This past year has undoubtedly been unlike any other. Covid happened. Despite the pandemic, I’ve done so many things that I never considered doing. Here’s how my 2020 went:

I lived and traveled all over America. 

By far and away, I will look back on 2020 as the year when I lived and travelled across the country. I started the year thinking I’d finally get to discover a new city, but due to covid only spent about half the year in SF. For the rest of the year I road-tripped over 25k miles around the country.

I finished my first year at Patreon!

Due to the pandemic, I was only working out of the sf office for about 10 weeks! Those first two and a half months were great. Loved the views of the SF skyline from the office, and loved the free lunches even more! There’s a lot to be done in the new year, and am thankful that I have the opportunity to help continue working for the company. 

Posted on LinkedIn. Got certifications. 

Beginning in mid-July I began posting on LinkedIn with the goal of posting at least once a week. My intentions in doing this were primarily to join the conversation and perhaps start building a personal brand around marketing operations. Additionally, I sought out getting certifications with a number of platforms and related services including Google Analytics, Pendo, Workato and Demandbase. I also spent 6 weeks in a React.js class through the General Assembly, which was immensely helpful in understanding how the web works. 

Achieved my financial goals!

I maxed out all of my tax deferred accounts and started re-building my taxable brokerage account for the first time ever! Incredibly amazed that it’s only been about 15 months since I officially became debt free (September 2019), having paid off all my student loans and my car!

Looking Ahead – 2021 Goals

• Finances: max out my tax-deferred accounts (401k and Roth), and continue contributing to my downpayment fund  
• Fitness: Walk at least 10 miles a week; 50 push ups at once, hold a plank for 60+ seconds, 200 bodyweight squats at once
• Travel: Visit Alaska. Visit one new country, covid permitting
• Wine: Take the WSET Level 2 Exam. Enroll in WSET Level 3 Class
• Chinese: Memorize all the words on HSK 4 Vocab and HSK 5 Vocab lists

2020 was an incredibly weird year.

Thanks to the global pandemic that will be forever known as covid-19, I spent most of the year NOT flying. The last time I flew was in mid-February, right before the pandemic really took ahold in the U.S. beginning in March.

When I moved to San Francisco earlier this year, I seriously considered selling my car.

I’m so glad that I didn’t.

Although I spent most of the year in California, after our lease ended in May 2020, and with a paid off car, I spent most of the year living a digital nomad-like lifestyle: working my typical 9-5 during the work week, and exploring the outdoors over the weekend.

Here’s where I went in the U.S. in 2020:  

Utah

• Saw the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah
• Antelope Island in Great Salt Lake
• Hiked around Bonneville Trail in Salt Lake City 
• Visited Park City Utah 
• Went to Capitol Reef National Park
• Went to Canyonlands National Park
• Saw the Delicate Arch at Arches National Park
• Went mountain biking around Moab Utah 
• Jogging around Cottonwood Creek Trail

Colorado

• Spent a few weeks in Glenwood Springs, Boulder and Denver! 
• Drank wine in Paradise in the Colorado River Valley AVA 
• Kayaked on the White River near Denver
• Got up super early for a sunrise view at Maroon Bells near Aspen
• Participated in an impromptu rally for Black Lives Matter in Aspen 
• Visited Aspen Museum of Art and had delicious beer al fresco 
• Hiked to Hanging Lake, outside of Glenwood Springs 
• Saw ancient pueblos at Mesa Verde National Park 
• Walked around and spent a night in Durango CO
• Almost hit a giant Eagle on our way to Steamboat. 
• Walked around and spent a night in Steamboat Springs CO
• Visited Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park 
• Drove the Million Dollar Highway from Ouray to Durango
• Did a morning hike to Deer Mountain at Rocky Mountain National Park
• Sandboarded at Great Sand Dunes National Park near Alamosa 
• Visited Garden of the Gods Park in Colorado Springs
• Went running along Boulder Creek in Boulder 
• Jogging around Cherry Creek Trail in Denver
• Visited the Colorado State Museum 
• Running / walking along the Colorado River in Glenwood Springs 
• Saw the headwaters of the Colorado River, in RMNP! 
• Saw the headwaters of the Arkansas River on our way to Alamosa! 
• Visited Telluride CO! 

Nebraska: 

• Went to a scenic stop along the Oregon Trail near Gering

South Dakota: 

• Saw buffalo cross the road for the first time at Custer State Park 
• Sunset and incredible colors at Badlands National Park 
• Finally saw Mt. Rushmore in all its glory 
• Visited Crazy Horse Memorial

North Dakota: 

• Running along the Red River in Fargo ND
• Walking along the Missouri River near Bismarck, the state capitol 
• Visited the State Capitol! 
• Had delicious Jewish food at a deli in Fargo 
• Discovered Horenbacher’s, a ND grocery chain. 

Minnesota: 

• Saw a massive Paul Bunyan statue 
• Walked along the Lake Superior shorefront in Duluth 
• Visited the massive Mall of America 
• Walked along the Mississippi River around downtown Minneapolis 
• Went to the Hmong Village (felt like Asia!!) in Minneapolis 
• Running around Lake Calhoun aka Bde Maka Ska
• Visited the grounds around the Minnesota State Capitol in St Paul  

Wisconsin: 

• Day trip out to see the Apostle Islands State Park 
• Visited Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin 
• Had delicious cheese and visited my first cheese-factory: Marieke Gouda 
• Almost ran over a black bear. 

Michigan: 

• Snuck across the border from Wisconsin to cross this state off the list! 
• Hiked to a waterfall near the Lake Superior / Wisconsin state border

Iowa: 

• Running along the Iowa River in Iowa City 
• Having surprisingly good boba in Iowa City / University of Iowa 
• Visited the State Capitol building in Des Moines 

Missouri: 

• Had delicious BBQ in Kansas City at Q39. 

Kansas

• Saw the Kansas State Capitol in Topeka 
• Survived a crazy wind / rain storm on the drive back from Kansas City to Denver! 

Wyoming

• Visited the Wyoming State Museum 
• Visited the Buffalo Bill Museum in Cody
• Saw the super interesting looking geysers at Yellowstone National Park 
• Incredible views of the Rocky Mountains at Grand Teton National Park 
• Hiked along Jenny Lake in Grand Teton National Park 
• Spent a weekend in Jackson, WY 

Montana: 

• Hiked the incredible 14-hour round trip High-Line trail to see glaciers at Glacier National Park 
• Took some nice photos around Flathead Lake 
• Went running around Missoula
• Spent a week enjoying the pleasant mountain air in Big Sky
• Visited the Montana State Museum in Helena 
• Hiked to Ousel Falls, just outside of Big Sky 
• Finally had Taco Johns (like a Midwest Taco Bell) in Helena 
• Saw the headwaters of the Missouri River! 

Idaho: 

• Went running along the Boise River in Boise
• Went to the Idaho State Capitol 
• Saw the massive Shoshone Falls 

Nevada: 

• Did a train trip along the Virginia and Truckee Railroad in Virginia City 
• Walked around the Nevada State Capitol in Carson City 
• Walked around downtown Reno 

California: 

• Visited some incredible wineries, including Stags Leap, in Napa 
• Walked along the Sacramento River and Sundial Bridge in Redding
• Visited Joshua Tree National Park 
• Went wine tasting in Lodi 
• Visited the California State Museum and State Capitol 
• Running around Noe Valley 
• Hiking up to Bernal Heights Park, Twin Peaks and in the East Bay 
• Visited the Salton Sea in the Imperial Valley

Oregon: 

• Visited Crater Lake National Park 
• Drove along the Oregon Coast 
• Visited another cheese factory, the Tillamook Creamery, in Tillamook
• Day trip to Astoria to visit the Columbia River Maritime Museum
• Spent two weeks living in Portland’s Pearl District
• Running / jogging all around the Pearl District 
• Eating voodoo doughnuts in Portland 
• Hiking around Eugene
• Visited my dad’s college in Corvallis 
• Walked around the University of Oregon in Eugene 
• Experienced Oregon Wine Country, visited Stoller Family Estate 
• Day trip along the Columbia River Valley to Mt Hood

Washington: 

• Experience Washington Wine Country, went to Yakima Valley 
• Went back to Woodinville and got drunk at DeLille Cellars
• Rode the Washington Ferry from Edmonds to the Olympic Peninsula 
• Hiked Hurricane Ridge, outside Port Angeles
• Hiked in the Hoh Rainforest, outside Forks 
• Went to Ruby Beach, my first beach on the Washington Pacific Coast!
• Lived for two weeks outside Seattle in Lynwood, WA
• Visited the Washington State Capitol in Olympia 
• Walked around the downtown area in Bremerton 
• Re-visited Pikes Place Market in Seattle 

Arizona: 

• Visited Taliesin West in Scottsdale
• Hiking around Saguaro National Park outside Tucson 

New Mexico: 

• Stopped for a fantastic scenic view of Las Cruces just off the I-10. 

Texas: 

• Dipped my feet in the Rio Grande at Big Bend National Park
• Hiked at McKinney Falls State Park on Christmas Day
• Hiked at St Edwards Park on Christmas Eve 
• Visited the San Antonio Missions
• Finally went to see The Alamo 
• Walked along the RiverWalk in San Antonio 
• Hiked around two parks around La Canterra in San Antonio 
• Experienced Texas Hill Country Wines at Becker Vineyards
• Walked / hiked around Austin, including RiverPlace Nature Trail 
• Had some delicious frozen margaritas at Lake Travis 
• Visited Zilker Park / Barton Springs Pool in Austin 
• Discovered the local Texas grocery chain: H-E-B. 
• Went to the highest peak in El Paso and saw Ciudad Juárez

Usually at the end of each year I’ll spend a day or two looking back at the highlights of the year.

In 2019 however, I spent the last two weeks of the year moving cross country from the Washington DC area to the San Francisco Bay Area. As a result, I did not have a chance to write up my travel highlights from the year until now!

For the sake of tradition, although a full year late, here’s my travel highlights from 2019: 

• MLK Weekend in Charleston and Savannah  

• Went to Big Island to see my grandma in February. Visited a coffee plantation and a brewery.

• An incredible gastronomic experience in Bogota

• Spent an evening at a lovely Hacienda Plantation 

• Trekked to an equatorial glacier at Parque Nacional Los Nevados 

• Exploring Hilton Head Island over Memorial Day Weekend

• SF Pride, followed by July 4th Weekend in Santa Barbara 

• Orcas Island and Seattle for a long weekend in August 

• Annual Atlantic City / Jersey Shore trip! 

• Running the San Jose half-marathon in early October

• Day trip to the Hudson Valley from NYC in mid-October

• SF visit in late October and again in late November 

• Day trip to Salem from Boston 

• Walking around the skyline in Columbus OH 

• Visiting a Frank Lloyd Wright House in Springfield OH

• Visiting the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield IL 

• Seeing St. Louis atop the Gateway Arch

• Visiting Crystal Bridges Museum of Art in Bentonville!

• Visiting a massive greenspace / park in Tulsa  

• Christmas Midnight mass in Oklahoma City 

• Walking around Santa Fe NM 

• Visiting the native american museums in Albuquerque

• Seeing the Colorado River at Horseshoe Bend  

• Driving through winter storms to reach Monument Valley in Northern Arizona 

• Sunrise hike in Zion National Park 

• Seeing the incredible hoodoos at Bryce National Park 

• Walking along the rim trail at Grand Canyon National Park 

• Celebrating NYE in Palm Springs