MY 2019 RECAP

If there was a theme to my 2019, it would be “#DoingThings”—the motto of one of my favorite brands, Outdoor Voices. #DoingThings to them means “moving your body and having fun with friends” and my 2019 was the epitome of that. This year was filled with weekend getaways. I was on the plane for quite a few times traveling across the country. Ever since moving to the West Coast I have had the opportunities to travel to nearby states, creating memories and #DoingThings with friends. Here are some highlights from a fulfilling year:

SPOTIFY WRAPPED

What’s a recap without posting my Spotify Wrapped of 2019? My Top Artist of 2019 is ODESZA and Artist of the Decade is The 1975. *pretends to be shocked*

LOS ANGELES

My coworker Anna and I took a week off to travel to LA. It was my first time in SoCal! Despite the unfortunate rain the whole time we were there, I had a great time checking out some iconic LA touristy spots and catching up with 2 of my college friends.

SANTA CRUZ

In April, I visited Santa Cruz for the first time for a weekend getaway. I soaked up some California sun while witnessing one of the most mesmerizing sunsets. This is now my go-to weekend getaway town.

I turned 23!

To celebrate my Jordan Year, I took a weekend road trip down to Monterey, Carmel-by-the-Sea and Big Sur with two of my closest friends Julia and Joe. If only words could describe how magnificent the Pacific Ocean is… The feeling driving along the curvy mountains with windows down and our favorite tracks blasting from the radio along PCH (Pacific Coast Highway) is indescribable. Shout out to my lovely coworkers who decorated my desk inspired by The Office, you know me too well.

Sf trolley party

My lovely friend/coworker Rishika hosted her birthday bash on a trolley back in June! I’ve always wanted to do this while I still live in SF. All of us were singing our hearts out along the Golden Gate Bridge during sunset. It was a day to remember.

LAKE TAHOE

I took a weekend trip to Lake Tahoe back in January, however I did not partake in skiing or outdoor sports. This time around it was summer. Joe and I, along with 2 others, drove up to Lake Tahoe to celebrate July 4. I lived up to the #DoingThings motto: moving your body and having fun with friends. The photos below speak for themselves.

SOLO TRIP TO SEATTLE

See https://www.minakwong.com/blog/solo-in-seattle.

ODESZA

To be honest, I was not particularly a huge fan of EDM music in college. Yes, I listened to EDM here and there but I didn’t pay much attention to the scene. Though ever since moving to the Bay Area, I’ve grown to love ODESZA and many other EDM artists. ODESZA’s music gives me euphoric and magical feelings–always putting me in a happy mood. Seeing their act live in LA back in July was without a doubt one of the highs of this year.

PHOENIX

Second time around in Arizona to visit my dear friends Marlon and Alnay! August in Phoenix was unbelievably HOT. But we were out and about #DoingThings in places such as Slide Rock State Park, Superstition Mountains and Old Town. Can’t wait to be back already!

VISTA LAS VEGAS

Celebrated my friend Katie’s 23rd birthday in Vegas! It was my first time in LV and boy did I have a great time. It was a cherry on top when my triplet best friends were also in town. Checked Kygo off my bucket list!

MUSIC FESTIVALS

Happy to check off Outside Lands and Austin City Limits from my festival checklist. I saw the god himself Hozier and Childish Gambino at OSL. In September I flew out to Austin to visit my best friend Julia and also to attend ACL. We somehow got backstage access to see Fisher’s set! We also saw LIZZO, Mumford and Sons and other amazing acts. I was freezing cold during OSL but dripping sweat at ACL. Weather is weird.

GETTING FEATURED ON IG

As an aspiring photographer, being recognized and featured from well-known Instagram accounts means a lot to me as it grows my confidence. Below are some posts that I have been featured in 2019. Many thanks to them!

I RAN A 5K!

Running a 5k may not seem much to some people but it was a huge accomplishment for me. I signed up one day on a whim and did not regret one bit. That was the most I’ve ran consistently. Running a little over 3 miles wasn’t too bad when the Golden Gate Bridge was my view! Shout out to Josh for waking up with me at the crack of dawn just to support me :) My goal is to attempt a 10k next year.

PACIFIC COAST HIGHWAY

Josh and I drove down to the Monterey area for a mini Holiday getaway. We lucked out with the weather, as it was absolutely beautiful along Pacific Coast Highway. The first day we visited Pebble Beach to see the 18th hole, saw a lot of cute pups and did the 17 mile drive. The second day we saw some adorable sea otters at the Monterey Bay Aquarium and hiked Point Lobos. The last day we enjoyed a fancy lunch at La Bicyclette. A great way to end the year :)

In retrospect, 2019 was good to me. I’ve grown a lot personally. I’ve traveled to states that I never imagined I would visit. I’ve built stronger relationships with friends who I care deeply about. And lastly, I’ve met someone special who I look forward to creating new memories with. Here’s to hoping 2020 to be just as great as this year by #Doing(more)Things.

ARIZONA

This post is way too overdue as it is almost a month since I visited Arizona but I was busy putting together a mini vlog which you’ll find at the end of this post. I made a promise to myself that I will take advantage of my current location and visit more cities on the West Coast, so I decided to reach out to my good friend Marlon who just moved to Scottsdale, AZ. And with that, I didn’t have to spend Thanksgiving week all by myself and we could cross the Grand Canyon off our bucket list together.

Day 1

Marlon and I woke up early to drive to Sedona, which is about a 2-hour drive from Scottsdale. We hiked the Cathedral Rock for about 1-2 hours. The best part of any traveling stories is the chance to meet new people from around the world. We also overheard funny things that strangers say along the hike which make our hike even better. It’s a good thing I was exercising regularly, but that hike was nothing comparing to what I had to hike next at the Grand Canyon.

After our short hike we drove all the way up to Page. We first visited Lake Powell and took some pictures along the way. Next, we drove a little pass Utah to visit the Lone Rock Beach. It was a super cool place considering we were the only 2 humans there with a sole rock in the middle of the beach. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to drop in on one of the Antelope Canyon tours; however, Horseshoe Bend made up for it. Words cannot describe how BEAUTIFUL that place is. It was out of the world beautiful. Although it was crowded with tourists, I was in awe. And I still am.

Day 2

This was a big day for us as it was both our first time visiting the Grand Canyon! We woke up fairly early again to get the day started by driving from Page to the Grand Canyon. One thing I also enjoyed during this trip was the drive around the state. Arizona is quite different from other states that I’ve been to because you can see super far from one town to another since the state is mostly flat. Marlon and I would blast road trip music while staring at beautiful mountains, rocks and cacti. It felt as though we were in a cliche automobile commercial.

The park ranger from the Grand Canyon suggested us to hike the South Kaibab trial down to the Skeleton Point. It was great for a one-day hike. We took his advice and took off from the visitor center. We started our hike at around noon. It took us about 3 hours to hike down to near the Skeleton Point and decided to hike back up before it got dark. Our hike took us about 5 hours to complete. It consisted of us stopping for photos, eating food/snacks we bought beforehand, and slipping and tripping (my poor buttocks and Marlon’s knee suffered a bit). This was undeniably one of the most intense exercises I’ve done. Hiking back up was more challenging than I thought but I’m proud of my legs for staying strong. Shout out to Marlon for carrying my bag at one point because I was so out of breath.

Day 3

It was Thanksgiving Day. Marlon and I planned to cook a not-so-traditional dinner that included steaks. But before we prepared our dinner we took a short trip to Hole-in-the-Rock in Phoenix. Literally as the name says it was a huge rock with a hole in it. There wasn’t much of a sunset and that place was filled with tourist but nonetheless I was glad I could end my trip with some cool rocks and cacti.

I’ve lived in cities all my life; I never thought that looking at mountains and rocks would give me such joy and satisfaction. This trip had taught me to appreciate our planet and nature even more. It had also brought me new perspectives as being in big cities could feel jaded at times. There was no better way to spend my Thanksgiving other than hiking one of the most beautiful places on earth with some good company. I’m already itching to visit the Antelope Canyon next!

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