Andy’s Journey Weblog celebrates 10 YEARS with my 1000TH POST!

Wow. 10 years.  I can’t even imagine it.

For these of you unaware, I began this weblog after a personally significant journey to Israel with my brother in 2012.  It was additionally a mistake fare, so the roundtrip price was solely like $370.  Once I acquired again to the states and made it again into the workplace, individuals did the standard “hey, how was the journey” factor and I responded with the standard “good” response after which we went about our days.  I wished extra although.

I wished to inform the complete story of what truly occurred on these journeys however not overshare to those that didn’t need the main points.  I made a decision to begin somewhat journey weblog, since I’ve all the time loved writing.  I went to WordPress, clicked the Begin A Weblog button, and so they requested what my weblog was going to be referred to as.  I didn’t actually have any inventive or punny concepts (man, to consider how a lot weblog titles have finished for the Pun Trade) so I simply referred to as it Andy’s Journey Weblog, totally intending to alter it later (oops).  I wrote out my first put up and was off to the races!

Right here’s how the positioning regarded approach again then, with a generic WordPress theme:

I had so many cool concepts for what I wished to write down about and, to be sincere, it took me a very long time to seek out my voice.  I regarded as much as individuals like Gary Leff, Ben Schlappig, and Brian Kelly, who have been the titans of miles and factors running a blog again then (and nonetheless are at present!), however I discovered that my weblog wasn’t a lot totally different than theirs, solely theirs have been significantly better!  I wasn’t an excellent miles and factors blogger however liked writing in regards to the journeys I took and the way I booked them.  I settled into my voice now: an optimistic, hopeful journey weblog documenting the travels and ideas of an expert traveler.

The most important second in my running a blog profession

The most important second in my running a blog profession was an e-mail change with a gentleman named Randy Petersen, the godfather of frequent flying, founding father of Flyertalk, and chief of the legendary BoardingArea community of journey blogs.

I firmly imagine that if you need one thing in life, you need to ask for it.  I had been getting some good site visitors on my weblog and wished to take the subsequent step, so I despatched in a blind e-mail to the BoardingArea generic contact e-mail:

“Good afternoon, what kind of site visitors are you searching for bloggers to have earlier than bringing them onboard?  My writing fashion is a mixture between An Fool Overseas and Ernest Hemingway and I typically suppose too extremely of myself.  All the most effective, Andy (www.andystravelblog.com)”

By no means in 1,000,000 years did I think about that I might get the next response:

“Andy…don’t fear about Hemingway!  An excellent day and week to you.  I’ve continuted to learn your weblog because you contacted us and suppose it could be an awesome add to our enlargement of BoardingArea.  I feel you’ve acquired a pleasant writing fashion, distinctive perspective and one thing that might actually develop with publicity to extra readers.

[administrative stuff]

I can reply any questions you have got and at this level am questioning of your curiosity to affix our present household of bloggers.”

Cheers,
Randy Petersen

My life would by no means be the identical.  The help I’ve obtained from the BoardingArea workforce, previous and current, has been unbelievable and it’s allowed me to, as Randy all the time says, “simply write and be the most effective blogger you could be”.  

Since then, it’s been regular progress as I discovered my voice, took up pictures, and settled in to what I feel is an effective running a blog cadence.  Typically I write extra typically, generally I’m going for somewhat bit between posts, which I do know could be irritating for my readers.  So lots of you have got given me the room to write down what I’m captivated with and to weblog from my coronary heart.  I can not let you know how a lot meaning to me.

By nearly sheer coincidence, at present marks what I imagine to be my one thousandth put up on this weblog, which sounds CRAZY to me (what’s crazier is that’s a gradual month for a lot of of my friends!).  I’ve written about miles and factors, locations to which I’ve traveled, and also you’ve all gotten to see me fall in love with puffins.  I hope you’ve loved the experience alongside the way in which!

Over the previous 1000 posts, I’ve shared:

• 5946 footage, nearly each one in every of them taken by me
• Roughly 5000 feedback have been shared on this weblog
• I common roughly 1600 phrases/put up, which suggests I’ve written 1.6 million phrases on the weblog!
• Over the previous 10 years, greater than 1.7 million individuals have visited this weblog, producing round 2.5 million pageviews!

I’ve written plenty of tales I’m happy with, and a few have even taken off and gone viral!  Right here’s my present checklist of biggest hits, loosely so as of pageviews:

1. They Will Fly Once more: an Aerial Have a look at Grounded Jets throughout the USA
2. Delta paid me $4500 to take a later flight!
3. I misplaced my Govt Platinum standing and couldn’t be extra grateful
4. Singapore Airways Suites Class: What It’s Actually Like
5. To the individuals of Singapore, Reddit, and the remainder of the world: THANK YOU! (written after the creator of a mega-viral story about Singapore Suites Class blatantly plagiarized my work and Reddit went loopy on him)
6. EXCLUSIVE: Particulars of Casey Neistat’s FAA investigations
7. What I Use to Take Photos and Why None of it Issues
8. I Stayed on the Marina Bay Sands Simply to Swim within the Infinity Pool, was I insane?
9. Did Saturday Evening Dwell simply take advantage of correct journey expectations video ever?
10. My $28000 First Class Journey Across the World

Thanks

I do know I say thank you a large number (in my protection, I imply it loads).  This weblog is mine, however it’s additionally yours.  YOU preserve me going.  YOUR sort phrases are the gasoline that causes my fingers to hit the keyboard for you.  The factor about running a blog from a first-person perspective (like I do right here) is that you find yourself being sort of just like Jim Carrey’s character in The Truman Present.  You invite individuals into your life, into your wins and your losses. 

Over the previous decade, you’ve watched me develop up.  You have been there as I discovered my voice and realized learn how to write.  You have been there in 2014 once I purchased my first digicam simply earlier than an unbelievable journey to Machu Picchu, fostering a love for pictures that may proceed for the remainder of my life.

Cherished that tree

I look again to who I used to be again then and it’s exhausting to place into phrases all of the methods I’ve grown.  The center behind all of it has stayed the identical, although, and I’m so comfortable to learn that joyful and optimistic coronary heart in nearly each put up.  The world is smaller to me due to this weblog, which has helped me make buddies in numerous international locations internationally.  I’ve realized learn how to join with individuals and root for his or her success, serving to any approach I can.

I feel, most of all, I’ve realized that we’re all on our personal journeys.  A buddy stated to me a couple of years in the past “with all the youngsters’ actions we took a break from touring for a couple of years however we journey vicariously by way of you!”  To that buddy, I say that I’d love having a fleet of youngsters sometime, so I’m residing simply as vicariously by way of you.  We’re all on our personal journeys.  There will probably be comfortable moments, unhappy moments, stunning scenes, and generally simply “the standard”, however, irrespective of the place you’re on this planet, there’s magnificence in all of it.  Simply preserve going.  Write that subsequent put up, go on that subsequent journey, or possibly even simply attain out to individuals who imply the world to you and inform them you like them.

I should not have the phrases to explain how grateful I’m for every of you who go to this weblog.  The recollections of individuals recognizing me are nice, however much more than that the emails I’ve obtained saying {that a} put up of mine helped somebody with an important element of a visit make me really feel like this effort has been worthwhile.

And I’m not stopping but.  Right here’s to the subsequent 10 years!