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

West Michigan Would Like to Welcome You to the Largest Outdoor Winter Festival in the U.S.

Wintertime can feel like a slog, especially once the holidays have come and gone. If you’re not much of a winter sports person, whether we’re talking skiing, snowboarding, ice fishing, or the like, it can be even more of a drag. That’s where winter festivals and carnivals come into play, injecting a bit of brightness into the cold, shortened days of the bitter season. As far as these frosty affairs go, it doesn’t get much bigger than the weeks-long World of Winter Festival held in West Michigan every January, February, and March.

MichiganLogan T. HansenDecember 29, 2025travel, travel guide, travel advice, travel inspiration, travelspiration, travel ideas, travel itinerary, travel recommendations, travel tips, travel planning, winter travel, Michigan, Great Lakes State, Mitten State, Grand Rapids, West Michigan, World of Winter, Beer City, silent disco, scavenger hunt, Hungry Hungry Hippos, winter festival, winter carnival, Downtown Grand Rapids Inc, DGRI, ice carving, ice sculptures, Rosa Parks Circle, Ah-Nab-Awen Park, Sixth Street Park, Blue Bridge, Great Lakes Snow Snake Competition, Fire & Ice, Noodle Fest, Greater Grand Rapids Figure Skating Club, Winter's a DRAG!, AYA Youth Collective, RuPaul's Drag Race, RuPaul, Stella's Lounge, Butcher's Union, Grand Rapids Garage Bar & Grill, Garage Bar & Grill, Founders Brewing, New Holland Brewing, Atwater Brewery, All Day IPA, Dirty Bastard, Dragon's Milk, Tangerine Space Machine, Detroit, Midwest, winter activities, the great outdoors, winter getawayComment

U.S. Ghost Adventures' Best Haunted Cities to Visit Across the Country

Every city in the U.S., from your small towns to major metropolises, has haunted lore and urban legends that locals have shared for decades. It could be a historic hotel, an abandoned mansion, or an old asylum where patients weren’t treated with hospitable care. Any location where tragic events or horrific deaths took place will have a dark energy within it. And those are the ideal spots for ghosts and spirits to linger.

North AmericaU.S. Ghost AdventuresOctober 21, 2025travel, travel guide, travel advice, travel inspiration, travelspiration, travel lists, travel recommendations, travel tips, travel ideas, travel itinerary, travel photography, travel facts, haunted, haunted America, best haunted cities, The Wren Building, U.S. Ghost Adventures, College of William & Mary, Virginia, Maryland, Louisiana, haunted cemetery, Pennsylvania, Gettysburg, Gettysburg Address, Abraham Lincoln, Battle of Gettysburg, U.S. Civil War, Civil War, haunted hotel, haunted inn, Gettysburg National Cemetery, Battlements at Gettysburg National Military Park, Union Army, Gettysburg Cyclorama, ghost tour, haunted tour, Annapolis, Revolutionary War, The Maryland Inn, Thomas Hyde, State Circle, Congress of Confederation, The Bride, Room 405, Governor Calvert House, Historic Inns of Annapolis, Calvert, The Calvert Family, Peeping Tom, Williamsburg, Colonial Williamsburg, colonial era, east coast, Public Hospital, haunted asylum, electroshock therapy, New Orleans, Le Petit Theatre, La Petit Theatre du Vieux Carre, French Quarter, La Petit Theatre, St. Louis Cathedral, Jackson Square, Pere Antoine, ghost stories, ghost hunting, haunted travel, paranormal, paranormal activityComment

The Revived Ruin That Perfectly Showcases Detroit's Ongoing Renaissance

Corktown is one of Detroit’s most eclectic neighborhoods, brimming with breweries, eateries, bars, and all kinds of inviting little shops and boutiques — a quaint little city within the city, with downtown’s skyscrapers plainly in view off to the east. While there are all kinds of reasons for visiting this part of Detroit, the true pièce de résistance is the newly-revived Michigan Central Station.

MichiganLogan T. HansenSeptember 29, 2025travel, travel advice, travel guide, travel inspiration, travelspiration, Detroit, travel tips, travel reviews, travel recommendations, travel ideas, travel planning, Great Lakes State, Motor City, Motown, Corktown, Michigan, Michigan Central Station, Michigan Central, Henry Ford, William Clay Ford Jr., The Ford Motor Company, Mercury Burger & Bar, Downtown Detroit, Midtown, County Cork, Ireland, U.S. history, Michigan history, Ellis Island, Slows Bar-B-Q, Metropolis Cycles, Yard Graffiti Museum, Michigan Central Railroad, Amtrak, train travel, Bill Ford, Eminem, Diana Ross, Gateway to Detroit, Stanley Christmas, Great Recession, Jack White, Big Sean, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Peacock, Paul Rosenberg, Mitten State, Yellow Light Coffee and Donuts, Neighbor x Folk, The Shop, mobilityComment

Getting Hostel in the City: All (or Most) of What You Need to Know About Freehand Hotels

Finding accommodations in the heart of a major American city is generally going to be a pricey affair. If you want to stay right downtown where all the action is, that’s usually going to come with a heftier price tag. That makes perfect sense, of course, but what if there was a way to get around the higher cost without sacrificing location or comfort? Freehand Hotels are by no means a magical remedy to this conundrum, but they do offer a digestible solution.

North AmericaLogan T. HansenSeptember 17, 2025travel, travel guide, travel advice, travel inspiration, travelspiration, travel deals, Freehand, Freehand Hotels, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, hostel, hotel, hotel deals, nightlife, hotel stays, hostel stays, travel reviews, travel recommendations, travel tips, travel ideas, travel planning, travel budget, budget travel, budgeting, cheap travel, Wisconsin, Fond du Lac, New York, Florida, Illinois, California, George Washington Hotel, Flatiron District, Manhattan, bohemian, affordable travel, affordability, affordable, historic architecture, Never Have I Ever, Freehand Chicago, Freehand Los Angeles, Freehand Miami, Freehand New York, Windy City, City of Angels, Magnificent Mile, rooftop bar, rooftop pool, solo travel, solo female travel, female-only dorms, travel hacks, travel logisticsComment

All Beach Bums Report to Beverly Shores, The Lakefront Hideaway Tucked Inside a National Park

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 — 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?

North AmericaLogan T. HansenAugust 30, 2025travel, travel advice, travel guide, travel inspiration, travelspiration, travel recommendations, travel reviews, travel tips, travel ideas, Indiana, Hoosier State, Lake Michigan, Great Lakes, Indiana Dunes National Park, Beverly Shores, beach, beach day, beach life, lake life, sand dunes, summer, summer travel, nature, the great outdoors, Mother Nature, outdoors, outdoor recreation, Michigan City, Gary, Northwest Indiana, Midwest, hidden gem, International Dark Sky Community, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, US Route 12, US-12, Beverly Shores Depot, Beverly Shores Depot Museum & Art Gallery, South Shore Line, Chicago, Chicagoland, South Bend, Insull Spanish, Insull Spanish architecture, architecture, Mission Revival, California, 19th century, Beverly Shores Heritage Trail, Wes Anderson, South Broadway, East Lake Front Drive, Century of Progress, Century of Progress Historic District, Century of Progress Homes, 1933 Chicago World's Fair, I Love Lucy, America's First Glass House, Cypress Log Cabin, Florida Tropical House, Armco-Ferro House, Rostone House, House of Tomorrow, Robert Bartlett, Frederick H. Bartlett Company, Atlantic City, Save the Dunes, Save the Dunes Council, Indiana Landmarks, National Register of Historic PlacesComment

Harper Lee's 'To Kill a Mockingbird' Comes to Life in the Late Author's Tiny Alabama Town

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.

How to Successfully Start Your Digital Nomad Life with a Disability

The idea of working from a beachside café or a mountain hostel might sound like a sun-drenched fantasy. But for disabled travelers, that fantasy has more layers. If you’re serious about living and working on the move, you’ll need more than a decent backpack and a dream. You’ll need foresight, flexibility, and a bit of hustle. This isn’t about inspiration, it’s about information. Here’s how to start building your version of a nomadic life that works on your terms.

New Orleans: Four Days of Beignets & Foul Play(s) in the Big Easy, Pt. 1

Of all the iconic cities in the good ole U.S. of A. — New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Nashville (to name a few) — New Orleans was one that I had yet to check off my list. That was rectified in the spring of 2025 when I ventured once more to the Deep South with my parents and two of my siblings for a little family vacay in the Big Easy.

North AmericaLogan T. HansenApril 29, 2025travel, travel guide, travel advice, travel inspiration, travelspiration, New Orleans, Louisiana, Big Easy, French Quarter, travel recommendations, travel reviews, travel tips, travelogue, travel ideas, travel itinerary, travel diary, travel blog, New York, New York City, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Nashville, Deep South, The Natchez, Blue Bayou, Blue Bayou Restaurant & Oyster Bar, Creole, Cajun, Creole cuisine, Cajun cuisine, jazz music, architecture, French architecture, Spanish architecture, Creole architecture, Bourbon Street, Mardi Gras, Henry Clay, Lafayette Square, Canal Street, Bud Light, hard seltzer, Nesbitt Corner Store, The Scooby-Doo Show, Scooby-Doo, New Orleans Steamboat Company, Gray Line, Gray Line tours, Mississippi River, seafood, jambalaya, plantation tour, swamp tour, ghost tour, cocktail tour, city tour, Duke Heitger, Steamboat Stompers, Orleans Parish, St. Bernard Parish, Musical Legends Park, live music, Cafe Beignet, Hurricane, Hurricane drinkComment

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