2025: A Year in 12 Chapters

In 2024, after Elisabeth's great idea to name each month with a chapter, I decided to do a recap of the year, aka, my book for the year and it was titled 2024: A Year in 12 Chapters. I enjoyed it so much, that I kept on the tradition, and now we have it, a new year, new book! 

January: Baguettes and Many Steps

I spent the month of January saying goodbye to friends in Germany, and then continuing on solo to France, where I spent a a few days in Strasbourg enjoying the canals and medieval architecture (and the pastries!) before going to Dijon for a month. In Dijon I walked the Owl Trail, and enjoyed more bread and cheese before heading to Lyon, where I stayed for a month. Lyon is a great city and has a fascinating history, including the silk industry and the Lumière brothers, who pioneered the film industry. There are also some great river pathways, fun street art, and of course, more pastries. I met up with a language group and even butchered some French a few times, which was a jolly good time. Oui! 

February: In Like Minnesota; Out Like Hawaii

After Lyon, I did a bit of whirlwind travel. I went to Krakow for a week, learned more about the German invasion, toured the ghetto and Auschwitz, and walked from the ghetto to the Schindler factory in the freezing cold, imagining what it would have been like with scant clothing and little body fat. I tried zurek (soup) for the first time, ate lots of pierogies and wandered around the old town. I then went to the Netherlands, and stayed with friends in the little town of Leiden, where we rode bikes (naturally), drank coffee and beer, and enjoyed walking around the canals. We then all went to Brussels together, drank more beer, saw the manequin pis, and there I had my first French taco at a place called O'Tacos (I guess they are Irish French?), which has French fries in it! I should clarify that this was really pretty much a panini kind of sandwich and was nothing like a Mexican taco, but it was not that bad if you close your eyes when you are eating it. I went to Seville, got cursed at by the cleaning lady, ran on the river pathway and got glared at by the locals. I then headed south to the Costa del Sol. 

March: Wet and Wild

I stayed on the Costa del Sol for a month, in an apartment right on the beach, and had a great time taking daily walks and runs along the promenade. It was a great chance to rest and rejuvenate. The only issue was that there was a period with a ton of rain, which caused massive flooding in the area. My favorite part was when my Dad and Broski came to visit, and then also separately, but kind of at overlapping times, my uncle and his friend came. It was a lot of fun showing them around, having dinner, eating crappy paella (yup, we did that) and teaching my uncle how to use his phone while abroad. We also went to the Caminito del Rey, which was a lot of fun. After my uncle left, my Dad, Broski and I went to Gibraltar and Granada before they headed to the airport. My favorite of all these places was probably Granada. The Moorish influence is stunning and the tapas are delicious, plus they have mountains nearby. It is on my list for another visit for sure, but not in summer, as I hear that they get over 100 degrees then. 

April: My Life is in Ruins, and Beaches Too

The entire month of April was spent in Türkiye; first I spent a month in Antalya near the beach, and this led me to realize that as much as I enjoy swimming and water sports and looking at the waves, I am not really a beach person. Luckily nearby there were mountains, and I joined a hiking group for some fun forays out of the city. Afterward, I hiked the Lycian way along the Turquoise coast, which was beautiful.

May: Al Fresco

The beginning of May was also spent hiking, and it really was different than anything I had done before. The water was so blue and the coastline (and trail!) so rocky, and you are often hiking through ruins, like right next to them! I ate lots of cookies good food  and drank Turkish coffee and ayran and thoroughly enjoyed myself. However, I was glad to be done, and afterwards, I moved on to Cappadocia, where I explored cave churches and looked at balloons. I made my way east by taking the Dogu Express, a long distance train that goes across the country, and went overland to Georgia, where I had a great time hiking in the Caucus mountains before heading to Tbilisi. 

June: Tales as Old as Time: The Christianity and Wine Versions

I spent a month in Tbilisi, and have I mentioned that Georgia is definitely a place I would go back to? The city is surrounded by hills, there are tons of opportunities for running, hiking, biking and there is so much good food and wine. Also the history of the area fascinates me and the age of some of the history is even more staggering. You can easily get to the mountains and I even did a "day trip" to Yerevan, Armenia, where I spent four days checking out old churches and wine (when I wasn't in bed with food poisoning, that is). 

July: Quick and Dirty: the Baltics and the Balkans Adventure

After spending a month in Tbilisi, I was ready to move fast again, and off I went. I spent a week each in Riga, Vilnius and Poland (Warsaw and Wroclaw, where I met up with Tobia!), and really enjoyed the old and different (and colorful!) architecture, the river walks and the food in all of these places. I also was fascinated to learn more about how each of the countries were affected by the USSR and also how they each got out from under the Soviet's thumb. They each have different languages and customs and food, so it is very interesting to see what similarities they have as well as which differences. Also, I rented a bike in both Latvia and Lithuania and had a great time exploring on two wheels. I even went swimming a few times. Afterward, I flew to Podgorica, Montenegro where I began the next leg of my journey, the Peaks of the Balkans hike. 

August: The Dark Tourist

I spent 8 days hiking the Peaks of the Balkans through Montenegro, Albania and Kosovo, then I headed to Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia for some dark tourism. Just kidding, but apparently that is why a lot of people do go there, and there is a lot that has happened in these two countries! The Sarajevo siege, the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, the start of WWI, the Ottomans, the Austro-Hungarians and Tito and the communists! There is a lot to unpack. I also went to Romania where I was fascinated to hear about how all of these things affected them too (minus Tito, but they had Ceaușescu) but differently! For example, Romania has a huge Germanic influence, and much of the architecture and names of places reflect this, yet their language sounds more like Italian, and they don't use the Cyrillic alphabet (whereas Bosnia and Serbia use both, and Bulgaria uses Cyrillic!) 

September: Recharging The Batteries

After all of that moving, I was ready to settle down, and I picked the perfect place (for me) to do it, a small mountain town in Bulgaria called Bansko where nothing happens in the summer (it is a ski town), but the trails are made of dirt and the creeks are flowing and the mountains are just outside your door. I rented a bike for a week, made friends with the locals, did a bike race, found a running partner and some hiking buddies and had a great time. I met up with some fellow nomads, ate lots of meat, drank delicious wine and finally got some reading done. I loved it. 100% would go back. This month went by entirely too fast. 

October: Blown Away

I have a friend who I have not seen since 2009, but we kept in touch and I kept telling her I was going to come and see her in Scotland. Finally I kept my promise and I had a great time hanging out with her and her family, before I hit the road (literally) for a bit of hiking in the highlands. I loved it. I chose October to avoid the midges and, well, there were none! It was a tad cold, and there were some rainy and very, VERY windy days, but all in all, the countryside was beautiful and the IPAs were delicious, although very low in alcohol for some reason (the highest I saw was 5% whereas an IPA in the US could be closer to 9%). After a few weeks of hiking, I came back to gather up my stuff and say a last goodbye before heading to the Lake District in England, where I did some, you guessed it, more hiking! 

November: Baby, It's Cold Outside

Once again, I was a little tired of being on the move every day (literally) and so I was happy to have a 10 day rest doing some housesitting where I ate, caught up a little on some admin stuff, and pet the cat. I also explored the Peak District a bit. Then I headed to Snowdonia, Wales, hiked Mt. Snowdon and then spent some time with Rachel and the kiddos. Rachel was kind enough to let me use her bike and bags so that I could tackle the ride across Wales, called the Lon Las Cymru. I did it, but it was cold (17 degrees one morning) and there was snow and ice! However, I went through some charming little towns and rode on some tiny little roads, and it was great to see the countryside from the seat of a bike. Before I knew it, I was back at Rachel's house, showered and changed, and then on the train headed for the airport to go to Barcelona and my repositioning cruise. The first seven days of the cruise consisted of stops in Cartegena, Malaga, Cadiz, Gibraltar, Casablanca and Funchal. 

December: (Not So) Calm Seas

The sea! The last eight days of the cruise consisted of sea days! I wasn't sure if I would like this or not, but I did not mind it a bit. It was nice to get a routine going, do a daily walk and not feel like you had to see everything at whatever stop you were at. Before I knew it, I was in Florida, on the beach, with Jenny! We walked around looking at street art in Miami before Jenny drove me back to my hotel, but not before taking me grocery shopping (thanks Jenny)! The next day I was on a flight home, and being picked up by Broski to head to Monterey for some otters, seagulls and time with family. It was so nice to just hang out, walk, play games and spend time together. I then went and spent a couple of weeks with my parents, enjoying their company, packing, looking at Christmas lights and getting ready for the next leg of travel! The year ended with some time helping Broski clear some stuff from the garage, and a quick meet up with Julie, and I brought in the new year with K and the girls. All in all, it was a great year! 

Epilogue: if this sounds like a lot of stuff, it is. Of course, I am not driving kids to and fro to soccer practice, or going to a 9-5 every day, but in my own life, I definitely am working on finding a routine, or a balance, because although the last couple of months were great for example (I saw people! I did things! I learned stuff!) months like the month of September need to be more frequent. It gets tiring always planning the next thing, or being around people a lot, especially when there is an expectation of quality time and FOMO and guilt, so there needs to be a balance. I am still working on how much of each thing should be included and for how long, but this is definitely one of the pivots that I talked about in my recent What I Learned post. 

So I ask you for help again. Have you been to a place in the world, anywhere in the world that fits this criteria: public transportation, near mountains with hiking and/or biking trails (that ideally you could walk to), small enough town that you can walk to most things (like 8,000 - 25,000 would be ideal), and a running, hiking and/or biking community. Cherry on top if the produce is fresh and not too expensive, and also I would like to have a grocery store within walking distance. Whipped cream if there is an airport within three hours by bus or train. I don't have to speak the language per se but it would be nice if there were a few people who speak English. Anywhere in the world, now....GO! 

What did your 2025 book look like? What chapter or month was your favorite?

2024: A Year in Twelve Chapters

We don't exist in a vacuum, and other people's great ideas can be our best fodder sometimes. A year ago, Elisabeth started asking us what our monthly chapter names would be, and she kept it up for twelve months. Then Stephany did a post celebrating her chapters, and I love the idea, so I am totally copying it! Thanks ladies! 

PS Happy MLK day to the US folks reading this!

Chapter One – January: Everything Must Go!

As most of you know, in 2024 I decided to quit my job and pursue a life of full time travel. After giving it some thought and looking into renting out my house long term or on Airbnb, I ultimately decided that selling was the best option for me. I had lived in my house for nearly 10 years and it was time to go. Also, I felt that I could invest the proceeds and make more than I would getting a monthly income from renting AND I would have to do less work. 

After deciding that, I also decided that instead of putting things in storage and paying hundreds of dollars a month for an undefined amount of time, the best thing financially and emotionally would be to get rid of everything. Of course, this comes with its own emotional toll, but in the end, I am glad I decided what I did, as I feel like a lot of things I owned were owning me (name that movie!) and I really did not need (OR USE!) them (I am looking at you Nordstrom shoe closet). It was very freeing. 

I also took advantage of still living in the Bay Area and went on a run to the Golden Gate bridge, a walk with a friend around San Francisco and a trip to Big Sur with the girls. 

Selling crap, SF walks & runs, Monterey

Chapter Two – February: The Life Changing Event

Although I had been planning on quitting my job for a bit, I did not actually announce it until the last week of February, where I gave three weeks notice. I contemplated giving more, but in the end, I am glad that I didn't, as the last few days of work were a little slow, and I can't imagine what I would have done if I had to sit there for yet another week. Also, I did not announce anything to the Blogosphere for fear of being jinxed. 

I also spent more time walking around San Francisco, had my weekly time with the girls taking them back and forth to soccer, cooking dinner and playing with the Jelly-monster (the dog). I tried to squeeze in as much family time as possible, and went to Santa Barbara with the family for the long weekend and had a good mid-week ski with Dad. 

More walks around SF, Santa Barbara with the folks,
skiing with Dad & trying to drink all the sparkling wine in my fridge!

Chapter Three – March: A New Beginning

March was a dichotomy. The first thing I did was to finally tell you all about my plans! The first half consisted of wrapping things up at work, going away lunches and hikes and runs coupled with the frenetic pace of trying to sell or get rid of the last few things and trying to eat everything in my fridge, which culminated in some odd and not-so-healthy meals. I barely read any books because my mind was whirling with all of the things I needed to do and all of the things I wanted to do and all of the things I could do. It was a whirwind of stuff. 

Got the rack on the bike, emptied the house, took a run to the dump
and took one last hike in the redwoods

Then March 15th came, I had my last day at work, and my last trip to Goodwill and then my Dad came to get me and the two bikes and a few boxes and take them to their new home, my parent's basement. Yes, I am my meagre amount of stuff is basically "living" in my parent's basement. Just give me a gaming console and I will be good to go. Seriously though, a few books and a lot of backpacking and sports gear is apparently all that I need in life. I spent a week with the folks and had a great time wandering around, getting ready and playing games and then I was off! But only a week later, I was picked up by the girls and we headed to Oregon for some R&R. 

Sold the car, packed the bike, got on the road. 
Learned how to use my gear, hiked with the girls in OR.

Chapter Four – April: An Unquenched Hunger

After getting dropped back off in California by the girls, I started riding again, this time in earnest. Of course, the snow held me back a little at first and I had to figure out new routes a couple of times, and it was very cold. However, I made it through Califoria, Oregon and Washington and I even crossed the 1,000 mile mark and made it to Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast. I did take a break in Porland with a friend, but otherwise, I had a few times where I had ridden over two weeks in a row without breaks, and the result of this was a hunger that I could not quench! I ate and ate and ate, and even tried eating an entire half gallon of ice cream several times but I still was hungry! I found some new snacks, although sadly the TJ's mochi bites are seasonal and only can be found in April/May. If you are near a TJs during that time, you must try them! 

Riding in the snow, snacks, OR, CA, WA and Canada!

Chapter Five – May: The Next Province

I was in BC for a total of 32 days and I love it. It reminds me of home, of green trees and mountains and fresh pine air. It has oceans and bays and islands; it is just so peaceful and I could totally see myself living there. In May, my Dad came up to Vancouver to meet me, and I closed on my house, and set off through the moutains of BC. The great part is that finally I was out in the moutains again, although still there was snow in the high reaches and some passes could not be conquered. Note to self, start further south next time? However, at the end of May, I finally crossed over into my 2nd Canadian province, Alberta, and it was wonderful. Once again, I tried to go over the mountains, and once again, I was turned away by snow. But that did not stop me from having fun, riding on roads that were still closed to cars, and waving at no less than half a dozen bears as we passed each other! 

Peter Lougheed PP, Banff NP, Bear Spray, Ice Cream

Chapter Six – June: From Freezing Snow to Burning Sunshine in Three Days

I rode the Icefields Parkway, and spent some time in Banff before the girls came to meet up with me in Canmore and we had a great time hiking, eating and hanging out. Then it was off to the races, and I started riding the Tour Divide, heading towards Mexico. I went through the provinces of Alberta and BC and the states of Montana, Idaho and into the state of Wyoming by the end of this month. 

I also ate a shitton of food, got massacred by mosquitoes in Wyoming, had my tent break in a thunderstorm and windstorm in Montana, and had a recurring flat tire issue. I sent my Mom a postcard from the Tetons, and even got to camp in the National Park, despite it being very close to a holiday weekend. It was also at this point when I was having breakfast with a racer who was going the opposite way, that I realized that the fun was just beginning, as he told me that NM was the hardest state. I had thought it was going to be the northern ones, or maybe CO, but nope! Yay. I also made some cycling friends! 

Icefields Parkway, Banff, Peter Lougheed PP, Idaho/MT line, grizzly

People I met on the road

Chapter Seven – July: The Path Less Taken

It was hot, I was tired. Haha! Actually at the very beginning of the month, I crossed the Great Basin of WY, which was a 100 mile stretch with no water, cars, or people. It was very dry and windy and dusty and it was quite the adventure. Afterward, I could barely talk, and had to eat a pint of ice cream and drink a Snapple to recover. Then I crossed into Colorado, and even went through Steamboat Springs on Independence Day weekend. I would not recommend it. After that, I got to climb Boreas Pass, which is over 11,000 feet, which was actually not too bad, and then I had to knock on the door of a firehouse and ask them if I could stay the night! It was an adventure. For the fourth of July, I was with a buddy, and we crashed a small town party and they gave us cold watermelon and ice cream! Thanks Savery, WY! After CO, there was hell NM, and then the Tour Divide was over. Yay. 

Hot, rainy, cloudy..but beautiful.

The second half of the month was a flurry of riding and visiting. I got to meet up with a few lovely ladies and even used Lisa's house as a home base to get some errands done before setting off again. Oh, did I mention that July was hot? No? Well it was over 100 and with one million percent humidity as I rode through Wisconsin, and I think I lost about 800 pounds of water weight. It also rained a lot, which is not my favorite combination. The Midwest: Love the People, Hate the Weather. 

Birchie was in September, but I am too lazy to edit this collage.

Chapter Eight – August: The Great Expanse

I left Lisa's house and I headed towards the Great Lakes. I had only ever been to Lake Michigan before and had actually never been there in the summer time, so had not touched it. In July, I did touch it, and in August, I touched Lake Superior, Lake Huron and Lake Erie. Now I was four down, one to go! 

Lakes Huron & Superior, a mouse,
the forest of Michigan and the town of Kincardine

Chapter Nine – September: Taking A Step Back

After popping over to Buffalo to meet up with Birchie and try to figure out who has the best Buffalo wings (or ice cream), I rode to Toronto and spent some time with some friends, put my toes in my last lake (Ontario) and then headed to Portland for a week of petsitting and time visiting friends. It was a nice rest, and it was not boiling hot and humid, so it was nice to be back on the west coast again, let me tell you! I went back to Ontario from Oregon and set off again towards the east, or namely, Montreal, where I would spend two weeks petsitting before heading to Nova Scotia. 

Toronto, Lake Ontario, Portland & Buffalo

Chapter Ten – October: Unwinding

I had a great time petsitting in Montreal, getting in my 10 minutes of walking every day and getting some more downtime. By this time, I was getting a little decision fatigue from riding and I was kind of ready to have a break from that. My time in Montreal was the perfect opporunity to get into a bit of a routine, take a few runs, explore a new place, and spend time with a couple of buddies (furry ones). Then it was off again, through Quebec, for a visit to QC before heading to Nova Scotia on the train. Once I arrived, I took a few days to cycle around before meeting up with Elisabeth and hanging out with her and her family for a few days. Too soon, it was time to go, and I hopped on a plane for Bob's first plane ride. He was quite nervous, but I was totally calm. Luckily I had Elisabeth and her neighbor there, as her taking me to the airport was priceless and the neighbor had the perfect tools to take apart my bike (I actually ended up having the right ones too, but it was still nice to have his support!)

Then I was in Vancouver, on the last long ride of the month, to Burlington Washington! Halloween was in full force and it was nice to wander around the PNW again in the fall. 

Ice cream, Bellingham, Quebec City, Montreal
Last camping of the fall, Burlington WA Halloween

Chapter Eleven – November: Tides, Tasks and Trails in the Emerald City

After Burlington, I went to Seattle and spent the majority of the month of November there. I got to stay in two different neighborhoods, and I liked both of them (NE and SW). I also met up with my cousin a few times for lunch and for a Seahawks game, and he took me on a tour of his Navy ship. I walked the dog a lot, and spent a lot of time exploring. I even took at 10 mile run, my longest run for the year! 

Frankie, the Navy ship, Seattle, Fremont Brewery
Seahawks game, US Customs

Chapter Twelve – December: West Coast Whirlwind

I ate, I visited, I scanned photos, I took hikes! I left Seattle and took the Amtrak to Oakland, where I met up with G-money for lunch. Then I stayed with K for a few days, spent some time hiking and eating with friends, and then headed to my parent's house for Christmas. That time went very fast, but we had a great time playing games, taking hikes (my brother even walked in the rain with me, and our hike went longer than planned; oops!) and cooking and eating! We went to a Christmas market, and I got to see several family memebers and friends before getting everything packed up again (but first, unpacked!) and getting back in the car and heading to the airport! Then it was NYE in Germany and the year was over. PS the Germans all set off fireworks and it is loud, but in typical German fashion, there must be a curfew, as the noise basically stopped abruptly around 1 am! It was great. 

Seattle, home, Germany

And...that is a wrap! Just like I thought when I read everyone else's wraps, when you lay it all out, it does seem like a lot of stuff, even though sometimes when you are in it, you don't realize all that is going on. 

Did you participate in the Chapter a Month this year? If not, what would a few of your monhtly chapter names be, or what would your 2024 book be titled?