There was never a time that seemed right to publish. It happened as it does so often: destinations got rescheduled, business got busier, and COVID finally blew my plans.
My years flew by, and I was not closer to my goal.
That’s the goal. To quit blogging.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I love what you do. I love to travel. This website is my favorite. I love this website and the community that we have. I love the students that we help with FlyTE. As frustrating as it can be, I still love creating TravelCon.
I love to travel and plan to keep doing so.
Since 2008, I have managed this website and written more than 1,400 articles. This is roughly three million words.
There are a lot of books on travel.
All that writing has made it clear how I feel about traveling and what it can offer you. I don’t have anything to add. I don’t feel like I added anything new to the nature and history of travel many years ago. I often rehash topics I’ve already covered.
As I stated in a blog post some years back, the basic principles of travel don’t change much over time. Apps, websites, and services may change, but the fundamental why and how (traveling like locals) are the same.
I have changed 14 years after I began blogging from my living room. High-end restaurants are just as appealing to me as street food and food trucks. I would rather sleep in a hotel with a comfortable bed than in a hostel. I don’t get as much sleep these days, and it’s easier to be productive at work.
Yes, I still have a backpack, and I sometimes yearn to travel with other people so that I will stay in hostels. It’s not something I do as often as it used to be. As a result, my ears are not as open to new apps and hard-core travel tips for budget travelers as I used to.
Last year, I found balance in my life, and this year will be no different. I was approved last month for a mortgage, and after my trip to Mexico, I am returning to Austin to purchase a house. I want to live in a house for longer than just a few days.
When the team met for their annual goal-setting meeting at the start of the year, I gave them more control of the website. Chris, our master of all trades, will now be our Director of Content.
I want to be settled more, have a garden, participate in Austin social clubs, and not constantly be moving. I want to travel more deliberately and not always with an eye toward “how can we blog about this?” I don’t want to take photos of menus or go to grocery stores to check prices.
Writing more books is what I want, but it requires more routine and focus. When you are constantly on the go, writing a book cannot be easy.
All of this has led me to stop blogging. As it moves forward, this website will be more of a resource than a personal blog. However, I won’t stop writing blogs. There will be stories. These stories will be less frequent and less frequent. (Case in Point: It’s mid-February, and this is my first piece of writing all year.
We’ll also invite guest writers now that the pandemic is over. This will allow us to speak more about different aspects of the road than I can.
As this blog evolves, I am sure some of you will continue to read it. You’ve likely changed over the past 14 years. I understand that. It’s not like any blogs I read in 2008 that I don’t still enjoy reading today.
However, writing blog posts is not something that I want to do. I will be focusing on other aspects of traveling — books, large events, and community meetings — things that bring people closer and take me away from the screen.
We will still connect through other means, even though we may not be able to connect as often here. It is amazing and humbling to meet people who have been following the site from the beginning. It’s amazing to me that I have been able to build a blog about my life on the road, sharing my stories and tips. Thank you so much.
