2021 Travel Recap
2021 was the year of getting back to travel. For me, I spent the majority of the year exploring my new home state of Colorado. From the Rocky Mountains, to Red Rocks, to the western slope, this state has SO much to offer.
But the year was so much more than travel. From publishing my first book “The Power of Pivoting - How to Embrace Change and Create a Life You Love” that became a bestselling new release, to becoming an official business with Pivoting Productions LLC. the travel show has expanded to so much more than I ever could have imagined! Let’s take a look at this year’s biggest moments.
JANUARY
I started the year with my first trip to Rocky Mountain National Park. My friend Natasha came to visit from Los Angeles and we hiked the Panorama trail and Wildwood Canyon near Denver, and then headed to Estes Park to the Rocky Mountains and hiked to Dream Lake which lives up to its incredible name.
FEBRUARY
In February, it was more Colorado exploring. We filmed another episode of Monica Goes around Red Rocks Park and Amphitheater. While I’d been to the concert venue, I had yet to explore some of the trails around Red Rocks. We took Millie for some winter fun.
MARCH
March kicked off some exciting new ventures with the start of Denver Diner Duo and my book launch! Steve and I decided to start a food show to combine our love of finding new restaurants and good food with putting together short form videos on social media. It was a great way for us to start discovering new hidden gems around Denver. With the book launch scheduled for April 1st, March became the month of pre-sales and promotion. We ended the month with the official book launch party!
APRIL
BOOK LAUNCH! April was all things “The Power of Pivoting”. The official book launch was April 1st and the month was full of podcast interviews and online promotion. We also continued eating our way around Colorado and finished off the month with a surprise birthday party for Steve in Vail with his friends.
MAY
When I wrote the book, I never really planned on it becoming anything other than a tool to help some people and putting my story out in the world. What I didn't see, was it becoming a big part of my business. In May, I hired a business coach and ended up hosting my first Pivot with Purpose Mastermind and began planning my first retreat. I officially became a business by registering everything under Pivoting Productions LLC. April and May were really business-focused. I did get one episode in, filming the Cedar Gulch trail in Golden Colorado.
JUNE
At the end of June, I headed out to film my first two big episodes of the year in the Western Slope of Colorado. The region around Grand Junction is full of adventure and wine! I joined two friends from high school to hike around the area and then filmed a second episode at the Colorado National Monument for a day of solo hiking. It felt amazing to get back out and start filming.
JULY
July was spent mostly close to home, exploring local trails, filming commercials, and working on the business. Steve and I took a trip to Michigan to visit my family.
AUGUST
In August, things started picking up and getting wild. I had my first big campaign of the year and worked with Buena Park California to create content. I had a blast filming at the amusement parks and enjoying all of the incredible food. I was deep in the throughs of retreat planning and we finished the month by filming the Colorado Springs Comic Con.
SEPTEMBER
RETREAT!!!! September was all about the Pivot with Purpose Retreat. I was so honored to host my first mindset/adventure retreat and had the most incredible women join. We went rock climbing, rappelling, horseback riding, and white water rafting. It was beyond my wildest dreams! When I returned, Steve and I headed to Jefferson, Colorado to film at the Triangle Cabin and at the end of the month, I had the honor of speaking at the Outdoor Media Summit and exploring Estes Park.
OCTOBER
I started the month of October with a solo hiking day in Rocky Mountain National Park to Mills Lake. We continued filming episodes of Denver Diner Duo and finished the month off at the Magic of the Jack O’ Lanterns festival in Denver.
NOVEMBER
November really threw me back in the travel world! I started the month off with the inaugural sailing of the Celebrity Apex cruise ship off the coast of Florida. We took the ship out for two days of luxurious cruising. As soon as I returned, I began singing with a new cover band the Custom Shop Band and then headed off to Arizona for the Adventure Travel Trade Association.
As a media member, we had 3 days of pre-adventure that we spent biking and kayaking around Tempe and the Superstition Mountains, then flying over the Grand Canyon and hiking into the park. Finally, the day before the conference began, I had a jeep and wine tour. The three day ATTA Conference was an amazing way to meet with destinations around the world and set up some future trips!
From Arizona, I flew to California to speak and emcee at the CTN Animation Expo. It was a fun-filled weekend of meeting the incredible animators making the world’s biggest films.
The final weekend in November was meant to be an exciting Christmas weekend filming in Estes Park. Unfortunately on the first night I ended up falling and breaking my foot which put a damper on any end-of-the-year adventures, but…
DECEMBER
December ended up filled with my biggest surprises yet!!! Determined to not let my broken foot stop me, we headed to Colorado Springs to film at the LEGO Conference Brickfest and went to a Broncos/Lions game with my family.
After a month of Christmas festivities, Steve and I headed back to Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park where HE PROPOSED! We celebrated with my family and then headed to Steve’s hometown in Florida to celebrate with his side and share some even more exciting news…