Happy New Year!
Anyone else have some serious wanderlust going on? In 2019, having just made a cross-country move and both my husband and me changing careers, along with having bought a house, and the biggest factors, being pregnant and having a baby, we were pretty preoccupied with everyday life and didn’t manage to get in a ton of travel. While our vacation to Turks & Caicos and road trip to Vermont were our travel highlights, typically we like to do a lot more exploring.
So, here we are in the beginning of 2020, and I’m finding myself itching to change up my scenery, to experience new beautiful places. I’ve got a ton of airline miles to use, and I really want to start traveling with my daughter while she’s young – got to take advantage of her two free lap seat years!
Adam and I came up with a fun 2020 travel list, though we added so many things to it, it realistically turned into more of a 2020/2021 list. I thought it’d be fun to share the travel list on the blog, so here goes!
An adults-only weekend in upstate New York.
This one’s first on the list because we’re hoping to head off on a mini road trip this month just the two of us while my mom babysits our baby girl. It’d be the first time we’re leaving her overnight, and she’s a rough sleeper who’s been very mommy-ish lately, so we’re still trying to decide if she’s ready… however, this mama could really use a break and we’d only be a few hours away. I’m longing for some QT with my husband, a few tasty martinis, and a good night’s rest!
I’m currently scoping out areas in upstate New York and am leaning towards a getaway in the Catskills.
California dreaming.
It’s been after a year and a half since we moved from San Diego and I miss it a lot, so a late winter jaunt to the west coast is on my mind. Camryn’s first trip on an airplane will likely be to SoCal so that we can all soak up some sun, take long walks on the beach, eat some delicious food, and catch up with our friends there.
A road trip to Maine or New Hampshire.
While we’re living in New England, I’d like to take advantage and road trip to a few places I haven’t seen before. My top idea that falls into this category is a long weekend getaway up to either Maine or New Hampshire when the weather is warmer.
While my baby isn’t yet great in the car, we did a lot of road tripping over the holidays, so I’ve gotten in good practice as to how to best manage long car rides with her. We did a 4 hour ride to my father-in-law’s over Thanksgiving, which is about the same amount of time it would take to drive from my house to Portland, Maine..and hopefully she’ll get better in the car this year as she gets a bit older!
Weekending in Boston.
I’ve road tripped up to Boston a few times since I moved to Connecticut, and I plan to make it back there later this year with my little family to see more of the city and spend time with a few loved ones who live there. Adam also wants to visit Harvard while we’re there.
A spring/summer hiking weekend in the Catskill Mountains.
Another close getaway I’d like to do is head back to upstate New York to go hiking and spend time in nature. We have a baby hiking backpack I’ll be dying to use, since Camryn will be big enough for it by then! I stumbled on the Winter Clove Inn looking at options for our getaway this month, and I’d love to stay there.
Road trippin’ to Montreal.
Rounding out the road trip part of my list is seeing Montreal. I’ve never been to Canada before, and Montreal is a 5 hour drive from my house. Seems like the perfect opportunity to see a bit of Canada!
European vacation.
A big item on my travel bucket list is a late summer/early fall trip to somewhere in Europe. Early in my pregnancy before I found out my baby’s gender, I had a dream that I was picnicking with an adorable little girl in Paris overlooking the Eiffel Tower, so France is one of my top choices for a Euro trip. But before I go buying a little baby beret and booking a vacation to another continent, we’ll see how Camryn does on her first plane ride and major trip. 🙂
A jaunt to Charleston.
While we’re living in the northeast, my husband and I would like to visit Charleston together. I’ve been there once for work and thought it was a fun city, and it’s a short plane ride from New York. Seeing as how the temperatures this week in Charleston are in the mid 60s and low 70s, visiting there may be a nice way to warm up a bit next winter!
Explore the Windy City.
Having done a lot of travel within the U.S., including two cross-country road trips to move, I’ve seen a lot of America. Having said that, Chicago is one of the only major cities that neither my husband nor I have ever been to and would love to see.
New York City day of fun.
NYC is just an easy hour train ride from me, but I haven’t yet had the chance to take my daughter into the city. She was so tiny and colicky last fall, and nowadays it’s pretty cold out to explore with a baby, so when the weather gets nicer I’d like to have a family NYC day together (…and now that I’m thinking about it more, I’d like to do the same in Philly!).
Adam and I are also planning a date night in NYC later this winter, as we have concert tickets at Radio City in March.
Tell me… Do you have any suggestions of things to see for the places on my list? Where do you hope to travel to this year?
You all sure have had a busy year! Montreal is on my bucket list too. It’s so close to us here in DC but we have not been
What a great travel bucket list for the year! I want to see Boston and Chicago one day myself.
Ah! I love this list, Nicole. All good options if you ask me! (And, yes, I know all too well the trials and tribulations that come with traveling with a fussy one.) The Catskills would be fun indeed, but I say you go a bit further north and hit Saratoga, Lake George and the Adirondacks! (If you do that, lemme know…we can grab lunch in Saratoga!) And believe it or not, but Charleston is on our list again this year. We just booked a beach house down on Folly Island for a week in the early summer. I can’t wait!! Looking forward to following along with your travels this year!
How cool to live were some cool cities are not that far away. Would love to go back to California but work, lets, and someone to travel with get in the way. Hope to at least do one trip this year.
I love all of your travel goals! It’s so nice that you live fairly near to so many wonderful places. I have a goal to get New York this year for a food conference and hope it works out!
Yes I love this! The husband and I decided that each year we’re going to try to make a list of three new places we want to see (both close to us and far). We have a trip to Iceland booked for later this year and then we’re still deciding what two other more local places we want to check out.