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Well, 2021 sure turned out to be another interesting year. Was it everything I had hoped for? No. 2021 was definitely a little rough around the edges. Was 2021 at least better than 2020? In some ways, absolutely. As with any year, you just expect there are going to be some ups and some downs.
The world is still anything but normal and so much uncertainty abounds. Personally, I’ve been having trouble finding my place in all of it. With that said, however, there were many moments of joy that I experienced this year that kept me going, and that’s what this post is all about. Let’s recap them!
Travel Highlights
Travel in 2021 was certainly an improvement from 2020, and for that I am so thankful! We still haven’t left the country since May 2019 when we visited Canada. However, I’m grateful to live in a part of the world where road trips are easy and beautiful destinations are plentiful.
- Countries Visited: 1 – the good old U.S.A.
- Flights Taken: 1 (and that was a solo flight for me)
- States Visited: 4 (California, Oregon, Washington & Idaho)
A Journey Home to Maui
In March, I got to take a long-awaited and much needed trip home to Maui to see my family. Hawaii was slammed with visitors this year as the world started opening up again for travel. I’m glad I got in right before the huge rush! I slipped away for a long weekend on my own, leaving Micah home in California to care for the pups.
That trip home was everything I needed to breathe a bit of life back into my soul. Even better, I was able to see all of my siblings – something I’ve never been able to do with just one trip home. The universe decided it was finally time for us all to be in the right place at the right time!
Unsurprisingly, I also made time to visit some of my favorite foodie spots, as well as some new ones I’ve been longing to eat at. I was able to update my Maui Food Guide with some great additions, and also wrote a new post about taking a self-guided Central Maui takeout food tour!
Paso Robles Long Weekend
In April, Micah and I took a long weekend jaunt down to Paso Robles. Paso was a California destination we hadn’t yet been to together and we decided it was high time to add it to our list. We spent our days discovering Paso’s foodie spots, snuck in some wine tasting, visited breweries, and even went for a dip at some mineral hot springs.
We also got to experience a truly unique overnight accommodation when we stayed in a luxury shipping container at the Geneseo Inn! That experience motivated me to want to seek out other unique places to stay within California and the West Coast. (Have I done that yet? No! But maybe I will in 2022…)
All in all, Paso Robles was a nice getaway and much needed time away together.
Read More: Paso Robles Guide & Long Weekend Itinerary
Road Tripping the Pacific NW
At the end of May, we took a road trip up to Washington State to spend a few days with some of our close friends we don’t get to see too often. We hunkered down at their beautiful, forest-filled property and spent time BBQ’ing and playing outdoor games. It was so much fun!
We also spent a few days in Oregon revisiting Bend, along with a couple stopovers in Portland for a few foodie essentials. I finally wrote my Ultimate Guide to Visiting Portland this year, and was able to get a few updated items to add to that guide.
While in Bend, we hiked around Smith Rock State Park – an activity I grossly underestimated given the physical shape we were in and the temperatures of a sunny June afternoon. We lived to tell the tale, and I’m proud of us for getting out into nature for a bit! Have no fear, we balanced out that physical activity with plenty of beer and food consumption.
After several visits to this beautiful Central Oregon town, it was time to write up a Summer Guide to Visiting Bend. It has become one of my favorite West Coast destinations!
Tomales Bay Day Trip
In the summer, we took a little day trip up to Tomales Bay, north of San Francisco, for a little oyster adventure. Though it was a simple day trip, it was during a short-lived time when things started to feel a little more normal.
We indulged at Hog Island’s Boat Oyster Bar overlooking Tomales Bay, treating ourselves to oysters and crudo. We slurped up clam chowder and fish stew at the Marshall Store. And finally, we ended our trip by tasting sparkling mead at a local meadery in Point Reyes. It was a day where I could remind myself to just enjoy life’s simple pleasures.
Read More: Tomales Bay Day Trip
Exploring Fairfield & Suisun Valley
As fall started rolling around, I was itching to get out and do a little local exploring. Fairfield and the Suisun Valley have been high on my list for local travel, being that it’s a region less than an hour away from where we live!
We set out to visit a couple wineries for the day and ended our time in Fairfield with a seriously delicious double cheeseburger from Rustwater Taproom. I can’t wait to get back to explore more!
Idaho Road Trip
In October, we escaped California and went on a road trip up to Boise, Idaho for a week. It was nice to explore a new Pacific Northwest city and we enjoyed such beautiful weather while we were there! As per usual, I filled up most of our time with foodie activities. Idaho’s food scene was delightful, and you bet I tried to get our fill of as many potato-based dishes as I could!
We also took a day trip out to the Sunnyslope Wine Trail for some wine tasting, as well as a day trip up to Idaho City for a little history lesson and hot springs relaxation.
I’ll be spending the next month or two trying to catch up on my Idaho blog posts to share with everyone!
Apple Hill Day Trip
Our last travel highlight of the year was a day trip up to Apple Hill. Undoubtedly, Apple Hill has become the place to take a yearly pilgrimage to in order to indulge in apple cider donuts, hard cider, corn dogs, beer, and a plethora of other goodies.
This year, it was actually the big guy’s birthday! And while he isn’t quite as keen as I am on Apple Hill, he certainly enjoyed his birthday apple cider donuts as much as the rest of us!
Read More: Apple Hill – The Perfect Fall California Destination
Foodie Highlights of 2021
Since food is such a big part of my life and our travels, I wanted to list my top five foodie moments of 2021. Believe me, it was hard to narrow it down! In no particular order, here were my favorites:
Fish Gaucho in Paso Robles
Our whole meal at Fish Gaucho in Paso Robles makes the cut. We enjoyed every last thing we ordered! Our trip to Paso started off with this memorable meal, and it reminded me of exactly why I love travel (and food) so much. Our feast included mussels with chorizo, chile verde with slow braised beef ribs and enchiladas stuffed with shrimp and butternut squash. I sipped on my beautifully crafted mezcal cocktail while we dined street-side and just took the whole experience in.
Lilikoi Malasadas on Maui
When I visited Maui in March, I knew I finally needed to make a trip to Donut Dynamite in Wailuku. I pre-ordered my donut selection that Monday before I even got on my flight later in the week! My order, of course, included lilikoi malasadas. Malasadas are synonymous with Hawaii (even though it’s a Portuguese dessert), and lilikoi (passion fruit) has always been a favorite flavor of mine.
When I cut open that first malasada, the sheer amount of lilikoi cream in the middle made me smile immensely (I mean, just look at it)! I enjoyed every last bite of that sweet sugary donut filled with tangy passion fruit cream.
Sticky Toffee Pudding & Duck Confit in Boise
When something brings actual tears to your eyes, I think it’s worth mentioning. Ever since we visited London and had a memorable sticky toffee pudding, I’ve been in search of another one stateside that could fulfill my craving. Enter the sticky toffee pudding at Petit 4 in Boise. Rich, decadent and paired with a sweet dollop of cream and candied orange. I just about died and went to foodie heaven.
If I had to pick one item to be the best thing I ate all year, it would be this.
Our dessert was also preceded by a satiating duck confit which turned out to be one of the best dishes we had on our trip to Boise! Petit 4 certainly lived up to our expectations.
Laotian Food in Portland
Last, but certainly not least, is the Laotian meal we had at Khao Niew in Portland. This restaurant used to have a little food cart out in Happy Valley where we own a home, and we’d frequent it when we lived up there. We were so happy when it worked out for us to make Khao Niew our lunch stop on our way up to Washington State!
We got to order our favorite dish, Nam Khao, which is a crispy rice salad (served warm) made with fresh herbs, lime juice, and pork. It is so full of flavor! We also ordered the Larb Gai, which is minced chicken seasoned with fresh herbs, red onions, roasted rice powder and lime juice and served with sticky rice. Everything was so satisfying!
If you have never eaten Laotian food, this is THE place to go if you’re ever in Portland.
Personal Highlights
Personally, unrelated to travel, I have a few really great highlights to share. As I mentioned earlier, this year was really tough for me (as I am sure it was for many of you). I often felt lost and found it extremely hard to find motivation to do anything except to simply exist. However, as I reflect on the year, I realize just how lucky I am to have the life I lead!
Happiness in Friends
I have a small group of very special friends. This year, I was reminded of how important it is to support those friends and celebrate their happiness!
In October, two of our best friends finally got to have the wedding of their dreams after postponing it numerous times due to “you-know-what.” Micah and I both had the honor of being in their wedding party and it was a beautiful and memorable day to get to be a part of – finally! Cheers to two of our best – Kevin and Nicole, and wishing them happiness for all the years to come!
Photos Copyright Bloom Photography
Two of our other closest friends also got engaged! They kindly put their faith in me and asked me to do their engagement photos to celebrate a new milestone for them. They took us on an off-roading adventure in the woods to get to our photo spot, making it an unforgettable (and slightly nerve-wracking) experience 😉 To Heather and Kris, we can’t wait to celebrate your special day!
Escape Room Experts
Who knew that in 2021, we’d develop a love for escape rooms? In an effort to get ourselves out of the house more, we started working our way through the different escape rooms at Limitless Escapes out in Livermore. Our first try was a bust – but we succeeded at every other room thereafter! We’re quick learners and my team of friends worked really well together.
Completing escape rooms is not only fun, but also a good challenge mentally and a great way to test your friendships! Lol.
It also gave us a chance to explore a bit of the local Livermore foodie, beer, and wine scenes!
Books Read
Once again, I totally failed myself on the one book per month reading challenge I gave myself but I did read more than last year. That’s a plus right? The only books I read in 2021 were five of The Witcher series, including the three collections of short stories and two of the novels. I’m ready to get back to it!
Animal Crossing
I debated including this here, but I’m going to call out my nerdy self. I became slightly obsessed with Animal Crossing! I got the game for my birthday at the end of 2020, and throughout 2021, it really helped provide me with a much-needed escape from reality. There’s a great little Animal Crossing community out there and I’m glad to have found it. I’m currently working away on my second island!
TV Shows that Transported Me
Every year I like to recap TV shows that transported me across the world (and sometimes through time). Being home more than I’d like gives me extra tube time. These shows help fill that travel void when we aren’t on the go (which is pretty regularly these days). Should I be doing other more productive things? Maybe. Maybe not…
- Downton Abbey: Downton Abbey transported me back to the early 1900’s with bits of history and plenty of drama. I was hooked from the first episode, and spent many a late night with a glass (perhaps glasses) of wine binge watching as many episodes as I could! I have to say it’s probably one of my favorite shows of all time.
- Bridgerton: I gave in and watched one of Netflix’ most-watched shows of 2021. It was good! Not as captivating as Downton, but I’ll happily be transported to 1800’s England anytime.
- Poldark: Poldark was another great British series set in Cornwall and London in the late 1700’s. There was definitely a lot of drama but great lessons about family and relationships. The beautiful beaches and cliffside views of Cornwall really sold it for me!
- Stanley Tucci and Bobby & Giada in Italy: If ever I felt I was missing out on Italy, I turned on Stanley Tucci or Bobby and Giada, poured a glass of wine (a recurring theme for 2021), and watched these celebs eat their way through one of my favorite countries.
- Men in Kilts: In the age of “Droughtlander,” fans got a little bit of a reprieve to see Sam Heughan and Graham McTavish from Outlander journey across Scotland in an RV. They taught us about the culture and history of their Scottish homeland, all while interjecting humor and poking fun at each other. And there’s plenty of whisky involved.
And of course there were quirky things like Squid Game, Schitt’s Creek, The Witcher (Season 2), and Into the Badlands that made my watch list extra entertaining!
Blog Highlights
This summer, I gave my blog a big visual overhaul and set up a new theme. It was time for a change and I’m super happy with how it came out! However, in terms of new content, I was a bad, lazy blogger. Again, there’s that lack of motivation thing I had going on in 2021. When I did write, however, I published some pretty worthy posts – like these listed below!
Oddly, my blog traffic climbed back up and is doing better than it ever has despite my lack of new content (heyyyoo thanks to my Maui Food Guide which is a current favorite).
Top Blog Posts of 2021
- The Ultimate Guide to Visiting Portland – This was a long overdue ode to a favorite city of mine.
- Central Maui Takeout Food Tour – I wrote this post to showcase locally-owned Central Maui restaurants, and how easy it is to do your own self-guided food tour!
- Paso Robles Travel Guide & A Stay at the Geneseo Inn – Recap posts about the first trip we took together in 2021.
- Bend Oregon Travel Guide – An guide to my favorite city on the West Coast!
- Tomales Bay Day Trip – A day trip guide helpful to travelers visiting the San Francisco Bay Area.
In 2021, I learned how to make Reels on Instagram (boy is that time consuming and tiresome)! But I’m sad that Instagram has become more of a video platform than for photos and I’ve felt very unmotivated to post there lately.
I continued with sharing travel Stories throughout the year, but slacked on my photo posting game and now I think I’m just lost to the Instagram world. Oh well! I’ve found that it’s not really a platform where I reach many people anyway, and that my focus should always be on the blog primarily.
My most liked photo in 2021 was a bowl of poke, which is cool with me. That came from my Maui trip and was definitely a highlight of the year for me!
What’s Next for 2022?
I’d love to end this post on a high note. While I don’t have high hopes that 2022 will be much different from 2021, I remain hopeful for some changes and will strive to make my goals a reality.
Travel Goals
Travel-wise, I hope I can visit my family in Hawaii again this year. I also hope that we can make to to Spring Training in Arizona again! I would also love to visit the Pacific Northwest again and make it to some new spots in Washington State like Walla Walla, Seabrook, Lake Chelan or Leavenworth, and of course visit our friends in the Seattle area.
In the fall, I’m eyeing Wyoming (perhaps Jackson Hole, Yellowstone and Grand Teton). I’d also like to get back to Yosemite and maybe visit Pinnacles National Park for the first time since they are relatively close to us in California.
Personal Goals
On a personal level, I’d like to focus on my health more. 2021 was kind of a free for all and I consumed way too much alcohol, sugar, and nachos than I’d care to admit. I’ve been really honing in on ingredients and what we put in our bodies. I’m looking forward to cleaning up my diet a lot this year, along with getting more steps in and drinking more water!
I’d also like to take another stab at my ever-failing “read-a-book-a-month” goal and focus on daily language practice with Duolingo – and actually stay consistent beyond the first half of the year.
2022 – Gimme all you got!
Thank you to all out there who read my blog and support my writing. It means the world to me! I’m looking forward to pushing through 2022 and will remain hopeful we will all end up in a good place in our lives. Let me know what your 2022 goals are and what you are looking forward to this year below!
Cheers mates, and Happy New Year.
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