Leap Day 2012 edition: Happy 2nd anniversary to WITWIKK, plus pictures never before seen!

Time completely flew by since I've started WITWIKK back in March 2010; I even forgot to celebrate its 1 year anniversary as I didn't even notice.  Just goes to show how short life really is, and to appreciate every minute of it, good or bad.  (you don't know what good is until you've experienced the bad)  Do that thing you've always wanted to do but keep putting off.  Can it actually be done 10, 20 years from now?  Will you be around to do it?  You don't have to check off everything on that to-do list today; just pick one that's achievable in the near future, and GO TO IT!  Take baby steps if necessary.  By all means, be happy! </soap box> 

I wasn't sure if blogging would be fun, but it's become a favorite hobby of mine, sometimes staying up weeknights until the wee hours of the night just to get an entry published and paying for it by not being super productive at work. (even now as I write this on the weekend, I should be doing some work)  WITWIKK was to be my personal travel diary and a means to keep friends up to date on where I'd been as Facebook updates weren't adequate, but it had a bigger impact on people than I expected.  I've enjoyed reading your comments and flattered to learn that some of you are actually entertained by the entries, share the blog outside of Facebook, and even learn things from my travels!  I thank you for your readership, and please continue to spread the word.  The more exposure I get, the more it will help with my next endeavor, which was sparked by my friend Jennifer when she commented that she could take one of my blog entries and follow it for a future trip...why not???  Stay tuned.

One big change happened this year, as you may recall one character we shall never forget...good ol' "Babe". (and I don't mean the pig in the movie...)  For quite some time, I had referred to my beloved Kaleb via  nickname and did not post any pictures of him for privacy reasons.  Now that Babe has been unveiled, I want to dedicate the next section to Kaleb with all the photos I had wanted to post, dating from April 2010 until September 2011.  (warning, it may get sappy at times!)

Disneyland April 2010

previous version of this picture didn't include Kaleb

I believe!

Kaleb's birthday dessert event

yay, I get to post this!

Kaleb not fuzzed out anymore

Maui May 2010

the best shave ice ever at Ululani's

Kindling in Kaanapali

Kaleb's first luau

Yellowstone/Tetons July 2010
"I like your beard"

Artist's Point

hiking in the Tetons

stop taking pictures of my beard

Kaleb's beard at its bushiest before he shaved it off

Las Vegas August 2010

we had attended a dodgeball tournament with Kaleb's friends competing; it actually exists and not just in movies!

at Aria

Yosemite September 2010

precarious

at another Artist's Point

Caribbean cruise on Ruby Princess November 2010

chilling at Princess Cay

a self portrait on formal night

Las Vegas December 2010/Jan 2011

our first time at a Four Seasons (inside Mandalay Bay)

Cosmopolitan pool area

counting down to New Year amongst crowds on the street

getting him to laugh at Lotus of Siam

Hawaii April 2011

our very own white coral graffiti - "b" for babe

lounging around at Mauna Lani

I'm a very bad boy

sunset smooch

Peru May 2011

arriving in Cusco

with our tour guide Lucio

starting the Inca Trail

picturesque scenery

steps, steps, and more steps

making it to 14,000 feet

Kaleb was so sick that day :(

amazing landscape

up at 5am waiting for the last leg to Machu Picchu

we made it to the Sun Gate at dawn...

...then to Machu Picchu

mmm, helado and cerveza

in front of the Sanctuary Lodge with our hiking guide Jimmy

2nd day in Machu Picchu

this is why it's called Love Park

misty at the Lima Fountains

is it two people close up or a malformed goblet?

Yosemite September 2011

top of Clouds Rest

expansive granite landscape

Portland September 2011

interesting tree trunk at Multnomah Falls

perspective

waiting for the plane at PDX airport

Now we're all caught up in photos!

Next planned trip is to Phoenix at the end of March to watch a Giants spring training game. (well, technically I'm the one who's traveling, since Kaleb lives in the Phoenix area)  Then we hit Las Vegas in April for Kaleb's birthday.  Our last trip to Sin City together was June of last year, so we don't have to say "Again?!?!?"  Next trip after that is a 2-night cruise from San Francisco to Vancouver, BC on Star Princess in the middle of May to celebrate my 40th birthday with a huge bunch of girlfriends!  Hard to believe that it's the big 4-0.  Like I said, time is SHORT.  I'm already half expired, though I don't feel it.

Kaleb will be eligible for an eight-week sabbatical this summer, so we may have another set of travel adventures lined up if he is allowed to take it right away.  Hopefully my manager will let me take off several weeks at a time to accompany him.  Some ideas were to go to Australia and New Zealand, or Europe.

In the meantime, I will update WITWIKK with Time Machine entries, as I've only made it as far back as December 2009.  Thanks for reading my blog; hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoy writing it.  Cheers to many more years of WITWIKK!