Alas, our 2021 recap is complete and it’s time to start planning our 2022 goals. This year, our 2021 recap post went live in March and we added to it throughout the year. I found this method worked better for me since the memories were a bit more vivid. Even though we didn’t end up going on any international trips last year (our trip to The Bahamas was canceled due a spike in COVID numbers), we managed to squeeze in some really great trips.
A Condensed Version of our 2021 Recap
- Day trips to St. Augustine to visit the St. Augustine Pirate & Treasure Museum, and Alligator Farm.
- Road trips to Georgia to visit the sensational Cumberland Island National Seashore, Fort Frederica, St. Simons Island, Georgia Sea Turtle Center, and Summer Waves Water Park.
- Trips to the Florida springs (De Leon Springs, Alexander Springs, Gilchrist Blue Springs) for a bit of paddle boarding.
- A week long stay at Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park in Golden Valley, NC.
- Went kayaking in bioluminescent water at Merritt Island.
- Took a trip to Legoland Florida for the twins birthday.
- Went on a road trip to northwest Georgia with stops at the Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park and Snow Island at Margaritaville at Lanier Island.
Of course, this is just a super condensed version of the post. There were tons of other adventures crammed in between those trips! Check out the full write up! Now… on to our 2022 goals!
2022 Goals and Plans
We have a handful of trips already on the books for 2022 (fingers crossed!).
Legoland Florida
In January, we plan on visiting Legoland Florida again for Smiley’s 8th birthday. Each year we let the kids choose between an adventure or a party and after spending time at the Legoland Hotel for her brother’s 4th birthday, she decided she wants to return for her birthday. In the past we’ve celebrated her birthday at Disney World.
Hitting the High Seas
We haven’t left the country in nearly three years! After canceling and rescheduling cruises, we’re hoping to hit the Caribbean for Spring Break. We’re scheduled to visit Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos and Amber Cove, Dominican Republic. I’m super excited about visiting the Dominican Republic- this will be country #19 for me.
The Mountains Are Calling
This summer we’re heading back to Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park in Golden Valley, NC for another week of water sports, hiking, water parks, campfires, and camping fun. Our family had so much fun visiting there in 2021, that we booked our return trip before we even left.
I’m hoping to spend some time in some nearby caverns (Linville Caverns) while we’re up there. Note to self: Chestoa Viewpoint and Linville Falls are also nearby
Day Trips
We’re so fortunate that we live in a place that has so much to offer. I mean…we literally live where people vacation! Here are some places I want to check out in 2022.
- Visit at least 3 new springs. Our family loves kayaking, paddle boarding, and swimming, so this is an easy, enjoyable day trip for us.
- Spend some time in Gainesville. There are a couple of places in The Swamp that I want to take the kids: Florida Museum of Natural History, Cade Museum for Creativity, Paynes Prairie, and go on a shark tooth hunting expedition with Mudslingers.
- Visit at least 2 National Park Sites. I’m a history nerd and the kids love the freedom of running around in the woods or exploring old forts. I’d like to add a couple of NPS sites to the kids list of places they’ve been.
The Kids 2022 Goals for Travel
Smiley
Scoop
Stinky
To visit Legoland Florida. This is no surprise considering she is an adrenaline junkie! Seriously, nothing scares this kid!
To visit the beach. Scoop is our water baby, so it’s no shock that he wants to hit the sand this year. When asked if he wanted to go to a new beach or an old beach he said, “all the beaches.”
To go to the mountains. Again, this isn’t a surprise. Stinky loves hiking, climbing, and spending time outdoors. He also equates the mountains with a trip to Yogi’s Jellystone Park where we visited last summer.
More 2022 Goals
- Add a new state to our list of places we’ve been. Since the kids were adopted in the midst of COVID, they haven’t gotten a ton of states under their belts. So far they’ve only visited Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina. It would be nice to add another state to that list.
- Plan our Christmas Trip. We’ve decided to start gifting the kids experiences for Christmas. Last year…however…they still managed to get a full Christmas alongside their Christmas trip. The overall goal is to cut back on the material gifts and focus more on family time and life experiences. We’ll try to do better in 2022. Some ideas that I’ve been bouncing around are Great Wolf Lodge in Williamsburg (with a day trip to Colonial National Historical Park and Jamestown) or to see the Ice Castles in Utah.
- Accrue airline miles. This year we’ll continue to rack up airline miles.
- Increase followers by 10%. This year I removed about 1500 followers from our Instagram accounts because the accounts were inactive or spammy. I’d like to build back up our Insta audience by 10% or to 4290 followers.
- Increase traffic by 50% (23,000+).
- Create 12 new YouTube Videos. This year we’ve been adding to our YouTube channel. Now that the kids are older, we’ll be able to include more dialogue, Q&A’s etc.
Resolutions
My resolution of the blog is to increase traffic and to stop treating 5 Suitcases like a hobby.
- Optimize old posts.
- Diversify blog income.
- Add content for at least 2 more states and 2 other countries throughout the year.
- Create an Email List.
Follow Along to See How We Do With our 2022 Goals
We hope that you’ll join us as we explore the world around us and continue to give our 3 littles a broad view of the world. Our plans include theme parks, taking them to their first 2 counties outside of the USA, spending lots of times in nature, and teaching them through travel and experiences.
If you aren’t already doing so, be sure to follow us on our socials! We use Instagram to share pictures, Reels and Stories about our day-to-day life. We also use Facebook and Twitter to share our new content.
We look forward to connecting with you and sharing our adventures with you in 2022.
