Best of 2024: John's Travels

A look back at the journeys of a road warrior

If you look at my 2024 travel experiences by the number of states I visited — a mere 19 — then the year isn’t very impressive.

But when it comes to adventures and the sheer number of miles driven, then 2024 was a big year. And my car mechanic would agree.

I took one trip by air, to Las Vegas for Super Bowl week. I drove to Florida twice, plus shorter trips to Michigan, Ohio, Arkansas and Tennessee.

My most spontaneous trip was in March, when I drove to Nashville to attend the 50th anniversary show at the Grand Ole Opry. (Photo courtesy John Naughton.)

Most of my travels are well-planned, thought out, researched. But 2024 took a different path.

In January, I decided I had enough of the Iowa cold. I got in my trusty Toyota RAV4 and headed south.

It was still cold in Memphis. In northern Mississippi. Even in Louisiana.

I dined at Emeril Lagasse’s wonderful Meril restaurant in New Orleans, toured the historic Whitney Plantation in Louisiana and visited music and civil rights destinations in Alabama. I didn’t mind the change in scenery.

Celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse’s wonderful Meril restaurant is graced by seafood murals. (Photo by John Naughton.)

February brought a trip to Las Vegas. I didn’t have game tickets to see The Big Game, but found myself at celebrity parties hosted by Shaquille O’Neal and Guy Fieri (note: They were paid events). I watched the game at the Stadium Swim pool event area downtown at the Circa resort.

I’ve never seen the game in person, but I’ve been in Green Bay when the Packers won, in Denver when the Broncos triumphed, in New Orleans when the Saints were champs and in Minneapolis when the game was played at the U.S. Bank Stadium.