My Year of Travel: 2012

I started 2012 with a trip to Las Vegas and ended with a trip to Fort Myers Florida. In between I traveled over 82,000 miles to 36 different cities over 126 days. That’s about one-third of the year on the road and 86% of it was business travel. That’s not to say that I didn’t have a chance to see the sights in London and Paris, but they were primarily business trips.

In the state race, I picked up 3 more US states that I have never been to. This brings my total to 43. It has been six years since I have gotten a new state, and this year I got three new ones.

NEBRASKA: Carhenge, Alliance

NEBRASKA: Carhenge (detail), Alliance

IOWA: Surf Ballroom, Clear Lake

INDIANA: Welcome Sign

I also called this the year of the view from the top of things. I went to the top of four man-made structures and looked out over the city. Each one provided a new view for me, as I had never been on top of any of them before.

St Paul’s Cathedral, London

St Paul’s Cathedral, London
View from Golden Gallery, Height: 279 Feet

Space Needle, Seattle

Space Needle, Seattle
View from Observation Deck, Height: 520 Feet

Eiffel Tower, Paris

Eiffel Tower, Paris
View from Observation Deck, Height: 916 Feet
Note the shadow of the tower

John Hancock Building, Chicago
View from Observation Deck, Height: 1000 Feet

And I’m getting ready for travel in 2013 with a few trips planned for this month, including one to another new state. Watch this space for more.