2015 New Year’s Resolutions Part 1

So because every single year I do a recap of my New Year’s Resolutions and every year it’s an exercise in disappointment, I’m going to scale it down a bit this year and keep it completely reasonable, keeping in mind my actual budget (not what I wish my budget would be), the amount of time I have, and the things I think I could convince others to do with me (or don’t mind doing alone).

We’re only about a week into the New Year, but it’s looking promising so far. For one, I’m gainfully employed and making money. I had a great start to the year, doing next to nothing for New Year’s Eve and having a great New Year’s Day at the Mummer’s Day Parade (again) and

So without further ado, here are my New Year’s Resolutions for 2015 (split up into two parts so you don’t have to read an entire list of my dreams in one sitting):

1) Visit Croatia/Slovenia-

My big goal from last year that I didn’t do is go abroad again, and I’m putting it back up on number one again. I’m not even changing the destination which is Croatia (which has been high on my travel wishlist for years now), with a side trip to Slovenia, mostly based on this article about Lake Bled.  I’ve highlighted previously why Croatia is high on my list, but in short it’s because it’s breathtakingly gorgeous, home of the real life King’s Landing (which would complete my Game of Thrones filming locales trifecta) and is home to Yacht week-visit that website and tell me you aren’t obsessed.

I was in a really good groove in 2012 and 2013 when I consecutively visited Ireland and Iceland each summer and the reason is because I started putting down feelers for the Iceland trip immediately after returning from Ireland. Therefore, I’m going to already start planning for 2016 in the summer of 2015, where I’d like to visit Lithuania and (fingers crossed) Iceland again (it’s literally such an easy, albeit expensive, trip).

2) Visit Austin TX/Asheville NC-

These two cities that have been on my travel bucketlist since the inception of this very blog. Ashville is highly accessible by car for a long weekend, has great outdoor activities, a killer local beer scene and this cool pod-hostel I’d like to stay in (I’d also like to visit the Ashville Party Bike to get some pointers)-I’m at the point now that this might just be a solo weekend trip sometime in the spring.

Austin needs to happen this year because in every year prior to this, I did not in fact, have a Friday Night Lights obsession. I just want to hang at the Landing Strip, ya’ll.

3) Winter Resolutions-

Last month I made a list of “winter resolutions” on Facebook that I wanted to hold myself accountable for, so I decided to incorporate them into the bigger picture. *Note that some of these rely on NEPA actually getting snow.

• Dogsledding with Arctic Paws.
• At least 2 XC Ski barcrawls-my cousin and I did a mini one of these last year, but this year (again, pending a solid snowfall) I’d like to spend a few Saturday afternoons doing this.
• XC ski two new places-preferably locales from this list.
• Curling-I’d like to go to one of PA’s curling club open houses.
• Start Snowshoeing-I got a pair for Christmas & want to make sure I get use out of them.
• Return to Lake Placid-This is already being planned.
• Hit local NEPA breweries-not exactly a “winter” activity, but what else are you going to do on a cold NEPA day when there is no snow.
• Brewery Ommegang-I’d like to get up here prior to the Game of Thrones premiere specifically so I could instagram a pic of me with their GOT beer with a “winter is here” caption (sad, but true).

4) Visit Three New States-

My goals are Maine, New Hampshire (I got my dad a NH vacation for Christmas), and Texas (when I go to Austin), with Colorado as a bonus as one of my good friends just took up residence in Boulder (if I have the time/funds).

5) WV Cabin Trip- (again)

I detailed this on last year’s list, so check it out there if you’d like-it’s legitimately going to be the exact same thing.

6) PA Day Trips-

This is sort of a repeat as well. I want to explore the places I’ve talked about in my blog but have never actually been too-most of these locales would only need a day of travel, not an overnight or weekend (although most of them probably could swing that):

• Lehigh Ale Trail
• Victory Brewery Tour
• (Re)Visit Lancaster
• Yuengling Brewery
• Jim Thorpe
• PA Grand Canyon

7) Out of State Day Trips-

There’s three specific out of state day trips I’d like to take (remember, I’m aiming for accessibility here):

• Peekamoose Blue Hole– I saw this upstate NY swimming hole in a magazine & thought it’d make a cool daytrip.
• Mt. Tammany-This hike on the NJ side of the Delaware Water Gap promises great views of PA.
• Binghampton- I’ve long regarded Binghampton as the only place shittier than Scranton, but heard it’s sort of revitalized-plus it’s 45 minutes away.

8) Finger Lakes Trip-

I’ve written enough about visiting the Finger Lakes, but haven’t actually been up there in years. I’d like to take at least an overnight up to Ithaca, on Lake Cayuga and explore the hiking and breweries.

9) Try 5 New Activities-

I always like to try some new things and decided instead of making a really broad “try new things” or picking more out there things like riverboarding (which I still really want to try) or ice climbing, I’d keep it to activities I could easily do right here in NEPA (remember, I’m trying to actually do all the stuff on the list this year…setting myself up for success is not cheating). Here’s what I’d like to give a whirl:

• Hot Yoga- I actually really like yoga but only do it about 3 times a year (It’s expensive and yoga snobs intimidate me…plus I usually end up working out at weird hours). That being said, I want to try hot yoga, which essentially is like yoga in a sauna. I should probably do this in January since my body is in dire, dire need of a detox.
• Rappelling-I always say I want to try rock climbing, but I know I’d just end up freaking out. Rappelling appeals to me because you basically start the journey already on the way down. I also found a company that will rappel you down a waterfall in the Delaware Water Gap, and have bought my cousin a gift certificate to do this for Christmas, as a way to force myself to go through with it.
• Boxing Lessons- I’ve always wanted to take boxing lessons-it’s a good workout, and again, trying something new, and I found a place in Scranton that offers them.
• Jumping Gym- Sky Zone Fitness is an “indoor trampoline park.” I saw this on the news and just want to see what it’s about.

Stay tuned for Part 2, coming next week.