So this post may be stretching the “trying new things” premise, since I’m writing it after my third time attending the oh-so-wonderful Naples Craft Beer Fest. My sister “tried it” for the first time this year, though, at my insistence, and she in turn insisted that it would be worth writing and reading about, so here goes…
This past weekend, on Saturday February 29 in the year 2016, I saw my first manatee. And then my second, and then my third, and then my 100th. There were hundreds in Manatee Park in Fort Myers this cool (for Florida) yet sunny weekend.
I’d never even seen a manatee in captivity and definitely wasn’t sure what to expect from this trip. Friends had talked about the fun experience at Manatee Park, but after two and a half years living in Naples Florida, I’d yet to make the trip. Inspiring myself with this blog (go the extra mile to try the new things, Katy!), as well as a long-awaited-for visit from my mother, I finally did it. I tried the new thing. And it was worth it.
I’ve always been a lover of history. My first solo foray into history was via the American Girl Doll books featuring Felicity, the plucky revolutionary war era red-head who rode horses and fought for what she believed in. Side note – I took horseback riding lessons for three years in middle school in part due to her inspiration – something young girls today will not be able to benefit from. This author sums up my feelings on the American Girl Doll changes well, and you can read more background on the subject here.
Just a few weeks before the end of 2015, I squeezed in one of the deliciously fun nerdy things I’ve done, maybe ever. During a holiday weekend in NYC with the aforementioned pizza-loving-man of mine, we bought tickets to a pizza tour in Greenwich Village. I heard about Scott’s Pizza Tours on the first-ever episode of the “An Even Better You” podcast by Mental Floss (read about my semi-newfound 2015 podcast obsession here), and immediately knew that it was the activity for us.
After years spent in my dear US of A, I had the opportunity to satisfy my international travel bug twice in 2015. One of those trips included a lot of new things – my first visit to Nicaragua and to Central America in general, and my first travel adventure with a romantic partner.
Traveling is exhilarating and eye-opening and life-changing and fun. It is also exhausting and uncomfortable, sometimes dangerous, and hard.
I’ve traveled with friends, with acquaintances, and by myself. This time, though, I traveled with a romantic partner, my pizza-loving man.
