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Reflecting On Our 2019 Word Of The Year – Adventure

December 28, 2019 By Amanda Leave a Comment

In December 2018 I decided that our 2019 word of the year would be “adventure.” In my heart and gut I just knew that 2019 would be adventurous…because I wanted it to be. And my, oh my, was it ever. Wynston and I traveled to 12 states, I grew as a confident woman, and I started dating a man who would forever change me. It was a year to remember, although it definitely wasn’t easy.

2019 Word of the Year – Adventure

I feel like I have SO much to recap from the year. I mean, Wynston and I visited 12 states, and we made incredible memories in each one. For this post I will break down each month, where we traveled during that month, and my favorite notable memories. If you’re interested in more photos, I suggest perusing our Facebook page or other blog posts. Here I share my favorite picture from each trip.

January

January was the most crucial month for me. I made the conscious decision to make a lot of personal changes. It began with seeking out treatment for health issues, which ended up changing my entire year. Although January was intensely difficult, it jump started a healthier year for me – physically and mentally.

Traveled to: Indio, CA

Best memory: Visiting The Salton Sea

Distance round trip: 548 miles

trip to Indio, CA

February

After a rough January, I was feeling much better come February. My mental and physical health was improving. We happened to have an intensely cold, rainy February, which meant that northern AZ was getting hit with snow. Our initial travel plans had to be put off, so we ended up going to Payson, AZ. I’m glad we did because we got to enjoy a gorgeous snow storm.

Traveled to: Payson, AZ

Best memory: Sipping a beer with Wynston cuddled in my lap as we watched snow fall out the window.

Distance round trip: 158 miles

March

In March Wynston and I visited a place I had always wanted to check out – Lake Havasu City, AZ. It’s a lake town in northwestern Arizona, and it didn’t disappoint.

Traveled to: Lake Havasu City, AZ

Best memory: Strolling lakeside at the London Bridge

Distance round trip: 440 miles

Lake Havasu City

April

At the end of March into April, Wynston and I hit the road to Utah and Wyoming. That was the trip that really jump-started my love for impulsive, adventurous travel. I didn’t have a plan and things got out of hand quickly. But we had a freaking BLAST! I remember telling my mom that “we’re gonna drive to Utah, and maybe Wyoming.” Of course, she asked me why. I simply said, “I don’t know. I just feel like it!”

Traveled to: Utah (Ogden and Kanab), Wyoming (Evanston)

Best memory: Standing in front of the “Welcome to Wyoming” sign

Distance round trip: 1,502 miles

trip to Utah and Wyoming

May

I made the poor decision to go see my ex-boyfriend in Texas in May. (We all make bad choices, am I right?! LOL). BUT, it was an adventure nonetheless, and it ended up tying up a lot of lingering, loose ends.

Traveled to: San Angelo, TX

Best memory: Getting closure on that relationship

Distance round trip: 1,652 miles

June

June is when my traveling became most intense. Wynston and I were basically home for two weeks out of the entire summer. We took two incredible trips in June.

Traveled to: El Paso, TX and Indianapolis, IN

Best memory: My best memory from El Paso was our family reunion at my stepmom’s parent’s house. I’m not sure that I can pick one favorite memory from Indiana. Our entire trip was absolutely amazing. However, it was super special to be able to bring Wynston to my childhood home.

Distance round trip: El Paso, TX – 846 miles and Indianapolis, IN – 3,376 miles

Trip to Indianapolis, IN
Wynston in front of my childhood home 26 years later.

July

In July we went to Oklahoma for the first time ever. We ended up visiting twice in the month of July. We flew once and drove once. Unfortunately I got super sick during out first visit.

Traveled to: Claremore, OK

Best memory: Visiting a new state and exploring everything it had to offer

Distance round trip: 4,332 (2,166 miles X 2 since we went to Claremore twice that month)

*Side note: With our long driving trips, we always go through several states. For example, to get to Oklahoma, we have to travel through New Mexico and Texas*

August

August was phenomenal because Wynston and I visited two new states – Arkansas and Kansas. This trip made Arkansas one of my favorite states EVER. If you haven’t visited, I highly recommend it! It’s an entirely underestimated state.

Traveled to: Oklahoma, Kansas, Arkansas

Best memory: Visiting Ozark National Park and Prairie Grove Battlefield

Distance round trip: 2,324 miles

September + October

Wynston and I visited Oklahoma again in late September/early October, but we also made a trip to see my friend Brittany in Arkansas. Brittany showed us around Bentonville and we visited a pumpkin patch! We also made a day trip to Missouri, during which we got to experience a ton of Bonnie and Clyde history.

Traveled to: Oklahoma, Arkansas and Missouri

Best memory: Staying with my friend Brittany and her dogs in Bella Vista

Distance round trip: 2,334

How to Celebrate Halloween With Your Dog

November

My son and I took a much needed break from traveling in November. This is when my boyfriend and I started dating. But it wasn’t long before we hit the skies again…

December

My boyfriend, Jordan, and I flew first class to Minnesota for Christmas. We spent the entire time with family and friends, while enjoying tons of delicious food. It was so much fun to experience a white Christmas for the first time in 20 years.

Traveled to: Northfield, Minnesota

Best memory: Spending time with family and seeing our friends Brittany and Spencer

Distance round trip: 3,206

Side Trips

Wynston and I took a couple of side trips throughout the year. Most of them were to northern Arizona, which is anywhere from 90 minutes to two hours away. Cities included Flagstaff, Payson and Pinetop.

A notable side trip was our visit to Montezuma Castle. This is where Wynston became a BARK Ranger. Read more about it here! 

Estimated distance for our side trips: 1,000 miles

Recap of Our 2019 Travels

States Visited:

  • Arizona
  • California
  • Utah
  • Wyoming
  • New Mexico
  • Texas
  • Oklahoma
  • Indiana
  • Missouri
  • Arkansas
  • Kansas
  • Minnesota

Total miles traveled: About 23,000 (an 8,000 mile increase from 2018).

Wynston and I had an incredible year. It was full of travel and life lessons. I’m most grateful that we had the opportunity to travel as much as we did.

The year ended on an extremely positive note. My boyfriend, Jordan, and I are planning to be in a new house by March, and we have a plethora of travel planned for 2020. I hope you’ll continue to join us for the journey!

(P.S. I should have kept a more specific log of our travels. In the end, it was a lot to keep track of. In 2020, I will have a log for each trip so I have a running list of everything we did and saw!)

Amanda signature

Filed Under: Dog Mom, Traveling Tagged With: 2019 travel, travel, travel tips, traveling with dogs

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Meet Amanda!

My name is Amanda and I'm the mom to the most amazing rescue dog and PetSmart model, Wynston. We live and travel out of our van part time. Let's work together! Email me at amanda@dogmomdays.com

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