Wow! What a year it has been, am I right?
To say I had a crazy start to 2021 would be an understatement and it’s why I’ve been MIA. I don’t know if you noticed, but I haven’t written in months but since travel is beginning to become a thing again, I wanted to start writing about it again to hopefully inspire people to get out there – safely – when they can.
I’ve been getting out there a little myself, too.
At the end of June I was on a plane for the first time since March 12, 2020. I became fully vaccinated in April 2020 (science FTW!) and recently single, so I flew to Nashville to meet some friends that I’d made over the course of the pandemic and then spent five days in Austin, TX – a place that I’d always wanted to visit but had never made plans to go to.
Was it weird to be on a plane again? Hell yes.
Was it scary? Not at all.
I mean, there was the asshole who wouldn’t keep his mask on and who was downing mini bottles of Jack Daniels the entire time, but I kept my mask on and zoned out with a podcast.
But this year has been insane, to say the least. I started a new job in January and one week later, I found my then-boyfriend convulsing on the floor of his apartment. He’d had a stroke. When I found out the likely reason for the stroke, I ended the relationship. I wish him well, and I hope he has a speedy recovery but I was shook and if I think about it too much, I’m still shaken.
So between that and acclimating to a new job, all during a global pandemic, writing about travel took a back seat. But thanks to getting vaccinated (#science) and copious amounts of therapy, I’m better and I’m back.
I want to pour my heart back into writing about the places that I’ve been to in my life and all those places that I’ve still yet to visit.
Where have I been since I went to Salem last July? I went to Kingston, NY for two nights in November, Nyack, NY for a night in March, and then the aforementioned trip to Nashville and Austin at the end of June.
Where am I planning to go next? Nowhere. I think I’m going to take day trips to Beacon, NY and Sleepy Hollow in October because fall in the Hudson Valley is amazing.
I was planning to take a big two week trip to Europe in the fall but since a lot of things aren’t open yet again, I shelved that idea in favor of a two week trip in January to Bali.
Will it be safe to go to Bali in January? I’m hoping, but who knows. What am I planning on doing in Bali? I have absolutely no idea. I don’t know a lot about Bali but after listening to a woman that I drove up to my annual yoga retreat with last weekend rave about it, I was feeling inspired and really pulled to go there. It’ll be a much different trip than I’ve ever taken because going places with beaches isn’t usually my thing.
So what is there to do in Bali that will take up the rest of the two weeks that I’m there? I’m assuming I’ll see some temples, chat with some monkeys, get a lot of massages, do a lot of yoga, and eat a lot of very fresh vegan food. When I write it out, there is actually a lot for me to do there!
But what else do I have to do there? Let me know! Shoot me an email: allison@thatgirlaway.com.
What is up and coming on here in terms of post? A Day Guide to Kingston, New York, My Thoughts on Visiting Bolsa Palace in Porto, Why Visiting Belem Is Overrated in Lisbon, Visiting the World’s Most Gorgeous McDonalds, and My Favorite Book Stores I’ve Visited Abroad.
Do you have any interest in hearing what it was like to survive the entire pandemic in New York City? I could write about that, too.
I also took a little break from writing here because I started watching too many horror movies and started a horror movie podcast. You can check that out here.
But I really did miss writing this blog. So, I’m back.
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