2013 Year in Review

-I rode my bike across the US

The first day of the 4K for Cancer. Riding through Washington DC. Riding over the Continental Divide.

 

Riding through Arches National Park in Moab, UT. A fawn we spotted while hiking in Zion National Park.

-I visited Australia for the first time

Australia's Gold Coast A wallaby in Australia.

 

A view of the Gold Coast from the nearby mountains... this picture does not do it justice.

-I visited the Middle East for the first time

The Tree of Life (Bahrain)

The inside of the Grande Mosque in Abu Dhabi (UAE) The Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi (UAE)

 

The top 2/3 of the Burj Khalifa (Dubai, UAE) Me in front of the Kuwait Towers (Kuwait City, Kuwait)

-I visited quite a few new domestic locations including, but not limited to, Baltimore, Las Vegas, New York City, Colorado, San Francisco, and St. Louis.

A view of Breckenridge from Keystone. The St. Louis Arch.

Skiing with my cousin in Keystone.

The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, CA. The Statue of Liberty.

 

Thoughts for Next Year

-Just like this year, I am not going to actively pursue airline status, but dependent on good deals, it may end up happening anyway.

-Goal is to burn some miles! I am pretty good about burning hotel points, but less good at burning miles. I already have one award ticket booked for my boyfriend and I to go to Copenhagen and Stockholm for about 6 days in March.

-Other than the trip to Copenhagen and Stockholm, I am planning to go to Mexico in January and Colorado in February. Next year I really want to get back to Central America or (and?) visit Asia for the first time. Currently pondering El Salvador in late May. Since I’ll most likely be starting a graduate program in the fall, I think it is going to be a lot more weekend domestic trips late in the year.

-I am going to try to maintain my InnerCircle status with Kimpton, because I really love their program. It is either 15 stays or 45 nights, so I am going to try to do a lot of 1-night stays. I already have 2 booked in January, and since I am planning on moving to the east coast for school, it should be pretty easy to pick up sub-$100 nights with their last minute rates. Also, when the parents come visit, that is probably where I will have them stay anyway because I really don’t think there are better options if a similarly-priced Kimpton is around.

-I will continue to maintain other hotel status through credit cards.

 

Statistics

Flying 

Note: I have a few segments that I didn’t put the date in… so these stats and map are actually not *quite* accurate. I will keep better track for next year.

Miles – 51,580 (vast majority from Aug – Dec)

Segments – 35

Longest Flight – SYD – DFW (8,589 miles, 15:51)

Shortest Flight – FNT – CLE (145 miles, 0:46)

Total Airports – 21

Total Airlines – 6

Total Aircraft Type – 12

Total Routes – 34

Total Countries – 5

Maps –

FlightMemoryDomestic2013

 

FlightMemoryInternational2013

Status Achieved – United Silver

 

Sleeping

Hostels – 4

Liveaboard – 1

IHG – 19

SPG – 8

Hilton – 5

Best Western – 1

Club Carlson – 2

Choice Hotels – 2

Kimpton – 6

Marriott – 7

Drury – 1

Total Nights – 56

Status Achieved/Maintained – Through Credit Cards: IHG Platinum, SPG Gold, Club Carlson Gold, Hilton Gold, Hyatt Platinum. Through Status Matches: Kimpton InnerCircle