2019 Year in Review

2019. What a year. Not only for traveling, but for many instances of meeting a lot of you in person over the course of the year. And while it wasn’t always good(it’ll never be perfect for anyone), it was a most fulfilling year, especially with personal travel. And since this is a travel site, I’ll recap the year that was 2019.

During this first month of the year, I got to go to NYC twice and finally to the Empire State Building in February. That marked working with my coworkers Mike and Robin(two very good people) during that first time in New York in 2019. Then during my second time in NYC in April for work, I marked off Citi Field on my MLB ballpark list. But that time, I went to the game with my long-time friend Kenny Kumar. That was the first time in eight years that we crossed paths. Also during that second visit, I finally went to the World Trade Center and Memorial as well as seen the Unisphere, too.

Chesapeake, VA was up next in February where I went across the Bay for the first time after visiting the city before.

I got to work a local project In March that allowed me to go to a Charlotte Checkers game where I was able to meet WWE star R-Truth. During the last week of the project, I attended Oklahoma’s men’s game in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Columbia, SC. It was my first time seeing the OU basketball team play live as they won against Ole Miss. As a bonus, I got a pic with coach Lon Kruger since his team was sitting directly in front of me during Virginia’s win in the second game.

After local work and a week in Roanoke, VA where I got to visit the Star for the first time, I was sent to beach destinations for the next two months as the weather warmed up. The first was Savannah, Georgia and I hadn’t been there since I was a kid as I seen downtown and got to go to Tybee Island again. The next stop was Southport, NC where I crossed paths with another long-time friend and former classmate Phil Roesel on two different occasions. Phil, the next time I’m out there, I’m going to have to get by your place and crash there. Lol. Also, my buddy Bryan Reynolds invited me to his place on a Sunday as we watched the WWE Money in the Bank show.

Also, I was sent to Myrtle Beach for a couple of days of work and my hotel was right on the shore in North Myrtle. I’ve been there a number of times before, but still went to the Boardwalk and SkyWheel on that occasion. Plus, ate at the Hard Rock Café and got my photo taken with a guitar in hand during my first time going there.

Then in June after working near Washington DC, I got approved by my company to fly to Chicago over a weekend to make the Bears 100 Convention. As great as that was, the weekend was made much better when I met Greg Hoover for the first time in person. He got us tickets for the Cards vs Cubs game at Wrigley Field on that Sunday night. Then afterwards, we hung out at his place that he calls the SkyHoov on Lake Shore Drive. The SkyHoov is an attraction in of itself! Greg and I go way back during our days on Sporting News while writing there, and we finally met in Chicago. One of the best weekends ever!

In July, I worked in Richmond and over a weekend, I met up again with my second cousins Amanda and Shane. Plus, their two kids Ava and Chase. Always a good time!

Then it was back to Washington DC in August where we worked two blocks away from the White House. I seemingly went to the White House everyday for lunch and spotted Trump(okay, a guy wearing a Trump mask, lol) while announcing my #Funk2020 campaign.😜 Anyway, I did get to see other things in DC like the Lincoln Memorial(again), and Arlington Cemetery on that go round.

We were in Salem, NH and then Boston after that. Boston was a LONG project in every way, but I did see some things I hadn’t seen before there after the many previous visits to the city. And, on a few occasions, I met up with my very good friend Jeff Giguere. The first time was at Hard Rock Cafe in Boston and then at a couple of Buffalo Wild Wings places. He and those that know me well know B-Dubs is my spot to go. I’m at them A LOT.

And one more time, we were back to work near Washington DC before Thanksgiving. After that is when the fun really began!

The Friday before Thanksgiving week, I was off to Peru and to South America for the first time. The first stop was Lima and I stayed in Miraflores. On the first day, I took a tour of the city and Cathedral. That night, I went on a tour of the Park of the Reserve(Magic Water Circuit). That was also where I met my friend Denisse from Ecuador. She was the only other one besides me in that tour group that spoke very clear English despite Spanish being her first language. She was so helpful and polite, and took photos of me upon request and I did the same for her. But what a sight to behold and Park of the Reserve is a must-see in Lima! The next day was spent on the beaches in Miraflores – in particular – Makaja Beach before going to Christ of the Pacific with scenic views of the city. Summer runs opposite in Lima than here in the USA, so it helped my summer withdrawals to go there for a couple of days.

Then from there, it was off to Cusco where I toured Plaza de Armas as soon as I checked into my hotel. The next day with less than 18 hours to get used to the high altitude, I made it to the top of Vinicunca(aka Rainbow Mountain) that is over 17,000 feet above sea level at its peak. That was as grueling as anything I’ve done, but was most proud that I did complete it. Trust me everyone, that altitude is beast. Even the city of Cusco itself is about 11,000 feet above sea level, so it can get to you there, too. Anyway that day, I met my friend from Mexico named Bernardo and friend from Turkey named Bedirhan that were both in the same tour group as me. I even got a passport stamp that day, but you have to reach the top of the mountain first before you get it! You earn it if you can though.

Finally, the last full day was spent seeing one of the new Seven Wonders of the World at Machu Picchu. Before all that, I was picked up in a tour van and seen that Bernardo was in the same group again as me. What a coincidence, and we later got pics together in Aguas Calientes before going to Machu Picchu. Also on that English tour, I met my friend Shoayb from South Africa and Rhea and Ricky from the Philippines that now live in United Arab Emirates. Shoayb took any photos of me as I did the same for him after we first met in Aguas Calientes. We hung out most of the time while touring Machu Picchu when the guided tour was done. I toured around Aguas Calientes after Machu Picchu, which to me is an underrated town with plenty to offer. The Tree House restaurant I ate at for dinner is awesome!

The last half day on Thanksgiving was spent touring the rest of the major sites in Cusco that I didn’t get to the day I arrived. Later at the airport, I ran into my friends Dominick and Jordan that live in Boston and I initially seen at the Tree House the day before. We had the same flight going to Bogota from Cusco, and they were on their way to Galapagos Islands and later announced their engagement while there.

Cusco during that time of year approaches rain season, but it only rained briefly the night I got back from Machu Picchu during my time there. Thanks to the WhatsApp and social media that allows me to keep up with my new friends I met while in Peru. And of course others I’ve met across the world as well.

When my time in Peru was done, I flew back from Cusco to Bogota to Toronto to Raleigh and arrived on my birthday on Black Friday so I could be at WrestleCade Fanfest and Super Show that Saturday.

It was great seeing Brandon Spec Lyles, Chris Dickinson, Lora Lyons, Robert Delph, David Delph, Bobby Mitchell, Ian Barker, Daniel Pagan, Brandon Lattimore, Adrian Rohr, Rodney Graves, Charlie Napier, Michelle Issacs, Leslie Michael, Chris Riddle(congrats on that match you had on Saturday) Tracy Myers, and anyone else I missed mentioning here. I didn’t meet as many talent as I usually do at WrestleCade, but meeting Tiny Lister aka Deebo was a highlight. Another highlight was meeting Amber O’Neal again and talking about travel writing since we both are writers. Amber shared some good advice about travel writing during that conversation.

A couple of weeks later, my buddy Steve Jones and I attended the College Football Awards Red Carpet Special in Atlanta as he let me stay at his place while there.

That Sunday was spent attending my nephew Mason’s 4th birthday party before I went back to DC for one more week to end the work year.

A few days ago, I ran into my buddy Aaron near where I live for the first time since last summer. That guy has a lot going for him since moving to Clemson!

Not only getting to see a lot, but meeting up with several people along the way made it quite a year in terms of traveling.

I didn’t accomplish as much as I wanted with writing this year. However due to pushbacks, I have some articles that will be out in 2020 that were originally scheduled for this year. I’ll post them on here and social media when they are released. That part will pick up in the coming year, and I’m still going to travel internationally in 2020, too.

With that, I bid farewell to 2019 and to the last decade. Thank you to those that helped make 2019 that much memorable for me. And, to those who read this! Time to get ready and get to work on 2020!

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