Surprises from My First Year of Travel Blogging

When I launched TREXposé last September, it never occurred to me I might influence an Argentine election. Or connect with the great-granddaughter of a Holocaust victim. I didn’t expect to hear from the friend of a Flight 93 passenger or read the WW2 diary of a U.S. Army private— sent to me by his niece. But all of it resulted from my first year of travel blogging. And those weren’t the only surprises…  

It’s a Social World

Most people discovered TREXposé on social media. So I had to spend a lot of time learning Instagram, launching a Facebook page, and tackling Threads. Now, TREXposé has more than 3,500 followers in the Metaverse. Thank you, all!  In future articles, I’ll introduce you to some of them— fellow travel enthusiasts— who have something unique to share.

Those social networks introduced me to readers in 147 of the world’s 195 countries! Still, two-thirds of my audience resides in the United States, Canada, and… Argentina?! More on that surprise in a minute.

A Surprise Connection to 9/11

After I blogged about my visit to the Flight 93 National Memorial, Greg Keiling of California— a friend of passenger Deora Bodley— posted a comment on my Facebook page. Deora was a student at Santa Clara University and the youngest person aboard the hijacked plane when it crashed on September 11th, 2001. Keiling and a group of Deora’s loved ones raised more than $18,000 for the memorial’s Tower of Voices.

On Saturday, August 31, 2024, Keiling and “Team Deora” will participate in the San Diego Memorial 9/11 Stair Climb. The event raises funds to support firefighters and their families in crisis. You can donate here.

A Holocaust Remembrance

Keiling wasn’t the only reader with a personal connection to the blog. Less than 24 hours after I posted my article about Emilie Klingenberger’s stolperstein in Prague, Emilie’s great-granddaughter saw it in the Netherlands. Jindra Bausewein and family arranged the memorial brass plaque to honor Emilie, who died in a concentration camp during WW2. No known photos of Emilie survive, and she has no gravesite. So the stolperstein placed outside her last home ensures the world remembers her name. (My nephew and I spotted the plaque during a trip to the Czech Republic and grew curious about it.) And after my first year of travel blogging, that post about Emilie’s stolperstein remains the most-read article on the website.

A Soldier’s Story

The Gestapo sent Emilie Klingenberger to the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in October 1942. That same month, 21-year-old Private Donald Blackey of the U.S. Army’s Third Infantry Division arrived in North Africa to fight the Nazis. Blackey kept a diary throughout his 3-year deployment.

When Blackey’s niece, Jeanie, read my article about the Eagle’s Nest near Berchtesgaden, Germany, she emailed to let me know her uncle was there during the war. And she sent me a copy of his diary, which included rare descriptions of Hitler’s bunker. I read it in one sitting, and promptly wrote a new article about Blackey’s wartime exploits.  

My Controversial Blog Post

But one of my posts caused enough controversy to prompt a Facebook intervention. Just four days before Argentina’s presidential run-off election in November 2023 (about which I was clueless), I published my article about Argentina’s “dirty war” from 1976 to 1983. The earlier post about Emilie Klingenberger’s stolperstein had resonated with Argentines, some of whom wanted similar memorials for victims of the dirty war. And then the drama began.

Forty years on, the dirty war remains a highly contentious topic in Argentina. Who caused it? How many people really died or disappeared? Did it even occur? People’s opinions tended to align with their political views. The comments on my Facebook page grew so numerous— and heated— that Facebook mooted my post to keep it from interfering with the election! I later removed the comments to keep things calm. Who would have guessed a fledgling travel blog could generate such controversy on another continent?!

Most Popular Articles on TREXposé

Clearly, you can’t please everyone all the time. But I did my best to deliver a variety of content to suit diverse interests. So after 27,000 page views, which articles were most popular during my first year of travel blogging? Here are the top five:

1.     Uncover the History of Europe’s Stolpersteine

2.     Get Free Admission to All US National Parks and More

3.     My Biggest Travel Mistakes

4.     The Eagle’s Nest in Germany— A Chilling Side Trip from Austria

5.     The WW2 Diary of Private Donald Blackey— Inside Hitler’s Bunker

And honorable mention goes to this recent post, which is rapidly surging toward a top five position:

Your Rights When a Flight is Delayed or Canceled— And How to Protect Yourself

Check Out What’s Coming

My travel-inspired thriller about Belfast, Northern Ireland, is due out at the end of the year. (It’s currently with an editor, while a graphic designer works on the cover.)

In September, I’m headed to a tiny but intriguing European nation unfamiliar to most Americans. Later this fall, I’ll share insider tips for a one-of-a-kind event here in the States. Then the new year kicks off with trips to Central and South America. Along the way, I’ll continue to share practical advice and human interest stories that add meaning to our travels.

And by popular request, I’ll introduce a new section of the website where you’ll find all my recommended resources from individual articles in one central place for quick and easy access.

I Still Need Your Help

The entire website is yours to explore, free of charge. But don’t be fooled— it takes a lot of time, energy, and money to maintain a travel blog! All I ask in return is a couple clicks and shares to help me grow my audience.

At the bottom of every article are icons you can click to share that post automatically via your existing social media accounts on Facebook, Pinterest, Reddit, X/Twitter, Threads, WhatsApp, and LinkedIn. You can also follow TREXposé on Facebook and Instagram.

And when you subscribe to the website, you receive an email when new content is posted. You’re helping me spread the word every time you forward those emails to fellow travelers.

Finally, if you have your own website, I’d be grateful if you post links to your favorite articles here at TREXposé. Website referrals are a fantastic way to get Google’s attention and boost a website’s ranking.

Gratitude

I am indebted to all of you who’ve joined and supported me on this journey. And I am especially grateful for the personal connections that resulted from it. You made my first year of travel blogging a gratifying, educational, and humbling experience. I know your time is valuable— and I thank you sincerely for sharing it with me. Here’s to an even better second year of blogging!