After a really nice holiday break, what a strange feeling to not be going back to work.  Rain storms have been drenching the Bay Area, and I’ve been reading the “Rain Turns Morning Commute Into a Disaster” headlines with guilty pleasure.

I spent Christmas in Denver and had a great time with my family.  Then on New Year’s Eve Marie and I confirmed that we’re getting old by staying in, ordering a pizza, and watching a movie.

The El Niño-driven rain that’s been snarling morning commutes also washed out a lot of photo opportunities, and the low fog continued to torment me by refusing to roll through the bay even once in December.  When it’s not raining I’ve been good about getting to my favorite spots for sunrise and sunset photos, but the conditions have been far from ideal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’ve also been refining my travel plans for the first half of 2016.  The lease on my San Francisco apartment expires in late February, and at that point I’ll move what little stuff I have left into storage and begin a new series of trips.  First I’ll drive to Denver, where I’ll leave my car, and then I’ll head overseas.  My current plan is to start with two of the countries in Southeast Asia I haven’t yet visited – the Philippines and Malaysia – followed by return visits to my favorite places in Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam.  And then I’m hoping to spend about a month in Mongolia, which has been high on my wish list for a while now.

It’s exciting – and a little nerve-wracking – to finally be pulling the trigger on plane tickets for another long international trip.