My Top 10 Moments of 2020 (Life and Travel!)

I want to share with you my top 10 moments of 2020! (And yes, I didn’t say travel moments.) 2020 was definitely not my best year for travel, however, I still did manage to travel a bit at the beginning of the year and made some good memories just doing life.

In 2020, I got to visit Ontario, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Colorado and North Carolina.

I have so many new places on my travel bucket list and I am hoping 2021 let’s me continue with my travels. Vietnam, Iceland, Japan, Hawaii, Georgia, Wyoming, Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec, Italy, Spain, Cuba, and so many more on my list!

Last year I did a post about my top 10 travel moments of 2019 and it included California, China and Hong Kong! In case you missed it, feel free to check it out. This year, however, was different. So this post is going to be about 10 of my top travel and life moments of 2020. Let’s go! (in no particular order!)

My Top 10 Moments of 2020:
1. Driving standard in Toronto by myself

Up until February of this year I had never driven in Toronto (or a big city) by myself before! I had driven a few times with my brother and it was always a bit scary for me. So many lanes of traffic, so many cars, so many accidents waiting to happen. But this year I had to drive my brother’s standard car from Hamilton, Ontario to Toronto, Ontario and then back to Hamilton. I was super nervous but I was so proud of myself when I actually did it! It gave me such an adrenaline rush.

2. Celebrating Valentines Day with my Grandma

I don’t think I had ever spent Valentines Day with my Grandma in my whole life until this year. Which kind of makes me sad! But this year I made her a steak and vegetable dinner. We had ice cream and strawberries for dinner and I bought her a nice pair of winter gloves and she gave me a scarf. Then we did pedicures at home, I painted her toe nails and we watched a movie.

3. Driving from Hamilton, Ontario to Raleigh, NC

While I was in Ontario in February I got to hang out with my friend and her two daughters. She has known me ever since I was born and I love how we are still friends! She now lives in Raleigh, NC and so we decided I would drive back with her and spend some time there. We spent the night in Pennsylvania and ate at Crackerbarrel. We stopped at the Welcome Center in Virginia and took some photos. I love road trips so I am happy I was able to get one in this year.

4. Garden of the Gods in Colorado

When I was in Kansas this spring staying with good friends, we took a long weekend trip to Colorado. It was truly magnificent and Garden of the Gods was such a fun experience! We walked around and climbed on some of the rocks (where you were allowed!). While in Colorado we rented a little place that had access to a hot tub and pool, volleyball, hiking, and horseback riding.

My Top 10 Moments of 2020:
5. Tea room in Greensboro, NC

I got to experience my first tea room while I was in NC! My friend, her two daughters and I dressed up all fancy and drove to Greensboro to O. Henry Hotel. Here we were seated at a comfy couch with a table. Then we got to choose a kind of tea as well as a choice of what we wanted to eat. I chose a tea called Lady Catherine and also one made in China. For food items we had fruit, lamingtons, macarons, sandwiches, cookies, and scones with clotted cream. It was so much fun to be at a tea, I enjoyed it so much and can’t wait to be able to do another one!

6. Renting my own place for 2 months

Up until 2020, I had never lived alone. I had rented rooms or lived with my parents or been traveling for the past few years. But for the month of July and August I got to enjoy living in my own little apartment! It was fun to have my own space and freedom and make my own meals.

My Top 10 Moments of 2020:
7. Pikes Peak Colorado

Colorado, as I mentioned earlier, was such a beautiful place! The mountains were incredible and I got the chance to drive up Pike’s Peak with some friends. The views were stunning and there was even a bit of snow in some spots. I wish we could have gotten to get out and take photos but there were cars behind as quite a bit of the way. Normally when you got to the top there was a lookout where you could look out on Colorado but it was under construction when we went. But I would love to go back someday!

8. Family vacation in PEI

At the end of July, our family rented a cottage and got to spend some time together. My siblings and I rode kayaks around in the ocean as our cottage was located right on the water. My family and I watched movies, grilled food, looked at old photos, played lawn games and enjoyed relaxing together.

9. Elk Falls in Elk City Kansas

I had been to Kansas tons of times but when I was there in the spring I got to visit a place I never knew existed! One day I left Elk City and went for a drive. I had no destination in mind and no plan of where I was going. I took a few turns and ended up at Elk Falls! There was a bridge there and a place to walk along the water. It was beautiful and I couldn’t believe I didn’t know it had been there all along! I took some photos, breathed in the fresh air, and listened to the lovely sounds of water.

My Top 10 Moments of 2020:
10. Family time and getting to meet my niece

Family time has always been important to me. This year, I didn’t see any my family from February till July. And since July I have only seen my brother for a week and one of my sisters for a handful of days. It has been super hard on me to not get to hang out with them and have them there in person. However, I am super thankful for technology that allows Netflix parties, phone calls and video chats. I have learned to appreciate family time however I can get it.

I also had the amazing blessing of watching my niece grow these past few months. She never fails to make me smile with her constant curiousness, smiling, excitement at life around her and loving to be on the go!

And that concludes my top 10 moments of 2020! Hope you enjoyed reading and be sure and check out my travel content from last year!