2023, Year of Adventure

 

Photo by A. Jones. Me on Lake Murray, SC. 14 July 2023.

This post has become an annual tradition on the blog, revisiting favorite photos, travels and family history highlights from the year. I have done a recap post of some form every year since I started the blog in 2012. This is of course a selection from among the eventful activities in 2023. As with other social media, my Instagram or Facebook posts, not everything makes the blog. Overall, 2023 has been pretty great. I had some adventures in various locations, with family, friends and colleagues, visited some new-to-me places, returned to some favorites, and collected priceless experiences that I'll treasure forever.

January began with a visit to headquarters in Los Angeles. I was able to catch a super-cool Beastie Boys exhibition from Beyond the Streets, featuring Beastie Boys memorabilia, albums and art. The photo below captures the actual boom box from the famous album shot featuring the Boys.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Beastie Boys exhibition in LA. 4 Jan 2023.

We had a memorable tamalé making experience at home in mid-January. I made a second visit to LA later in the month, followed by another visit a few days later for an All Hands meeting at the famous Beverly Hilton to begin February.

In March, I had a meeting in Cancún, Mexico, followed by a birthday trip to El Cuyo in northern Yucatan, about a three-hours drive. El Cuyo is known as a kitesurfing spot, and while we didn't kitesurf, we enjoyed the sights, the relaxing beach and the food during the stay.

Photo by Patrick Jones. El Cuyo, Yucatan. 16 Mar 2023.

Photo by Patrick Jones. El Cuyo, Yucatan. 16 Mar 2023.

In April, our son kicked off a Spring to early Summer season of U14 soccer, often as goalie or backline defender. We had a lot of fun watching him & the team play, even if they only won 1 game. In May, I hiked the first half of the West Highland Way (about 40 miles) prior to a stop at the Brussels office and lecture at Leiden University at the Hague. This was my first visit to Scotland, and included my first ride on the Eurostar train from London to Brussels. There's a lot behind the scenes that I haven't posted about from these trips, but they were incredible and shared with fantastic people.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Scotland, 5 May 2023.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Brussels, 8 May 2023.

Following the time in The Hague, I visited the amazing Straat Museum in Amsterdam. I took so many photos, some were shared on Instagram back in May. I highly encourage a visit, or a return visit, if in Amsterdam. It's really incredible.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Straat Museum. 12 May 2023.

We closed out the month to celebrate a birthday and take in a lovely Virginia winery in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

In June, I had a mid-year meeting in DC, we celebrated a bat mitzvah with good friends, and took in a college visit to Upstate New York. S brought in an epic fishing haul during a day charter on Cayuga Lake. We just moved our last filets from that catch to the garage fridge to thaw for dinner during the last week of 2023. S shot up over the summer and is now taller than Allison & I too.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Watkins Glen, NY. 26 June 2023.

In July, we spotted a new mural in Alexandria, and visited family in Columbia, South Carolina (see photo at top of the post). Later in the month, I had my first visit to Ghana, for an Internet conference. Sadly I saw nothing of the country other than the hotel next to the Accra airport and a restaurant in the city.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Art in Ghana. 24 July 2023.

August included long summer days, a new tattoo, a neighborhood music festival, and many walks with the dog.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Maya. 18 Aug 2023.

September featured two stops in LA on either side of a long trip to Kyoto, Japan for a conference. This was my first time back in Kyoto since March 2019. Both memorable trips, but I can do without getting stung by an Asian hornet for a very long time.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Nara Park deer. 9 Sep 2023.

From a family history perspective, in September I received copies of the Alien Case files for siblings of my 2nd-great-grandmother Teresa Diaz, covering the files for Maria Jesus Diaz de Mirazo and Gregorio Diaz. I also finally closed out the mystery of Agnes Atherton O'Brien, confirming her story and journey from the convent orphanage in La Salle, Illinois to her multi-decade career on the stage. 

October brought us updated AncestryDNA results. In November, I resolved the parentage on Allison's 2nd-great-grandmother.

Back to travels, in October I hiked on the Rota Vicentina along the Portuguese coast south of Lisbon. It was incredible, maybe one of the best hikes I've ever done. Again, I have not shared many photos from this hike. After the trail I was able to visit a colleague in Cascais and take in another street art exhibition in Lisbon, called Urban Evolution. It was also super cool and featured many artists I've been able to see in other locations, such as Shepard Fairey, Vhils, Add/Fuel, among others.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Lisboa, 17 Oct 2023.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Tiles in Lisbon. 18 Oct 2023.

After Portugal, I had a meeting in Hamburg, Germany. This was my first time back since I lived there when I was 11 years old. Unfortunately I saw very little of the city. Something to explore again at a future time.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Hamburg, 22 Oct 2023.

Following Hamburg, I made an incredibly tight connection through London for flights with the family the next day from DCA to New Orleans. Allison had a conference and we were able to celebrate a birthday in the city with a dinner to Commander's Palace prior to the madness of Halloween weekend in the city.

In November, Allison & I took a date night up to NYC followed by a game at Madison Square Garden to see my Indiana Hoosiers against the defending NCAA champions for UCONN. The game didn't end the way we wanted, but we had incredible seats and ate wonderful food while in the city.

Photo by A. Jones. Pizza Rat, NYC. 18 Nov 2023.

On Thanksgiving, I ran the entire five mile Turkey Trot in our neighborhood, which was not planned but I felt good and completed the whole race. This was my longest run since running a virtual San Francisco 10 mile in 2020.

In early December, I returned to LA for an end of the year series of meetings. Earlier in the week, I caught up with fellow alumni to see Wabash play a basketball game at Catholic University in DC.

We've been sending out Christmas cards, and we're sending holiday greetings to friends, family and colleagues near, far and wide for best wishes in the new year.

2024 looks to be just as active as 2023, and I have some milestones to celebrate in the New Year. Seasons greetings everyone.