YEAR IN REVIEW - 2011

It's been another busy year here at The World on Wheels. It's true we had some different goals at the beginning of the year but other work issues crept in and made us wonder if we'd even get out of the house.

Luckily, some things fell into place, others fell through...opening up new opportunities, and some wishes were fulfilled. 

Here are the new, and revisited, destinations we got to in 2011...

Yuma, Arizona - We started the year in this riverfront city in the southwest corner of the state.  Long a crossroads, Yuma sits up next to California and Mexico. A lot of history has happened here but the city is pretty overlooked by most travelers.  For us, it kicked off the entire year's worth of journeys.

Yuma, Arizona - 2011

Tucson, Arizona -  Coming here was supposed to be a warm getaway from a chilly wintertime Southern California and our first extended trip.  Didn't quite work out that way as we had freezing weather and even snow in this southwestern desert town.

Tucson, Arizona  - Part 1

Tucson, Arizona - Part 2

It was then a few months exploring our home surroundings of Southern California with a string of new reports and videos showcasing our home base...which is a big tourist magnet in itself.

Three Meals a Day, All Across L.A. - A video tour of three of our favorite L.A. restaurants accompanied by a report and list of several of our all time favorite places to eat here.

California's Hidden Wine Country explores the most endangered wine producing area of this great wine state. Just a handful of vintners stick it out against urban expansion in this historic area.

Pasadena, California - Several travel writers seemed to discover the Crown City, home of the Tournament of Roses, this year.  This is truly in my neighborhood so here is my take on the "other" city just north of Los Angeles proper.

L.A.'s Other Pier, Redondo Beach - Tim's favorite beach location makes for a great day along the water.

Southern California's Best Beaches - We're locals...want to know the best places along the ocean? Here are our picks.

In May, we realized a long-held goal...the only trip we had planned to take this year that actually came to fruition as we had envisioned.  A trip to the Napa Valley of Beer, Denver, so we could experience it in all it's boozy splendor and take in a baseball game at a new-to-us stadium.

Denver, Colorado - Part 1

Denver, Colorado - Part 2

Denver, Colorado - Part 3

Colorado Springs, Colorado - While we're in the neighborhood, why not extend it a little bit to Denver's southern neighbor, full of natural beauty and tall peaks.

June found Letty and I by ourselves for a few days while Tim was at camp. We spent it wine tasting among the elephant seals and watching calf roping in beautiful Paso Robles on California's Central Coast.

Paso Robles, California - Part 1

Paso Robles, California - Part 2

Paso Robles, California - Part 3

America's Breadbasket - When we retrieved Tim from Camp...who had to leave a day early due to sickness...our next adventure took us to another off-the-beaten track destination in California's Central Valley.

Monterey, California - Yes, we've been to Monterey plenty of times and have reported on it here too. This time, we get to know some lesser known parts of the peninsula, go for some wheelchair-acessible hikes, and even spend a day at the fair.

Monterey, California - Part 1

Monterey, California - Part 2

Laughlin, Nevada - this little gambling mecca on the Colorado River has not been on our radar for several years but a chance to see Vince Gill in concert brings us out to this desert oasis.

Laughlin - Part 1

Laughlin - Part 2

Route 66 - an out-of-the way detour on our way home provides fodder for a video and photo essay of one of the world's most historic and beloved roads.

The Dominican Republic - A yearning for a warm, tropical beach vacation started us on the road to this trip. Trying to find a wheelchair accessible beach led us to the DR. Our biggest trip of the year yielded a lot of information, pictures, video, and...most importantly...fun!

As of this writing, we only have one trip in the planning stages for next year but I'm sure many more opportunities will come along, after all, we'd only hoped to go on three trips last year but ended up with nine trips plus five new articles on our home area.

We hope you've enjoyed the trip this year and will continue to come along as we find some new adventures next year.

-Darryl
Copyright 2011 - Darryl Musick
All rights Reserved