First day of my 2021 Alaska trip, I would be climbing Matanuska Peak outside the city of Palmer, a grueling day hike that tested both my physical and mental capabilities.

I enjoyed last summer’s trip to Alaska so much that I decided to visit it again this year over Independence Day. The outbound flights followed the same routing as last year, with a different set of sceneries and stories.

Second weekend of June 2021. With summer calling, I decided to make an overnight trip to Virginia Beach for some typical summer fun. On the way there, I would be visiting historic Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in America and cradle of American civilization. It turned out that Virginia Beach was sort of underwhelming, so on the second day, I visited Chrysler Museum in downtown Norfolk instead.

Third day of 2021 Memorial Day weekend. We hiked to Dragon’s Tooth, a giant near-vertical rock along Appalachian Trail that’s also part of Virginia Triple Crown.

Second day of 2021 Memorial Day weekend. We hiked to McAfee Knob, a piece of rock sticking out of a cliff with stunning views, dubbed “most photographed point of the Appalachian Trail”.

First day of 2021 Memorial Day weekend. On our drive to Roanoke, Virginia, we visited the city of Lexington, Natural Bridge and Hanging Rock Raptor Observatory along the way.

After spending the weekend in Los Angeles, this was a cross-country flight back to Washington DC.

Sunday May 16, 2021. My other friends that lived around Los Angeles area were busy, so I spent the day between hiking and resting on the beach, before heading to Griffith Observatory for Los Angeles' skyline at night.

Saturday May 15, 2021. I joined a friend of mine in Los Angeles visiting Huntington Gardens.

A cross-country flight to Los Angeles on a weekend trip meeting with a few friends.