Agree with you there - I've been mining and trading XMR for just over a year now and it has been quite an interesting ride - I think there will be more to come - I predicted at the start of the year that XMR will be the number 2 or 3 currency on CMC by the end of the year - hasn't lived up to my expectations - but there is still lots of potential
Monero and Litecoin are still some of the safest long-term investments (IMO)
You might not get rich overnight but both of these coins could easily double in the next few years.
They both have solid tech, good development and long-term goals. Thousands of other coins will come and go and these two will still be around.
I think Monero is great right now. Like you said, it is a safe long-term investment, but on top of that, I think it has solid short-term potential also. It probably has the most growth potential out of any coin currently in the top 10. I would not be surprised if it had a big pump soon