What are you doing for New Years Eve?

  I apologize for being MIA for the past month.  December ended up being very busy for me.  I visited my sisters in NYC and then they came home for Christmas to visit.  I was able to get in some nice family time and now it looks like the year has already come to an end. 
  I had originally thought that I would be in NYC for New Years but we ended up visiting a couple weeks ago.  Really any time of year is nice to visit NYC....well, except for during Hurricane Sandy when my sisters had no electricity for 5 days and there was a fire in their apartment building.  I will have plenty of future posts about my NYC trip but right now I wanted to focus a little on New Years.
  Reflecting back on traveling in 2012, I am grateful that I was able to take some very nice trips.  We kicked off the beginning of 2012 with Ecuador.  We left January 1, 2012 and arrived in Panama City for a 1 night layover.  We flew on to Guayaquil and the Galapagos Islands.  I saw Lonesome George before he died in June 2012.  In March 2012, I visited a good friend in Los Angeles.  It was still a little too cold for beaches but we had fun at an Anaheim Ducks game, hanging out in Hollywood and people watching in Venice Beach.  We did an Oktoberfest weekend in Iowa in September and then ended the year in NYC. 
  2012 had its fair share of negative events like Hurricane Sandy devastating the East Coast and the loss of lives in the Sandy Hook and Aurora theater shootings.  We also had many positive and fun events like the explosion of Gangnum style and Kate Middleton's pregnancy. 
  Wherever you are....Times Square, Chicago, California, or anywhere outside of the United States...I wish you a Happy and Healthy New Year!
   Please enjoy my Times Square photo taken a few weeks ago.  I can only imagine how crazy and crowded it will be tonight.  Let the new year be a time of new travels, new adventures, and spending time with both new and old friends.