This week marks my second year of the Crossings Author blog and today marks my 100^th post. Hooray!!

When this blog began in 2011, I had few gray hairs.

I began this blog on May 28, 2011, almost two months after Crossings: McCullough’s Coastal Bridges came out. The purpose was to chronicle my adventures with the book. And that’s what I did for the first 52 posts.

That first year, the most popular posts were a couple of my first ones––#5–Beware over confidence and #7–Authors and writers.

After 75 years the Umpqua River Bridge was finally dedicated.

The whole point of getting the book out by April 1, 2011, was to be a part of the bridges’ 75^th anniversary celebrations and we accomplished that. Those bridge celebration posts––#16–Finally, after 75 years, #21–Yaquina Bay Bridge at 75, and #22–All five bridge celebrations––are still being clicked on.

This historic photo shows the Yaquina Bay Bridge’s 600-foot main arch almost completed. ––ODOT Photo

And the four specifically about the history of the bridges––#35, #38, #46, and #48 Experiencing McCullough bridges–– are also still being visited. But the one from the first year that has had almost more hits than any other is appropriately titled––#33–Hardcore bridge aficionados.

Photos became a part of each post starting with #38––a definite plus.

The second year, I expanded the subject matter to include the coastal towns where I market Crossings and my adventures in putting together The Crossings Guide to Oregon’s Coastal Spans.

The Astoria Aquatic Center is open to out-of-town visitors and is a great place to duck inside on a rainly day.

The most popular towns turned out to be #53–Astoria, what you may not know, #61–Yachats & Cape Perpetua, and #70–Visiting Bandon by the sea. And they continue to receive clicks. As to my second book, #78–Genesis of a book was one of the most popular posts.

Yachats is a charming village tucked between the ocean and the coastal mountains.

In trying not to repeat myself and yet have something of interest to say within the blog parameters, I’ve had to stretch and be more creative this second year. Sometimes I know days before what I’m going to write about; sometimes I don’t know until moments before. But I’ve come up with something every week except Christmas week each year and this past April when I was away.

Some of the posts I’ve been most excited about like #18–Out of the blue and #40–The perfect edition––finally––didn’t receive hits beyond the first week.

Old Town in Bandon in the fog.

You just never know what’s going to pique someone’s interest. Sometimes it’s a clever title––#69–A foggy night in Bandon town, #73–Or’gon City here I come, and #86–Judy’s wonderful, incredible, so good, not too bad day. These three continue to be visited.

Here I am as tour leader at one of 14 bridges seen in 8 1/2 hours on the  coastal bridge tour––part of the community college’s Outward Ventures. (Notice more gray hair.)

And sometimes numbers draw readers in––#88–Fourteen bridges in 8 ½ hours and #89–10-hour, 15-stop south coast marathon. These two also continue to receive many hits.

Two recent ones having to do with writing and publishing have had several hits––#96–An author’s life and #99–Publishing questions. Another recent one––#91–Sometimes it’s so easy––had the highest number of hits for any one day during this two-year period. The piece is a humorous take on the easy sales of a book when it’s new.

Mom’s favorite gift when she turned 100 was the Laker’s jacket with Kobe Bryant’s name on it. It is the gold you see in the photo. (Notice the book sitting next to her? Look familiar!)

But the one that has had more hits over all was when I moved totally out of the blog parameters and wrote about my mom’s birthday––#60–Mom celebrates 100^th birthday. Who knew!

So as I start a third year of blogging, I’ll continue with my bridge books’ adventures, include some town profiles, keep you updated on my “non-bridge” book, and throw in a ringer or two just to keep it interesting!