Well, it’s 2019 already, isn’t it?? With a new year comes new travel opportunities, so here’s what I’ve got planned so far:

• February – no surprise here, but I’ll be making a return trip to Los Angeles for my annual visit to my favorite Doctor Who convention, Gallifrey One.
• March – also probably not a surprise, but the husband and I will be making another return trip in March, this time to Orange Beach, AL for a week of relaxation in the sun of the Gulf Coast.
• September – also returning in 2019 is our big, international trip! With Scott having finished grad school in 2018, we can start taking a big, longer trip each year and I’m excited that this year’s trip will be a return visit to Ireland and Scotland!

I always look forward to February because I have the BEST time at Gally! As a refresher, click here and here to check out my posts from last year’s convention. Such a fun time! You may recall that, although Gally is the primary reason for that trip, I always try to get out and see something around LA and I’m excited that this year’s destination is the Paramount Studio Tour. Two years ago, my friend Felicity and I went to a similar tour at Warner Bros and it was a lot of fun, so I’m looking forward to what Paramount has to offer.

In March, we’ll have another week in the sun down on the Gulf Shore of Alabama (although Alabama may not sound sunny and beachy, Orange Beach really is!). Scott’s parents spend some time down there every winter, so we’ve been on an every-other-year schedule of going down there for a week with them. Our last visit was in 2017, so 2019 means we need to return!

Lastly, I’m beyond excited to be able to start taking long trips with Scott again now that he’s done with grad school! Although we’ve taken three-week trips in the past, we’re easing back into things this year with a two-week trip to Ireland and Scotland. We had already been thinking of making the UK our destination this year, but the announcement from Aer Lingus that they were starting non-stop service from the Twin Cities to Dublin really clinched it for us. Other than booking our flights to/from the Twin Cities, we haven’t planned any other details of the trip yet, so if you’ve got great ideas of places to go or things to see while we’re there, leave a comment below! I’ve been to Dublin, Edinburgh, and St. Andrews previously, but not since 2010, and Scott hasn’t been to either country at all, so this trip will be largely new for both of us. It’s gonna be great!

I’m certain there will be at least another trip/road trip/long weekend trip (or two) thrown in throughout the year, so keep an eye out for additional 2019 plans. 🙂

Oh, I almost forgot – my big commercial debut! Totally unrelated to my 2019 travel plans, but do you remember the post from my 2018 London trip when I detailed how I got pulled into filming a mobile phone commercial? Well, at the end of that experience, I asked someone from the production team if I would get to see the finished product and was told that they would email me to let me know. I never heard anything more and kind of forgot about it, but I recently decided I would try and find it. I did a quick YouTube search and found it right away – watch it here! Since you all got to read about the behind-the-scenes aspect of it, I thought it only fair to share the final cut with you. Although they ended up using another person for the Note8 section (that’s the kind of mobile phone I had at the time), I’m still in the commercial at the end! It’s short, so watch the whole thing, but pay special attention from 1:21 on and you’ll see me a couple of times. I even got a hug from the host, hence the photo in this post. 🙂 It was a neat experience and it just goes to show that you never know what might happen when you’re traveling.

Here’s to another year of travel adventures!