The Year in Cities: 2023

OK so normally with this I do a nice little five-by-five grid of cool photos from cities I visited in the past year. And I did do that! 

Top Row: Taking off for Greece on Condor Airlines | Washington Monument, Washington, DC | USATF Masters 12K National Championship, Sandy Hook, NJ | Harley Davidson Bar, Milwaukee, WI | Moran Face/Washakie Glade, Jackson Hole, WY. Second Row: Chicago Waterfront, Chicago, IL | Persian Gulf Dinner Cruise, UAE | Venetian Harbor, Xania, Crete | Choiropoiito Restaurant, Patras, Greece | Atlantis The Palm Hotel, The Point, Dubai, UAE. Third Row: L’Ecole Winemaker Dinner, Walla Walla, WA | Palisades Tahoe, Olympic Valley, CA | Pacific Electric Trail, Rancho Cucamonga, CA | Nafplio Old Town from the Fortress of Palamidi, Nafplio, Greece | USATF Masters 10K National Championship, Milford, CT.  Fourth Row: Venetian Harbor, Xania, Crete | L’Aventure Winery, Paso Robles, CA | Maluaka Beach, Wailea-Makena, Maui, HI | Kalama Park, Kihei, HI | The Parthenon, Athens, Greece. Fifth Row: Al Khayma Camp, Arabian Desert, UAE | Falasarna Beach, Crete, Greece | Burj Khalifa, Dubai, UAE | Samaria Gorge National Park, Sfakia, Crete, Greece | Lake Arlington, Arlington, TX 

But after I finished picking out and editing all the photos, I kind of thought, "You know what? I have iMovie. I know where to find free stock music. What if I stuck all these little guys in a movie file." And so I did:

This year, I visited the following cities for either work, fun, or both:

Kings Beach, CA (Lake Tahoe) (2 nights)

Alpine Meadows, CA (Lake Tahoe) (2 nights)

Arlington, TX* (11 nights)

Jackson Hole, WY (6 nights)

Milwaukee, WI (2 nights)

Sacramento, CA (1 nights)

Walla Walla, WA (3 nights)

Chicago, IL (5 nights)

Dedham, MA (3 nights)

Milford, CT (3 nights)

Boston, MA (1 night)

Vacaville, CA (2 nights)

Kihei, Maui, HI (7 nights)

Harrisburg, PA (3 nights)

Redlands, CA* (6 nights)

Ontario, CA (1 night)

Long Branch, NJ (3 nights)

A plane somewhere over Europe/the Atlantic Ocean* (4 nights)

Athens, Greece (6 nights)

Petras, Greece (2 nights)

Napflio, Greece (3 nights)

Xania, Crete, Greece (4 nights)

Templeton, CA (Paso Robles) (3 nights)

Washington, DC (3 nights)

Elk Grove, CA (1 night)

Olympic Vally, CA (Lake Tahoe) (2 nights)

Academic City, Emirate of Dubai, United Arab Emirates (4 nights)

Dubai, United Arab Emirates (3 nights)

Arabian Desert, Emirate of Dubai, United Arab Emirates (1 night)

San Francisco, CA* (268 nights, apparently)

By the numbers:

• 97 nights on the road
• 268 nights at home in my own bed
• 29 unique cities
• 3 countries

Honorable mention to Zürich, Switzerland, which I visited on a layover coming back from Dubai. While I didn't spend a night there, I did leave the airport and take the train into the Altstadt (old town area) and spend a few early morning hours wandering around, taking pictures, having a delicious breakfast of apple pastry and latte, and tasting/buying chocolate. 

(All listed cities are those in which I spent at least one night between January 1, 2023, and December 31, 2023, with * denoting those cities in which I spent multiple non-consecutive nights.)