Travel 2009: A Year for the Home Fires

Tonight, people will say goodbye to 2009. Don't let the door hit you in the ass.
A tough year in many respects, 2009 was a year to stay relatively close to home. Many of us, despite the wanderlust in our hearts, did just that.
The stay-cation became an accepted norm. In New York, the stay-cation is no raw deal. People pay good money to get here; we don't have to sink the airfare or hotel cost to see a Broadway show or visit the Met.
In more certain times, we take one big trip out of the country and several domestic trips every year. But we only left the borders of the city a couple of times, though we did reach the left coast once.
The moment my job was assured, we spent a week in California, driving down Highway 101 and spending some time in both endcaps, San Francisco and Los Angeles.
In August, we went to Milwaukee for a week, since we skipped it in 2008 in favor of Austin. Milwaukee is my adopted hometown and 2009 was a year for going home.
Not everyone confined themselves to the continental US. Good friends went to Turkey and Greece, another just headed to India.
Where, if anywhere, did you go in 2009?

Austin, Texas

In August, Gene and I did a little off-season traveling to Austin, Texas.

We knew for certain that Austin's premier draw--the annual March South by Southwest (SXSW) festival--would not be our scene anyway. It would be like going to New Orleans during Mardi Gras; there's enough action without the festival taking it to a sensory-overload level.

We went to see live music, visit our friend Suzanne and to feel just how darn hot it gets in Texas in August. Posted just now because of computer breakdowns that began during the trip, here it is--the Austin recap.