There are plenty of ways to sum up a year, to reflect on the previous 12 months or 365 366 days. But Year in Cities is the one that sticks for me, year after year, because it perfectly encompasses what I like to remember about a year: Where I was. Who was there. What I saw.
Lake San Antonio, April 2012
Races accounted for a fair bit of travel this year — Berlin, of course, but also two trips to Lake San Antonio and one night in a hotel near Sacramento before my first triathlon. I like racing this way, and traveling this way; covering new ground on foot or bike (or in a body of water, I guess) always makes me so happy that I’ve gravitated toward activities that take me outside.
Lake Michigan sunset, July 2012
We saw family in Philadelphia and Michigan, saw friends marry in Madison and Bolinas, and spent the night in a winery in Paso Robles.
At Oktoberfest, October 2012
And right now I’m writing this from the passenger seat of a car on a beautiful December day, riding up to the year’s final destination: a house just yards from the beach, where I’ll ring in 2013 with food and friends and a trunk full of beer. I love when my travels take me to further-flung places, but sometimes it’s good to remember all the adventures lurking just around the corner.
Without further ado, 2012’s cities:
Cloverdale, CA
San Francisco, CA*
San Luis Obispo, CA
Paso Robles, CA
Bradley, CA*
Palm Springs, CA
Roseville, CA
Bolinas, CA
Stinson Beach, CA
Dillon Beach, CA
Midland, MI*
Frankfort, MI
Rochelle, IL
Chicago, IL
Philadelphia, PA
Dallas, TX
Madison, WI
Berlin, GER
Munich, GER
A plane somewhere over the U.S.*
About Year in Cities: All listed cities are those in which I spent at least one night between January 1, 2012, and December 31, 2012, with * denoting those cities in which I spent multiple non-consecutive nights. 2009 here, 2010 here, 2011 here, and the whole shebang stolen from Lydia.
Every Day Is Another Dumb Adventure 