We got stuck in Hawaii and it wasn't all beaches and rainbows
Yep, you read that right. Our awesome trip to Hawaii spiraled into something else. Sharing the details of dealing with that and how 2023 is wrapping up...
It’s crazy to think it’s the end of December already, but hooray! 2023 has been bumpy for us and I’m glad to put it to bed. It’s okay to look back at a year and say “This has NOT been my best work.” My tude about a lot of things this year has been less than stellar and I’ve really had to focus on just staying in my lane. I talk a lot about joy and doing what brings joy to me and my family, and I think it’s because this year has been uniquely difficult.
I think that’s what I want to share this week: the stresses and struggles that impact my world and how I view it all. And of course I have fun travel stuff to share too, but I think it’s good to share the lot.
PS: there’s a new podcast episode up too. Chris and I share about our Hawaiian disaster trip and how we dealt with it. In case you didn’t know what happened from our Instagram/Facebook, we headed to Hawaii for a 17 day trip (60% client trip, 40% blog trip) and then once there our island hopping sailing got cancelled due to mechanical issues so we were stuck in Hawaii with no place to stay, no transportation and no plan on the busiest travel week of the year… Listen to the podcast to hear the details and what we did. :) LISTEN HERE (and choose your podcast platform)
The Good of 2023
This year was a lot of fun despite the really rough moments (more on that below). I think the best part of the year for me was getting to only say yes to the things I wanted to, from family trips to work projects. I’ve really tried hard to not get looped into things that would either be completely draining or where I might feel like I’m compromising my joy. So with that, I’ve actively said no to lots of things: activities, events, conferences, speaking gigs, work trips, purchases… Saying no has been my lifesaver this year.
The things I’ve said yes to have been exceptional! We’ve gotten to spend lots of time in the Florida Keys (a favorite), been to Maine twice (including in winter!), got to do both Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks, and so much more. I’ve really been careful to ask the kids what they’re interested in and really try to make things happen that they’re into. The boys are very much their own people and getting their input has made this year’s trip much more engaging for them.
And since we’re doing a little year in review, I was just thinking about all the National Parks we’ve gotten to do this year. It’s awesome!
Grand Canyon NP
Saguaro NP
Haleakala NP
I’m still writing about a lot of this year’s trips because it’s been a lot, but hopefully I’ll be fully caught up by the end of January.
Favorite Partnership of 2023
Of all the fun opportunities we had this year, my favorite was actually getting to experience the Rocky Mountaineer from Vancouver to Banff. I did this with my bestie (listen to our podcast episode about best friend travel!) and we were both in awe of the trip from start to finish. The luxury train and beautiful hotels were incomparable, the wildlife was amazing, and our hikes were all top-notch.
If you don’t know about the Rocky Mountaineer, check out our articles about it. We’ve also recorded a podcast episode about the whole experience that I think really captures the spirit. Hopefully we’ll be back on the Rocky Mountaineer for another route in 2024!
The Bad of 2023
This year held a lot of crap that was really difficult to deal with. I’m talking personal stuff, mental health, physical health, parenting stuff, house stuff, travel crud… You name it. While I’m not going to rehash all the woes of the past, I’m going to recap a few things that really made the year a struggle.
At the start of the year I wasn’t personally in a great place, so that framed up a lot of stuff to kick off 2023. I really had to buckle down, mind my own business and just take care of me. That may sound selfish, but if there’s one thing I’ve really learned it’s that you cannot take care of others if you’re not okay yourself. So yeah, dealt with myself first and then things became more manageable… And then the house stuff.
OMG, if you missed the drama we hired the absolutely WORST real estate team ever and they did not act as our advocates with selling our house, and it was a terrifying nightmare all the way up until after closing. We sold our house 7 months ago and even this week we’re still dealing with house related stuff from that experience. Our house was awesome and I just wanted to have nice memories, and yet here we are still signing things and praying to just be done. I think we’re done now. I can’t imagine how we wouldn’t be, but it’s just like, omg.
We were very fortunate to get to install a pool at our new house, which is amazing and I’m so thankful, but the process was a pain and way more stressful than it should’ve been. I’m a communicator and other people aren’t. Sorry, but if your business is being at somebody’s house and working in their personal space for months, you need to be good at communicating, not even the little things, but the actual big things about a project. Anyways, hopefully the last few elements of the pool project will be wrapped up this week and I can never have to try to connect with them again.
The Ultimate Travel Bummer of 2023
The big kadunk of 2023 in travel was our Hawaii trip last month. In addition to being a communicator, I’m also a planner. I had our whole 17 day adventure well planned and ready to be the best trip ever. It was part work/client trip and part blogcation. Well, we left our house Monday and on Wednesday when we were already on the Big Island we were told that our 8 day sailing was cancelled due to mechanical issues that had to be fixed. Thank goodness we weren’t at sea when something happened, but also how wild to all of the sudden just be in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with no plan.
The people who knew about the situation we not helpful. It does zero good to repeatedly tell somebody “well, at least you’re in Hawaii” or “could be worse; wish I was stuck in Hawaii.” Yeah no. Saying something like this is like saying “calm down” to somebody who’s is a very unpredictable crisis. To be in the most most expensive destination in the USA during the busiest travel week of the year with no place to stay, no way to get anywhere, and no plan for your family for 8 days is a lot to process and sort out. And with nonstop rain.
Anyways, after going through multiple appeals with our travel insurance (which apparently I don’t recommend now) I’m done with that stress and will not be purchasing travel insurance again. The company (UnCruise) has been great about things and they’ve got us rebooked for February and are helping with our unexpected costs, so that’s great too. At the end of the day, the unraveled Hawaii trip has provided lots to write about, which I’m thankful for.
What’s in Store for 2024
Big things in 2024!!! This is the year where I need to just print off a little card to hand to people explaining the value to travel for kids learning about the world and not growing up to be tunnel vision adults. This is a year of adventurous learning FOR ALL OF US!
Here’s the plan as of now:
New York City (just me and our oldest)
Dallas, TX (work trip)
New Mexico and White Sands National Park
PERU!!! - Machu Pichu, the Andes and Amazon!!!!!!
Orange County CA (work trip)
Yosemite, Gold Country and Channel Islands National Park
Alaska - UnCruise Kid in Nature small ship sailing!
Maine - we WILL see a moose in Maine in 2024
I’m sure we’ll have other places we’ll visit as well. I really want to go back up to South Carolina again, and hopefully there’ll be some more train travel. For now though, I’m excited to put 2023 to bed and just write write write.
Thank you for following along through this fun and bumpy year. I always appreciate the notes and comments on our site and socials. When you work from home it feels like you’re still interacting with lots of folks even when you don’t get to see them all the time, so know that it feels great from my side of the world.
Have a great holiday season, tune into the podcast for lots more fun stuff and cool guests, and we’ll be back at you in 2024!!