Happy 2020!

WOW, how is it 2020 already?! Happy New Year everyone. Looking back at 2019, it was a year of ups and downs. I had a word to describe each year but I couldn’t come up with one for 2019.

I explored more of Connecticut in 2019. I visited a few towns for the first time such as Essex, Chester, East Haddam, Glastonbury and Litchfield. I hope to visit more this year as I have a long list that I’m still adding to! My goal for 2020 is to expand beyond Connecticut too, I hope to see more of Rhode Island and Massachusetts. I still haven’t touched Vermont and New Hampshire (only have driven through to Maine). There’s so much to see in New England!

Essex Steam Train in Essex, CT.

The fall season was my favorite time of the year. Naturally it was the busiest season with the trip to Boston in September; Columbus day weekend in Litchfield, CT; apple picking at Holmberg Orchards; Salem, MA in October and all the times at B.F. Clyde’s in Mystic, CT! I visited Mystic Seaport often this year since I have a long time membership there. It never gets old to walk around the grounds!

Arethusa Farm in Litchfield, CT.

February was a big month for me when I turned 30 years old. I was feeling sad about leaving behind my 20’s which had some of the best times in my life. I celebrated my 30th in one of my favorite cities - Newport, Rhode Island. It was a great weekend. In the same month, I attended my first BIG TIME concert. My favorite band, Flogging Molly came to town! It was an amazing experience for me to go and see them live in concert. I’ve only been to small time concerts. I hope to see more of my favorites in the future!

My 30th birthday in Downtown Mystic, CT.

The summer was the hardest part of 2019 when I lost my Poppop in July. It was a rough summer. I have struggled deeply with this situation. It didn’t help that I live a great distance from my family in Upstate NY. I’ll be real and say that I didn’t cope well with it. I haven’t healed from this loss yet but I look forward to cherishing memories this year.

My Poppop enjoying family time in Ocean City, New Jersey.

In December I visited the tree lighting ceremony at Ocean House in Watch Hill, RI for the first time. It was so much fun! I recommend you check it out if you haven’t been there. They have vendors selling their crafts as well as food vendors about an hour before the lighting. You can also explore the inside of the Ocean House as well their grounds. It was pretty to watch the sunset over the beach! Since the month of December was a very rainy month, I missed many holiday events that I had planned to go to.

The tree lighting at Ocean House in Watch Hill, RI.

Also in December, I made a tough decision regarding my job. I resigned from it because I was unhappy. The same week that I made the decision of resigning, my cousin at the age of 38 passed away unexpectedly in his sleep. He was full of life with so much pride about his life. He was a proud father of two, loved providing for his family with the farm and loved nature. Looking at his life confirmed that I wanted that happiness in my life. His quote, “My life is better than your vacation!” is my motto for 2020. I do not have plans yet as far as what I’m going to do next. It is the scariest part about going into a new year, with the unknown. I’m trying my best to not focus on the fear, but anxious to see what life is going to bring me.

My cousin, Ryan doing what he loved - white water rafting.

As I previously mentioned, I hope to travel more around the New England region. That hopefully will expand this blog especially now that I will have more time. I’m always eager to explore new places, share my experiences and meet fun people. I’ve been lucky to have this blog for over a year now so I’m super excited to see what is going to happen in 2020. As always, I’m grateful that you’re sticking with me along this ride. I apologize that I have dropped the ball with the blog in the past two months but hopefully you understand after this post. Thank you for being loyal readers of Knot So Loud - you are the ones who help me to be motivated! I wish you the best for 2020!