Celebrating 10 years with WordPress!

26Aug
by Oh, the Places We See
Standing atop Mt. Battie in Camden, Maine -- celebrating 50 years of marriage!

According to a notice from WordPress last week, we’ve hit a milestone: 10 years of blogging, 736 posts! And what a great decade it has been! What started as a lark has turned in to a commitment to keep the content and photos coming — about travel, about photography, about whatever strikes our fancy.

Without commitment, you’ll never start, but more importantly without consistency, you’ll never finish.

We've been photo bombed -- by a cat in Meknes, Morocco. Oh, well.
Photo bombed — by a cat in Meknes, Morocco.

The LOUNGE13

We’ve enjoyed hearing from our followers as much as we’ve enjoyed putting posts together. Thank you so much for your interest in us and for your comments that connect — even though we live miles apart. Following you has brought us closer to people and places around the world, and for that, we are grateful.

In 2019, we hired Michael Wender, a web designer, to upgrade the appearance and format of Oh, the Places We See. Our fresher look (using the Christopher theme) coupled with a commitment to continue blogging even during a pandemic have netted us more followers and more satisfaction with what we want our blog to portray: the joy of travel — near AND far.

So which posts have been our most popular? According to WordPress stats, here are the most visited, most read (we assume) posts from each of the last five years. We’re a bit surprised at the topics, but we’re maybe readers search for big cities and famous names. And why not?

Most Visited — Last 5 Years

2017: Seven swanky lobbies to see: Vegas Hotels

Las Vegas welcome sign
Welcome to Vegas — any time day or night!

Oh, those lobbies in Vegas — playgrounds of the rich and famous, or so we thought. But they’re open for all to see and enjoy, just for a walk down the strip.

Part One: Seven swanky lobbies to see: Vegas Hotels

Part Two: Seven swanky lobbies to see: Vegas Hotels

2018: Five things to do in a day: St. Petersburg, Florida

St. Petersburg’s got a lot going for it — shopping, beach, and friendly residents. But what we loved most was The Dali, a fascinating repository of art by Salvador Dali, complete with docents willing to share “their stuff” with the masses. A great place to visit!

Dali Museum, St. Petersburg, FL

2019: Whitney to High Line to Chelsea Market: A newer New York

Give us an opportunity to select one city to see, and we’d probably choose the Big Apple. Vibrant, exciting, and massive — we loved seeing department stores at Christmas, riding public transportation just so we could listen to people’s accents, and touring museums like the Whitney. The High Line brought innovation to light, and we could see this whole area unfolding in a positive way.

Whitney Museum as seen from the High Line

2020: Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #113: A Labor of Love

In the last year or so, we’ve participated in the Lens-Artists Photo Challenges almost every week. What fun it is to see how other photographers interpret the challenge words of the week with posts of their own! In #113, we were asked to serve as guest hosts, and we chose the theme “A Labor of Love” to show how people around the world do their work with commitment, diligence, skill, and yes, happiness.

Cambodian family drying fish
A Cambodian family (grandmother, too!) work together to dry fish for market.

2021: Life is short, take the curves: Needles Highway, SD

A trip to South Dakota netted us scenery like no other, but Needles Highway took our breath away. No wonder so many bikers flock to the area for glimpses of monolithic rock, natural tunnels, and curves that only a stalwart rider could handle. Could we go back to SD? In a heartbeat!

Needles Hwy, Custer State Park SD
Taking the curves, one at a time: Needles Highway, South Dakota

For us, there’s more that we’ve loved on our travels, and so our top five may differ from what the stats show. We’ve loved (and now miss!) traveling — sometimes to work with Habitat for Humanity, sometimes for the pure pleasure of sitting on a Viking long boat. Our travel agent, Lauren Gunnels of Ortelius Travel Advisors, is ready to plan a new trip for us when the time is right.

  • Perhaps a perfect place to pose for a picture: under a blue arched doorway in Chefchouen.
    Perhaps the perfect place to pose for a picture: Chefchouen.
  • Success! Bert mounts a camel!
    Mounting a camel in the Sahara.

But following the onset of COVID-19, we’re grateful we can still travel by car and see sites and sights in the good ol’ U.S. of A. Click on any of these posts, and you’ll see why and how we’re discovering new ways to get around and enjoy life together. And yes, we recommend getting vaccinated, wearing masks, and practicing social distancing.

Some of our favorite posts:

Five places to see: Monhegan Island

Our last dreamy town: Onancock, VA — Road Trip 2020

Hoodoo you love? Bryce Canyons National Park

Elkmont: Once upon a time in the Great Smokies

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #157: Getting Away

  • Greeting the sun at the Monhegan Island lighthouse
    Sunrise on Monhegan Island
  • Sundown on Onancock Creek, VA
    Sundown in Onancock, VA
  • Hoodoos standing tall in Bryce Canyon
    Hoodoos standing tall in Bryce Canyon
  • Levi Trentham House, Elkmont in Great Smoky Mountains
    A cabin at Elkmont in Great Smoky Mountains
  • Pawleys Island Pier at sunrise
    Greeting the sun at Pawleys Pier, Pawleys Island SC

Although numerous bloggers, photographers, and followers on WordPress have influenced us, we dare not try to thank them all. We would, inadvertently, omit someone. So, thanks to all of you for sharing your lives with us and helping us dream of more places to visit.

Sams at Silos Baking Co, Waco, TX
Enjoying Magnolia Bakery in Waco, Texas

We appreciate your comments, new ideas, and virtual friendships.

Let’s keep finding new ways to see this glorious world of ours and enjoy each other’s company.

Travel wide-eyed,

Rusha & Bert

32 thoughts on “Celebrating 10 years with WordPress!”

  5. Greenglobaltrek

    Congrats to both of you in this milestone! Keep up the good work!

    We too started our blog in a very informal way to keep friends and family updated on our adventures when we left the US to live in Nicaragua. And then we started keeping it as a journal for ourselves. Isn’t it fun looking back over the years and having a pictorial journal of our lives? Couldn’t agree more, that the comments and feedback become v meaningful after the work invested in the actual post.

    Peta

    Reply

  9. Carolyn Pearre

    Congratulations on your 10 year anniversary with your wonderful blog. We have loved our travels with you to PI and thank you for guiding our travels in your footsteps. Our next trip includes your Onancock, VA on the Eastern Shore.

    Reply

    1. Oh, the Places We See

      Thanks for following along. You’re going to love the Eastern Shore. The pace is slower, but the food and scenery are excellent. Hope you both are doing well and staying healthy. Coming to Knoxville soon?

      Reply

  10. Rose

    Congratulations on your 10-year blog-iversary! I’ve enjoyed reading your blog and seeing your photos. You are an adorable couple and a fun inspiration. 😊

    Reply

    1. Oh, the Places We See

      Thank you so much for following and reading. If we didn’t have lovers of blogs keeping up with us, we would probably have quit by now. Stay safe. Safe cool. And stay interested. We appreciate you.

      Reply

    1. Oh, the Places We See

      Thanks so much, Sue. You’re one of my biggest patrons, always saying something positive and encouraging. Hope you are well and staying cool this hot summer. I love your blog, especially what you do with photos!!!

      Reply

    1. Oh, the Places We See

      Thanks so much for your positive response. We hope to keep at it, at least for a while. We appreciate readers like you, for if we didn’t have them, we would have stopped writing a long time ago.

      Reply

It makes our day to hear from you.