Two Peas in a European Pod: One Week in Ireland & England — Day 1

It was only recently, as in within the last couple years, that I learned just how Irish I am. That sounds odd perhaps, but I’ve lived most of my life believing I was mostly Polish. That may still be true, but according to data from MyHeritage, my maternal grandmother was 94.1% Irish, Scottish, and Welsh, which no doubt means some of that Irish blood runs through me, as well. Armed with this information, I set out for my newly-realized ancestral homeland in late March 2024, looking to connect with my Irish heritage and maybe drink a Guinness or two.

This Small Ski Resort in Southern Wisconsin Makes for the Perfect Day Trip From Chicago

If not for winter sports, the chilliest season of the year would be downright, nonstop depressing, but thanks to the ancient man or woman who decided to strap a couple slats of wood to their feet for a simple means of transportation thousands of years ago (allegedly), we have the option nowadays to ski (or snowboard) recreationally at resorts the world over. And thank eight-pound, six-ounce baby Jesus for that, am I right?

North AmericaLogan T. HansenFebruary 28, 2022travel, travel guide, travel advice, travelspiration, travel inspiration, skiing, snowboarding, Wilmot, Wilmot Mountain, Wilmot Ski Resort, Kenosha, Wisconsin, Badger State, winter travel, winter, winter vacation, day trips, day trip, day tripping, daytripping, winter getaway, winter sports, winter activities, Keystone, Keystone Resort, Vail Resorts, Colorado, Wilmot Mountain Ski Resort, Chicago, Milwaukee, Matterhorn of the Midwest, Midwest, Midwestern U.S., ski rentals, snowboard rentals, ski school, ski lessons, ski trip, ski resort, ski style, mountain style, winter style, Ski Hill Grill, Walt's Tavern, Main Lodge Bar, Captain Mike's, Capt. Mike's Beer & Burger Bar, Captain Mike's Beer & Burger Bar, group selfie, travel photography, travel blog, travel blogging, travel writing, photo essayComment

2021 Wasn't Exactly Wonderful, But At Least Some of the Wander Returned

Starting is always the hardest part, isn’t it? Taking that leap, acting on that big idea, staring at the blank page. But after you finally get the ball rolling, a new challenge materializes: keeping it rolling. It’s not enough to simply plant the seed; you’ve got to water it, make sure it has fertile soil to work with, give it a proper amount of sunlight. It can be a lot of work, but then again, nothing worth having comes easy, does it?

General TravelLogan T. HansenJanuary 6, 2022travel, travel inspiration, travelspiration, year in review, happy new year, All Things Wanderful, travel guide, travel advice, travel ideas, travel planning, travel writing, travel recommendations, travel appreciation, travel junkie, travel blog, travel blogging, Denver, Colorado, year-in-review, Cheesman Park, Logan's Run, 2020, 2021, Las Vegas, Detroit, Detroit Tigers, Six Flags, Six Flags Great America, Gurney, Illinois, Michigan, football, football season, College Park, Maryland, Ann Arbor, St. Louis, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oklahoma City, Missouri, Northern Illinois, Maryland Terrapins, University of Michigan, Michigan Wolverines, Sooner State, Cessna, Cessna 402C, Chicago, Manistee, Windy City, Cape Air, Manistee County Blacker Airport, Airbnb, vacation rentals, Sin City, New Mexico, Old West, Old American West, Keystone, Keystone Resort, skiing, snowboarding, Centennial State, travel injuriesComment

To Airbnb, or Not to Airbnb? It Isn't Even a Question: The Best Airbnb's I've Ever Stayed At

The evolution of an idea into a full-blown success is truly remarkable, when you stop to think about it. A decade ago, mentioning the term “Airbnb” might have gotten you some funny looks; these days, people would think you were a weirdo for not knowing what it is.

General TravelLogan T. HansenFebruary 11, 2021travel, travel guide, travel advice, Airbnb, travel inspiration, travelspiration, Bailey, Colorado, mountains, mountain driving, mountainside, Los Angeles, City of Angels, Reykjavik, Iceland, The Intrepid Icelandic Expedition, Lebowski Bar, Kiki, Kiki Queer Bar, Toronto, Downtown Toronto, Canada, University of Toronto, St. George Campus, city life, winter getaway, winter travel, winter, winter vacation, Mt. Rosalie Cabin, skiing, snowboarding, ski trip, hot tub, mountain views, adventure, Baldwin Hills, South Los Angeles, Silver Lake, Silverthorne, Santa Monica, Mike & Gail's Buffalo Mountain Retreat, weekend getaway, romantic retreat, romantic weekend, romantic getaway, romantic, weekend ski trip, Keystone, Keystone Resort, Breckenridge, Copper Mountain, Loveland Ski Area, Loveland, Arapahoe Basin Resort, Arapahoe Basin Ski Area, Arapahoe Basin, hit the slopes, hitting the slopesComment

Skiing at Colorado's Keystone Resort: 21 Do's & Don't's

Skiing in Colorado — there is absolutely, without-a-doubt, no-buts-about-it nothing anywhere else in the world that compares. And you can take that one to the bank. With world-class slopes, seemingly endless ski resorts and all the fresh pow (that is, snow) one could ever dream of come wintertime, the Centennial State is an unparalleled cold-weather destination.

North AmericaLogan T. HansenJanuary 29, 2021travel, travel guide, travel advice, travel inspiration, travelspiration, skiing, snowboarding, Keystone, Colorado, winter getaway, winter travel, winter, winter sports, winter activities, winter vacation, Keystone Resort, Silverthorne, Rocky Mountains, The Rockies, Switzerland, Swiss Alps, Alpine, Centennial State, Dercum Mountain, North Peak, The Outback, COVID-19, COVID, sugar plum fairies, Mike & Gail's Buffalo Mountain Retreat, Buffalo Mountain Retreat, Airbnb, Snowdance Sports, ski rentals, snowboard rentals, equipment rental, EpicMix, Vail Resorts, Apple App Store, Black Diamond, ACL, MCL, meniscus, Spotify, dehydration, adult beverages, group travel, Summit House, Mountain House, Timber Ridge, COVID protocols, coronavirus, coronavirus pandemic, hot tubComment

Kayak Has Mapped Out the Ultimate Spooky U.S. Road Trip

Driver beware, you’re in for a scare… because the folks over at Kayak have put together a truly terrifying cross-country road trip stretching from New England to the West Coast. From haunted inns to creepy cemeteries, and old state hospitals to abandoned amusement parks, the 7,500-mile trip truly checks off every spooky box a Halloween-loving traveler could dream up.

North AmericaLogan T. HansenOctober 16, 2020travel, kayak, Kayak.com, kayak.com, travel advice, travel guide, road tripping, road trip, road trips, cross-country road trip, Halloween, travelspiration, travel inspiration, Sleepy Hollow, New York, Philipsburg Manor House, Philipsburg Manor, Old Stagecoach Inn, Waterbury, Vermont, National Register of Historic Places, bed and breakfast, bed & breakfast, Margaret Annette Henry, Fort Knox, Prospect, Maine, paranormal, paranormal activity, Pine Hill Cemetery, Hollis, New Hampshire, New England, Blood Cemetery, Salem, Massachusetts, Salem witch trials, ghost stories, ghost town, ghost tour, Seaside Shadows, Mystic, Connecticut, Cumberland, Rhode Island, Salem Historical Tours, Abel Blood, Headless Horseman Bridge, Ichabod Crane, Pocantico River, Old Dutch Church, Old Dutch Burying Ground, Old Dutch Church and Burying Ground, Katrina Van Tassell, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Washington Irving, Eastern State Penitentiary, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Al Capone, Terror Behind the Walls, Edgar Allan Poe, Salubria Manor, Stevensburg, Virginia, Maryland, Baltimore, Lake Shawnee Abandoned Amusement Park, Lake Shawnee Amusement Park, West Virginia, Kegley, Chimney Rock State Park, Bulldog Tours, North Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, Madison Square, Savannah, Georgia, St. Augustine Lighthouse, Florida, Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark, Birmingham, Alabama, Bell Witch Cave, Bell Witch, Adams, Tennessee, The Blair Witch Project, Blair Witch, Ultimate Spooky U.S. Road Trip, John Bell, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, California, Winchester Mystery House, San Jose, haunted Comment

The NY Times' 52 Places to Go in 2020: Reactions, Highlights & Other Tidbits

That’s right, folks, it’s one of my favorite times of the year: the release of The New York Times’ annual “52 Places to Go” list, which is packed with so much travel inspiration that an extra baggage fee is surely unavoidable.

General TravelLogan T. HansenJanuary 16, 2020travel, travel inspiration, travelspiration, The New York Times, 52 Places, 52 Places to Go, 52 Places to Go in 2020, travel recommendations, travel advice, travel guide, Greenland, Ittoqqortoormiit, Annie Spratt, Lonely Planet, Washington D.C., Christchurch, New Zealand, 2020 Summer Olympics, Tokyo, Japan, Elaine Glusac, Spain, Italy, Sicily, Asturias, Minorca, Val d'Aran, Molise, Urbino, Europe, Miraflores, Lima, Peru, South America, Willian Justen de Vasconcellos, Colorado Springs, Colorado, Rocky Mountains, U.S. Olympics & Paralympic Museum, The Bahamas, Caribbean, Hurricane Dorian, tourism, tourism industry, overtourism, over-tourism, Austin, Texas, Longhorn State, Paris, France, City of Lights, Hotel de la Marine, Palais Galliera, Lesotho, South Africa, mountain kingdom, Sabah, Malaysia, Asia, Africa, Borneo, Indonesia, Mount Kinabalu, Tajikistan, Hilton, off-the-grid, off-the-grid travel, Dushanbe, Transylvania, Romania, Transylvanian Alps, Southern Carpathian Mountains, Swiss Alps, Mother Nature, outdoors, adventure, adventure travel, adventure tourism, extreme tourism, rainforest, Iqx Azmi, Somon Air, Jodhpur, India, Delhi, Ahmedabad, IndiGo, Egypt, Sphinx International Airport, Cairo, Kampot, Cambodia, Gulf of Thailand, Vietnam, Uganda Comment

How to Decide Where Your Next Trip Will Be When Funds are Limited

Before packing your bags, before looking up things to see and do, before knowing which type of transportation you’ll make use of, you have to know where it is you’re venturing off to. What’s more, wherever you decide to go next will most likely influence where you’ll go after that, and where you’ll go after that, and where you’ll go after that… So, no, you’re not blowing things out of proportion by treating your decision as a big deal; it is a big deal.

How to Spend Your 3-Day Winter Weekend in (& Around) the Mile High City

It’s probably safe to assume that most travelers fall into one of two categories — they either like to plan every little detail of their trip or they prefer throwing caution to the wind and surprising themselves along the way. You may fall into one camp or the other, but here’s a little secret: both are good options. And that’s why it’s perfectly okay to do a little of each, to approach your trip with plans of the half-baked variety.

North AmericaLogan T. HansenDecember 20, 2018travel, travel guide, travel advice, travel inspiration, travelspiration, Colorado, Denver, Bailey, USA, Colorado skiing, Echo Mountain, The New York Times, Carey Jones, RiNO, RiNo, River North Art District, GQ, 52 Places to Go, Mile High City, travel planning, travel itinerary, Denver International Airport, Kia Optima, The Monkey Bar, Stoney's Bar & Grill, Charlie Brown's, nightlife, bar scene, The Ramble Hotel, Super Mega Bien, Work & Class, Cart Driver, food, The Ellie Caulkins Opera House, The Wizard of Oz, Nutcracker, Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Pepsi Center, Coors Field, Denver Nuggets, Colorado Avalanche, Sam's No. 3, Denver Diner, Airbnb, ballet, Colorado Ballet, skiing, snowboarding, outdoors, nature, mountains, Rocky Mountains, Idaho Springs, Loveland Ski Area, Arapahoe Basin Resort, Eldora Mountain Resort, Avanti Food & Beverage, American Grind, BorraCho Tacos, QuickFish, QuickFish Poke Bar, Avanti, marketplace, Kirkland Museum, Kirkland Museum of Fine & Decorative Art, Vance Kirkland, art, museum, Ratio Beerworks, El Five, Great Divide Barrel Bar, Our Mutual Friend, brewery, breweries, Detroit, Tony Maciag, Dana Rodriguez, Mexico, Chihuahua, Avery Ellie's Brown Ale Smoked Brisket, Cajun lamb sausage, chickpea croquettes, Meadowlark Bar, dancing, club, Nocturne, jazz music, live music, Voicebox Karaoke Lounge, karaoke, Beta NightClub, North America, United StatesComment

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