AcroYoga on Half Moon Bay

In 2018: Highlights from the Year

[shareaholic app=”share_buttons” id=”20872686″]

2018 tore through like a tornado; we never saw it coming, and now that it’s gone, I’m a bit like: what just happened? Was that even real?

It was a weird year. It was an awesome year. It was a terrible year. It was a challenging year. It was a fulfilling year. I’m not one to ever say, “I wish to just forget this year,” so in Camels & Chocolate-style, I’m looking back at what was weird and awesome and terrible and challenging and fulfilling about the past 12 months.

2018 Year Highlights

Work

As many of you know, SVV and I now own a few (three) companies together, aside from my work as a freelance journalist/sole proprietor and past startups we’ve since shuttered. Nearly three years ago, we decided we wanted Odinn Media to be the majority of our focus so we’ve been leaning heavily into our varied skillset in the marketing sphere. With Odinn Media, we primarily tackle tourism marketing for destinations, CVBs, state DMOs and chambers of commerce, but we also do all manner of different services: consulting, project management, photography, copywriting, strategic development, long-tail strategy and, now, videography, too. This year was a great year for Odinn Media. We learned so much. We made mistakes. We know warning signs to look for moving forward in clients that just aren’t a good fit.

2018 Year Highlights

We worked with a whole lot of destinations we love (and one we grew to loathe, ugh). But I’m focusing on those that we love, cities like Oklahoma City and Bloomington and Murfreesboro and Savannah. We had such a rewarding year doing destination marketing, and we’re currently firming up contracts for a number of different entities for 2019 in which we are doing a lot more consulting and less deliverable-based projects—because there’s only two of us and so many hours in the day. I miss having the time to blog two to three times a week on the regular, and I’m hoping our move to consulting more than anything allows me to get back to blogging just for the love of it.

One of the big downers of the year is that our Opry contract ended after two years when new management came in and slashed budgets. While this bummed us out temporarily as we love the team there and left on the best of terms, the truth is that it was a huge stress-reliever because it was very time-intensive and the discontinuation of our program freed us up for other long-term projects. I will always have nothing but love in my heart for the Grand Ole Opry and am grateful for the time we got to work with this iconic venue.

A Night Out at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville

Grand Ole Opry in Nashville
A Night Out at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville

We’ve worked with the state of Tennessee for nearly seven years now on various projects, and in 2018, we worked on the Tennessee Vacation Guide through their publisher Journal Communications and also taught a couple of workshops for their tourism partners. If I were to have it my way, I’d love to offer more workshops in the new year; I find nothing more fulfilling than helping tourism professionals learn to do their jobs better, especially in my home state which I could not love more.

SUP at Center Hill Lake, Tennessee

We also taught a workshop in Portugal with a photographer Kristin Sweeting to a handful of enterprising entrepreneurs, and not only did we have an awesome time sharing the knowledge and battle scars we’ve accumulated over the past two decades, but we made several lifelong friends through it. The Portugal workshop was, no doubt, one of the greatest highlights of our year, and I’m grateful to Kristin for asking us to team up with her on that.

Portugal writing workshop

I also spoke at the inaugural TravelCon with my girl Angie on brand ambassadorships, as well as at MTSU and at a couple other local organizations. I’m also on the lineup at TravelCon 2019 for those of you planning to head to Boston!

Somewhere along the way, our passion for murals, which you’ve seen me talk about for years now on the blog, became a public-benefit corporation when we launched DMA-events, held a car show, a luau, an art festival and installed four murals in six months. We had no idea this was in our future, but our community is devoid of public art, free family-friendly events and points of pride for residents, so we saw that as our calling. And DMA-events was born.

Manchester Postcard Mural in Tennessee

We have SO many big plans for DMA for 2019. Alas, they all require money, so we’re currently in the midst of fundraising and grant applications and talking to private donors. But I’ll be writing a lot more about public art in the coming months, so buckle up!

Oh, and let’s never forget that 2018 was the year of the Land Shark. I’ve never had so much fun photographing and filming a marketing campaign before! And let’s just say that SVV found his calling as a character actor.

Left Shark

Travel

This year in travel took us all over the South and beyond. We headed just over the border to Alabama four times: three to Huntsville and one to the Shoals. I’m a huge fan of Northern Alabama, and it was really fun to (finally!) explore it from a tourism perspective.

Old Railroad Bridge in Florence, Alabama

My first flight of the year, however, was to Canada when Jade and I took our moms to Alberta. Funny that 2019 is also kicking off with the first flight of the year into Western Canada—only with SVV and Jade, instead of Jeanie this time around!

Vancouver's Capilano Suspension Bridge

We also found ourselves in Texas three times in 2018: first on a Texas Tourism road trip, then to Austin for a Fairmont project and back again a couple months later to speak at TravelCon.

Riding a Longhorn in Texas

Shortly after our inaugural visit to Texas for the year, I flew to Utah solo for my fourth trip to Zion National Park. I just love this corner of the Southwest and could visit St. George a dozen times and never get tired of that red rock scenery.

Best Hikes in Zion National Park

In March, we took an actual vacation to California, no work, no requirements, nothing—though I still blogged about it, because this is me we’re talking about. It was lovely getting to hang out on the drizzly Pacific Coast, see SVV’s family—including our sweet niece Kiva, who turned FIFTEEN this week—and catch up with so many of our old San Francisco pals.

California Road Trip

California Road Trip
California Road Trip
California Road Trip

Half Moon Bay drone shot

Later that month, we went to the Smokies for my first of two trips to Dollywood for the year, the second of which I took with San Francisco friends when we planned a Dolly Parton-themed weekend in Pigeon Forge.

Dolly Parton's DreamMore Resort in Pigeon Forege

The following month, we visited Bloomington, Indiana for the first time ever in the spring, then again later in the fall. And surprising absolutely nobody, this progressive college town turned out to totally be our jam!

Murals in Bloomington
Murals in Bloomington

Then, it was back to coastal Virginia, where SVV separated from the Navy nearly 20 years ago and a place I’d only visited in the dead of winter during a pretty serious storm. Luckily, our spring weekend in Virginia Beach completely delivered the good weather this time!

What to Do in Virginia Beach: Strawberry Picking

SVV and I fell in love with South Dakota on our first trip there in 2011, then again on our visit to Sioux Falls in 2016, so I was a pretty awful wife agreeing to go on a work project to Rapid City without him in 2018. I was rewarded with drizzly weather that barely allowed us to see the Badlands, but it was an awesome weekend nonetheless.

Badlands in South Dakota

Later in May, we headed to Minnesota for 48 hours with our dear friend Emilie—side note but can we talk about how much I adore Minneapolis? seriously, one of the most underrated cities in the United States—then SVV flew back home to produce a car show and I continued on to North Dakota for a weekend with Lemon, her husband and their niece.

Minneapolis Love Mural

Summer saw us going to Blue Ridge, Georgia, which we loved so much we’d return to later in the year for Christmas with my parents. We also returned to the Peach State in the fall to spend a long weekend exploring new Savannah activities in one of our favorite cities on Earth.

A Weekend Vacation in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Georgia

After Bonnaroo the following week, which saw us with a whole gaggle of guests again (my favorite weekend of the year!), we headed out to Oklahoma City, our first of two visits for the year.

Murals in Oklahoma City

We went back to Austin right after Oklahoma, then were home for SVV’s birthday, which he happens to share with America, before going to Columbus, Ohio for a weekend.

Gardens in Columbus, Ohio

After that work trip, we had a week to prepare for 12 days in Portugal, eight of which we spent in Lisbon discovering murals, then a long weekend in Azores, which I’ve not yet written about but will (someday…).

Best Murals in Lisbon, Portugal

We had a couple weeks home in Tennessee after Europe, during which we taught classes and workshops and tackled some local photography gigs, before we jetted off to Boise, Idaho for a long weekend and drank a whole lot of beer.

Where to Drink in Bois

September had me booked with speaking engagements across the South, but we did squeeze in a long weekend in North Carolina to celebrate my sister and brother-in-law’s 30th birthdays with his family and ours.

2018 Year Highlights

In October, other than returning to Bloomington for a fall weekend, I also took Mom to Chicago for a Hamilton weekend for her birthday.

Seeing Hamilton in Chicago

And then, just like that, it was the holidays, and we only had return trips to Savannah and Oklahoma City before we wrapped up our work travel for the year. In 2018, we also traveled to various places in Tennessee for projects, like Burgess Falls and Center Hill Lake, as well as took actual weekends away with friends to areas like Jamestown on the border of a national recreation area.

SUP at Center Hill Lake, Tennessee

Health

I’m not going to sugar-coat it; my autoimmune disease has been out of control these past six months, and I’ve been borderline miserable for days at a time. In reality, this is mostly my own fault for eating like crap and not working out daily like I’ve done much of my life—basically, ever since I broke my big toe in July, my workout routine the past six months has just been one to two days of yoga a week, mostly acro which I still LOVE, and that’s it. That changes now.

Spring Break Essentials: What to Pack for Vacation

I’m vowing to run, lift weights or attend a yoga class a minimum of five days a week, which is why I dragged myself out of bed early on New Year’s morning to try out a new studio and wound up at yin and restorative classes the first three days straight. My good friend Sarah is a great inspiration for actually making sure I do this. Having an accountability buddy is key, not just in working out but in life!
AcroYoga in Columbus, Ohio

The weather in Tennessee for the past two months has been absolute shite, so running has been out of the question, but the first day it isn’t sopping wet, I’ll be hitting the greenway again and building my mileage back up. I’ve also gotten into a skincare routine (finally!), tempered my anxiety with an antidepressant and am about to start a probiotic again. 2019 is all about my own personal wellness. AND I’ve learned the joys of midday naps; anytime I feel a migraine coming on or on the brink of a panic attack, I implement a mandatory half-hour rest period, and it’s been clutch. For so many years, I’ve worked long 14- to 16-hour days every weekday and weekend without breaks, but now that changes; it’s time to worry about me first and everyone (and thing) else second.

Beach Acro in Portugal

Family

I mean, you probably have garnered I’m a wee bit obsessed with my sweet niece Charlotte Rose by now, eh? She turns 10 months this weekend and is an absolute joy to be around. I find myself making excuses to go to Tullahoma almost every day when I’m not traveling simply to drop in and see her. I can’t wait until she’s old enough to go on trips with me!

Charlotte Rose at Christmas
Charlotte Rose at Christmas

As for the rest of us, everyone is healthy and happy. My dad, almost three years post-stroke, is still getting new words every day, though his progress has more or less plateaued. He’s started playing darts with his friends every Sunday afternoon, so we got him a dart board for his 67th birthday last month.

2018 Year Highlights Other than that, he’s more than content to hang out all day every day at home with the dogs and Charlotte.

House(s)

In August 2017, we bought Myrtle, a 1,700-square-foot house built in the 1940s that we have since pretty much gutted. The first four months of the year were dedicated to Myrtle, as SVV ripped out all the wiring and pipes and completely redid the electrical and plumbing. Together, we also knocked down a few walls, took the bathroom virtually down to the studs and installed a kitchenette—plus, encountered a whole lot of IKEA drama, a story I still need to relay here eventually—plus painted every ceiling and wall in two to three coats given that there was nicotine seep from the previous tenant. It was a lot of work, but it paid out as we had a pretty lucrative summer rental. That has passed, and we’re now thinking of converting Myrtle to a commercial rental despite it being outfitted as a home because it’s in a commercial zone where rental space is hard to come by.

We haven’t done a lot on the Victorian this year because of Myrtle, but also our travel schedule and the sheer volume of work we’d had, but we have some pretty big fixes we’re planning for the first quarter of 2019, including: fixing rotting wood, patching all the exterior paint that failed just two years after we painted the whole thing (ugh), painting the cabinets and floor in the kitchen, and a dozen other small tasks. Fun stuff! (Not really.)

Victorian House in Tennessee

On the side, SVV also has been helping my parents fix up a property they’ve owned for several years that was completely destroyed by the previous tenant (after squatting for years and never paying rent, then them finally taking him to court to get him out of the place, he literally moved out and took everything—including the kitchen sink). Here, you can see him at said property installing Metroflor luxury vinyl tile, a new-to-us product that was super fun for to learn and also quite easy, and which we may use on an upcoming spring project, too. Before we finish Myrtle and the Victorian, he’s aiming to finish this entire house so my parents can put it on the market this spring.

Biggest Headaches

  • A saga with our local government. Not only did a couple of mayor-appointed commissioners try to have us arrested for beautifying the community with murals, the local tourism board is 10 months delinquent on paying us for a major project.
  • Work-life balance. It’s no big surprise that one thing we have yet to master is traveling for fun or being home and not working—we’re always on the clock. This year, that really caught up to us, and in 2019, I want to figure out how to actually take days off at a time, whether a Sunday or a Tuesday or a Friday. Learning to take naps (even if I rarely slept) were a small step.
  • People, in general, seem abnormally brittle. Is it just us or are people more prickly, more brittle, more quick to lash out than they used to be? There’s no comity, there’s little compassion, everyone is quick to attack everyone else on line (or point fingers and attribute a flaw to a political party). It’s straight-up exhausting. Can we agree to be kinder to one another in 2019? Please?
  • Ella is feeling neglected. It sounds crazy, but one of our big goals for 2019 is to spend more time with our firstborn. We were gone so much this past year, and thank God Ella has grandparents nearby who take in her homeless soul whenever her awful parents ditch her yet again. Hoping for less mandatory travel in 2019 and more mandatory time with our only child.

A Weekend Vacation in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Georgia

Biggest Successes

  • I had a couple huge magazine pieces come out this year. Though I’m not focusing so much on freelance writing anymore, when a good opportunity falls into my inbox, I take it. This past year, there were several; among my favorites, were a 50,000-word project for Conde Nast Traveler that I worked on for months and this 13-page spread on Nashville for Airbnb magazine. I’m also well into my second year of writing all the Tennessee content for AAA’s magazine, and I really love getting to cover all corners of my state in-depth.
  • We installed four murals. I still can’t believe we managed to pull all of that off in six months! Whaaaaaat.
  • I have a secret, but it’s really fun! There’s one Big Thing that happened right at the tail-end of 2018, and it’s pretty huge! I can’t wait to share more in the coming months. (Sorry not sorry to be vague for now.)

2018 Highlights

2018 by the Numbers

  • Blog posts written: I only wrote 67 posts this year compared to last year’s 102. I attribute this to the fact that we’ve upped our photography game and added video, meaning that each post takes about triple the time it used to. Plus, many of our blog posts are so detailed now and are upward of 3,000 words.
  • Countries visited: 2, not including the United States. Other than jetsetting all over America, we only stepped foot in Portugal this year as a pair, and I also went to Canada with my mom. Our travel style has definitely evolved since 10 years ago when I was out of the country every other week, and I’m OK with it. I love exploring new countries, but I also happen to think one could spend the a lifetime traversing America and only just scratch the surface.
  • States visited: 16, not counting airport stopovers
  • Flights flown: 51
  • Road trips taken: 12
  • National parks, forests and monuments visited: 8
  • Tennessee state parks visited: 8
  • Broken toes sustained: 1
  • Books read: 19

All in all, there’s nothing I would change about this year. Sure, it came with plenty of challenges, but those challenges will only equip me to be a stronger entrepreneur in the future when faced with adversity. Sure, there were “friends” we realized weren’t actually friends to begin with and who were merely opportunistic in using our skillset and eagerness to help them out to their benefit, then ghosted when we needed the favor returned, but I’ll be quicker to identify phonies the next time around.

2018 Highlights

And I happen to have the best business (and life) partner a girl could ask for, so where I am weak, he is strong; when I’m left bereft of words and energy to handle a situation, he steps in and resolves it with grace and professionalism; when I want to quit, he propels me forward. He strengthens me in all facets of life, builds me up when I’m feeling low, and cheers me on every step of the way. I wake up so many days wondering just how I got so lucky! For all the uncertainties there have been in our life this past year, he’s the one thing I’m 10000 percent certain of.

Austin Travel: Swimming in Jacob's Well in Wimberley

What were your major highlights of the past 12 months? And what would you love to see more of from C&C in the coming year?

For past year-end reviews, see my recaps here: 201720162015201420132012201120102009 and 2008.
COMMENTS
  • January 4, 2019

    I like to read your posts, especially if you are a tourism marketer, I imagine having friends like you and can share things that smell like tourism. i live in lombok indonesia an island close to bali, we have a lot of tourism objects that are still many that have not been worked on because our community knowledge is still lay about tourism. and hopefully someday someone will have the talent like you to help develop tourism in my area

    Cheer

    • January 4, 2019

      I have never been to Indonesia but would love to change that! Here’s to hoping that we have an excuse to get over there in the coming year(s) 🙂

  • January 4, 2019

    I’d say “more of the same” from C&C and I’d like to see us finally get to meet each other in person – I realize that there are probably 100’s of people who say that but you are top of my “Meet in Real Life” bucket list and that is NOT to pick your brain, but just give you a big hug and kiss and remind you that you have an adoring fangirl out there. I have been “over” things this year and am reevaluating a lot of what I have do are will be doing. But as I go into my 11th year of blogging and you your 12th I think it makes sense to re-examine frequently! Having a good partner is important, mine is (semi) silent behind the scenes and super supportive and that helps a lot (even if he isn’t in the space and doesn’t always understand). Love to you and Scott and Ella and can’t wait to see more from you all in 2019!

    • January 4, 2019

      Andi, you just made my day after a rough week (and a bout with the flu). Thank you for these sweet words, and know that I 10000% think the same about you and the Mr.! On more than one occasion, I’ve thought about flying to Arizona for a weekend just to hang out with you. Thank you thank you thank you for being such a great friend (not just “blog friend”) over the past decade and change!

  • January 4, 2019

    So I’ve always known you were super crazy busy but reading through this post made me think “when do you SLEEP??!!” I don’t know how you do it – and manage to maintain such quality content. Love reading all your stuff and your posts always make me more excited to discover more of the US while we’re living here. All the best for an incredible 2019!

    • January 5, 2019

      Ha, I’ve been working on the “sleep more” part the past few months! Honestly, since childhood I’ve been an awful sleeper, and I think some people are just wired to survive on little sleep, and I’m one of them 😉

  • January 5, 2019

    Damn! I thought I was busy last year! I, too, declare 2019 The Year of the Nap!

    PS – loved your Airbnb piece, it was the best article in the whole issue!

    • January 16, 2019

      Awww, thanks, Leigh! It took me 11 weeks to put together—it was a beast with so many moving parts!—so glad it was appreciated =)

  • January 6, 2019

    I feel quite lazy when reading your blog post! You accomplish so incredibly much within a year. Thanks for this post, because it’s very inspiring. It will motivate me for the upcoming year where I’ve set some challenging goals for myself! Take care of yourself though 🙂

    • January 16, 2019

      And I feel quite stressed reading it, so maybe we should meet in the middle? 😉

  • January 6, 2019

    What a year (and what an epic post too!) you guys have had. And of course, I’m waited with bated breath on that “big thing” announcement. Here’s to a fab 2019!

    • January 16, 2019

      The Big Thing has me in fits of excitement, and I can’t wait to share it!

  • January 11, 2019

    You always have crazy busy years, but 2018 really amped it up. I don’t know how you guys have the energy to do all that you do! I’m in awe! Now, where are we hanging out in 2019? You realize this is as much a priority as anything else I plan all year?!

  • January 13, 2019
    Briel K.

    Looks like it was another crazy busy year for you! It’s good that you are making your health a priority this year. You deserve to feel well! 🙂

    Charlotte is such a cutie pie! That must be so nice to live close enough to see her often. I wish I could see my nieces more but I’m not moving back to NorCal so every few months will have to do.

    Highlights for me in 2018 were Zion with you all in February, camping in the Mojave desert in March and Yosemite in November (during the first snowfall!), Portland in July and October, and a couple of fun little trips home to Vacaville to see my family. 🙂 Other than that the year was kind of a dud and I’m not sad to see it go.

    This year I’m looking forward to another Zion trip in February. I’m taking my family and can’t wait to show them around! Also hoping to get to Portland again sometime, possibly visit Colorado or Austin, and if I can save enough money I’d love to get back to Europe and visit Prague, Amsterdam, Slovenia, and France! Fingers crossed!

    • January 16, 2019

      Yay for going back to Zion! I’d love another trip out there; I can’t get enough of southern Utah.

      And yay for adorable nieces! I’m definitely spoiled being so close to her and getting to visit often =)

  • January 18, 2019

    Cheers to a great year and to all the wonderful things in 2019! I’m really, really hoping I get myself to Zion at some point this year. That’s one of my biggest travel goals, along with hitting a bunch of the National Park sites in NYC.

    • January 23, 2019

      I love your national park journey. It’s so inspiring!

  • January 28, 2019
    Allison

    Your and SVV’s organic love and pursuit for life, culture, travel and all it beholds is inspiring! Your positive attitude amidst challenges and all the two of you give, make life and all of its many rewards that much sweeter. Take care of yourselves and continue uncovering all the joys of our great planet! Ciao!

    • January 29, 2019

      What lovely words and such kind sentiment, Allison! Thank you so much for making my day.

Leave a Comment