2022 Review, Part 2! This time learn all about my trips :) If you missed Part 1, start there. Or go back further for my 2022 Book Review.
PS, don't mind the formatting, something got alllllllll messed up.....
TRIPS
Denver Stock Show— Last year I agreed to be the “adulty adult” for the Washington State 4-H Livestock judging team
attending nationals. This required me to travel to Denver, CO for the stock show. I was mostly just
tagging along because Lexie, my partner in crime, is who invested time and energy in working with
the kids. My role really was just to be the person over 25 to rent a car and make sure logistics were
taken care of. Lex and I joke about how I’m the planner in our duo 😅 I just need a rough outline, I’m
okay without a minute by minute (but I blame conference facilitating for loving a good minute by minute
schedule!). We survived even with delayed planes, massive snowstorms at home, late night drives,
and getting lost several times. Lexie did her thing and rocked it, as did our kids. I just took pictures
and chaperoned the parents so they let the team do their thing.
Girls weekend in Oak Harbor – I was invited to a 4-H kiddo’s wedding (how am I this old?!)
that was in the Oak Harbor area so I rented an Air BnB for the weekend. I invited Mom to join
me because the house was big enough, and well, our party grew from there to include each of
our best friends. It was fun as we traveled over, around, and back for the weekend. We just
explored the area, found some cute shops (hello bookstore!), and of course wineries for the
other three because they had their favorite DD (me!). I attended the wedding ceremony but
because there was so much time between the ceremony and reception at two locations, I
ditched the reception (sorry Jer!) to go back to the house and just hang out. Katie and I chatted
well into midnight that night after Mom and Lauri went to bed. I think we’re going to make it an
annual thing now because Mom and I (and Kim!) have May birthdays and Katie and Lauri
have half birthdays in May – the timing is perfect 😊
Washington, DC – Well, I made it back to my favorite home away from home courtesy of my 4-H kids…..
Citizenship Washington Focus (CWF) is a 4-H conference held in the summer time and I’ve chaperoned
there once before with a small group. A few years ago one of my kids asked about attending because
it would allow her to see DC in an educational way. So of course, I said yeah, let’s do it. We were
supposed to go in 2021 but it was virtual that year so we waited, and when I knew it was going to
be in person in 2022 I quickly sprung into action to get a group of five youth together to go – three
from Kittitas County, one from Skamania County, and one from Clark County (I worked for 4-H in
both Clark and Skamania so there is a connection).
We met monthly before going. I worked with the state office to get funding. And then the day finally
came to leave at which point I had four of the five kids with me in the car by 4am on our way to SeaTac.
We had a relatively uneventful day of travel and our trip continued from there. The kids learned about
the subway, visited some staples (Arlington, American History), some hidden gems (Old Post Office
Tower!), and had some surprising favorites (National Cathedral and the Holocaust (sounds weird but
it’s totally true and I understand why)).
It wasn’t completely a site seeing trip as we went to attend the Citizenship Washington Focus
conference, so we partook in those activities too. Together with youth from across the country they
developed plans to make the world a better place in more than one way. They started the conference
shy and unsure but left confident and with new friends. The kids were exhausted when we came
home, but I know that they took this experience to heart because of our discussions and the reflections
in their record books.
I, of course, loved introducing one of my favorite cities to these kids. We walked our butts off, did
some new things I hadn’t done before (4th of July fireworks!), and explored on scooters.
This is a trip I will always remember fondly.
Hawaii! – A new place for my “have traveled to” list! Friends from Vancouver were making a visit
and their daughter is a senior this year. Well, when they asked if I would go to Hawaii with them
and take senior and family photos in Hawaii I said YES without hesitation. Mind you, I had
eight days between returning from DC and leaving for Portland to fly out….in the busiest month
of the year no less. So, I did what I needed to for work that week, laundry, and repacked for
sandy beaches. I did no homework on where we would be which turns out to be mostly volcanic
rock along the water. It was still beautiful though and I would love to return to do more exploring.
Thank you, Andersons for a fun adventure!
AND, because I remembered, here are the last of 2021's adventures too, briefly :)
North Carolina - One of my 4-H friends, Christy, stayed in North Carolina after a Teach for America
placement and it had been a couple of years since seeing each other. So, almost on a whim,
I made a trip to see her! While there, we of course had some adventures including seeing the
Biltmore Estate. Can you say Downton Abbey vibes?!? It was totally worth the drive to visit there.
Christy's brother Jeremy (the same one who got married in May) knows of my love for Hallmark and
was stationed close by so insisted that Christy take me to visit a town that was indeed very
Hallmark-esque. Thanks for insisting Jer! And thanks to Christy for hosting my stay. I can't wait to come
visit again for more southern adventures.
Montana - Cousin Steph and her husband Tyler welcomed their first child into the world in April 2021 so
Mom and I made a visit to Montana to meet Justine 😀 We made good travel time both there and back,
and had such a lovely time visiting and soaking in some baby snuggles. Justine is now almost two and
welcomed a baby brother into the world just this week!
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