Highlights of 2025

Before I write this, let me just say that I realize how incredibly spoiled I am. That said, 2025 was a slower travel year for me. I didn't take any trips outside of the country, or any that were more than 4 or 5 days. With that in mind, I thought the easiest way to (finally!) get caught up would be to do basically a highlight reel from 2025, with one photo from each month.

My parents, my sister and I took a day trip to Harrisburg for the Pennsylvania Farm Show in January. The legendary milkshakes did not disappoint (and nor did the annual butter sculpture)!

The winter feels exceptionally long in Pennsylvania, so my friend Cayla and I got very into themed movie nights. We put together these little snacks to enjoy while we watched Peter Pan in February.

I work remotely so I went to stay with Julia for a week in March. We went to visit James Monroe's Highland one weekend, a Washington Capitals came (pictured above), and spent the following weekend going to museums in Jamestown and Yorktown.

Julia had to move to a new apartment in the spring of 2025, so we didn't take our annual spring break sister trip. She came home to Pennsylvania instead for that week, so we took a day trip to historic Lewisburg.

Over Memorial Day weekend in May, my family took a trip to Chicago where we went to two baseball games (a Cubs game and a White Sox game, and both teams won!), as well as Indiana Dunes National Park. The weather was perfect all weekend.

Julia and I both worked at UCLA again in 2025, but Julia's school year ended in June, the week before we had to fly out to California. We decided to make the most of our time and did a quick, two-night road trip to New River Gorge National Park in West Virginia, pictured above. We spent one night in a glamping dome in the mountains on our way there, and another night on a houseboat on the Kanawha River in Charleston, WV on our way back to Julia's house.

We get very limited time off when we work in California, so we like to make the most of the time that we do have. On one of our days off in July, we took a guided day trip to Joshua Tree National Park, pictured above.

Julia's program ends earlier than mine does at UCLA, so she left in mid-July and I stayed for another three weeks. On one of my solo days off in August, I had the privilege of seeing Cynthia Erivo and Adam Lambert in Jesus Christ Superstar at the Hollywood Bowl. I'm sure you can tell from this picture that I was in the nosebleed seats, but it was such a thrill to hear them live!

I went to the New York Renaissance Faire with my friends Allison and Ted in September. The weather was uncomfortably hot but we still thoroughly enjoyed, especially the jousting!

We planned another family trip to Johnstown, PA in October. It was a great opportunity to appreciate Pennsylvania's breathtaking fall foliage. We also went to the Johnstown Flood Museum and the national historic site, as well as the Flight 93 Memorial.

We love to make the most of a long weekend, so Julia and I flew out to Phoenix, Arizona over Veteran's Day weekend in November. We did some sightseeing in Phoenix and Scottsdale, and then we zipped down to Tucson so we could also visit Saguaro National Park. It was a great trip!

I wouldn't go so far as to say that Julia and I are Disney adults, but we definitely are Disney lovers, and we've talked for years about seeing Disney decorated for the holidays. We finally made it happen in December of 2025. You can probably tell how damp we are in this picture, as a stubborn storm parked over Orlando admittedly kind of ruined the festivities at Magic Kingdom the night we were there for the Christmas party, but it was still a delightful trip overall!

I realize that a slow traveling year for me is more than what some people do in two or three years, but that's why I am the luckiest girl I know!