\nAll through my 20’s I was all into \u00a0road trips and have driven through and visited all of this continent’s 48 states. \u00a0Then I discovered international travel and realized I have a short amount of time to squeeze in as much of the world as possible.<\/p>\n
So it is with a great sense of gratitude that I look back on 2013 -a great year in travel for me – funded largely by my miles and points collecting.\u00a0I truly feel blessed to have traveled to ten new countries, revisited some favorites, and enjoyed several once in a lifetime experiences! I am also grateful for being able to share these adventures on Southern Travel Girl<\/em> with the First2Board<\/a> Family of bloggers.<\/p>\n 74 segments The year started with winning a place on Delta’s\u00a0NonStopNYC<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0extravaganza, \u00a0a six-week sustained social campaign that aimed to establish Delta as NYC’s home airline with fun challenges and prizes.\u00a0 Starting in New York at JFK, we flew to LAX while experiencing Delta’s new onboard Business Product. In LA we were treated to a performance by stand-up comedian\u00a0Asiz Ansari<\/a>;\u00a0dinner at\u00a0Nobu Malibu<\/a>\u00a0hosted by Chef Nobu himself; a private concert with the band\u00a0Fun<\/a>; and topped off with a dance experience with DJ Theory at our hotel, the SLS in Beverly Hills.<\/strong><\/p>\n NonStopNYC<\/p><\/div>\n The Delta NonStopNYC Crew<\/p><\/div>\n The highlight of my very first trip to Paris was being able to experience the City of Light in the snow! You can read all about that trip on what turned into a seven part mega Guest Blog at TheMrPickles.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Playing in the snow at Versailles<\/p><\/div>\n I experienced my first Singapore Airlines award flight with a trip to Singapore and Hong Kong flying in SQ’s A380 Suites Class.<\/p>\n Singapore Airlines A380 Suites Class<\/p><\/div>\n Butterfly Garden at Changi Airport<\/p><\/div>\n Victoria Peak, Hong Kong<\/p><\/div>\n A great opportunity to put faces to names and share miles and points obsessions with other frequent flyers.<\/p>\n Chatting with @JosephMay FTU<\/p><\/div>\n Sharing the magic of Charleston<\/a> with F2B Bloggers and friends at the Charleston Sessions.<\/a>\u00a0We had a blast…and hope to repeat it in August at the First2Board Seattle Sessions.<\/a><\/p>\n First2Board Brunch Bunch<\/p><\/div>\n In July my husband and I celebrated our anniversary with a trip to Istanbul <\/a>and Malta. We added Austrian Airlines<\/a> to our list of Star Alliance airlines flown. Our flight on Austrian led me to have one of the most incredible post \u00a0travel related experiences … ever! Many thanks again to\u00a0Bernd Hartweger and\u00a0Austrian Airlines for delivering that surprise!<\/a><\/p>\n Austrian Airlines over Austria<\/p><\/div>\n Favorite Photo Op Location -Topkapi Palace, Istanbul<\/p><\/div>\n Salt Flats, Gozo<\/p><\/div>\n Rabat, Malta<\/p><\/div>\n Ireland is one of my absolutely favorite countries to visit<\/a>. And with a great airfare, I was off to the west coast of Ireland for a four day break. It was a driving vacation that took me along the coast highway in County Clare from Doolin to the Cliffs of Moher to Lisdoonvarna. My little piece of heaven.<\/p>\n County Clare Ireland<\/p><\/div>\n On the way to the Nordic Do, I had a quick stop in Amsterdam….<\/p>\n Amsterdam, Jordaan Area Canal<\/p><\/div>\n The\u00a0Farewell to the SAS MD80 MegaDO<\/strong> was just an incredible event. SAS planned to retire all of their MD80’s. A group of 150 frequent flyers met up in Oslo in September to begin a four day event that took us to three countries and involved an incredible charter flight around Norway with low passes over the country’s beautiful fjords.<\/p>\n Karl Johans Gate, Oslo A quick stop in Stockholm to meet the SAS executives….and a walk on the tarmac.<\/p>\n Our MD80 Charter Plane From Stockholm to Copenhagen…..<\/p>\n Waterfront, Copenhagen<\/p><\/div>\n At the end of the Nordic Do, my friend Maureen and I headed to Paris to top off our trip. I discovered the Grande Dame<\/em> of macarons….Laduree<\/strong>…. and that a fabulous place to watch the sunset is from the top of the Holiday Inn, Notre Dame.<\/p>\n Laduree, Paris<\/p><\/div>\n Sunset from the Holiday Inn Notre Dame<\/p><\/div>\n My fourth year attending the Chicago Sessions…. and it never gets old. \u00a0I love visiting and chatting with my frequent flyer buddies….<\/p>\n With Mark (TravelBlawg) and Dia (TheDealMommy)<\/p><\/div>\n October mileage run to Istanbul with TheMrPickles<\/strong><\/a> –<\/p>\n Istanbul – Blue Mosque<\/p><\/div>\n November found me enjoying the sun and warmth that Cabo San Lucas<\/a> always has to offer. Each year we meet the ‘West Coast’ family in Cabo for Thanksgiving. \u00a0This year was made memorable because in addition to some nice sized Dorado prepared by Nick San<\/a>, \u00a0I caught my first Marlin ever<\/em>! And as always, discovered new and wonderful restaurants – Flora Farm<\/a> topped the list.<\/p>\n El Arco, Los Cabos<\/p><\/div>\n My First Marlin! (catch and release of course)<\/p><\/div>\n I had very little travel planned for December… but I did manage to pop up to New York to see the Christmas sights and have a little impromptu get together with Kathy, of Will Run for Miles, and a few other like minded travelers.<\/p>\n Rockefeller Center – New York<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 2013 – Where I’ve Been and Where I’m Going All through my 20’s I was all into \u00a0road trips and have driven through and visited…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":917,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[420,22],"tags":[88,99,185,209,240,261,264,276,334,379],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\n![\"74](\"http:\/\/first2board.com\/carolinatravelgirl\/files\/2014\/01\/map-1.gif\")
<\/a>
101093 miles<\/p><\/div>\nNew York and Los Angeles<\/h3>\n
![\"IMG_2317](\"http:\/\/first2board.com\/carolinatravelgirl\/files\/2014\/01\/IMG_2317-675x9001.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"The](\"http:\/\/first2board.com\/carolinatravelgirl\/files\/2014\/01\/IMG_2333-900x6751.jpg\")
<\/a>Paris<\/h3>\n
![\"Playing](\"http:\/\/first2board.com\/carolinatravelgirl\/files\/2014\/01\/Versailles-5-Snow-Fun-Copy-900x896.jpg\")
<\/a>Singapore and Hong Kong<\/h3>\n
![\"Singapore](\"http:\/\/first2board.com\/carolinatravelgirl\/files\/2014\/01\/P1000266-900x675.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"Butterfly](\"http:\/\/first2board.com\/carolinatravelgirl\/files\/2014\/01\/P1000236-900x675.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"Victoria](\"http:\/\/first2board.com\/carolinatravelgirl\/files\/2014\/01\/Victoria-Peak-Hong-Kong-900x675.jpg\")
<\/a>Washington, DC – FTU<\/h3>\n
![\"FTU](\"http:\/\/first2board.com\/carolinatravelgirl\/files\/2014\/01\/FTU-Washington.jpg\")
<\/a>Charleston, SC<\/h3>\n
![\"First2Board](\"http:\/\/first2board.com\/carolinatravelgirl\/files\/2014\/01\/First2Board-Brunch.jpg\")
<\/a>Istanbul and Malta<\/h3>\n
![\"Austrian](\"http:\/\/first2board.com\/carolinatravelgirl\/files\/2014\/01\/Austrian-Airlines-over-Austria-900x675.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"Topkapi](\"http:\/\/first2board.com\/carolinatravelgirl\/files\/2014\/01\/Istanbul-July-900x675.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"Salt](\"http:\/\/first2board.com\/carolinatravelgirl\/files\/2014\/01\/Gozo-Salt-Flats-900x675.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"Rabat,](\"http:\/\/first2board.com\/carolinatravelgirl\/files\/2014\/01\/Rabat-Malta-900x675.jpg\")
<\/a>Shannon, Ireland<\/h3>\n
![\"County](\"http:\/\/first2board.com\/carolinatravelgirl\/files\/2014\/01\/County-Clare-Ireland.jpg\")
<\/a>Amsterdam<\/h3>\n
![\"Amsterdam,](\"http:\/\/first2board.com\/carolinatravelgirl\/files\/2014\/01\/Amsterdam-675x900.jpg\")
<\/a>Oslo<\/h3>\n
![\"Karl](\"http:\/\/first2board.com\/carolinatravelgirl\/files\/2014\/01\/Oslo-675x900.jpg\")
<\/a>
Royal Palace<\/p><\/div>\nStockholm<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"Our](\"http:\/\/first2board.com\/carolinatravelgirl\/files\/2014\/01\/Stockholm-900x675.jpg\")
<\/a>
Nordic MegaDo<\/p><\/div>\nCopenhagen<\/h3>\n
![\"Waterfront,](\"http:\/\/first2board.com\/carolinatravelgirl\/files\/2014\/01\/Copenhagen-675x900.jpg\")
<\/a>Paris<\/h3>\n
![\"Laduree,](\"http:\/\/first2board.com\/carolinatravelgirl\/files\/2014\/01\/IMG_4955-900x535.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"Sunset](\"http:\/\/first2board.com\/carolinatravelgirl\/files\/2014\/01\/IMG_4968-900x675.jpg\")
<\/a>Chicago<\/h3>\n
![\"With](\"http:\/\/first2board.com\/carolinatravelgirl\/files\/2014\/01\/IMG_5092-900x716-300x238.jpg\")
<\/a>Istanbul<\/h3>\n
![\"Istanbul](\"http:\/\/first2board.com\/carolinatravelgirl\/files\/2013\/08\/Blue-Mosque.jpg\")
<\/a>Cabo San Lucas, Mexico<\/h3>\n
![\"El](\"http:\/\/first2board.com\/carolinatravelgirl\/files\/2013\/11\/Cabo-July-08-067-e1384578543682.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"Cabo](\"http:\/\/first2board.com\/carolinatravelgirl\/files\/2014\/01\/Cabo-Marlin-900x675.jpg\")
<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0New York<\/h3>\n
![\"Rockefeller](\"http:\/\/first2board.com\/carolinatravelgirl\/files\/2013\/12\/P1000800-e1387945571245.jpg\")
<\/a>All in all it has been a wonderful travel year….and I am looking forward to see what 2014 has in store for me!<\/h4>\n
So, where am I going in 2014? Well, you can find out by following \u00a0@CarolinaTravelGirl<\/a>\u00a0 on Twitter and you will be among the first to know!<\/h3>\n
![\"New](\"http:\/\/first2board.com\/carolinatravelgirl\/files\/2014\/01\/New-Year-Dachshund.jpg\")
<\/a><\/h5>\n