. We found a restaurant where we ate the largest steak I’ve ever seen and I also got to get out in nature and take a hike along the coast!
Spending a Week in Lisbon
After Spain we continued on our way to Lisbon to attend a conference. This was my first time attending an industry event like this, so I really enjoyed meeting with people from all over the world, as well as connecting with partners I’ve only talked to via email and sometimes video calls. After each days meetings, we headed out with colleagues for dinners and drinks. Even though each day was packed, we managed to squeeze in side a side trips to Cascais as well as walking around Lisbon sightseeing and shopping. Unfortunately I was struck with food poisoning my last day there, so I spent most of the day in my hotel room. Despite the unfortunate ending, it was a great week in Lisbon!
Mother-Daughter Week in Paris
After my work trip to Portugal I met Emma in Paris to spend a much needed week with her. We rented a small but very cute apartment near the Eiffel Tower and spent the week re-visiting our favorite places in Paris as well as discovered some new places like the catacombs and several new museums. We woke up and ate breakfast in bed each morning with a beautiful view of the Eiffel Tower and ended each evening with a lovely walk along the Seine. Couldn’t ask for a better week!
Ending the Year in Texas
We couldn’t let the year end without one more family trip, so two days after Christmas we boarded a plane – this time to Galveston, Texas! None of us have been to Texas before, so it was fun to explore an entirely new area of the country. We rented a beach-front house, and even though temperatures were not ideal to swim in, it was so relaxing to wake up to a beautiful sunrise each morning with a cup of coffee and take walks along the beach.
While we were there we at some good BBQ, got to visit the Houston Space Center, Moody Gardens and even found a little flight museum. We also indulged in my need for cheesy family photos!
In all, it was a great year and I can’t complain about any of it. Keep checking back as I share more about these travels, and others from years past, on my blog this year!
Where did your travels this year take you? I want to hear about them in the comments!
