Happy Blogging Anniversary!

It’s hard to believe, but one year ago we launched Oh, the Places We See!  We had just rented an apartment downtown in our own city of Knoxville, Tennessee, and pretended to be tourists for a couple of weeks — even though we lived nearby in the suburbs.

The experience was rich:  We joined the urban walkers each morning prior to heading to work, we ate in new (to us) restaurants at night, and we were right on the spot for all the downtown Dogwood Arts Festival events.  So, the idea for a blog was born: Let’s share our adventures near and far with others.

Now, after a year later, we’re still writing about our travels — and here are the blogging stats that make us smile:

• 61 posts (a little more than one a week)
• 12,125 views (thanks to all our readers and commenters!)
• 76 followers (We really, really appreciate you!)
• Posts with the most views: Books and Buttercream at The Great Cake Bake and Upscale, Classy, Personable: Publix Opens in West Knoxville (Hmm.  We must love to eat around here!)

To celebrate, we’ve posted a picture of one of the tallest layer cakes we’ve ever seen!  It’s from Zoozacrackers Deli – a little restaurant at Wynn Las Vegas — where you can get a good burger or sandwich and watch your favorite sports on the big screens.

A special shout-out goes to Cynthia Moxley who’s commented the most.  Her encouragement means a lot, and her blog, The Blue Streak, is still the gold standard for us!  (Click here to read her posts about what’s happening in Knoxville!)

And what does the future hold?  Well, we’re gonna keep on travelin’ and writin’ — at least for now.  We’ve booked a trip for this summer (Viking River Cruise: Imperial Jewels of China). So keep coming back to compare adventures if you’ve already been or enjoy the new sites and sounds right along with us. As always, though, we love seeing what Knoxville has to offer — it’s home!

Thanks again for reading and following!  What a great year for blogging!

Rusha and Bert

Sight-seeing at Mesa Verde, one of our favorite places in 2012

As we say good-bye to 2012 and look forward to 2013, we want to say thanks to each of you who has stopped by our blog to read, like, comment or just enjoy the pictures and our adventures.

According to WordPress‘s Annual Report for Oh, the Places We See, our most popular posts were about 1) Publix, a new grocery store in Knoxville, 2) Mayfield’s Dairy Farm in nearby Sweetwater, TN, and 3) Trader Joe’s, a new specialty food store in town! We were smiling at each other last night as we recounted some of our 2012 experiences in Russia, New Mexico, and places we loved throughout the South only to realize that maybe we need to be writing more about grocery stores and dairy farms right near our home!!!

It just goes to show that all places are interesting if you think about what’s there to see. The ordinary can be extraordinary. And what we think of as distant and ethereal experiences may have similarities to what is familiar.

We hope to show you even more spots in 2013 — some near, some far; some exotic, some rather ordinary but fascinating. It’s a wonderful world and a wonderful life — and we’re enjoying our late-life explorations with open eyes!

Best wishes to all of our readers for a happy, healthy, successful New Year filled with the wonder of travel — whether it’s in your neighborhood or across the world!

Happy New Year!

Bert and Rusha