Thursday, September 03, 2020

September 3rd



Fifteen years ago today, Travel Penguin posted his first post on this blog. 
Nearly half-a-million page views, just under 2,900 posts, nearly 16,000 comments later, here we are. I know a lot of bloggers have more views, more posts and more comments, good for them.  When I started this I figured if 3 or 4 close friends read what I posted it would be a smashing success.    

In the early posts, it was all Travel Penguin, or TR. I have emerged from the shadows to be the narrator.  The posts are sometimes about travel, sometimes my rambling on life, seldom funny, even less seldom political.  I long ago lost track of all of the places we have been, I know I am still missing two US states, and I keep dreaming about the next trip to Europe (did you know you can take a ferry boat from Iceland to Denmark, with a stop in the Faroe Islands?)  

I have met so many wonderful friends through blogging, some of whom I have actually met. (If you are ever in the Washington DC area, let me know.) 

I continue to say, I do this for me.  It gives me a place to share photos, and 99.9% of the photos on this blog I took.  It has improved my writing - though I still find typos and my brain can construct some very twisted sentences. My brain works in strange ways, but it works for me, and I am okay with that.   

I love that people read and see what I post.  I read your comments, probably the only comments I miss are comments posted more than a couple of days after the post goes up.  Sorry, my brain moves forward, it seldom looks back.  I try to acknowledge comments, even if it is only a couple of words to let you know I read what you wrote.  

As I look forward, I plan to keep doing this.  I think about adding blogs (I tried that this year, and abandoned the idea, one is enough to keep up with while working full time.) 35 months until I don't need to work full time.  Then I can think about new channels.  I think about adding a vlog, more than the once in a rare while video here, I think about creating serious short videos about the adventures in my own backyard and as we travel. It is good to have plans and dreams for the future.  I am so glad I committed to a daily posting, even if I struggle sometimes to come up with the next idea. 

Thank you all for being a part of this.  Please keep reading. Please keep posting.  

If you are not blogging, please start. All of us have a story to tell, a song to sing, a picture to draw, and message to share.  If you have stopped blogging, think about just posting a selfie or a picture of what is around you - let the world know what is important to you, it is simple and helps all of us connect to something outside of ourselves.  

Take care, thank you all for being a part of this, I look forward to the next 15 years.     

21 comments:

  1. Congrats on the blogging miletone🎈🎆✨🎉 And you are better then I to plan things when "out of the office" It's amazing where the time goes. I didn't even want to blog, but a good friend got me started. I was the Deedles for some time. I enjoyed it and plan to do ten years and quit. Now I'm on year 13. I went to look at my views and it shocks me because of who's reading this shit? lol. I just went over the 3 million views, but I have no idea about comments, but I do post alot, well over 4,000. What I like most is the readers. I still have some originals ones left, some readers of years, and still getting new ones. It seems hard to leave. Like leaving old friends I would think. And I do miss seeing the penguin in different locales from time to time.

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    1. At only 29, you have a long way to go before you "out of the office."

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  2. Anonymous9/03/2020

    Well done you. I think I have been 'at it' for just over 16 years. What an experience it has been. Like you I have met some wonderful people and have some treasured internet friends. I think a brief Vlog might work at times, but most of us are here to read the written word and see photos.

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    1. I agree, I love the photos on people's blogs, I try to keep the text shorter.

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  3. Glad to have met you and look forward to many more years Of your stories, travels, and photos... old and new.

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    1. The Penguin wants to come to Spain - I have over 50,000 photos to keep me going for a while.

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  4. 15 years is a long time; congratulations. glad to know you, both on the blog and in person. looking forward to seeing more photos and adventures.

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    1. Keep fighting, keep making us laugh

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  5. Happy Blogoversary! I enjoy your writing, photos and the questions you pose!

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    1. Thanks, the questions have taken on a life of their own.

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  6. Happy 15! And here's to the next .....

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  7. Congratulations on he anniversary. That is quite an accomplishment. You've got three years on me. I had no idea I'd enjoy doing this as much as I do. Keep up the good work! I enjoy visiting your site.

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    1. You are on my daily list, as close to living in the Valley of the Sun as I am likely to get. (I will visit again.)

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  8. Congratulations on your accomplishment, Sweetie! ❤️❤️❤️

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    1. Time flies when we are having fun, 28 years?

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  9. Wow, 15 years! Congrats! I couldn't do it for a day. I bounce off of people instead of initiating stuff. I enjoy blogs like yours and the others who don't mind a whack-a-do superball zig zagging all over the commenter's musings. Keep up the good work!

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    1. I always enjoy comments thank you for being you

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  10. You have been very dedicated to have kept this up for fifteen years. I read your blog everyday, comment infrequently, and enjoy immensely. Your topics are interesting and provocative or nostalgic, and always thoughtful. Thanks for coming into my life every day.

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  11. I too want to join the conga line of congratulations! Good for you! May there be many more years !

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