Project Jet Away: Travel Year in Review: 2014 Most Memorable Moments (Part I)

As I reflect on my professional, personal, and travel achievements for 2014 my heart is filled beyond measure. Professionally, I was recently promoted in my role as a finance professional, 4 weeks ago. This was a goal that I’ve been working on for the past year and a half. Personally, I just completed an intense 10-month prep program for women intending to pursue their MBA degree. In regards to traveling, I did not get to blog as much as I would have liked to this past year. However, I still was able to dedicate some joyous time to this passion of mine and do some traveling within the U.S.

Vizcaya Museum and Garden in Miami, FL

At the very start of the year (January 2nd to be exact), I was a guest at the Vizacaya Museum and Garden. I was home for the holidays and ready to enjoy some much needed mother-daughter time. This hidden gem reminded me of my time in Versailles in France. The exquisite attention to detail in the architecture and the breathtaking view from the backyard was enough to make me forget I was in the fast paced city of Miami, where the nightclubs don’t close until 6am. My mother and I ended the day by strolling around the garden, with a fabulous mini photo-shoot session to go with it.

My beautiful mother

Women’s Travel Fest in NYC

I attended the very first Women’s Travel Fest hosted by Kelly Lewis, founder of Go!Girl Guides, in early March. This was a one-day event that aimed to inspire and empower women to travel the world, and to help create newfound travel connections. This absolutely made my day! Not only did I meet up with other travel bloggers I’ve connected with via social media, I also made some great connections with travel magazines and websites. The highlight of this day was meeting Samantha Brown the world renowned traveler from the Travel Channel. She was the one who helped me to expand my view on international travel at the tender age of 18. On the flip side, this was also the day that I heard the very emotional, chilling and surreal story of Sarah Shourd, the American hiker and journalist who was held hostage in solitary confinement for 410 days by Iranian forces. This is a story that all female travelers should know about.

Samantha Brown and I

Sarah Shourd being interviewed

Summer, summertime (In my Will Smith voice)

Sometimes getting on a plane, train or taking a road trip isn’t always possible. And this was exactly my dilemma during the spring and early part of the summer. Luckily, I live in the city that never sleeps. I’m a firm believer in creating the life and adventure that you want and desire. No way was I going to spend a summer bored, when being a tourist in your own city is so doable. I finally visited The Cloisters, the medieval museum and garden has been opened since 1938. It’s apart of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MET) and you can take the A train going uptown to 190^th. The weekend of my birthday, I crossed something off my bucket list and vision board. I treated myself to a solo helicopter ride. Thanks Groupon! Viewing the city of New York and the Statue of Liberty from such high angles I did, definitely has me wanting more. I would much rather take another helicopter ride than go skydiving again {more on this later}. Last but not least, it wouldn’t be a summer without trying new brunch spots.