Actually, I'm a few days late in acknowledging the first birthday (or would you call it an anniversary?) of this travel blog. I was motivated to start it at the 2006 Society of American Travel Writers convention in Santiago, Chile. I already my food/culinary blog going, and decided that, as a travel writer, I ought to write about travel too -- both about places I have been, travel news news and my comments about the current travel scene. I wrote my first post on October 21, 2006, as the meeting-and-speechifying part of the convention was ending, and we started traveling to farflung parts of the country. I was excited to share it with anyone who might search for information on Chile and Easter Island, and I knew I'd been broadening its scope.
Since then, I have blogged about my own travels to Alaska, Hawaii, Quebec, New York, Switzerland, Italy, England, Spain, Portugal, Utah and right here in Colorado and tackled other travel topics. The thrill of being elsewhere has never lost its luster for me, but the pleasure and ease of getting there and getting home is constantly being diminished. And of course, with the plunge of the US dollar against just about every currency on the planet, travel is becoming more expensive too. As I travel myself and occasionally report on travel news, I try to pass along information on travel values, low-fare airlines, new airlines, public transportation or other topics that interest me -- and hopefully you too.
In October 2006, this then-new blog logged 119 visitors in its first few days of life. It broke the 1,000 monthly visit barrier in January, and now, more people check it every day than during its first month in the blogosphere. Each of the subsequent months have seen an increase in visits, which with a couple of days to go, could crack the 4,000 visitor mark this month.
I've loved writing this blog (and my two others as well). I appreciate your visits, and I welcome your comments (I don't make anyone jump through annoying hoops to post here; I simply delete the occasional spam ).
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Claire: I love your blog and often find topics of personal interest. I'm
ReplyDeleteimpressed with how steadily you keep posting and that is a part of your
success I am sure. It's so disappointing to visit a blog that never changes
and after awhile you forget about it. I don't get to yours as often as I
mean to, the days fly by, but I appreciate what you do and consider it a
great resource for travel ideas. In fact, with your permission, I'd like to
feature your blog in a new section of FEAST, my eZine about books, art,
food, film, and travel --
http://www.CarstensCommunications.com/FEAST.html -- in its next issue. Let
me know if you are fine with that. Rosemary Carstens
Congratulations, Claire! I consider 4000 visits a month very successful!
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday Babel!
ReplyDeleteA year. Awesome. Was there a cake?
ReplyDeleteClaire: Great blog. Congratulations on your blog's one-year anniversary. I particularly enjoyed your Hawaii posts -- they made me homesick. -Monique Cole
ReplyDeleteI can't believe it's been a year already -- congratulations!
ReplyDelete-- Andrea
I love your blog. It's a little serious and a little edge and more than a little informative. I love the variety. Keep it up! - Cindy
ReplyDelete