I’ll touch on the highlights of 2023. The month of February I spent in Mexico City in an Airbnb. This city is populated with 22 Million people. I chose to use Uber for transport, since it was half the cost compared to at home. I was pleasantly surprised with what Mexico City has to offer. I went to lots of amazing museums. A month was a little too long for me to be by myself since not many people spoke English, although I did use Google translate occasionally.

I took a long day trip with a tour company to Tolantongo. It was an amazing place, the scenery was spectacular and the hot tubs and hot springs river and caves were so cool 😎

The Basilica de Santa Maria de Guadalupe in Mexico City was amazing!

I took a bus to San Miguel de Allente for a few days. It’s a very artsy and colorful town.

I also spent a night in Pueblo City. It was fun exploring and I went on a hike to Popocatépetl with a tour group.

In April I went solo camping at Cumberland Falls, Kentucky for a few nights and really enjoyed it. Although I forgot how much work is involved when you camp, and I hadn’t been camping by myself since 2006.

In May I organized a four-night hiking trip to West Virginia and North Carolina and a girlfriend joined me.

In between all of the trip planning and traveling, I led hikes near where I live and went cycling, played sand volleyball, billiards, bowling, drove golf balls, racquetball, did Pilates, worked out at the gym, went out with friends to happy hour, swimming at my pool, and lots of dating through online dating sites.

In July I flew to Portland, Oregon, picked up my rental car and did a two-week road trip, traveling along the Oregon coast, Crater Lake, Mount Hood, Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, Bend, Smith Rock State Park, and Columbia River Gorge.

After taking a few photos of Cannon Beach, which was the first stop on my 3-week trip, I tripped and fractured my shoulder and tore my labrum. The ER I went to took x-rays and said nothing was broken but when I got home the ortho doctor gave me the news and I have been in physical therapy since. My summer was somewhat depressing because the only thing I could do was hike. It’s much better now though.

From Portland, I flew to Calgary and picked up my rental car for one week of hiking and exploring Banff, Jasper, and Yoho National Parks in Canada. It was difficult to stay on the trip with a fractured shoulder, but I made do.

My time in Canada was amazing, the waterfalls, the wildlife, the spectacular beauty!

In late September I flew to Duluth, Minnesota and explored the North shore of Lake Superior. The waterfalls and autumn colors were wonderful. Unfortunately I brought home an unwelcome souvenir, Covid. It was the first time I’ve had it and they put me on Paxlovid, which really helped.

In October I took a three night solo road trip to North and South Carolina. Again, the autumn colors were beautiful!

My holiday festivities began December 22nd, I had a girlfriend over for dinner.

The following evening I was invited to a get together at a local restaurant/bar and saw quite a few people that I know.

Christmas Eve I went to my brother’s and they had a delicious dinner. On Christmas Day I went to my niece’s and there were eight of us. Another yummy meal. I went to a party on Boxing Day, the day after Christmas. I was invited to a couple of other parties, including New Year’s Eve, but decided I wanted to start my new way of eating. Which includes no alcohol, no sugar, and no caffeine. I hope you all have a happy New Year!