Looking Back On 2018: A Very Odd Year Of Travel

2018 did not end the way I imagined it…not even remotely. That’s both good and bad.

On the travel front, things did not exactly go as planned. Of the 10 products I set out to try this year, I ended up sampling only three of them.

I also set out to visit 10 new countries and ended up not visiting a single new country. That’s pathetic. It marks the first year since 2006 I have not visited a new country and a stark highlight of my new life and new business.

But that’s the point: I’m building a business and I gave it my all this year. Progress was made and we are getting closer to the goal. But it’s one day at a time…one mile at a time (lowercase 😉 ).

I’ve been in Germany for a week and it truly is the first vacation I have had all year more than single-day breaks here and there. It has still been difficult to unwind as work never ends.

While my full-time efforts have kept me from visiting new countries and trying many new products, I’ve certainly traveled a great deal this year. How much, you might ask?

via GCMap

All over the world, many times over. I clocked in over 200,000 miles this year, which is down from last year. Even so, it was quite a year of travel.

I’ve already highlighted my top-10 favorites from 2018:

• My Top 10 Flights In 2018
• My Top 10 Hotel Stays In 2018
• My Top 10 Lounges In 2018
• My Top 10 Airline Meals Of 2018

On the status side, I end the year with top-tier status on United (1K) and Hyatt (Globalist).

The blog grew tremendously this year: I’m incredibly thankful to each one of you for making that possible, even my many trolls. What makes it even more amazing is that the blog is my break from the day, not my full-time job. As I encounter so many issues during the day, it is always a pleasure to take a breather and churn out a couple blog posts. That trend will continue in 2019.

CONCLUSION

And as I look back on what I had planned/hoped for versus what actually occurred, I will have to think much more carefully about about my predictions for 2019.

Tomorrow, as I look toward the new year, I’ll have some personal thoughts on the blog and life itself. For now, I wish you all a happy new year. Thanks so much for reading: it is my great honor that you would take the time to read what I have to say.