2025, Can You Believe We're Still Alive? Travels Far & Wide From a Year That We Survived

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.

General TravelLogan T. HansenJanuary 6, 2026travel, travelogue, travel blogging, travel guide, travel recommendations, travel inspiration, travelspiration, travel ideas, travel writing, travel reviews, travel tips, travel appreciation, travel diary, travel planning, year-in-review, Universal Studios, Universal Studios Hollywood, Jaws, Steven Spielberg, Kai Ryssdal, Marketplace, NPR, Las Vegas, Sin City, Luxor Hotel, New Orleans, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Cajun, Beauvoir, Jefferson Davis, Biloxi, To Kill a Mockingbird, Nelle Harper Lee, Harper Lee, Monroeville, Monroe County, Old Monroe County Courthouse, Gregory Peck, Mrs. Teresa' Homemade Treats, Los Angeles, City of Angels, Santa Monica, Santa Monica Pier, Hollywood, Hollywood Walk of Fame, Dodger Stadium, Freehand Hotels, Freehand Chicago, Freehand Los Angeles, Freehand, hostel, hostel stays, Boston, Boston Calling, Harvard, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, All Time Low, The Maine, Cage the Elephant, Avril Lavigne, Fall Out Boy, all-nighter, Disney World, Orlando, Florida, Tron, Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, Tower of Terror, Guardians of the Galaxy, Expedition Everest, Alice in Wonderland, Euro trip, cheap airports, cheap travel, Canada, Minnesota, Northwest Angle, Alert, Canadian Forces Station Alert, All Things Wanderful, Chicago, Miami, New York, George Washington Hotel, Flatiron District, Bourbon Street, French Quarter, Ruby Slipper, The Natchez, Oklahoma City, Dorothy Gale, Beverly Shores, Michigan City, Gary, Indiana, Michiana, Chicagoland, West Michigan, Indiana Dunes National Park, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, South Shore Line, Maycomb, Maycomb County, Truman Capote, Confederacy, 2026, 2025, ten-year anniversaryComment

Route 66 Still Kicks: 3 Sights Worth Seeing Along One of America's Original Highways

Immortalized by John Steinbeck’s 1939 book “The Grapes of Wrath”, as well as the 1946 song “(Get Your Kicks On) Route 66”, the highway became one of the most recognized thoroughfares in North America, crisscrossing not just from Chicago to Santa Monica, California, and back again, but also across our hearts (*cue studio audience: “aww!”). And though the highway no longer exists in a technical sense — it was officially removed from the U.S. Highway System in 1985 — stretches of what has become known as “Historic Route 66” in some states are still out there waiting for you.

North AmericaLogan T. HansenJuly 24, 2023travel, travel guide, travel inspiration, travelspiration, travel ideas, travel advice, travel recommendations, travel planning, travel bucket list, Route 66, Uranus, Catoosa, Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken, Historic Route 66, Mother Road, U.S. Highway System, John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath, Get Your Kicks on Route 66, Chicago, Santa Monica, Santa Monica Pier, California, Wigwam Motel, Magnolia Gas Station, Blue Whale, Blue Whale of Catoosa, Oklahoma, Missouri, Hugh Davis, Tulsa, Pinocchio, Animal Reptile Kingdom, World's Largest Gift Store, Redmon's Candy Factory, Redmon's, Phillipsburg, Lucille Ball, Toxic Waste, Uranus Missouri, Louie Keen, Mayor of Uranus, Roadside America, Uranus Fudge Factory and General Store, Moonicorn Creamery and Funnel Cakery, Escape Uranus, Uranus Axehole, Chicken Bones Party Bar & Grill, Uranus Sideshow Museum, World's Largest Belt Buckle, road trip, road tripping, road trips, cross-country road tripComment

Fulfill Your Vintage Volkswagen #VanLife Fantasies with This California Tour

You’ve heard of #vanlife, right? That whole thing where people hit the road for long stretches at a time, living out of a vehicle equipped balls-to-the-wall with as many modern conveniences as possible? Of course you have, you don’t live under a rock. Instagram is littered with people who have outwardly embraced the lifestyle, and every time you see one of those posts, you wonder: what if?

Los Angeles: The Beginner's Guide to the City of Angels

The City of Angels is just about everything I imagined it would be — a lively, sprawling mass of palm trees and expressways full of endless possibilities.

5 Epic Road Trips to Take While You're Still Young

Ahh, the open road. You make up a special playlist, cram every last thing you might possibly need into the car, and set off for parts unknown, ready for adventure around every turn.

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