342/365: I took an evening flight to California, but spent the day reviewing our itinerary and decided to book an extra night in Pioneertown. I was exploring the town via Google Earth and came across this lady photographing what we later discovered to be (allegedly) the most photographed post office in the US.

343/365: California really knows how to do diners, and Jim and Tag took me to one of their favorites, Pann's, before Jim and I hit Route 66 en route to the Wigwam Motel (with a few stops in between, including the Donut Hole).

344/365: We woke up in a Wigwam (my second!), drove around the Salton Sea and explored Salvation Mountain.

345/365: Our room in the Pioneertown Motel was so wonderful, Pappy and Harriet's was a delight and the desert sunset was incredible.

346/365: We spent the day exploring some desert art and took a little hike around Joshua Tree.

347/365: Back in LA, Tag took me to another excellent diner and dropped me off to explore Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

348/365: LA continued to charm me with its diners (and proper hashbrowns!), and we squeezed in some last minute sightseeing before my afternoon flight back to New York.

349/365: New York is always so magical in the snow!

350/365: I met three friends deep in Brooklyn for dinner at Tommaso's and a little tour of the Dyker Heights Christmas lights.

351/365: One of my favorite new ornaments this year. I just couldn't pass up this happy ham leg.

352/365: My Christmas ham.

353/365: I couldn't pass up this souvenir from our stay at the Wigwam Motel.

354/365: I tried my best to get this little turd to use a cat bed, but she blatantly refused. She prefers to lay on my coats and scarves instead (I need to stock up on lint rollers).

355/365: I only have a few Christmas records, but they were on repeat for most of December.

356/365: I finished my Goodreads reading challenge for the year (a bit early)! I read 52 books in 2017, and this was number 52.

357/365: I didn't take a photo, but we went and saw The Post and it was incredible! Very relevant and of course Meryl hits it out of the park.

358/365: My mom and I had brunch at the Russian Tea Room and then saw the Rockettes at Radio City (our first time!).

359/365: I had a very Meryl Christmas, thanks in part to this wonderful ornament from my friend Shannon that I unwrapped on Christmas morning.

360/365: My mom loves a good joke present on Christmas and this year she told me that she had wanted to buy me another string of sausages, but they were sold out so she made her own. I know she expected me to trash them, but I love them so much I'm keeping them.

361/365: I guess I collect stuffed hot dogs now!

362/365: Another excellent skull to add to my collection (thanks Mike!).

363/365: I was waiting forever in line at the post office, getting annoyed that someone behind me kept brushing up against me—until I finally turned around and saw that it was this floofy dog.

364/365: Man, it's been cold but it was nice to wake up to this snowy scene—especially knowing that I didn't have to go outside all day.

365/365: Ending the year right with breakfast at our usual diner and this surprised little syrup container.

If you're reading this, congratulations! You survived 2017! What a shit year, globally, but I personally balanced out some of the political garbage fires with some real delights. I won't bore you with a full recap (that's why I bore you with this blog all year long!) but I'm just hoping for more of the same in 2018—more diners, abandoned places, roadside attractions, novelty architecture, silly road trips, Muffler Men and city adventures.

I mostly kept up with my 365 Project, although there's always room for improvement (especially with my counting haha) and I see no reason not to continue it in 2018. Here are a few of the bigger highlights from 2017, if you're interested:

The Second Avenue Subway finally opened!
Prospect Park in the snow
The Women's March in Washington
Exploring the abandoned Staten Island Farm Colony
My first abandoned psychiatric hospital
The Big Duck!
O range World
An abandoned amusement park
Dachshund fest
We (barely) survived the Inca Trail!
The coolest cemetery I've ever seen
I moved back to Manhattan
I saw a lot of the World's Largest things
I finally caught the Unisphere fountains at night
I bought things from buildings shaped like what they sell
I finally made it to South of the Border
I squeezed in one last 2017 road trip in December

✨ Here's to an even better 2018! ✨

Project 365: Days 342-365