Highlights of 2018 – Top Travel Moments Outside Suburbia

This year I’m thankful for the amazing safari experiences in East Africa where we got to see the Great Migration and so many other amazing wildlife.  Africa has been a big bucketlist destination for us and so excited that we got to check it off this year.  Waking up to the trumpeting sounds of elephants and seeing zebras and giraffe from our safari tent is not something we will forget soon.  Mr Suburbia captured so many stunning photos of the wildlife, one of them won Sir Richard Branson’s VLETravels award.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BpZa1DEnq39/

While I have always wished for wings, living in Dallas Fort Worth area with its two major airports is kinda like having wings, most places that we like to travel to have direct flights or easy connections away.  We were thrilled to fly with Alaska Airlines this year from Dallas Love Field to San Diego as part of their Weekend Wanderer Campaign.

Spring in Colorado

We didn’t do any family Spring break trips this year since the boy was busy with baseball and the girl in college. Thankful that I still keep in touch with my college buddies and we got together on a little reunion trip to Colorado in May.  Off shoulder season travel at its best – we had a beautiful chateaux at the edge of the Arapaho National forest to ourselves.  We drove up to Aspen and hiked around the towering bells, ashy aspens that were starting to sprout leaves and walked through patches of spring snow.  The Bells were everything I though it would be and more, and to experience it with the company of friends that I have know for 25 years was something special.

Summer in Africa

From visiting seeing the Great migration in Masai Mara to a hot air balloon safari in Serengeti to seeing the Penguins frolicking in a South African beach – Africa was beyond amazing!  Not to mention the few beach in Zanzibar. We stayed at some amazing lodges and it is hard to pick a favorite but we have been talking about a return trip to Angama Mara right after we landed in Dallas, so that should tell you how awesome the stay was.  From the safari guides to the location to views … it was so memorable and is on the top five of our favorite hotels right next to Badrutt’s Palace Hotel and Mont Rochelle.

Fall in Panama City Beach

Dallas is landlocked and all the nice beaches are 10 to 11 hours drive away, we are thankful that we got to visit Panama city and the white sand beaches of the Gulf coast in October with friends.  We narrowly escaped hurricane Michael! Hurricane Michael was the third-most intense Atlantic hurricane to make landfall in the contiguous United States and it was heartbreaking to see the destruction and damaged caused by it.  WE LOVED 30A and can’t wait to go back to visit the Emerald coast of the Florida Panhandle again soon.  We had such an amazing time with friends in a beautiful house right across from the ocean and the light pollution was so low that we even saw the milky-way one night right on the beach.  Look for some astro photos from the beach next year 🙂

Local Highlights

Yes I would like to be wandering under the Tuscan Sun sampling all that Chianti but the Texan Sun is not bad either.  Thankful for the 300 days of sun and milder temperatures in Dallas so we have more alfresco meals. With so many restaurants in and around DFW, it is easy to travel the world without leaving… we did just that during this Thanksgiving break.  From Vegan Ramen at Yatai Plano to a falafels at Zatinya’s we found a way to Travel the World without leaving Plano and wrote about it in the Plano Magazine.

After visiting Japan last year, its been on my wish to see Fall colors in a Japanese garden and it came true this year.  Me and Mr. Suburbia went leaf peeping sans kids at the Fall Colors in Dallas Fort Worth at the Japanese gardens in Fort Worth.  The colors of the maples so intense and now seeing fall colors in Vermont has climbed up my list.

Winter in India and Maldives

Last but not the least, thankful that I will get to spend some time with my parents in India and a few days in Maldives to find that winter sun.

What’s next for 2019

I was not going to say I’m thankful for my family and friends because it sounds so basic… but I’m pretty basic and my circle is pretty small.  So… I’m grateful for my family and thankful that I get to experience and explore one country at time with my kids. I’m every forever in debt to my circle of friends who are patient with my addiction to Instagram.  2019 is up in the air because of schedules and SAT preps… Morocco is the works and so is a trip to Seattle with friends… but only time will tell!

Hope your 2018 was awesome and wishing you an amazing 2019!