The bright side of having friends who live far away is that occasionally I get a chance to visit them. If I can't visit their cities, we meet somewhere in the middle. In 2013, I did a lot of traveling -- for bachelorette parties and weddings, to move and to reunite with friends. I'm still learning a lot about my camera and photography, but I tried my best to take good pictures along the way. Here are some favorite photos from the places I've visited in the last 12 months.

WASHINGTON, DC

AUSTIN, TX

MILWAUKEE, WI

LONG BEACH ISLAND, NJ

LUSTER, NORWAY

ÅRDAL, NORWAY

OSLO, NORWAY

GLOUCESTER, MA

LAKE WINNIPESAUKEE, NH

CHICAGO, IL

ST. LOUIS, MO

This year, I kept a running list of my favorite songs on a Spotify playlist. Out of over 40 tracks, these are my absolute top 10 that I still listen to on repeat. My favorite album of the year was Okkervil River's Silver Gymnasium, so let's start with them. In no particular order...

1. Okkervil River

"Down Down the Deep River" from The Silver Gymnasium