A look back at 2019 travels: Texas, Florida, New York, Washington and New Mexico

Texas, Florida, New York, Washington and New Mexico. With the exception of a short sojourn to the Florida Keys in May, tropical travels took a backseat for me in 2019. Instead, I visited parts of the U.S. that were completely new to me. Most of them focused, at least in part, on wine regions.

April 2019, Fredericksburg, Texas

An April 2019 trip to Fredericksburg, Texas, often referred to as “Hill Country,” included visits to several wineries included in the area of Fredericksburg and Gillespie County that boast more than 40 wineries and tasting rooms. Second only to Napa Valley, California, as the fastest growing U.S. wine destination, Hill Country is also known as “Bluebonnet Country.”

I was familiar with these native wildflowers since I lived in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area for five years and enjoyed seeing them again in full bloom throughout the countryside, as well as at the largest working wildflower farm in the country.

Visits to the Texas White House at the LBJ Ranch, the National Museum of the Pacific war and a Pioneer Village, showcasing the area’s German heritage, were also part of the trip.

You can read my article, which includes suggestions of where to stay and dine, on the Food Wine Travel magazine website:

Fredericksburg, Texas: Wildflowers and Wine (Peaches, too!) in Texas Hill Country.

May 2019, Hawks Cay Resort, Florida Keys

May travels started with a return trip to Hawks Cay Resort in the Florida Keys, which had reopened following an extended closure due to damage from Hurricane Irma in September 2017.

I was able to once again interact with the bottlenose dolphins in the ocean-fed saltwater lagoon they call home at the Dolphin Connection based at the resort. Sunset cruises, SNUBA, scuba-diving, stand-up paddleboarding and kayaking are among the activities guests can partake in at Hawks Cay.

Learn more by reading my article on Getting on Travel:

Reimagined Hawks Cay Resort in the Florida Keys: Better than ever.

May 2019, Southern Finger Lakes, New York

The following week, I traveled to New York to first attend the annual conference of the North American Travel Journalists Association (NATJA) in Syracuse. The conference was followed by a three-day press trip to the Southern Finger Lakes, another burgeoning wine country. While my visit concentrated on the Keuka Lake region, the Finger Lakes are home to more than 140 wineries.

Visit New York’s most award-winning winery, Dr. Konstatin Frank Winery, the oldest in the region, Pleasant Valley Wine Country, established in 1960, and newer ones, award-winning in their own right, that feature German-style and French-style wines. There’s a craft beverage trail, too. Link to article is below.

Discover Keuka Lake Wine Country in New York’s Southern Finger Lakes

The article first appeared in the digital ISSUU version of Food, Wine, Travel magazine and later on its companion website.

I continued coverage with a second article on the FWT magazine site with:

Summer Splendor in New York’s Southern Finger Lakes

Besides the wineries, there is much more to discover in this part of central New York state. It’s Mark Twain Country, where he summered for 20 years, wrote many of his well-known works, and is buried.

You’ll also read about my visit to the Corning Museum of Glass, where I made my own glass flower, and hiking the Gorge Trail at Watkins Glen State Park, home to 19 waterfalls!

June 2019 – Tri-Cities Washington

I had not had the pleasure of traveling to Washington state until 2018, when I was able to explore both Whidbey Island while attending a travel conference and San Juan Island in northwest Washington. You can read about that trip here: “Sip, savor and sigh on San Juan Islands.”

I also spent time in Seattle following the conference. You can read about it here:

Hotel Vintage Seattle: A haven for wine-lovers; pet-friendly, too!

And a Tropical Travel Girl post on the Seattle Aquarium: Indoor Oceans: Seattle Aquarium

So, when I was invited to Tri-Cities, Washington, the following year, I jumped at the chance to experience another area within Washington state that is very focused on wine!

I learned more than I ever thought possible about wine on the trip, created a fused glass plate at one of the wineries, which is also home to a glass studio, and even visited the historic Reactor B site in Hanford, built during WWII as part of the Manhattan Project to develop the atomic bomb.

Read my article about the heart of what has become the second-largest wine-producing state:

Exploring the Heart of Washington Wine Country

November 2019 – Albuquerque, New Mexico

But I still had more traveling to do before the year was out… In November, my husband, Stephen, accompanied me on a press trip with other writers to Albuquerque, New Mexico, before we went on to Santa Fe to attend a conference of the International Food, Wine, Travel Writers Association.

A hot air balloon ride, watching the sun rise over the Sandia Mountains, was just one of the highlights of our time there.

A stop at the International Balloon Museum, attending a flamenco performance, eating great New Mexican food, and visiting several award-winning wineries (who knew New Mexico had good wine?), are all covered in my article:

Expect the unexpected in Albuquerque, New Mexico

---

2020 has been a very different travel year for all of us. The trips and conferences I had planned have all been cancelled due to COVID-19. Road trips and domestic travel have again become the popular option, so any of the destinations I visited in 2019 would be great ideas for your future travels.

For more information, visit the tourism websites below:

Fredericksburg, Texas

Florida Keys

Corning and the Southern Finger Lakes, New York

Mark Twain Country, New York

Tri-Cities, Washington

Albuquerque, New Mexico