One Year Blogiversary and 2018 Recap!
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Time really does fly - I can’t even believe it’s 2019! Every year I’m shocked when the holiday season arrives and it feels like I woke up in January, blinked, and suddenly it’s November. I enjoy reflecting on my activities and travel for the year to remind myself it was actually a long year full of wonderful memories! My goal for 2018 - which happened to be my 40th year on this planet - was to travel, travel, travel. If I’m honest, that’s my goal every year, but now I have even more reasons to find new places to explore!
I started this blog a little over a year ago and I really had no idea what I was doing - at all! The Squarespace support team and I are on a first name basis. It’s been a sharp learning curve, but I’ve enjoyed every minute! I love writing about all my passions - especially SUP, yoga, and travel. When I signed up for yoga teacher training, this blog was the perfect way to document my experience. After searching and searching for SUP launch locations around the US, I was inspired to share all my SUP trips including tips for fellow paddle board owners. It’s been really fun and motivates me to travel and get out on my board - as if I needed any more motivation! Between my love for yoga, SUP, and running, I had a very active year!
The year started with a trip to the Terranea Resort in SoCal with one of my best friends which included lots of yoga, running and exploring. Next up was my SUP trip to Lake Powell, which was so absolutely amazing. The paddle into Antelope Canyon and on the Colorado River around Horseshoe Bend were true highlights of my year. The summer included two family weddings in South Carolina and Colorado. Folly Beach was the perfect place for beach yoga and ocean SUP. In Colorado, I convinced my cousin and his son to join me for mountain SUP on Evergreen Lake, which was pretty amazing. Seattle wrapped up my SUP travel thanks to my wonderful friend who shared her work trip with me! Paddling Lake Union and Duck Bay at the Seattle Arboretum made me fall in love with Seattle. In November, I traveled to Las Vegas to run The Strip at the Rock n Roll Half Marathon - I highly recommend this experience for any runner!
Top nine SUP travel pictures
Top nine SUP Chicago pictures
This doesn’t even touch on all the running, biking and SUP adventures in my own backyard - Chicago. The year included many road races like the Shamrock Shuffle, Rock n Roll 5K & 10K, Run Mag Mile, Lincoln Park Zoo Run, and many others. Chicago is an amazing place to run whether along the Riverwalk, on the lakefront path, or through the city streets. My 2018 SUP highlights included a paddle on the Chicago River from Lake Michigan to Chinatown, the Lincoln Park South Lagoon and Diversey Harbor, SUP races at North Avenue Beach thanks to Chicago SUP, a sunrise paddle from Ohio Street Beach to North Avenue Beach, and many paddles in Monroe Harbor. That’s just the summer lineup. Winter paddles in the snow on the South Lagoon, by myself on the Chicago River, and exploring Burnham Harbor on Christmas have made winter an adventure instead of just a dreaded time of year.
I’ve also discovered the SUP community in Chicago and met some wonderful people! I joined the Lincoln Park Boat Club in August which gives me access to high quality SUP gear, calm waters, and many social paddles with SUP friends. If you are looking to join social paddles in 2019, check out the Chi SUP Club on Facebook to be notified of upcoming events!
I’m already planning the first six months of travel and adventure for 2019 and will share my wish list soon. I’m hoping to travel with my iSUP, teach yoga on vacation, obtain SUP yoga certification, run 13.1 mils from Brooklyn to Central Park and much more! Thank you so much to all of you who read my content and follow my Instagram. I hit 500 followers on Instagram in December and I was so excited - like really excited! I love, love taking pictures and sharing all of my adventures. Follow along for more in 2019!