2016 was my most adventurous year yet! I think January and March were the only months I wasn’t on the go. I’ve had so much fun capturing our travels and hope the adventures continue throughout 2017 and beyond. Here’s a quick roundup of every place I ventured to in 2016!

February – A work trip to Newport Beach, CA for our organization’s annual meeting.
April – Visited Heber Springs, AR for a relaxing couple of days by the river.
May – Jetted off to Minneapolis, MN for a business meeting and then to Rosemary Beach, FL for our annual family beach trip. We also squeezed in a pit stop to Birmingham, AL along the way.
June – A weekend getaway to Kansas City, MO to visit our pals.
July – Explored Tulsa, OK for a couple nights and also had a lovely weekend at The Chase Park Plaza in St. Louis, MO
August – Attended the ASAE meeting in Salt Lake City. Flew to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico with my Girl Squad. Even took the train from Kansas City to Herman, MO to trolly around wine country for my good friend‘s birthday.
September – We flew to Houston, TX to explore the city. From there, we drove down to Galveston and boarded our first Carnival Cruise ship. We sailed to Progresso and Cozumel in Mexico.
October – Flew to Las Vegas, NV for another business meeting. As soon as I returned home, we took a family trip to enjoy the Little Red River again in Heber Springs
November – Attended a conference at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, CO. We did another family road trip St. Louis and enjoyed Thanksgiving Day Brunch at the Four Seasons St. Louis. We drove a little farther north and explored Chicago for a few days.
December – And last but not least, we had fun at the Peabody Hotel in my hometown of Memphis, TN.

And what will 2017 bring? We have our classics that we’re already planning – of course our annual Rosemary Beach trip, another girls’ trip in late summer, and quite a few work trips sprinkled throughout the year. But there are some places on my wish list that I can only hope we end up this year, or at least in the near future:

Hawaii – While it’s doubtful we’ll end up there in 2017, a girl can dream. The islands will always be at the top of my list. I went once for work (all by myself) and it’s my ultimate goal to go back with Iris and Todd one day. I visited the island of Maui and it was hands-down one of the best destinations I’ve ever experienced.

Rosemary Beach, Florida – As mentioned, we go every summer and I don’t want to miss it this year. The beaches are some of the best in the continental U.S. and you better believe I’m already scoping out rental houses.

Burlington, Vermont – We’ve been throwing around the idea of staying at Hotel Vermont for our 10th wedding anniversary in August. Some of the best breweries in the world are nearby and apparently this hotels has a beer concierge that takes you around.

Los Angeles – We’ve been earning Disney points for a full year and they are about to burn a hole in my wallet. Now that Iris is older, I want her to experience Disney! I know everyone usually insists that Disney World is the way to go, but I’d love to take her to Disneyland while also exploring Southern California.

Asheville, North Carolina – Because I’ve always heard such great things (and Todd knows about their great beer scene). I think it would be fun to eat and drink our way around this new-to-us city!

New York City – One of my favorite places ever. I want to bring Iris for a Big Apple playdate in Central Park.

Mexico – This is where we’ll most likely end up for our annual Girl Squad trip. We were in Cabo last year, but we haven’t pulled the trigger on a destination this year!

All the road trips – I want to visit so many cities around us, where we can venture easily to on the weekends. Ones that maybe aren’t as obvious as vacation destinations, but that I know we can make fun. Omaha, Tulsa, Dallas, Kansas City, Hot Springs, New Orleans, Nashville – I’m looking at you.

Special thanks to all of the wonderful cities and properties that have hosted us over the year. This is been my biggest and best year of blogging yet, especially in regards to travel blogging. Have some ideas of where our family should explore next? Email me at sarahfortunegill (a) gmail so we can chat!