Our Favorite Places We Visited in 2025
My favorite flower is the California poppy, but if I’m being honest, I’m probably more of a tumbleweed at heart. I’m always rolling to the next destination. And I have yet to put down sturdy roots.
That’s just part of vanlife, I suppose. I get asked about life on the road all the time. And most conversations have the phrase “living the dream” pop up at some point.
Truth be told, that phrase makes me chuckle. It’s even become an inside joke with my husband. Not because we dislike vanlife. Far from it! We absolutely adore it. It’s a life of adventure, beauty, and wanderlust that’s met a lot of my expectations. But it’s also full of challenges that make the tough times more complicated.
Here’s an example: 2025 started with a bang and a sputter. I mean that literally.
We started the first Thursday in January with a phone call about layoffs. Yuck! Immediately after that, we hit the road—as we usually do. And just a few hours later, the van’s transmission died without warning. Long story short, it was an expensive fiasco at the exact wrong time.
So, our travels early in the year were halted. Certainly not the early footing we wanted for 2025.
But that’s okay. Because even the harder years showed us something valuable. We are resilient and adaptable. My husband and I make a really great team. And even though we hit some BS, we didn’t argue. We worked together as a team. So, even though the world wouldn’t move our way in 2025, we were still able to bob and weave through it—making the most of our perseverance.
Yes, it was that kind of year. But despite many lows—some too personal to share—this was still a year full of new travels, wild adventures, and lots of love. Not just in my wedding and elopement business but also in our day-to-day vanlife adventures.
Read a few of our travel highlights of the year below. Come on the journey with me by following along with my landscape photography Instagram, or check out my landscape print shop.
Let’s dive into my favorite places we traveled to in 2025.
Thailand & Cambodia
Much of my international travel is guided by my good friends Ruta & Greg. I’ll admit, that with so much elopement travel planning in my daily life, it can be daunting to get up to speed on globetrotting. So these two get us out there—in exchange for photos, of course!
The four of us traveled to Thailand this year, making stops in Bangkok, Phuket, and the Phi Phi Islands. Between the food and temples, these beautiful places blew our minds and made for some great photos.
One of the highlights of our Asia trip was making it to Cambodia. And you better believe we visited Angkor Wat—a spot that’s been on my bucket list for longer than I can remember.
You don’t grow up in a household like mine, full of history, art, and architecture, without knowing that spot. So, when Ruta floated that as an add-on to the trip, I thought: “Are you serious? Cause yes, please!” And let me tell you, it’s cooler in person than any photo makes it!
Canyon de Chelly National Monument
Navajo Nation is one of the most stunning landscapes on earth, which checks because it’s within the Colorado Plateau—home to spots like Capitol Reef, the Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, Lake Powell, and so much more.
In the middle of this area, you’ll find such treasures as Canyon de Chelly National Monument, a red rock sandstone canyon where Native Americans have lived for millennia.
Our wedding anniversary lands in the middle of a busy season for wedding photography, so we made the trip out here for our celebration. We hired a guide to take us through the valley, stopping at many of the old dwellings to tell us stories passed down through generations. You can also see petroglyphs, wild horses, and private properties where natives still live. You must hire a guide to visit the inside of the canyon, but you can see it from above on your own.
Idyllwild, California
I grew up in Southern California, and somehow never went to Idyllwild. Wild, right?
This quaint mountain town overlooks the Coachella Valley, home to the similarly named music festival, as well as Palm Springs and Anza Borrego. The town of Idyllwild is so cute, and not just because the mayor is a dog named Max! This is the best spot for forests and mountains in Southern California, an area not known for either.
One of my goals this year was to expand my experience in areas near where I live. So we spent a few weeks here after our transmission broke down, wanting to stay somewhere chill in case we had any follow-up problems. It ended up being such a good time, I wrote a blog all about it, and managed to photograph my first elopement in the area.
Lassen National Park
California boasts 9 national parks—the most in the continental United States! Nothing holds a candle to Alaska’s public lands, but at least we have this.
Somehow, I haven’t visited them all. So we made a plan to visit at least one new one a year. This year we finally made it to Lassen National Park! This park is so underrated, likely because of how remote it is. It’s “out there” enough that we bought our groceries from a gas station and had to stock up on any specialty items before arriving.
Regardless, this spot is worth it. You can find geological features here, like mud pots, hot springs, and boiling lakes. But that’s not all—hike to ancient cinder cone volcanoes, paddle in alpine lakes under Lassen Peak, and more. We spent over a week here and got to do so much, but still didn’t do everything. Clearly worth another visit!
Where Will We Go in 2026?
I already have some amazing travel plans for 2026. Standard spots like Death Valley and Mammoth Lakes, but also new spots like Japan!
Want to get married with me as your wedding photographer? Check out the travel schedule to see where we’ll be. But also reach out if you don’t see your spot.
