Once again, I thought it would be nice to look back at the many trips I took this year.  As you may recall from last year‘s wrap-up, the year began in California.

New Year’s Day was spent in Pasadena for the Rose Parade, where Danny and the Lincoln-Way Marching Band were performing.  Lucky for them, they were slotted right after the float that caught on fire and eventually mucked up the entire end of the parade.  However, they were able to march around the disabled float and keep things moving for the time being.  The next day we went to the California ScienCenter, where we were able to see artifacts from King Tut’s tomb and the space shuttle Endeavor, and the beach before heading home.

And home is where I stayed for a whole month before heading out to Hawaii in February.  I arrived that first Saturday in February, checking out my surroundings around the resort and down Waikiki Beach after the long flight.  Monday, I took a tour of the island of Oahu, with stops at Hanauma Bay, Nu’uanu Pali lookout, Valley of the Temples Memorial Park, Sunset Beach, Waimea Falls, and the Dole Plantation.  Tuesday, I took in a whale watching cruise, where we were able to see multiple whales surfacing during the excursion.  Thursday, I traveled over to Pearl Harbor and all of the associated attractions and museums.  Come the following Saturday, it was time to head home on an overnight flight that got me in town very early Sunday morning.

Come June, the whole family headed east to celebrate Michael’s graduation.  We flew into Baltimore, where Dennis, the boys, and I went to breakfast before heading to Camden Yards to see the Orioles take on the Giants.  On the way to the stadium, we stopped at the grave site of Edgar Allen Poe and the Babe Ruth Birthplace & Museum.  After the game, we walked to the local bus depot, where we caught a bus to Washington DC for the remainder of the trip.

The week in DC was spent taking in most, if not all, of the tourist sites.  We went to the Smithsonian Zoo, the Smithsonian Museum of American History, the Newseum, the National Air and Space Museum, Ford’s Theatre, the Supreme Court building, and the Library of Congress.  We went on tours of the US Capitol and the White House.  We saw the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument, the Jefferson Memorial (where we saw Big Bird, of all people), the World War II Memorial, the Korean War Memorial, and the Vietnam War Memorial.  In the middle of all this, we also managed to take in a Nationals game, watching them defeat the White Sox on a beautiful Wednesday afternoon.

The last Sunday in July, the whole family headed up to Milwaukee, to see the Brewers take on the Cubs.  It was the first trip to Miller Park for both Danny and Michael.  After the game, we had a nice dinner followed by a trip down the Milwaukee Riverwalk to see the Bronze Fonz.

I was home for less than 12 hours before I headed out to San Francisco for a work trip.  I was out there for 2 weeks (but home for the weekend in between) to ingratiate the Esurance (RIP) team to our ways.  There wasn’t a whole lot of time for sightseeing, though I did manage to go for a walk each morning down the waterfront, enjoying the sights and the sea air.  Thursday of the second week was my big night out, as I trekked down to Pier 39 to see the seals before heading over to Oracle Park to see the Giants take on the Phillies.  Again.

Thanks to some flight rescheduling on the Washington trip, I had a credit on Southwest that I parlayed into a $3 flight to Cleveland during the week of Labor Day.  I was in town for less than 36 hours, which I spent watching the Indians battle the White Sox on both Wednesday night and Thursday afternoon.

I spent the last weekend in October, including the morning of my birthday, in Indianapolis with the rest of the family for an exciting marching band competition.  After an early morning performance at the home of the Colts, we killed time during the day with miniature golf and a showing of Joker before returning to Lucas Oil Stadium for a late night of more marching and awards.  Sunday morning breakfast ended the trip before a long drive home.

Once again, I headed out again the next morning, this time to Boston to see Angelina for our birthday dinner.  Unbeknownst to me, she had suffered a concussion the day before, so she was busy for most of the day.  After chilling in the hotel for a bit, I headed over to campus for a late lunch before waiting for her at a protest I happened across, trying to stop hate monger Ben Shapiro from coming to campus for a speech.  After dinner, she headed back to her dorm to rest and I left early the next morning to return home.

My final trip of the year came in early December, as the whole family traveled up to Ann Arbor, Michigan to see Angelina and the BU Synchro team perform in a skating competition.  We were in town for less than 24 hours, so, outside of food and the skating, we didn’t see a whole lot.