Happy birthday to Monumental Thoughts . . . again.
I’ve just finished eight years of tour guiding and writing this blog, which is mostly a journey of continued learning. Last summer saw my 1,000th post of the sites and sights around Washington.
It was a typical year overall. Lots of time on the National Mall, though occasional excursions to the many other great parts of town. I created a Presidential and First Ladies drinking tour which I do for private groups. Indeed, private tours are my mainstay now, though occasionally I’ll do a school group in the spring.
In 2018, 13,975 visited Monumental Thoughts.The blog, which was called a Top 5 Read by the Huffington Post, has now drawn 159,807 viewers through the years.
For the eighth straight year, rocks atop stones explaining why they’re atop Arlington National Cemetery graves was the most read story. Finding a name on the Vietnam Wall was second followed by an update on the man and dog on Korean Wall Memorial.
Well, on to year nine. I figure on guiding as long as I can, which is hopefully at least a few more years. I’m also finishing a book on angels in our lives called “The Angel Among Us” and working on a website featuring the wines of Southern Maryland. And, of course, I’m still covering the Washington Redskins for The Washington Post Express and 106.7 The Fan. I just celebrated 40 years as a local sports writer with hopefully 10 more to go.
Good luck to us all in 2019.
