2024, Won't See You No More: Closing the Door on a Year Loaded With Travel Galore

Stop me right now if you’ve heard this before, but, hand to god(s), we had another major, major year here on the blog, shattering records all over the place. I mean, are you ready for these percentages? I don’t know if you are. I think you’re gonna have to convince me. “Uhh, how the heck am I gonna do that?” you ask, staring blankly at your phone/tablet/laptop screen as you read these words. Well, it’s simple, Fred: all you have to do is read the following quotation about the subject that’s brought us all here, that lovely, glorious, worldview-expanding, cranium-opening, beautiful, wondrous, amorphous, multi-adjective-inducing thing — travel!

General TravelLogan T. HansenJanuary 8, 2025travel, travel guide, travel guidance, travel advice, travel blog, travel blogging, travelogue, travel diary, travel writing, travel recommendations, travel reviews, travel tips, travel ideas, travel inspiration, travelspiration, travel planning, travel photography, travel appreciation, travel junkie, travel logistics, travel bucket list, year in review, year-in-review, happy new year, All Things Wanderful, Anthony Bourdain, No Reservations, No Reservations: Around the World on an Empty Stomach, Travel Channel, Sally Field, northernmost point, Minnesota, Northwest Angle, Ireland, England, Cork, Galway, Dublin, London, Europe, European vacation, Eurotrip, Euro trip, United Kingdom, Africa, cheap flights, find cheap flights, airports, Arizona, Grand Canyon, Flagstaff, Phoenix, Dodge Challenger, Sleepy Hollow, New York, Hudson Valley, Hudson River, Headless Horseman, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, The Mitten State, The Mitten State of Mind, Michigan, Michigan travel, Oklahoma, Flint Hills, Kansas, Route 66, Historic Route 66, U.S. Route 66, Hoover Dam, Clark Griswold, Wally World, South Rim, Grand Canyon South Rim, Google Maps, Google, Lake Mead, Mount Rainier, Mount Rainier National Park, Washington, Washington State, Crystal Mountain, Crystal Mountain Resort, Mount Olympus, North America, gondola, gondola rides, Iceland, Israel, Jordan, Longmoore Street, Westminster, Airbnb, Blarney Stone, Blarney Castle, Blarney Castle & Gardens, Wicklow Mountains, RMS Titanic, Titanic, Ed Sheeran, Merlin Castle, Chicago Bulls, Limerick, sheela na gig, Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, Nancy Hands, Nancy Hands Bar & Restaurant, Guinness, Guinness beer, Guinness Storehouse, Hex Girls, Sphynx Tattoo, beach volleyball, volleyball, Chicago, North Avenue Beach, Windy City, Oak Street Beach, Oak Street, beach, beach life, beach day, beaches, Lake Michigan, Barcelona, Barcelona El Prat Josep Tarradellas Airport, Dublin AirportComment

One Spooky Town to Visit in Each of the 6 New England States

Sporting some of the best fall foliage anywhere in the nation, New England is kind of the place to be when you start to feel that crisp, crisp air creep back in. The color-changing parade that falls across the region like a patchwork quilt every September and October is undoubtedly one of the biggest draws for anyone looking to put a fall getaway on the books, but let’s also remember that this is spooky season, and New England is hardly wanting in the arena of things that go bump in the night. From haunted houses and hotels to ghost-riddled cemeteries and ships, you can scare your pants off properly six ways to Sunday.

North AmericaLogan T. HansenOctober 17, 2024travel, travel blog, travel ideas, travel inspiration, travelspiration, travel guide, travel advice, travel planning, travel recommendations, travel tips, travel itinerary, travel blogging, travel bucket list, New England, haunted, autumn travel, autumn getaway, autumn inspiration, fall travel, fall getaway, Halloween, fall, autumn, New England Inns & Resorts, New England With Love, One CrafDIY Girl, Bangor, Maine, Stephen King, Derry, It, Whitney Park Historic District, Mount Hope Cemetery, Hannibal Hamlin, Al Brady, American gangsters, paranormal, paranormal activity, ghost stories, ghost hunting, The Tarrantine, Bangor Public Library, Broadway Historic District, Thomas A. Hill House, Samuel Dale, Isaac Farrar Mansion, Bangor Opera House, Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, The Shining, The Overlook Hotel, The Overlook, Omni Mount Washington Hotel, Carolyn Foster Stickney, Delbert Grady, Jack Torrance, The Princess, The Princess Room, Joseph Stickney, Room 314, Livermore, ghost town, White Mountains, logging, logging history, logging industry, Daniel Saunders, Charles Saunders, U.S. Route 302, Stowe, Vermont, Ski Capital of the East, Mount Mansfield, Brass Lantern Inn, Green Mountain Inn, Chester A. Arthur, Gerald Ford, Boots Berry, New Orleans, Emily's Bridge, Gold Brook Covered Bridge, Fall River, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Lizzie Borden House, Andrew Borden, Abby Durfee Gray, Abby Borden, Emma Borden, New Bedford, murder, Thrillist, Thrillist Travel, Frommer's, Zac Thompson, Oak Grove Cemetery, The Quequechan Club, Abram's Rock, Swansea, Native American, Gilded Age, White Horse Tavern, William Faulkner, Dark Shadows, Carey Mansion, Seaview Terrace, Edson Bradley, Julia Bradley, Ghost Hunters, ghost tour, Barnabas Collins, Ruggles Avenue, Rockwell, Somebody's Watching Me, White Lady, Union Cemetery, Connecticut, Easton, New York City, haunted cemetery, haunted inn, haunted house, murder house, Donna Kent, Ed Warren, Lorraine Warren, Ed and Lorraine Warren, Graveyard: True Hauntinigs from an Old New England Cemetery, Lindley Street, Bridgeport, Red Eyes, Cosmic Society, Cosmic Society of Paranormal Investigation, paranormal investigation, Earle Kellog, Route 59, demonologist, 1960s, 1960s televisionComment

Road Tripping Across Arizona, from Hoover Dam to the Grand Canyon & Beyond

I had never been to Arizona — now the 35th state I have checked off my race to all 50 — so you can imagine my excitement as I first laid eyes on the sign that read: “The Grand Canyon State Welcomes You”. My main objective was to visit that gargantuan hole in the earth that has entranced visitors for centuries. So, after finally making a stop at the damn dam and a nearby overlook of Lake Mead, I instructed the Google Maps machine to take me to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.

North AmericaLogan T. HansenSeptember 12, 2024travel, travel diary, travel inspiration, travelspiration, travel ideas, travel recommendations, travel guide, travel blog, Arizona, Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam, Chevy Chase, Vegas Vacation, National Lampoon's Vegas Vacation, National Lampoon, Nevada, Lake Mead, Phoenix, Glendale, Flagstaff, Picture Canyon, South Rim, Grand Canyon South Rim, petroglyphs, Northern Sinagua, Galaxy Diner, Route 66, Historic Route 66, road trip, road trips, road tripping, Dodge Challenger, rental car, Las Vegas, Sin City, summertime, summer vacation, summer travel, South Rim Trail, Grand Canyon State, U.S. Route 66, Stephen King, Night Shift, Clark Griswold, Colorado River, human remains, Village Historic District, Grand Canyon Village, Hopi House, architecture, historic architecture, Native American, Sinagua, Trail of Time, hiking, the great outdoors, outdoors, outdoor recreation, outdoor adventure, US 180, Black Canyon City, Sunset Point, Sunset Point Rest, travel photography, travel blogging, Arizona State Land Department, rock carvings, National Register of Historic Places, I-17Comment

Two Peas in a European Pod: One Week in Ireland & England — Day 7

London had been a trip, as had Galway and Cork and Cobh before it. But we were back in Dublin, where we began (and then ended and began again), and it was finally time to give the Irish capital a proper spin. Thus, on a wickedly windy Saturday morning, we stepped out of the Ashling Hotel and onto Benburb Street, ready to take on the city.

EuropeLogan T. HansenJuly 31, 2024travel, travel advice, travel guide, travelspiration, travel inspiration, travel blog, travel writing, travel recommendations, travel tips, travel planning, travel diary, travel bucket list, travel blogging, Europe, Ireland, Dublin, Ashling Hotel, Ashling Hotel Dublin, Aviva Stadium, England, Leinster, Leinster Rugby, Leicester, Leicester Tigers, rugby, European vacation, National Museum of Ireland, London, Galway, Cork, Cobh, Guinness, Guinness beer, Guinness Storehouse, Nancy Hands, Nancy Hands Bar & Restaurant, National Museum of Ireland - Decorative Arts & History, Easter Rising, Irish history, Asian art, River Liffey, Albert Bender, Willy Wonka, salmon of Capistrano, Guinness Academy, Gravity Bar, Hop House 13, Cooperage Café, 1837 Bar & Brasserie, Arthur's Bar, Brewers' Dining Hall, toasties, Dudley's, Guinness beef stew, Sphynx Tattoo, Hex Girls, Axe Man, Usher's Quay, Tim Burton, Winona Ryder, Beetlejuice, Lydia Deetz, The Beer Temple, Galway Bay Brewery, Dublin City Hall, European Rugby Champions Cup, Champions Cup, Elite Eight, March Madness, Wicklow Mountains, Airbnb, Blarney Stone, RMS Titanic, Titanic, Limerick, Ed Sheeran, Merlin Castle, sheela na gig, Chicago Bulls, Sam Wanamaker PlayhouseComment

Two Peas in a European Pod: One Week in Ireland & England — Day 6

You might think the experience would lose a little of its luster the second time around, at least at the margins, but waking up in perhaps the most famous city in the world for a second consecutive day was no less thrilling. The only bugaboo this time is that we didn’t have a full day in London ahead of us. It would be but a mere few hours before we needed to return to London Stansted Airport and head back to Ireland for the very final leg of our whirlwind European adventure, meaning there was no time to spare.

EuropeLogan T. HansenJune 21, 2024travel, travel advice, travel guide, travel inspiration, travelspiration, travel diary, travelogue, travel recommendations, travel ideas, travel itinerary, travel planning, travel logistics, travel blogging, travel bucket list, Europe, England, London, Ireland, Dublin, Dublin Airport, London Stansted Airport, Retromania, vintage shop, Iris Cafe, English breakfast, FARA, FARA Charity, Florence & the Machine, Florence Welch, Time Out, Upper Tachbrook, Upper Tachbrook Street, Westminster, British GQ, European vacation, Euro trip, Longmoore Street, Vogue House, Airbnb, Stansted Express, Liverpool Street Station, Tottenham Hale, National Express, Ashling Hotel, Ashling Hotel Dublin, House Baratheon, Game of Thrones, Guinness, Guinness beer, Guinness Storehouse, U2, Nancy Hands, Nancy Hands Bar & Restaurant, River LiffeyComment

Two Peas in a European Pod: One Week in Ireland & England — Day 5

Waking up in London had been an item on my travel bucket list for years — years! — and finally the day had arrived. When my alarm went off at about 8:30 a.m. Thursday, I opened my eyes and found myself in a flat — a flat! — on Longmoore Street in Westminster, with one of the most iconic cities in the world waiting just outside the door.

EuropeLogan T. HansenMay 31, 2024travel, travel ideas, travel guide, travel advice, travel inspiration, travelspiration, travel planning, travel blogging, travel diary, travelogue, travel recommendations, travel itinerary, travel bucket list, London, England, United Kingdom, Hatch 77, Westminster, Mayfair, Marylebone, Soho, Buckingham Palace, Victoria Memorial, Queen Victoria, Queen Elizabeth II, Ghosts Ghouls & Gallows Walking Tour, Big Ben, London Eye, Othello, Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, Longmoore Street, Airbnb, Tate Britain, Tate Modern, Sir Henry Tate, Francis Bacon, J.M.W. Turner, Millbank Prison, Millbank Penitentiary, Tate St Ives, Tate Liverpool, Tate Liverpool + RIBA North, Liverpool, St Ives, Cornwall, U.K., Uber, Bankside, Swan London, Swan, panna cotta, Shakespeare, candlelight theater, Iago, Cassio, Desdemona, Patty & Bun, King's Guard, King Charles III, The Mall, The Mall London, Trafalgar Square, St. James's Park, St. James's Park Lake, BoTree Hotel, British GQ, Blue Bridge, Alice in Wonderland, Soho London, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Hermés, New Bond Street, Kingly Street, Cherry Bomb cocktail, old-fashionedComment

Two Peas in a European Pod: One Week in Ireland & England — Day 4

It wasn’t quite the crack of dawn, but Day 4 in Ireland certainly got off to an earlier start than any of its predecessors. Why, you ask? Well, because a mid-afternoon flight from Dublin to London was definitely going to sneak up on us faster than we would have liked — which meant we had but a few wee hours to see or do anything else in Galway before we had to hit the road, Jack, and not come back no more (no more, no more, no more…).

EuropeLogan T. HansenMay 12, 2024travel, travel guide, travel advice, travel ideas, travelspiration, travel inspiration, travel diary, travel blogging, travelogue, travel recommendations, travel itinerary, travel planning, travel bucket list, Europe, Ireland, England, London, Dublin, Galway, Dublin Airport, Tower of London, London Eye, ghost tour, River Thames, United Kingdom, U.K., Avoca House, bed and breakfast, Scooby-Doo, Ballyloughane, Ballyloughane Beach, Merlin Castle, Merlin, Merlin Park Woods, Medieval, Medieval architecture, Francis Blake, Merlyn, sheela na gig, Ryanair, London Stansted Airport, Cork, Cobh, Limerick, Toyota, Toyota Yaris, Ghosts Ghouls & Gallows Walking Tour, walking tour, TripAdvisor, tripadvisor.com, Westminster, Airbnb, Green Park, St. James's Park, Clarence House, King Charles III, Longmoore Street, Victoria Station, Victoria Coach Station, Chicago Bulls, Big Ben, Uber Boat, Uber, Red Lady, Margaret Pole, The Hung Drawn & Quartered, BrewDog, Dirty Martini - Monument, European vacationComment

Two Peas in a European Pod: One Week in Ireland & England — Day 2

As far as the day itself was concerned, we hadn’t looked up a ton of things to do or really put any kind of concrete plan in place, but one thing that was absolutely, without-a-doubt, no-ifs-ands-or-buts-about-it on the list was a visit to Blarney Castle. There, we’d have the opportunity to climb up to the parapet or rampart or battlement or whatever you want to call it and kiss the fabled Blarney Stone, which is said to bring good luck and eloquence (“the gift of gab”, so they say) to anyone who lays a wet one on it.

EuropeLogan T. HansenApril 19, 2024travel, travel guide, travel advice, travelspiration, travel inspiration, travel blog, travel blogging, travel writing, travelogue, travel diary, travel ideas, travel recommendations, travel reviews, travel itinerary, travel planning, Europe, Ireland, Cork, Cobh, Titanic, Blarney Stone, Blarney Castle, St. Colman's, St. Colman's Cathedral, Titanic Exhibition, Blarney Castle & Gardens, Airbnb, St. Anne's Church, Shandon Bells, Shandon Bells & St. Anne's Church, Ellacombe apparatus, The Bells of Shandon, Francis Sylvester Mahony, Muskerry Arms Bar and B&B, Champions League, Muskerry Arms, England, Himalayan Valley, Vietnamese Woodland, Poison Garden, Druid's Circle, Witch's Cave, Seven Sisters, Horse Graveyard, Simba, garderobe, Medieval castle, murder hole, Fern Garden, Titanic Bar & Grill, Edward Smith, Captain Smith, architectureComment

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.

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