What plans do you have for 2025? You may be thinking about big adventures or just happy excursions close to home. Anthony Bourdain once said, “If I’m an advocate for anything, it’s to move. As far as you can, as much as you can. Across the ocean, or simply across the river. The extent to which you can walk in someone else’s shoes or at least eat their food, it’s a plus for everybody. Open your mind, get up off the couch, move.”

A few ideas to help spur on a great year of discoveres:

How about a trip to California to see the “Lone Cypress” in Pebble Beach? Even native Californians love visiting this beautiful place.

For something very different, Setinel de las Bodegas in the Spanish region of Andalusia, may be a great place to visit. The town is very unique as it is built into the rocks. It was once the the site of a Moorish town and way before that a Roman site.

Take someone for a walk.

The ancient ruins of Ayuttaya are wonderful for exploring and only an hour drive north of Bangkok, Thailand.

Walking among giant redwoods is at the very top of my “happy places” list. I took this photo while in “Dr. Aurelia Reinhardt Redwood Regional Park.” It is a hidden gem of redwood forest off Redwood Road, just a few miles over the ridge from downtown Oakland, California.

Get comfy and read a book,….during the day!

Istanbul, Turkey, is unlike any city I’ve ever visited. The view above is the Golden Horn waterway with the Galata Tower high on the hill.

A visit to a museum never fails to amaze.

For something quite different visit the Jewel at Singapore’s Changi Airport. It spans 10 stories – five above-ground and five basement levels, an indoor garden spanning five stories, and is full of shops, restaurants, and recreational activities.

Take a hike at Chautauqua Park in Boulder, Colorado.

This happy lady (Marla) loves exploring the Sunday and the Saturday walking streets while in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

All ages love the California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park.

The fishing village of Cassis is a quieter option when visiting the Côte d’Azur region of France.

Shift your focus to somewhere very exotic like Jaipur, India, during the Holi Festival.

Reconnect with your inner child by the ocean. This is Muir Beach in Marin County, California.

Take a hike at 10,000 feet in Vail, Colorado.

Go to a bakery,…or at least window shop!

Share a glass with a friend.

Menton France on the Riviera and close to Italy is one of my very favorite places!

Champagne is always a good idea!

If you enjoy unusual places, the Ming Tombs near Beijing China might be your choice.

Travel to the tropical side of the Big Island in Hawaii and take a walk at Akaka Falls State Park.

While in Boston you must visit the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum!

For passionate animal lovers how about a safari to Africa?

The rustic Sonoma County coast is wild and beautiful.

Take a bike ride anywhere…near or far. Our daughter Stacy took this of me heading east on Vail Pass.

I’ll leave you with 2 of my favorite Anthony Bourdain travel quotes:

“Travel changes you. As you move through this life and this world you change things slightly, you leave marks behind, however small. And in return, life — and travel — leaves marks on you.”

“It seems that the more places I see and experience, the bigger I realize the world to be. The more I become aware of, the more I realize how relatively little I know of it, how many places I have still to go, how much more there is to learn.”

Photos: Dick Gentry. Not to be used without permission.