After a decade of working with little time to take deep breaths, I went traveling for much of 2013. This included international trips to Barbados, Thailand and Malaysia and domestic travels to Hawaii, Maine, Los Angeles, Colorado, Chicago, New York City and Philadelphia, which included a transcontinental road trip and a transcontinental rail journey.

Taking this time off has allowed me time to relax and recharge and work on some consulting and independent projects.

Here’s been some of what I’ve been working on …

Lincoln Highway Guide: My largest endeavor was traveling the Lincoln Highway, the nation’s first transcontinental motor roadway linking New York City and San Francisco. The Lincoln Highway Association marked the 100th anniversary of the road this summer. I documented my travels at LincolnHighwayGuide.com.

Although I finished publishing my detailed travelogue from my three-week roadtrip travels this fall, this is an ongoing project. In fact, I’ve revisited portions of the route, particularly in Pennsylvania and Ohio, which are on the route between Washington, D.C., and my parents’ home in Michigan. There’ll be more to come.

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Soapstone Valley: There’s an arm of Rock Creek Park near my apartment in Washington, D.C., that’s in store for some major changes in the coming years. D.C. Water will need to rehabilitate its aging storm sewer that traverses the Soapstone’s creek at multiple points, necessitating the removal of trees along the path of the storm sewer. I’ve been photographing Soapstone periodically since late 2011 to document this scenic corner of the nation’s capital. Parts of this natural landscape are set to see some big changes.