Looking Back on 2006

Well, here we are again at the end of another year, which of course is leaving yours truly a little nostalgic. You can be nostalgic about 12 months ago, can't you?

Anyway, another fantastic year is about to close out and I figured it was time to take a quick look back. The year still has some pretty big plans in it for me, but we have plenty of time to read about those in the coming days.

2006 started in much the same fashion as years past....drunk. Some might not consider that an accomplishment, but it's the small victories that count on here.

As most of you read about, February brought my first big trip of the year, a spur-of-the-moment trip to Berlin, Germany. Thanks to some cheap airfare, I was able to visit and had a really great time. Berlin is worth a visit, but three days is definitely enough. I was also able to take a day trip into Poland to a town called Poznan. While I only spent about 10 hours in Poland, I am already anxious for a return.

The following month, my biggest trip to date took place, 12 days in Argentina. I'd always wanted to visit Patagonia and due to less than anticipated vacation time, I scratched a trip to New Zealand and concentrated on hiking in South America. I am really glad things turned out the way they did. Argentina is such an amazing country and I really hope to be able to return. I met a ton of people and saw some of the most amazing landscapes on the planet.

In May, I had one of the most fun weekends of my life when we packed up an RV and headed to Louisville for the Kentucky Derby. The entire weekend was wild and best of all, Jeff Hughes became a local celebrity. The Derby is full of drinking and outright debauchery. The pictures were great, but they really don't do it justice. This is something you have to see for yourself.

May also brought another trip, my first within in the US. I cashed in some Sky Miles and flew out to Albuquerque, NM for Memorial Day Weekend. Like Argentina, New Mexico wasn't my first choice, but it was still a great trip. I did plenty of hiking, and got to see a lot of different landscapes, from deserts to canyons to mountains and heavy forest. I also hit a high point, literally, as I hiked to the top of 12,600' Santa Fe Baldy, a peak right outside of Santa Fe.

On June 9th, two major things happened, Jorge Pereira turned so old he qualified for Social Security, and the World Cup started in Germany. I got to experience a little of the hype when I was over there as it was getting huge coverage four months in advance. The stores were packed with merchandise.

It was a lot of fun watching the tournament all the way through to its final day...my birthday, on July 9th. What a fitting tribute FIFA had to Jorge and I to hold the World Cup exactly from his birthday to mine. Thanks FIFA!!

Later on in July I took another long weekend trip, this time to Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks in Wyoming. I've been fortunate to travel to some fantastic places so far in my life, but seeing the sun rise in Grand Teton National Park has to be up there with the best of them. The light just creeps over the horizon and lights up the clouds with a neon pink light. A few minutes later it reached the Tetons and turns them from a pink, to an orange glow. The whole show only lasts about 15 minutes, but it was incredible to witness.

For my final trip of the year, I went with some other people, my Dad and two brothers. We headed up to Alaska for 10 days in early September and had a fantastic time. It was weird being in Alaska, especially after I saw a sign in Tierra del Fuego National Park in Argentina that said it was over 17,000 km away. I was at each end of the America's this year and that was really incredible.

It was a fun trip with everyone, and we got to see Opie get out and hike through the tundra. He's still bitching about it if you really want to know how it went. At least he's not sore any more though. All in all, the trip was a blast, plus we learned a few new sayings after I got picked on relentlessly by Bruce, our charter boat captain.

The year wound down to a close after that, as I started another venture, graduate school. In February I was accepted to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's distance MBA program. I started in October with my first term and it ended up being a lot of fun. I have 15 classes to go and I can honestly say I'm looking forward to it. Of course, next term is finance, so I'm not looking as forward to that as I am a lot of other classes.

Aside from travel, 2006 was a huge year for something else, weddings. It was busy, with a ton of invitations finding their way to my mailbox. (If anyone, other than Sam and Kimberly, plans on getting married in 2007, can we please chat about it first?!)

I want to send out a huge congratulations to Carina & Scott, Kevin & Sarah, Dave & Vanessa, Robby & Julia, Stacy & Mike, Lee & Angel, and last but not least, Dimitri & Rebekah.

Huge congratulations of another kind go out to Ben and Candace on the birth of Liam Benjamin Curtis in September. Congratulations as well to Ty and Melissa on their twins this fall.

Well, that's about it for 2006. It was an all around phenomenal year for a lot of things and I thank all of you out there for making it such a great year. The only thing I'm sad about is that it must end, and with it, so ends the reign of Sam '06.

Poor Sam.