A Homer's Travels Look Back At 2023

2023 was similar to 2022 in that there were a few downs and a few ups.  On the down side Mom fell and broke her arm; pain in her back has reduced her mobility; and Mom's brother, my uncle Jimmy, passed away.

On the up side the Wife and I traveled to Florida, Spain (the Wife's Camino), Rome, and Southeast Asia.  I also consider my surgery as an up.  Once I heal up completely things will be even better.  I also turned sixty without becoming depressed ... I'll call that an up too.

Let's look back at 2023, shall we:

• January:  I  posted my annual best photo post.  Spots on the ceiling led to bringing in the roofers to work on the attic air flow.  Finally posted pictures of our travel magnets from last Fall's trip.  The last two weeks of the month were spent road tripping around the southeastern United States.  I documented the trip while I was on the trip, which I don't usually do, but it worked out mostly.
• February:  I did our taxes earlier than I've ever done them I think.  I posted even more travel magnet pictures.  We had our first 'real' snow of the winter season - late for us.  New glasses were purchased - love the polarization that was added.  I went to see the live action and animated Oscar nominated shorts continuing my on-again-off-again tradition.  The roofers finally worked on our roof but discovered other issues while doing their work.  Goodbye GoDaddy, hello Google Domains.
• March:  Our upcoming Camino de Santiago hike started to become real as we started to buy gear for the Wife. Daylight Saving Time threw me through a loop.  Spring arrived though the weather didn't feel like it.  We were visited by British friends and we spent a few days catching up and birding.
• April: We started to prepare for the Camino de Santiago in earnest this month.  We celebrated Easter twice.  We had visitors.  Our roof was fixed ... then broken.  A crossed the 10,000 miles hiked line.  I filled out my pension application. 
• May: The hole in our ceiling was finally fixed.  My blood sugar numbers got better.  The Wife's Camino started.  Another Caminoversary was marked as we walked the Camino.  We ended the month cutting our Camino short and returning from Burgos (with a stop in Santiago de Compostela).
• June: I began documenting the Wife's Camino on Homer's travels.  Life was interrupted when my Mom broke her arm.  We spent a lot of the months navigating the American healthcare system.  Yay.
• July: I finished documenting the Wife's Camino.  Mom continued to heal with visits from physical and occupational therapists.  I turned sixty years old.  Some medical issues appeared resulting in tests and expensive medical bills.  We attended the Wife's family reunion which was fun.
• August: Fall travel was finalized.  Mom got better.  We had some really hot weather this month.  I got my third root canal which was painless.
• September: My retirement annuity started this month.  When I retired, September 2023 felt so far in the future.  Now I just feel old.  I got fed up with 9/11 remembrances.  We went to Rome to celebrate an ordination at the Vatican ... and to play tourist (actually documented in early October).  My phone was stolen on our first day in Rome.  My Uncle Jimmy passed away before we went to Rome.  He was a good, kind man.
• October: The Wife celebrated a birthday.  We traveled to southeast asia first visiting Thailand.
• November: Our southeast asia travels continued with Vietnam and Cambodia.  I felt sick and missed Thanksgiving.
• December: We put up the Christmas decorations.  I had surgery on my kidney, bladder, and prostate.  My surgery pretty much dominated the entire month of December.  By the end of the month I was well on the way to mending.  We spent Christmas at my Mom's home.
• Hiking: I started the year off strong as I prepared to do the Camino with the Wife.  My hiking suffered in the second half of the year when our trips to Rome and Southeast Asia and my surgery stopped me in my tracks.  In the end I managed to hike 675.8 miles (1,087.6 km) over 90 hikes.  This distance ranks in fifth place since I started keeping track.  The number of hikes I did ranks in third place.  Not a bad showing considering I really didn't hike much in the Fall.
• Books: I set a goal to read twenty books this year and, unlike last year, met my goal.  I'd hoped I would exceed my goal this year but a slow slog through a non-fiction book derailed my plans even though I managed to read while we were traveling.  Here are my Goodreads Stats for 2023.
• Concerts, Shows & Music :  After returning to live music in 2022, I went to no live music in 2023.  I really tried but the shows were during times we were traveling, the ticket cost was too high, or something else got in the way.  I really wanted to go to the new venue, the Steelhouse, but never found the right act at the right time for the right price.  I was hoping to see Liz Phair in December but it was on the day after my surgery so nope.  We do have a couple concerts coming next year that we've bought tickets for so live music will return soon. 
  
  I did listen to a lot of music this year - mostly on long airplane trips during our travels.  Here is my Spotify 2023 Wrapped if you want to explore what the shuffle button did music-wise this year.

• I posted 119 times this year.  Not quite as many as 2022 but good enough.  I was concerned about posting about travel in the fall when there was so little time between trips but I managed.

What will 2024 bring?  We will be going back to Spain to continue the Wife's Camino in June.  We will be visiting our British friends sometime in the fall.  We are considering a shorter trip sometime in the Spring but nothing has been nailed down yet.  The key to 2023, just like 2022 and most other years, is to be flexible and accept what comes our way.

One last thing.  2024 is an election year here in America.  Heaven help us.  

Here's to a Happy, Prosperous, and Healthy New Year for all.  May you all find happiness in 2024.