Road Trip Pit Stop - Time to Refuel Your A-to-Z Engine!

Beep, Beep! Who else is still awake on this alphabet route? 

Photo by Little Peppercorn

After running low on gas and making multiple pit stops, I nearly fell asleep at the wheel. Good thing I have two partners – Tina Downey at Life is Good and Shannon Lawrence at The Warrior Muse to share in the driving duties as we move along through the A-to-Z Challenge list, stopping by the blogs we missed in April, to pay them a visit before the next challenge rolls around. Although I put the car on cruise control, I did manage to read more A-to-Z Reflections posts and visit some blogs located in the first half of the sign-up list.

During my visits, I found that some people either stopped blogging after the challenge or kept new blog posts coming sporadically until early-to-mid Summer. Still, the last posts that were published on these blogs were worth a looksee. I also came across some places on the list with blog posts that were cool to read, yet, difficult to leave a comment on. For those of you who are still on this Road Trip with Tina, Shannon and I, this is likely not a surprise, as you’ve probably encountered similar situations during your blog visits. 

When I started this road trip, I planned to visit at least five blogs per day, keeping in tune with the recommended visits of the April challenge. Now, I’ve reduced that number to one blog per day. I figure that way, it will be much easier to fit a visit to a new blog into my schedule – and – if I encounter non-active blogs or blog posts where leaving a comment feels like I’m participating in some type of three ring circus with no instructions, my Road Trip efforts are still time well spent.

Photo by Hayley Bouchard

As co-host, I want to try to also make sure that your time is also well spent, so in the name of efficient fun, here is some roadside assistance to stay on course if you find yourself running low on gas or hit something on the road that caused a flat in your tires at this stretch of our Post A-to-Z Adventure. 

Now, I’m no Allstate or AAA, but these blog visiting methods can be especially useful if you’re taking the one-and-done approach, or a similar one, that I’m using for the A-to-Z Road Trip.

Pick a Number – Think of a number…any number during your day and then visit the blog on the list that corresponds with this particular number.  You could also make this a theme and visit all of the blogs that fall under a specific area of the number table such as every hundredth or so (102, 202, 302, 402 and so on).

Heads or Tails? – Visit a blog that is among the low numbers (1-100) on the sign-up list and then visit another blog that is among the high numbers (101-500 and up) on the list. The number range doesn’t matter…you determine what is considered “low” and what is considered “high” just so long as two blogs on both ends of the list get a visitor today (or tomorrow or whenever you’re doing your A-to-Z Road Trip visits).

Hit the Reflections – If you haven’t read all of the 2013 A-to-Z Reflections posts, visit blogs on that list. That way, you’ll know that the blogs you’re visiting are run by people who finished the challenge – or at least attempted to complete it.

Funny Names – Scroll through the signup list and visit blogs with names that either make you laugh or fill you with curiosity. These are usually the types of blogs where, at first glance, you have no idea what the topic or theme of the blog is about such as Big Girl Panties (#264 on the list), Buttered Toast Rocks! (#365) or Cabin Goddess (#432).

Photo by Zach Dischner

It’s all about making it fun. If we make this road trip as simple and as fun as possible, we’ll have enough gas to keep our cars steady and well maintained…at least until the next Check-in. Now, the only thing left to do is call Allstate and tell them that you don’t need them because you’re in better hands. Ha!

Cheers to all!

~Nicole

@MadlabPost

Road Trip 2013: Let's gather for Another Pit Stop!

Hellooo? Is there anybody out there? Is anyone still on the road visiting A-Z participants from April 2013? I'm calling another pit stop, so pull your virtual car into a spot here, and let's catch up.

Hundreds of us set out in May for a road trip around the world. Some headed for the fast lane and kept on trucking. Some took the back-roads and meandered. Some of us have run out of gas, some have had our cars breakdown, and some have been called home for pressing family matters.

However far you made it, no matter what number of blogs you visited, I still want to thank you for participating. I know it's meant a lot to many bloggers who for whatever reason didn't get a lot of visits during the Challenge. THANK YOU for persevering, however far you came.

It's not over though! You can still visit for as long as you like. The big list is still clickable, as is the Reflections list. How about making just one visit now? You know how exciting it is to get someone new at your place! Give someone that thrill.

As for me and my trip, I've converted to “Sunday Drives”. I take some time on my down-time-day-of-rest to hit a few more Reflections posts. I promised to read them all and I will. I'm concentrating there, and will return to the “big” list after that.

May your road be smooth, may you hit all the green lights, and don't forget to enjoy the scenery!

~Tina

Calling All Roadtrippers! Pit Stop Time!

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

Want to Join Us for the ULTIMATE ROAD TRIP?

Hi Guys, and welcome to the 2013 Post A-to-Z Road Trip!

Feel free to snag this badge for your own blog!

Despite quite a bit of late snow here in Colorado, including a lovely blizzard on May Day, I'm totally ready to get back on the road. Blue skies, black roads, yellow lines, and the sound of my tires on the pavement. I want to feel the heat, smell the wildflowers and chlorine.

But most of all, I want to visit the rest of the A-to-Z Challenge participants. I definitely didn't have time to visit everyone during the Challenge, so now is the time. 

What are the technicalities? There aren't many. The linky opens today. Sign up if you'd like to come with us on a summer of fun, visiting fellow A-to-Z'ers, discovering new blogs. We'll close the linky in December, meaning you can waffle all the way until then. And though it will be closed in December, that doesn't mean you have to stop. The linkies will still be available for visit up to the 2014 Challenge.

We'll have occasional check-ins, but there's nothing required of you other to make whatever effort you like to visit participants of the 2013 A-to-Z Challenge.

We won't be alone on this road trip. No, Tina will be revising her role as my lovely co-host, and Nicole will be joining us for the first time this year! 

As we get started, Tina has some pointers for you, and Nicole's got something to say, so I'll hand the floor over to them. 

See you on the road!

~Shannon, The Warrior Muse

I'm excited about this 3^rd road trip! First of all, did you know that it was because Shannon and I organized the Post-Challenge Challenge in 2011 that we got chosen as co-hosts? Pretty cool. Then in 2012 we renamed it the more apt “road-trip”. History lesson over! We're really glad to have Nicole to take some driving shifts.  The more the merrier the trip!

Tips for the road: you're in charge. Want to visit one new blog a day? Want to visit hundreds of blogs a day? No problem. You're driving. Unless you hitch a ride with a friend, which I think is a good idea. Accountability and all that, not that this is a diet or a competition or anything. It's just some friends hanging out and continuing visiting.

Some strategies you might want to try:

Visit all the blogs with your same category

Visit all the blogs whose names intrigue you

Visit all the even (or odd) blogs

Start from where you left off and keep on truckin'...

Whatever you do, don't forget that this trip is a journey, not a destination. Signing up on the linky doesn't mean you're committing to visiting ALL the blogs. All you're saying is, “I ain't done yet.” We'll have some encouraging rah rah posts along the way, and a chance for you to share your best “finds” along the road. Personally, I like those little Mom and Pop cafes that are off the beaten road, and the food is real and so is the atmosphere – so cool but unknown blogs that need some customers!

Keep track of your finds, give us a holler if you run out of gas or need your tire changed. We're here as your guides – we've journeyed similar roads in the past! Good luck, and drive carefully.

~Tina @ Life is Good

Maps - Check! iTunes – Check! GPS - Check? Water – Check!

I’m ready to hit the road with Shannon and Tina for this Post A-to-Z Road Trip that’s taking us over some commenting highways, down a few tweeting tunnels, up through subscribing/following bridges and back again. One of the most exciting things about this trip are the fellow drivers and carpools accompanying us as we stop in towns all across the country to find out what each and every person in our alphabet network is cooking up on his or her blog.

Want to know a secret? We’re also taking advantage of some uncharted territory – back roads and routes that have little to no traffic signs – which means there are no set rules for how or where you drive your vehicle, no speeding limit for how fast or slow you go and most importantly, zero guidelines for where you choose to park your vehicle throughout our cross-country journey. I’ll be offering up some refreshments at rest stops, accompanied by tips and tricks that you can use to keep you on course – until we’ve racked up enough miles, stories and traveling buddies that will get us through another 26 days of blogging in April or any other month for that matter.

Honk if you’re packed in, gassed up, buckled up and ready to join us on the road for some sing-a-longs, games, rest-stop snacking and much more cruising through lanes of A-to-Z blogs!

~Nicole, The Madlab Post

Sign up here for the Post A-to-Z Road Trip!

Post A-to-Z Road Trip Check-In

Well, hello there!  It's been awhile since we did a check-in on the Post A-to-Z Road Trip, but now that the holidays are past us (well, as much as holidays can be past us since we like to throw out holidays every month or so) this is as good a time as any to see how everyone's doing.

We're officially gearing up for the 2013 A-to-Z Challenge, so time is running out to catch up with all of last year's participants.  How far have you gotten?  Are you able to make any monthly progress?  Weekly?  Daily (you visiting fiend, you!)?

What's your plan of attack as you go through the list?  Do you find that you go in order, or do you randomly choose someone to visit?  Did you go through the Post A-to-Z Road Trip sign-up list first?

What I've found works best for me is to go down the list and open a series of blogs at once (usually ten at a time).  I visit those blogs, then if I find I have some more time I open ten more.  This helps me take little chunks at a time, and to feel like I've made progress.

Let us know how you're doing, whether you're still at it or have given up.  This isn't a competition, so don't feel pressured to have made progress.  Do you intend to keep going?  Were you able to visit everyone already?  If so, what was your secret, and what tips might you like to pass along?

Click here to access the 2012 A-to-Z sign-up list.

Cheers!

Shannon (The Warrior Muse) and Tina (Life is Good)

Post A-to-Z Road Trip Check-in (Rest Stop)

Hello out there in Blog-Land!  Hopefully, everyone has recovered in full from the A-to-Z Challenge and is busy enjoying their summer (or winter, for those of you in the southern hemisphere).  

We're well aware that summer is a busy time, so the Post A-to-Z Road Trip is meant to be nice and laid back.  We're a couple weeks in, though, so how about a quick check-in to see if anyone's making any progress?  Even if you've visited one blog, that's progress!  Everyone's got to stop at a rest stop on a road trip, so this is rest stop number one.  Time to kick the tires, check the oil and clean those bugs off the windshield.

I'm not going to lie.  I'm still trying to catch up with the comments on my blog.  School's out, my kids are home, and we are keeping busy, which is wonderful.  Also, I started a new novel!  Yay!  On top of that, Tina and I are both participating in BuNoWriMo (thus starting a new novel!)  So I am, admittedly, busy, and I know I'm not the only one.  I have gotten through a couple blogs when I've had a little bit of time here or there, and I'm still delighted with new blogs I'm finding.  However, it's a slow process.

So...check in!  Let us know if you've been road tripping.  Have you discovered any blogs you'd like to share?  Feel free to do so in the comments.  Also, we'd love to hear how June is treating you.  Anything interesting or fun to report?  Any big plans? 

Now pass me another pina colada and the map; I need to figure out where I'm heading to next.

Your Post A-to-Z Road Trip Hostesses,

Shannon L.
The Warrior Muse

&

Tina D.
Life is Good

Post A-to-Z Road Trip - Join us!

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Post A-to-Z Road Trip, previously known as the Post-Challenge-Challenge, or PCC

I think the dust has settled a bit, and that life (which is Good!) is slowly returning to normal.  I'm not labeling this as good or bad, just that it's a bit weird (see, so tired I can't come up with a unique adjective..) For the last four months, my on-line life has been dedicated to the wonderful challenge we just completed, and now all of a sudden, I'm free to...yeah.  Whatever!  My time is mine, to do with as I please.  I find myself at a loss, trying to decide what to do next.  

And do you know what I want to do now?  Go for a road trip.

This isn't a normal road trip.  There are no roads, no cars, no fast-food, no “next rest-area 54 miles are you SURE you don't have to pee?” signs.  This is a road-trip that is unending when you first look at it.  But as you peer closer, read the signs, and digest the purpose, I think it's a road trip you'll want to be a part of.

I'm talking about the continuing journey of blog-visiting, networking, exploration, spelunking even, if you're willing to stretch a metaphor.  Gone fishing.  For blogs.  For blogs that interest and infuriate and aggravate and make you cry and make you sob with joy.  A journey where around each bend is a new piece of the road to be discovered.  Blogland is a big place, and the 1700+ folks who joined the A-Z are still welcoming visitors.  I intend to be one of them.  Would you consider joining us?  

The Post A-to-Z Road Trip is a new challenge for you, but one with no real time limit, other than before the next A-to-Z Challenge begins in April 2013.  The goal?  To visit all of the blogs who signed up for the A-to-Z, in whatever time frame you find manageable.  We’ll have weekly check-ins and a linky sign-up here at the A-to-Z Challenge Blog.  You will not be required to check-in, but the option is there.  

You can approach this challenge any way you want.  If you’re like Tina, you’re going to want a plan of attack.  Tina has a wonderfully mathematical mind; last year she set herself an end date, figured out how many blogs that would require her to visit each day, and she went for it.

Or maybe you’re a little more like me, Miss ADHD.  One day I’ll hit up 100 blogs, not visit any for a week, then hit twenty a day for three days straight.  You never know when I’ll be hopping around the interwebs, but by golly, I get it done!  Oooo, shiny...

Most likely, you’re somewhere between the two of us.  The beautiful thing is, it doesn’t matter.  Hit that list however you want, whatever gets you through it to the end.  You don’t want to miss all those wonderful blogs out there.  There are so many, with so much to say.  Come along with us and meet some new friends, stress-free!  This is THE road trip for the summer, so put on your favorite station, open the windows and sit back.  It’s time for the Post A-to-Z Road Trip.  Who knows what souvenirs we might bring back.

Sign up on the linky any time the mood strikes you.  We’ll leave it open through the end of December.  That doesn’t mean the Road Trip ends then, but just that no one can put their name on the linky after that.  

There are no rules.  You can find Tina and I here, or on our individual blogs, Life is Good (Tina) and The Warrior Muse (Shannon).  Feel free to come to us with questions, ideas, feedback, etc.  Now, let’s get packed!

P.S. Feel free to take the badge above for your blog!