2022 - A Year In Review
It’s that time of the year again. I’ve started writing our year in review since 2019, and find it a healthy “habit”, even it takes me just once a year to practice. Basically, I reviewed what we’d experienced and accomplished as a family every year, so we could plan what to focus on and improve for the year onwards.
My parents’ Visit
Apollo flying birthday airplanes with daddy
2022 was a year of gathering. I finally saw my parents after 3 years. They visited us in Washington and ended up staying for 7 months. We celebrated every single family members’ birthday, something I’ve never done within the same year.
My parents’ visit took some twists and turns. They were originally scheduled to arrive in March, but ended up being locked down with tens of millions of others due to covid control in Shanghai for a solid 3 months. We were grateful they finally made the trip out in early July.
Chicago
During the wait, we visited Chicago for my 20th MBA reunion at Kellogg, Northwestern University.
It was great to see many familiar faces, and catch up with old friends visiting from different parts of the world. And for the first time, I had the chance to introduce my kids part of mommy’s student life before.
It was my first time in Chicago for the past 10 years. Obviously, it was my kids' first time ever. We had a full day to tour around the city after my reunion weekend, and I was a little ambitious. Children's Museum, Navy Pier, Field Museum, Millennium Park and Lincoln Park Zoo... Well, we ended up only seeing Field Museum and walking half way to the Millennium Park. It was good enough to document our footprints in a special place in my life.
Lake Quinault, Olympic National Park, WA
Right after the Chicago trip, I went on a 4-day road trip along the Pacific Coast to Lake Quinault of Olympic National Park with my two little ones alone.
Quinault Lake, Olympic National Park, WA
This trip was a key milestone. After 100+ visits to Olympic National Park over the past 2 years, we finally marked our footprints onto the southwest corner of this park, and somehow completed our knowledge and experience of this beautiful place!
Olympic National Park is so big. I’ve written about our favorite beaches and photo spots, and feel we’ve just scratched its surface. Even after 2.5 years, we still have new discoveries once in a while.
Road Trip To Banff And Canadian Rockies
Lake Louise, Banff National Park, Canada
Banff National Park in Canada has been on our bucket list for quite a while. When Canada opened its border to foreign travelers without covid test requirement, we immediately jumped on the opportunity. Check out our full itinerary of 10-day road trip to see Banff, Jasper and Yoho.
Seattle & Mt Rainier Road Trip
Since my parents’ arrival after our Canada trip, we’ve taken many day trips around Olympic Peninsula, and my favorite Olympic National Park in particular.
Blue angels over Space Needle, Seattle
As my comfort zone quickly expanded, I took my parents and little ones to see Seattle and Mt Rainier. See our 6-day road trip itinerary. It was an unforgettable experience.
The Arctic Circle - Norway
Another dream came true in October, when we visited Norway, a country both my husband and I wanted to see for a long time. Our last northern light trip to Iceland was 8 years before, and we craved to see northern light again.
Even October was not weather friendly, I managed to photograph northern light over four different nights - one within the border of Finland, one in Senja, the other two in Lofoten Islands - all with slim chances. I can’t say enough “wow”s to all the incredible sceneries of mountains and fjords within the Arctic Circle, and our last stop in Bergen.
Bergen harbor
I wrote 5 blog posts about our Norway trip. Check out our full itinerary.
Copenhagen
Copenhagen was the first and last stop of our 2022 Scandinavian trip. It’s one of the two only modern cities we’ve explored out of the US over the past three years (another one is Bergen in Norway).
As someone growing up in a city over 20 million people, neither cities were big in my definition. However, as we cucooned in a small town of 7000 residents during the pandemic, the metropolitan exposure this year was certainly special.
Me in Copenhagen
As I end this post with big smile and stride (photo credit to my then 7 yo boy), undoubtedly 2022 was another year of happiness.
In case you are new to my blog, check out our previous annual reviews:
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After 3 nights in Tromso, 3 nights in Senja and 6 nights in Lofoten, we wrapped up our road trip and flew out of the Arctic Circle. Our final stop for this Norway trip was Bergen, the country’s second largest city, and one of North Europe’s oldest ports.