2018: A look back at the year by Todd DeFeo %%sep%% %%sitename%%

Toronto — Travel to learn. Pick up something new about the world around you. Maybe it'll change your perceptions; perhaps it'll reaffirm them. It can be to some faraway land on the other side of the globe. Maybe it's the place next door. Just keep moving and exploring. And take a photo to remember the moment. (Photo by Todd DeFeo/The DeFeo Groupe)

The Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge between Staten Island and Brooklyn as seen in January 2018. (Photo by Todd DeFeo/The DeFeo Groupe)

The North Coast of Curaçao as see in August 2018. (Photo by Todd DeFeo/The DeFeo Groupe)

Flamingos at Columbus Zoo and Aquarium as seen in February 2018. (Photo by Todd DeFeo/The DeFeo Groupe)

There are some places in the world that need few words of introduction because of their sheer awesomeness. Niagara Falls is one of them. (Photo by Todd DeFeo/The DeFeo Groupe)

The USS Constitution in Boston as seen in September 2018. (Photo by Todd DeFeo/The DeFeo Groupe)

Southeastern Railway Museum Steam — Steaming up a locomotive takes a lot of work. But, the process makes for some great photos. The Southeastern Railway Museum in Duluth is hosting a guest steam locomotive in September and October. (Photo by Todd DeFeo/The DeFeo Groupe)

Just hanging out at Zoo Atlanta in October 2018. (Photo by Todd DeFeo/The DeFeo Groupe)

The view of New York Harbor from One World Observatory atop One World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan on June 21, 2018. (Photo by Todd DeFeo/The DeFeo Groupe)

The end of the year provides an opportunity to look back. It’s a moment to reflect on places visited, connections rekindled and even opportunities missed.

The end of the year also provides an opportunity for people to share their social media years in review. But the success of a year is not measured in Facebook posts; measure success in the richness of experiences however it best fits you.

A social media platform cannot gauge the level, nor can it adequately recap the past year. That is particularly true if you don’t like your life on social media.

Personally, 2018 was a difficult year. But, as Richard Nixon famously said, “Only if you have been in the deepest valley, can you ever know how magnificent it is to be on the highest mountain.”

I find solace in travel. I take comfort in learning more about the places and the people that helped make this crazy world the crazy place it is today.

Perhaps, it’s returning to a favorite destination and finding out something new about it. Maybe it’s traveling somewhere new and taking it all that it has to offer. It could even be exploring places closer to home.

Photographs provide a snapshot of a moment in time. I take a lot of pictures, so I suppose I have a lot of memories of particular moments. Sometimes, a lot of these moments look alike.

With an eye toward 2019, here are a few of my favorite “travel” pictures from 2018.