Happy New Year! 2025 was quite the year. Whether you experienced challenges or successes, it feels like, as a collective, we were all ready to let it go. A new year is a clean slate. A fresh start for whatever intentions are most important to you. Even though January 1st marked the beginning of a new calendar year, those of us in the northern hemisphere are deep in winter, which is meant to be a slower season. So if you’re not quite feeling ready to jump into a new set of goals and ambitions, give yourself a little grace. Enjoy the slower season and the darker days. Use this time to reflect on how you want to feel and what is truly important for you to focus your energy on this year.

I’m sure most of you can relate when I say this, but 2025 did not go as planned. Not necessarily in a good or bad way, but in a different way. I had all these lofty travel plans after getting back to it in 2024, none of which came to be. Things went in a different direction, one that I’m not mad about. I had to be more intentional with my time, which meant slowing down where I could and being opportunistic when it came to travel. So let’s dig in, shall we?

Rediscovering Road Trips
Last year, I rediscovered the adventure of road trips. I’m no stranger to a cross-country trek - having done many of them over the years - but this year, most of my travel was done via car. Client work kept things particularly busy, and as a result, my trips were planned spontaneously. The Type A super planners out there might find that particularly stressful, but it turned out to be exactly what I needed. Why?

Planning travel spontaneously last year allowed me to plan trips around what I needed most - and that turned out to be rest. I had gotten back to traveling more frequently in 2024, and the excitement of it kept me going. But 2025’s energy felt very different, and it was obvious that high-energy trips would not be a theme. There would be no whirlwind NYC adventure or solo drive up the PCH. Instead, I needed to find ways to slow down, find some quiet, and recalibrate my nervous system.

Enter the road trip. The first was in October, when I went on a three-part Wisconsin adventure over about ten days. I drove up to Madison from Chicago for a quick weekend visit with family, then made the long drive to Bayfield, located on the Lake Superior shore, before making one final stop in Hayward, a charming small town in the Wisconsin Northwoods. The longest stretch was about a 7-hour drive with many playlists and a light-hearted audiobook to fill the time. The second was a holiday retreat to a cottage in the Michigan woods and, yes, I’ve also noticed a theme. What I discovered is that driving forces you to slow down. Even if you’re going 90mph at times, you have to focus on the road ahead entirely. There’s no rushing through the airport, connecting to wi-fi, or multi-tasking of any sort. It’s all about presence – and a darn good playlist.

The hidden beauty of the drive was that it prepared you for the quiet and stillness of the destination ahead. Both the wellness retreat and the Michigan cottage were in remote areas, with nothing around within walking distance, and plenty of quiet. Both places were meant to serve as retreats, away from any type of busyness, and as unique opportunities to reconnect with nature. It was challenging adjusting to the slower pace, especially at the retreat in Wisconsin. I can’t imagine what it would have been like to arrive without the drive to serve as a gateway in slowing down. But more on those trips later.

*Driving through the Wisconsin Northwoods.*

The drives also reminded me how much there is to discover on a road trip. You pass through small towns and beautiful landscapes. When you allow yourself extra time, there are an endless number of things to explore - and that’s not even considering how many routes can get you from point A to point B! It’s also a unique way to experience a large stretch of land. I had never been farther north than the Wisconsin Dells before this trip, and driving the entire length of the state introduced me to giant hills filled with trees that were in peak fall colors. I never realized how many lakes were throughout Wisconsin, or how thick the woods could get. It felt like I was discovering this state for the first time, and honestly, I kind of was.

Road trips force us to slow down because we have to be singularly focused, especially when we’re driving or taking the trip solo. There’s a simplicity to them in that way. Cell service is often interrupted, and you have a rare opportunity to just be with your thoughts. Believe me, after driving around 18 hours over the course of this trip, you can think about a lot in one road trip.

*Pod accommodations at a wellness retreat in northern Wisconsin.*

More slowing down…
As I’ve already mentioned, slowing down was an intermittent theme for me in 2025. There were several long stretches when my work consumed everything, and at times, the only thing that kept me going was planned time off simply to rest. After falling sick twice early in the year from back-to-back periods of severe burnout (and one particularly concerning almost-burnout in September), it became clear that my body was screaming for a change. None of the experiences I planned was flashy or included a packed itinerary. Instead, they were focused on disconnecting from an overly plugged-in lifestyle and recentering my mind and body.

Everyone travels differently. While I understand and respect the “by-the-minute” itinerary travelers, and even utilize a strict schedule for specific trips myself, something I’ve needed more of in these last few years is slowing down. Less structure, more intention. Less planning, more feeling. Allowing myself to see where the trip wants to take me rather than forcing the trip in a direction that is expected but not right. It could be something as simple as renting a cottage in the remote Michigan woods just a few hours from home. It could be a luxury wellness retreat on the shores of Lake Superior in northern Wisconsin. Or it could be staying home and making a few thoughtful plans to get out of the house, while still allowing plenty of time to rest.

There’s an inn in southwestern Wisconsin, a wellness resort in the Arizona desert, a place inspired by The Shire from The Lord of the Rings in Tennessee, and a cottage modeled after Nancy Meyers’ The Holiday in Georgia, each of which has caught my eye for 2026. Will I get there? Who’s to say? If there’s one thing people know about me, it’s that I rarely plan a trip more than two months in advance. The intention, however, is to find places that allow for unplugging. Places where I can take a walk in the woods, see a sky full of stars, get lost staring at the water, and regulate my nervous system. While these might seem like simple things, they’re relatively new experiences for me, and I’m starting to become addicted to them.

Exploring Niche Travel
Most of my previous travel has been built around a destination, usually a city. Paris! Boston! San Francisco! But in recent years, my travel has unintentionally niched down. Part of this is due to planning trips around a certain goal or feeling. The whirlwind trip I had to New York City was built around Broadway shows - specifically Moulin Rouge! The Musical. My West Coast adventure was built around the Pacific Coast Highway, and exploring the stretch between Los Angeles and San Francisco, but more importantly, hitting specific lookout points. Wisconsin was centered around family, wellness, and finally, art & community.

The destinations I’ve been bookmarking for potential 2026 travel have their own focus. A unique, cozy inn located in suburban New England that’s themed for book lovers. Charming, fairytale cabins in the PNW. A yurt in Northern California for a completely remote getaway experience. Northern cabins with clear ceilings so you can see a sky full of stars and maybe even a glimpse of the Northern Lights. I’ve been looking for experiences that feed into my personal interests and invite the opportunity to indulge in them. Places where the aesthetic is cozy and perfect for a reading weekend. Where you can go on a food and wine tour. Where you can lock your phone away and immerse yourself in meditations and soulful practices.

I want my travel to align with my personal interests so that I can enjoy them interchangeably. I love traveling because I enjoy exploring new places, meeting people from different walks of life, and experiencing other cultures. There’s no reason why those three pillars can’t meet the simple things that bring me joy as well. In fact, marrying them has only heightened the experience and made it more memorable. So don’t be surprised if, one year from now, we’re featuring a list of places to stay with a book theme, because that’s certainly looking like a strong possibility over the next year.

Appreciate Home More
Finally, one of the things I began doing last year that I intend to do much more of in 2026 is appreciate my home more. Chicago is such an incredible city, and I’ve taken advantage of living here for most of my life. I went to the lakefront last year more than I have in the previous decade, spent more time in new coffee shops and restaurants than I ever have, and even started revisiting museums. I’m not sure how much longer I have in this city, but at the very least, for this year, I intend to spend more time appreciating this city I’ve been lucky to call home.

*Driving south towards downtown Chicago.*

Regardless of where travels take me, or you, in 2026, I hope it’s a year filled with good memories, exciting stories, and new friends. Stay bold. Stay kind. And as always, never be afraid to keep dreaming.