Will McGough

January: Holy Shit Moments, Arctic Circle, Southeast Asia

Happy 2014 from Wake and Wander! I hung out in Philadelphia, watching fireworks over Penn’s Landing on New Year’s Eve (among other celebratory activities) and crawling around the city for the annual Mummer’s Parade on January 1st.  Hope everyone had fun ringing in the new year in their own way.

With the holidays done and gone, it’s time to get rolling in 2014. And I can’t think of a better way to celebrate than to 1) recap the best moments of last year 2) revisit a partially accomplished goal from last January and 3) take my first ever trip to Southeast Asia.

Wake and Wander’s ‘Holy Shit Moments’ of 2013

Conundrum Hot Springs near Aspen, Colorado, the highest elevated natural hot springs in North America at 11,200 ft. Photo by Wake and Wander.
Conundrum Hot Springs near Aspen, Colorado, the highest elevated natural hot springs in North America at 11,200 ft and one of Wake’s Holy Shit Moments of 2012. Photo by Wake and Wander.

Swimming with pigs and standing behind a plane as it took off highlighted my top moments of 2012. Experiences in Sedona, Aspen (shown above), Alaska, Quebec City and Macedonia also made the list. Next week, I’ll release the best moments of 2013.

Arctic Norway: Lofoten and Tromso

Fishing village in Lofoten, Norway.
Fishing village in Lofoten, Norway.

This above fishing village in Lofoten sure looks beautiful, but it is doubtful the light will be anywhere near that bright when I arrive next week. After spending a night in Oslo, I’ll head north into the Arctic Circle, similar in approach to the trip I did last year to Kiruna, Sweden. The days will be short with only a few hours of sunlight, but I expect some amazing colors in the sky (as it was in Sweden last year). Speaking of amazing colors, the main goal of the trip is to chase down the Northern Lights. I saw a very brief glimpse of them last year in Kiruna, and I have my fingers crossed that 2014 is the year I catch them in full tilt.

Somewhere in Southeast Asia

Map of Southeast Asia. Where will Wake land?
Map of Southeast Asia. Where will Wake land?

At the end of the month, I’ll spent about ten days exploring Southeast Asia. The schedule right now is up in the air, as I only have my plane ticket at this point. More details to come when the specifics and logistics become clear, but regardless of where I end up, it will be monumental for me in that it is my first travel writing trip to Asia. I’m currently vetting what is feasible given my limited time.

Where will Wake land? Stay tuned for more details come mid-January.

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