~Carmen

2018 was spent mainly in the US with more camping and mountain biking trips.  Joe and I spent 2 weeks abroad, traveling with my brother and sister-in-law across northern Italy.  We didn’t get as many blogs posts written (goal for 2019), but I worked on improving my videography and photography skills, while Joe kept me sane and plugging along.  Read on for our 2018 Year End Review:

Our YouTube sample of 2018!

So here is our 2018 Year End Review:

January

• Buffalo Headwaters Challenge-  This is an annual mountain bike “festival” in northwest Arkansas that loves to attend.  Meanwhile, I spent time with my daughter Rachel while Joe was freezing his butt off on his bike.  Buffalo Headwaters Mountain Bike Challenge

• Exploring Memphis- My daughter, Lauren, and I spent a weekend exploring Egyptian-inspired places in our hometown of Memphis, Tennessee.  4 Must See Egyptian Sites in Memphis

February

• Fried Catfish- Not much going on this month, except we started reviewing fried catfish restaurants in Memphis. No, we’re not finished.  Must eat more catfish!

Get a great plate of catfish at the Soul Fish Cafe!

March

• Tennessee Road Trip-  This month always brings my spring break (1 week of no school) and my birthday.  For spring break, we hit the road, along with our oldest, Lauren, and traveled 835 miles crisscrossing our home state of Tennessee.  The Ultimate Tennessee Road Trip

The roads in the Great Smoky Mountains are some of the most scenic in the USA!

• Eureka Springs, Arkansas- Easter weekend, Joe and I spent a romantic weekend in one of Arkansas’s most unique towns.

Eureka Springs, Arkansas

Take lots of sunscreen when visiting the Hoover Dam. It was HOT!

April

• Family Wedding-  The first weekend in April, we flew to Las Vegas to celebrate the wedding of Taniesha Ferreria-Elzie and Ryan Matthews, Joe’s side of the family.  I was born in Las Vegas and was thrilled to see my parent’s old house.  We also hiked around Red Rock Canyon and saw the Hoover Dam.

May

• Tallahassee, Florida-  The first of May marked a milestone for my daughter, Lauren.  She graduated from Florida State University with a Master’s in Art History (Debt Free!).  We went to Tallahassee, Florida to see her graduate and get her moved back to Tennessee.  She now lives in Little Rock, Arkansas and works for the Arkansas Arts Center.  She also helps us with the blog from time to time!  Lauren’s latest blog post- Hiking Pinnacle Mountain

So proud of Lauren for earning her Master’s Degree.

• Petite Jean State Park-  Memorial Day weekend, we went camping at one of our favorite camping spots in Arkansas.

Sunrise at Petit Jean Mountain, overlooking the Arkansas River.

June

• Italy-  Our biggest trip of the year, 9 days visiting northern Italy!  5 Days in Northern Italy: Lombardy Region, 4 Days in Northeastern Italy: Veneto Region

July

• Woolly Hollow-  We spent the 4th of July holiday camping.  Why You Should Camp at Woolly Hollow State Park
• Oak Mountain, AL –

Oak Mountain State Park Mountain Bike Skills Camp

August

• PhotoCon 2018- The first of the month was super busy for me.  The school where I teach 6th grade moved to a  new building,  plus I attended my first photography conference with my dad!

PhotoCon 2018 in Memphis, Tennessee

• Chattanooga’s Raccoon Mountain and Enterprise South Nature Park-

Raccoon Mountain

September

• Fayetteville, Arkansas- Labor Day Weekend, we went to see a University of Arkansas football game and visit daughter Rachel.
• Mountain Bike Riding at Lake Leatherwood Eureka Springs, AR
• Race Between the Bridges, Memphis TN and West Memphis, AR-

Race Between the Bridges

October

• Texas Fall Break Trip (College Station & San Antonio)-  Each October, I get a week out of school for Fall Break.   This year, we traveled to Texas to see longtime friends, Laurie and Dwight McArthur.  We attended our first Texas A&M football game, which was quite the experience!  We also spent several days in San Antonio, seeing all of the tourist sites we could fit into our schedule.

Texas A&M Football!

• Reelfoot Lake, Tennessee- Mid October, we spent the weekend camping in northwestern Tennessee.  It was Pelican Weekend at Reelfoot Lake State Park.  I learned real quick that I need to practice photographing birds because my pics of pelicans were a bit amateurish!

Taking a sunset kayak tour at Reelfoot Lake

• Fayetteville, Arkansas-  We went back to northwest Arkansas to see daughter Rachel again and to see a University of Arkansas game.  After the game, Joe did some mountain bike riding at Mt. Sequoyah Woods and Blowing Springs Loop, Bella Vista while Rachel and I shopped and took some campus photographs.

November

• Memphis India Fest-  Every first weekend in November, Memphis hosts a huge Indian festival.  Joe and I love Indian food and go every year that we’re in town.

Getting our Indian food fix at Memphis India Fest!

• Maumelle, Arkansas- Celebrated Thanksgiving with family.

December

• Arkansas-  We traveled to Arkansas 3xs this month!  The first weekend in December we traveled to see my nephew marry his college sweetheart.  Next, we went back to the University of Arkansas to watch daughter graduate with a degree in business (Debt free!).  Then, we spent the Christmas holiday with family in Maumelle.

Congratulations, Rachel!

So there you have it!  Does this seem like a lot of travel to you or is it pretty doable when working full-time?  Please comment your opinion below!   We’d also like know some of the places you traveled and things you did.  Please comment below!

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~ Carmen

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