Travel Plans – rebeccawanderlusting

Hooray, it’s finally Fall! Though you wouldn’t know it with this 80+ degree weather we’re having in Chicago this past week. We actually just had the hottest September 22 in recorded history. Lucky us! It’s been a hectic month so far, with work, family plans, weddings and other commitments. We started the month at my cousin’s wedding back in my hometown, which was so much fun. I was also just at a bachelorette party the other night for my friend whose wedding is next month; that will be four of five for this year.

I’m also working on planning a fundraiser for Planned Parenthood next month with my friends, a beautiful group of women that make up Moon Rise. I can’t wait to see all of our hard work come together (Sunday, October 8 from 6pm to 9pm at Bang Bang Pie – come hang with us if you’re in Chicago)! We’ve been planning this event for the past five or six months, so it should be a fantastic affair! This will be our third fundraiser, the first two benefited the Empowerment Plan, an organization out of Detroit that employs formerly homeless woman to create sleeping bag coats for homeless men and women.

Last week I talked about creating a travel capsule wardrobe, which then inspired me to clean out my closet and get rid of a ton of stuff I never wear (most of which I’ll be donating to Goodwill). This purge then sent me into a cleaning frenzy and now I’m on a mission to get rid of everything I don’t use or wear. I did this before we moved to Logan Square, but I’m doing another round just to clear out unnecessary clutter. I’ve shared this link before, but Caroline at Un-Fancy has been a fun inspiration for my clothing de-cluttering spree.

In terms of travel, Mike and I have been trying to plan weekend trips around the Midwest when we can. I work about every other weekend, so when I have a full weekend off, we’ve been trying to take advantage of it. Two Sundays ago, we checked out New Buffalo, Michigan and had a blast going to the beach and walking around downtown. This coming weekend we’re heading to Rockford for the weekend to tryout their breweries and explore. The next Midwest destinations I have my eye on are New Glarus, WI and Cleveland, OH.

Outside of Midwest travel, the only other trip we have planned for sure right now is Toronto next month. We’ve been chatting about Acapulco or Belize in the beginning of next year, but we’ll see what happens! In the meantime, I’m just happy to be exploring any where.

What are your plans for the fall? What was your favorite September moment?

2016, oh what a year. It had some ups and a lot of downs. That being said, there were a few really great moments that mostly made up for the bad. This year was full of a lot of new destinations and some golden oldies; I got to go on an amazing solo trip and joined my family for a wonderful week in Tennessee. Though so many great things happened, there were a few bouts of hardship that cast an unfortunate shadow. I guess the best we can do is focus on the good things and try to learn something from the bad things.

Part of what made this year so frustrating is that I’ve been with a lot of anxiety in regards to my career, and what I want to do with my life. Real original, I know. This situation has perhaps caused me to overextend my travel plans beyond my budget to get away from the stress, which means my 2017 travel plans will be on a tighter budget. BUT! The good… let’s talk about that.

January:

It was a slow month for travel. I enjoyed a marvelous spa day with one of my favorites at the Mario Tricoci Spa in Chicago and joined my parents for a candlelit hike in Wisconsin.

February:

February brought me on a solo adventure to Washington, D.C., where I had an amazing meal at Le Diplomate, walked around monuments and museums, and learned the dangers of over-planning a trip.

March:

Another slow travel month due to cancelled plans. I got to interview one of my best friends about her time travelling with a brilliant Chicago band through the American South. And, I started planning my big solo trip to Europe.

April:

April was full of Midwest exploring. First, we went on a fun day trip to Lake Geneva, WI, then we enjoyed an amazing weekend in Grand Rapids, MI. I loved Grand Rapids so much that we are planning another trip there in the Spring.

May:

Despite having no travel plans this month for myself, I did feature some fantastic blogs about Jordan, written by the beautiful and Talented Gracie Barrie. And I, personally, wrote some posts about hotel upgrades, bookstores, and travel lessons I learned from my mom in honor of Mother’s Day.

June:

June was all about Tennessee. Mike and I went with my family to Chattanooga and then to Gatlinburg, TN to visit our Tennessee family and to enjoy the Smoky Mountains. It was a wonderful, restorative trip and I hope we make a habit of these family vacations.

July:

We kept tradition alive and went on our annual trip to the cabin in Wisconsin for the 4^th, which I celebrated with a photo blog. I also wrote about finding unique souvenirs, hiking in the Smoky Mountains, and exploring your own city.

August:

August was all about the Great Outdoors. We hiked in Matthiessen State Park and then camped nearby in Utica, IL. I also crossed an item off of my goal list for the year after going on a sunset cruise on Lake Michigan in Chicago.

September & October & November:

Each of these months were dominated by blogs of all my adventures in both Iceland and Copenhagen. This trip was a huge part of my travel plans for the year and I’m so happy with how it all turned out. We also had a nice weekend at the end of September in Milwaukee to see one of Mike’s favorite bands: Thrice.

December:

The highlight of last month, besides the holidays with family of course, was being invited to enjoy Galena for their Luminaria Festival and enjoying a wonderful stay at The Lamberson Guest House there. We had such a relaxing weekend there, which was very much needed.