Hey
Roadtrippers! Calling you all in for a pit-stop. I don't know where
you are on Route 66, but let's all meet here at the A-Z for a little
chat about how our journeys are going.
I'm
still chugging along, though not at nearly the pace I first started
with. Then I was hitting 7-8 new blogs a day, out there meeting and
greeting a socializing. Then I started to miss some of my old
blogging buddies, and decided that I needed my friends, and the
adventure at the same time. This choice did slow me down...
For
me it was a good choice though, because some of these buddies were
new ones, and it's not good to disappear at the beginning of a
friendship! Those relationships have grown, and they feel like old
friends now.
What
I'm really loving is taking the Reflections part of Route 66 first.
That way I know that the person I'm visiting took the Challenge
seriously, probably finished, and had something to say about it.
I've found some truly excellent examples, and some of those bloggers
have agreed to share their Reflections here. You may have read some
of them.
I've
read gaming blogs, music blogs, atheist blogs, journal blogs, cooking
blogs, craft blogs that make me envious of their enormous patience
and talent, I've learned some new scrapbooking techniques (not that
I'll ever have time for that in my life again, I'm predicting), I've
seen other countries, experienced other cultures, read some amazing
poetry, bought WAAAY too many books on my Kindle, just like last
year, and met some incredible people. It's a blast! I'm going to
just keep swimming, just keep swimming!
Please
share some of the highlights of your journey in the comments!
~Tina
How embarrassing :O I confess I had forgotten all about the roadtrip. In my defence I've been so busy with the launch of my new book, with Children's Book week, with a week away for real work (whatever the difference between 'real' and 'writing' is I don't know) and with more giveaways and hops... and now I'm supposed to be at Camp NaNoWriMo and I've got flu.
ReplyDeleteSo if you've stopped by and wondered why I hadn't been back to you... I'm sorry. I'll catch up soon. Thanks for hearing me out :)
Jemima
I did fairly well for a while, but then I got sick and then busy and just haven't spent much time on my computer. It's been hard to get back on the road.
ReplyDeletetm
So far I've visited 250 blogs on the road trip.
ReplyDeleteAdded to the number of blogs I visited during April and I currently have 1131 more blogs to visit.
I've been stopping by blogs on the Road Trip usually once a week. I've just been going through the A-Z sign up list, visiting a handful of blogs at a time, commenting here and there. But I do kind of like the idea of using the Reflections Post list, too. Hmm....
ReplyDelete:)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the reminder! I completed the Reflection Post round, but completely forgot about the Ultimate Road Trip. Might as well start today while I'm immobile :)
ReplyDeleteSuzanne @ Suzannes Tribe
I've been so flat out busy lately that I have not had the chance to continue my journey through the reflections list. I've now entered the task on my Any.do app, so I plan to continue next week!
ReplyDeleteI never really worked out exactly what I was meant to do but I am working my way through the main list with the plan of visiting every blog I can, although a few have vanished and some are sort of sleeping. I have found 4 or 5 new ones to follow though. It does not sound a lot but you can only follow so many active blogs.
ReplyDeleteI must admit I only comment on the few I really like and sort of pass the others silently but I have now been to 1300 or there about's of the original list but I have now run out of steam and think this will probably be it now.....
Rob Z Tobor
@Jemima: no worries, we all have full plates. It's meant to be fun so no stressing allowed!
ReplyDelete@Ornery's Wife: it is hard to get started again, let me know if you need a jump-start - I've got cables!
@Chippy: math girl like me - love it! Way to quantify your journey! Good work - keep it up!
@Madeleine: switching gears is nice sometimes! Give it a shot if you want.
@Jeremy: :-) yourself!
@Suzanne: sorry you're immobile, but might as well make good use of the time! Good thought.
@Jarm: I think I need that app...
~Tina
Thanks for the reminder, Tina. I haven't visited as many road-trip blogs as I had initially planned to. With vacation and holiday out of the way, I hope to get back on the road. Like you, I'm having a blast. I enjoy the blogs I read and all new friendships I make.
ReplyDeleteGads! I kind of forgot again! Gotta turn up the music AND THE A/C and hit the road!
ReplyDelete@Andrea:we could fire up the a/c and the AC/DC!
ReplyDelete~Tina
I got distracted by family health issues so got off the road. Now I hope to get back on again. Looking forward to meeting new friends.
ReplyDeleteAaaaargh... I forgot all about the road trip! My head seems to be all over the place at the moment. I think the heat might be getting to me (I really don't function properly in the summer) - I even broke my toe the other day because I just wasn't focused of what I was doing (walking in a straight line?!?!)
ReplyDeleteOnce it cools down, I'll be back to normal... I hope!
Suzy Turner, YA Author
@Rob: that's AMAZING! That's the most I've heard from anyone! I do understand being done though...
ReplyDelete@janiceheck: just keep swimming! Glad you're back on the road!
@Suzy: yikers on the toe! Sounds like something I would do. Feel free to stretch out in the back seat and just enjoy the ride! Hope it heals soon.
~Tina
Hello all.
ReplyDeleteI thought this year I'd start at the bottom of the original sign-up list and work my way up. I've visited at least 150+ and counting. I've left comments on those blogs that allowed commenting. There were a few Disqus blogs that wanted you to sign up to comment...I don't need another platform to manage, so I've had to bypass those ones and any that are in the "R-rated" category. A couple of blogs in the list no longer exist. I'm also finding some blogs have not clearly identified their A-Z posts so you have go searching to make sure they even participated. Other blogs didn't have any posts for the challenge whatsoever...these were mainly blogs that had books to promote! Word verification continues to be an issue for me...not sure why one needs it, especially if comment moderation is enabled as well! Other than that, I'm taking my time. I'm committed to visiting all blogs in the list before the next challenge. I failed miserably in that respect last year, so I'm hoping I can do better this year. Thanks for the tip about the Reflections posts. I might just continue on from there.
Hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Keep cool & see you for the next check-in!
Thoughts Of Beauty In The Stillness Of Dawn...
Well I have managed to visit a lot of blogs on my roadtrip, many I leave a message on others I'm afraid it they can't be bothered to update since April then I can't be bothered to read it. I find it sad so many did not even finish the A to Z but on the positive side I have found new blogs to follow and hope to gain a few more followers on mine.
ReplyDeleteHi Tina .. I'm still in the pit lane - I think my wheels came off .. and I'm not sure they're going to get put back on .. this mechanic is overwhelmed with everything - wanting to do more blogging and new projects - such is life ..
ReplyDeleteThankfully people still come across via comments left elsewhere .. and I'm happy with the great buddies I have ... and the rapport built up with many ..
I really should .. but somehow it's not a priority right now - enjoy the road trip - I'm still bbqueing! .. happy days - Hilary
Having fun road tripping, but it's slow progress right now for me. I'm thinking I've got a tire that's going out, but I'll pull over and fix it eventually.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the road trip update, Tina!
Shannon at The Warrior Muse
@Andy - a lot of those problems were very common, and yes, so frustrating. Thanks for keeping going despite it all.
ReplyDelete@Bill: sounds like moderate success, and I totally agree: if they can't update, no comment necessary!
@Hilary: we'll come by for BBQ! Sounds like a great pit stop!
@Shannon: fix the flat when you can, and hop back on the road when you're ready!
~Tina
Jemima,
ReplyDeleteWork, like and NaNoWriMo are some major rest stops on the road that are sure to get the attention of many bloggers. The great thing about this road trip is that you can go at your own pace and catch up when you are able. Maybe that means just one blog per day, maybe that means no blogs on one day and several blogs over the course of a two-week period. Who knows? You're free to merge back into the regular A-to-Z traffic if you can :)
tm,
Being ill will surely drive one to the nearest exit! It happens. I hope you feel better, get well and when you return to the computer for some regular browsing, just take it easy.
As for me, I've been riding along in the emergency lane, entering back into regular traffic on-and-off-and-on again, probably wearing out my tires, until I decided that it's probably safer (albeit illegal) for me to coast along in the emergency lane for a while so that I don't get pulled over for texting while driving and to prevent me from blowing out the fresh tires that I started fresh with miles back.
Tina -- looks like you're covering this stretch of the road like a Champion. I sure could use the number to your mechanic!