The upside of 2021 was some tourism in Washington versus zero for me in 2020. But, it was still a rough year for guides walking and talking the streets of the nation’s capital.
I went 18 months overall without touring before finally leading one in June. A small part of that break was simply not wanting to tour while the Covid virus raged. Walking the streets of Washington some days felt like the rapture occurred and left me behind. It was creepy, though I could find a parking space on the street. It wasn’t until October that the city started feeling alive and it only lasted about six weeks before Thanksgiving and cooler weather not to mention another Covid surge shut down the city once more.
I managed 14 tours, mostly in the fall, to remember why I love being a guide in walking the streets, telling tales of my hometown. I just wish it happened a little more.
As for my blog, I finished an 11th year of talking monuments, memorials and more. Not a bad run so far. I pivoted some to video because I’ve started a Rick Snider’s Washington channel on YouTube. Mostly sports, but some tourism that people like as well. Check it out.
Overall, more than 14,000 people visited the website in 2021. That’s 4,000 more than 2020, but about 4,000 less than most pre-pandemic years.
For the second straight year, my list of 101 Smithsonian must sees was the most read post, garnering about 40 percent of all page views. The leader for eight years – rocks atop stones at Arlington National Cemetery – slipped to fifth overall. I limited viewers to U.S. and Canada after European hackers tried to steal the site. The most viewers came from Virginia and then Washington, D.C. as expected, but Maryland slipped to fourth behind California.
What will I miss about 2021? Absolutely nothing. But, I look forward to 2022. Happy New Year. Good health to us all.
