2025, Can You Believe We're Still Alive? Travels Far & Wide From a Year That We Survived
A trip to Universal Studios Hollywood in late July coincided with the 50th anniversary of Steven Spielberg’s '“Jaws”
Well, well, well; w-e-l-l. You know, that’s one of those phrases I picked up somewhere along the way that I return to again and again, but for which the source material is lost to the ages. Where the hell did I get it? Just like the number of licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop, the world may never know. But can you guess what the world is about to know? That’s right! The deepest, darkest, most intimate thoughts, recollections, and reminiscences on the year that was right here on All Things Wanderful.
Okay, chill, there is nothing dark about it at all, really (except, I guess, this year’s most popular post, which touches on a dark period of American history (and which you can spoil right now by scrolling to the bottom of this page (but don’t forget to come back up here after!))). While all the kids were out 6-7-ing, we were chugging right along here on the blog, albeit at a sort of low-key, casual pace. I certainly didn’t write as much as I would have liked to in 2025, but we still threw out a couple bangers and continued to rake in views on older content, which is something I remain proud of.
Before we do the numbers Kai Ryssdal-style (iykyk), let’s catch everyone up on what exactly went down over the year that was. We came out the gate swinging with a January trip to Las Vegas — my third time in a four-year span — during which drinks were had, casino donations were made, golf balls were whacked, museums were visited, and rear-ends were spanked. The primary highlight, though, just may have been singing our high school fight song while having a round of adult beverages at a bar inside the Luxor Hotel.
Next up was the biggest trip of the year, at least in terms of length and the amount of ground covered. In early April, I embarked on a southern swing that saw me first to Louisiana and then to Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia over the course of six days. Three of those four states were uncharted territory for me, with Georgia being the lone repeat. A majority of the time was spent in Louisiana — New Orleans, specifically — where my parents, two of my siblings, and I soaked up some Cajun culture on a little four-day family vacay.
SEE ALSO: The Race to 50 States: Logging My Lifetime Journey Across America
After the rest of the crew departed on a Saturday morning, I took it upon myself to rent a car and made way for Mississippi, where I hunkered down for a few hours in the coastal city of Biloxi. Little did I know my time there would afford me a visit to one of the stranger destinations I’ve ever checked off my list: Beauvoir, the former home of Confederate President Jefferson Davis (which may or may not appear in this year’s top five, and which may or may not have already been alluded to up above).
The primary objective of this extracurricular solo road trip, however, was to finally visit the hometown of ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ author Nelle Harper Lee. Thus, just hours after my odd experience at Beauvoir, I rolled into Monroeville, Alabama, a tiny town of less than 6,000 that serves as the seat of rural Monroe County.
There were but two things on my itinerary once I’d arrived: witnessing a local production of Lee’s masterwork that utilized the very courthouse showcased in the 1962 movie starring Gregory Peck and getting a glimpse of the street that Lee grew up on. Before accomplishing either of those, I also checked off what became a third item on the list — namely, getting my hands on a proper southern meal. That came courtesy of Mrs. Teresa’s Homemade Treats, an awesome little spot right on Monroeville’s main drag, where I indulged in some barbecue chicken, hamburger steak, mac and cheese, cornbread, and rice. Highly recommended!
Come July, my son and I headed west to the City of Angels for a three-day weekend. We checked out Santa Monica Pier, the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Dodger Stadium, Universal Studios, and much more, but the writeup that came out of the trip was all about our lodging situation. It was my second time staying at a Freehand Hotel, and I felt it was my duty, dear reader, to share my expert thoughts and opinions on the little enterprise they have going. I had also written about Los Angeles several times before, so I was just trying to mix it up, ya know?
SEE ALSO: Los Angeles: The Beginner's Guide to the City of Angels
Oddly, there were two trips, one in May and one in October, that never found their way onto the blog, and honestly I am kicking myself a little for not taking advantage of those content opportunities. Toward the end of May, my girlfriend and I did a crazy little thing, flying out to Boston for a killer music festival on Harvard’s campus called Boston Calling. Musical acts included The Maine, Cage the Elephant, All Time Low, Avril Lavigne, and my better half’s absolute favorite, Fall Out Boy.
Now, you’re probably wondering: what’s so crazy about that? There was nothing particularly crazy about the festival itself; rather, it was our decision NOT to book a hotel room, or any kind of accommodations whatsoever. We flew in on Saturday, arriving at about 11 a.m. or so, and then pulled as much of an all-nighter as we could before flying back at 6 a.m. the next morning. How did I not write a fun little ditty about this? I really don’t know. Perhaps it will be a tale to tell at a later time.
The other trip that went undocumented for unexplained reasons was my first-ever venture down to Disney World in good ole Orlando, Florida, at the start of October. We did four parks in two days (lodging included this time), running around like Alice in Wonderland — that is to say, like mad — trying to soak up as many of the sights and sounds as possible. Tops on my list were Tron at Magic Kingdom, Guardians of the Galaxy at Epcot, and Tower of Terror at Hollywood Studios. And, just so it doesn’t feel left out, let me also give a shout-out to Expedition Everest at Animal Kingdom.
Okay, great, that’s out of the way and we can finally get down to the nitty gritty. I know, I know, the agony of waiting is killing you. I know, I know, you probably don’t even remember what you’re waiting for at this point (the numbers, silly). It’s becoming a yearly refrain, but one that I will never tire of repeating: it was another MAJOR year for the blog. The numbers for 2024 were good — great, even — but if the uptick seen there was a solidly surf-able wave, the jump across the board for 2025 was a damn tsunami.
All three of the main stats I like to keep tabs on were up at least 70% year-over-year. Just let that soak into your cranium for a second: the lowest increase in those primary metrics was a 70% jump. That was the number for page views, which is commendable on its own, of course, but then factor in that we saw an 89% increase in site visits and a 93% increase in unique visitors, and, umm, okay, wow. That’s what you might appropriately call a whopper of a year. A king-sized, triple decker, extra cheese, hold the tomato-style whopper. It even supplanted 2022 (page views ↑55%, site visits ↑72%, unique visitors ↑77%), which had been the record holder.
Much of this site activity was again driven by older content, another refrain I don’t mind reciting. This year, however, there were a couple of un-usual suspects creating clicks, alongside one post that has been ascendent over the last couple years. These were the most popular posts on All Things Wanderful in 2025, regardless of publish date:
Fantasizing About a Euro Trip? The 5 Cheapest Airports in Europe to Fly Into (March 12, 2024)
The Northernmost Point of the Contiguous U.S. …Is Only Accessible Via Canada? (Aug. 31, 2021)
A World Away: The Northernmost Inhabited Place on Earth (Dec. 11, 2017)
A nice little mix there, right? The first was the most popular post published on the blog in 2024; the second is the stalwart I mentioned over the last few years; and the third kind of came out of nowhere, honestly, which I’m certainly not upset about. Depending on the category you’re sifting through, you can only see posts going back so far, so the fact that something posted so long ago found a way to re-emerge is rather gratifying.
But okay, I think I’ve teased you long enough. Let’s get to the best-of-the-best that appeared on All Things Wanderful in calendar year 2025. Here are the top five posts from the year (click each image to open the original post in a new tab):
5. Getting Hostel in the City: All (or Most) of What You Need to Know About Freehand Hotels
The facade of the Freehand Hotel welcomes guests in downtown Los Angeles
-published Sept. 17
This fun little writeup was borne out of two trips that took place years apart in cities hundreds of miles from one another. I first visited a Freehand property all the way back in June 2017 on an exceedingly brief swing through Chicago. Thereafter, I went Freehand-less up until this past year, when my son and I stayed in Los Angeles in the second half of July. Both stays were largely positive experiences, inspiring me to write this little guide that appears to have come in handy for visitors to the site.
Don’t get it twisted, though: this is not exactly a fluff piece for Freehand Hotels. Rather, I talked about my personal experience at their Chicago and Los Angeles outposts, and gave an honest opinion about the kind of clientele these properties are best suited for. Are you included in that cohort? Well, you’ll just have to dive in to find out, won’t ya?
An excerpt: “Each of the Freehand Hotels prides itself on being an artistic, community-centered hub where you not only have a place to stay but also reasons to stay around. All of the properties have their own restaurants, bars, and gathering spaces, as well as robust event calendars that include happy hours, live music, karaoke, trivia nights, and more, with each hotel doing its utmost to showcase or emulate the aura of the city in which it is located. Thus, the Miami hotel leans into sunny vibes and beach culture, while the New York location, which is housed in the former George Washington Hotel in the Flatiron District, leans into its artistic history.”
4. New Orleans: Four Days of Beignets & Foul Plays in the Big Easy, Pts. 1 & 2
Bourbon Street in the heart of New Orleans’ French Quarter
-published April 29 & May 17
One of 2025’s travel highlights was a Southern swing I embarked upon in early April, which began with a four-day stint in New Orleans filled with river boat cruises, Bourbon Street cameos, local haunts, and history-soaked hangs. We stayed in the city’s Central Business District, but spent most of our time in and around the French Quarter, as one does.
For all intents and purposes, I probably visited Bourbon Street — that beer-soaked bastion of bad decisions — a little too late in life to truly appreciate the nightlife scene, but having a couple adult beverages and watching the kiddos (see: college students, mostly from SEC land) do their thing was interesting nonetheless, even if I felt like a grandpa at age 31 compared to them.
An excerpt (from Pt. 2): “Our third day began with brunch at a lovely little spot right down the street from The Natchez called the Ruby Slipper, which I have since learned is a chain restaurant with locations in several southern states. I usually like to patronize local restaurants when traveling — such as that time I insisted upon finding “local pizza” in Oklahoma City, only to unwittingly order online from a pie shop inside a gas station (#sad) — but the rest of the fam had eaten at Dorothy Gale’s favorite spot in the city on Tuesday morning before I’d arrived and they loved it so much they wanted to go back for seconds.”
3. All Beach Bums Report to Beverly Shores, The Lakefront Hideaway Tucked Inside a National Park
An idyllic beach community awaits at the very bottom of Lake Michigan
-published Aug. 30
Ove the course of the spring and summer of 2025, I discovered what became one of my new favorite pitstops in that strange land we might call “Illi-Mich-iana” (yep, I just made that up). At the very bottom of Lake Michigan, nestled between Michigan City and Gary, Indiana, is where you’ll find the quaint little beach town of Beverly Shores. Besides having a fascinating history, it’s also simply a great spot to take a dip in the big lake and relax along the shoreline for a little while.
Given the frequency with which I drive back and forth between Chicagoland and West Michigan, I was able to stop in Beverly Shores and soak up a little sun probably four or five times throughout the warmer months of the year, and you know I enjoyed every second of it.
An excerpt: “It feels wildly unlikely that I would ever come across a Lake Michigan beach that didn’t tickle my fancy, but the 4.5-mile stretch of sandy shoreline belonging to Beverly Shores, Indiana, is increasingly becoming one of my new favorites. The ‘town’ of Beverly Shores, which is tucked between Gary and Michigan City and surrounded by Indiana Dunes National Park, isn’t much of a town at all. Aside from a couple of municipal buildings and a nifty old train depot, what you will find here on the underside of Lake Michigan is mostly a mix of beachfront, forest, marshland, and sand dunes. But, honestly, what more do you need?”
2. Harper Lee’s ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ Comes to Life in the Late Author’s Tiny Alabama Town
The Monroe County Museum in Monroeville, Alabama, is home to one of the most famous courtrooms in American film and literature
-published July 11
Travel bucket list alert! Visiting Monroeville, Alabama, the hometown of Nelle Harper Lee, was a longstanding goal of mine, and we finally made it happen in the spring of 2025. After spending four days in New Orleans (see above) with family, I set off for a mini solo road trip that included stops in Biloxi, Mississippi (see below) and the small Alabama town that served as inspiration for the setting of one of the 20th century’s most influential American works, ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’.
Not only did I have the chance to see the place where the author grew up and spent the later years of her life, I also was able to experience a two-act performance of the story that made her famous, which is put on by local volunteer actors each spring. The show utilizes space inside and outside of the Monroe County Museum, which is where you will find one of the most famous courtrooms in American film and literature — the same one, in fact, that is seen in the 1962 movie starring Gregory Peck.
An excerpt: “While Maycomb itself may not have been real, the town was modeled after Lee’s actual hometown of Monroeville, Alabama, the very real and very tiny county seat of rural Monroe County. Home to a population of about 6,000 people, Monroeville would likely be just another blip on the map if not for its association with a pair of the 20th century’s most well-known American writers, Harper Lee and Truman Capote. It was the town’s connection to those two wordsmiths, in fact, that brought me there on a spring day in April 2025.”
1. Au Revoir, Beauvoir; or, The Odd Experience of Visiting Jefferson Davis’ Mississippi Mansion
Beauvoir, the former home of Confederate President Jefferson Davis, sits on a 52-acre plot along the Gulf of Mexico in Biloxi, Mississippi
-published May 31
Oddly enough, my “odd experience” at Beauvoir — the erstwhile estate of former Confederate President Jefferson Davis — topped the list this year. I guess you’re all just a bunch of sickos, huh? I kid, I kid, but I imagine this one attracted some eyeballs simply because it is a strange place to visit. Believe me when I say my decision to stop here and pay my (dis)respects was very off-the-cuff; it was literally just something to see while I had a little time to kill in Mississippi.
The entire time I was on the property I was nervous someone was going to out me as a Northerner. And what would happen then? Would they hook my underwear to the flag pole outside and give me an ultimate wedgie? Cover me in tar and then douse me in feathers? I mean, man, just imagine if they found out I never paid the entrance fee, either…
An excerpt: “While I do not in any way, shape, or form agree with the Confederate cause (because, you know, let’s just make that crystal clear), this was still a chance to see history in person, and I would be loathe to turn such an opportunity down. So, with a few hours to kill, I headed over to Beauvoir, where Davis lived from 1876 until his death in December 1889, to get a glimpse of the way in which the South commemorates the man whom many would consider one of America's greatest villains.”
~~~
I fell slightly short of my annual goal of getting a dozen new posts up (excluding guest posts and year-enders), winding up with ten in total in 2025. I’m still happy with the quality of what was published, but I’d like to get back to the dirty dozen in 2026 without a doubt.
Speaking of… 2026 marks the ten-year anniversary (!!) of the blog formerly known as Logan’s Run (again, iykyk), which officially got off the ground on March 31, 2016. Ten whole years. Can you believe it? While you wrestle with the insanity of that fact, I’ll be over here cooking up all kinds of ways to celebrate throughout the year.
Happy wandering, my friends.
-LTH
*P.S. Take a peek back at the end-of-year posts from previous years by clicking on these links: 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017.