Friends, I have been sitting with this post for a couple of days, trying to find the words to share something that feels both incredibly exciting and deeply humbling. Over the weekend, this little corner of the internet reached 10 MILLION cumulative views.
10 million.
I look back to the very first post- and smile softly. I had no idea where Caravan Sonnet would take me.
I remember exactly where I was when I saw the first 100 views, first 1000, 10,000, and 100,000 and million views. All of these things were celebrated quietly- me just humbled by the amount of people who have stopped by and taken the time to read all about Caravan Sonnet, follow the stories, and connect deeply in this space.
10 million.
Now I look those words and smile because there is a part of me that still sees the girl who started writing in January 2013, curled up in bed in so much pain, desperately sick, with so many questions about the future and absolutely no idea where this little blog would lead.
And yet, here we are. Nearly fourteen years later.
Ten million views. Countless stories. Beautiful friendships. Unexpected adventures. So many ordinary days that have become extraordinary memories. And a heart that is overflowing with gratitude.
When I started Caravan Sonnet in January 2013, the world of blogging (or as I have always affectionately called it, "bloggy world") looked very different. There was something so incredibly sweet about those early days of sharing our lives, connecting across distances, and finding friendship in places we might never have otherwise discovered. At the time, I wasn't thinking about numbers, page views, partnerships, or where this little space might go. I was simply trying to reach beyond the four walls of a bedroom.
For those of you who have been here since the beginning (and some of you truly have!), you may remember that I started writing during one of the most difficult seasons of my life. I was bedridden, incredibly ill, and desperately searching for answers to health issues that would eventually be diagnosed as Advanced Late Stage Lyme Disease, Skin Cancer, and a myriad of other complicated health concerns. In fact one of my earliest posts- I didn't even know that I was fighting Cancer when I wrote it. There was so much to come.
I recently went back and read some of those earliest posts, and I was reminded of so much that was happening behind the words. The tears. The pain. The fear. The uncertainty. The loss of independence. The countless questions. The prayers whispered in the middle of the night. The desperate longing to somehow grab hold of life even when the simplest things seemed completely impossible.
I remember slowly typing posts from bed, sometimes letter by letter, because I simply didn't have the strength to do more. And I remember the incredible gift of discovering that there were people on the other side of the screen who cared.
People who prayed. People who encouraged. People who sent notes and messages. People who shared their own stories of heartache, hope, grief, illness, faith, and joy. What began as a way to stay connected with loved ones slowly became a community that would change my life in ways I never could have imagined.
And perhaps that is one of the most beautiful things about this milestone. Behind every number is a person. Behind every visit is a story. And behind these ten million views are years of connections that have meant more to me than I could ever adequately express.
Over the years, Caravan Sonnet has grown and changed in ways that reflect the different seasons of my own life. What began as a personal blog during a health crisis slowly became a place to share stories of healing, faith, travel, history, beautiful places, cozy luxury, and the art of finding joy in the ordinary.
There have been adventures that I once could never have imagined experiencing. There have been beautiful destinations, extraordinary historical places, lovely hotels, cruises, quiet mornings, little cafés, meaningful conversations, and moments of standing somewhere new and realizing just how precious the gift of being able to explore the world truly is.
And there have been the quieter stories, too. The ones about home. About family. About grief and healing. About finding rest. About learning to live more simply and intentionally. About making our 5th-generation cabin and third-generation Adirondack cottage just 1% more restful each day. About celebrating little victories that might never make the headlines but are deeply significant in the lives we are living.
In many ways, I think that is what Caravan Sonnet has always been about.
Not simply beautiful destinations or lovely things, but the stories that make them meaningful. The history behind a building. The people who have walked through a place before us. The beauty of a quiet morning. The gift of traveling with someone you love. The courage it takes to begin again. The reminder that there is still so much goodness to discover, even after walking through incredibly difficult seasons.
I have often thought about the years that I spent so very sick and how, at the time, I grieved what I believed I was losing. My thirties. My independence. Dreams that seemed to be slipping away. A future that looked nothing like what I had imagined. And while I would never minimize the pain of those years, I have come to understand something that I could not fully see in the middle of them.
Nothing is wasted when it is placed in the hands of our all-loving God.
There is a depth of compassion that comes from suffering. A tenderness toward the stories of others. A recognition that every person we meet is carrying a history that we may know absolutely nothing about. And there is a quiet kind of joy that comes from realizing that the ordinary things we once took for granted are often the most extraordinary gifts of all. Being able to walk somewhere beautiful. To travel. To laugh with someone you love. To make a home more restful. To wake up and have another day to discover the goodness that God has placed before us.
These things are not little things at all. I wrote years ago about learning to be faithful in the assignment of sickness, and as I look back now, I realize that the greater story has always been God's faithfulness to me.
Through the questions. Through the uncertainty. Through the unexpected turns. Through the beautiful moments and the heartbreaking ones.
He has been faithful.
And this little blog has become one of the most unexpected reminders of that truth.
As I look toward the next season of Caravan Sonnet, I find myself more grateful than ever for the opportunity to keep sharing stories here. In a world that moves incredibly quickly, where so much of our lives can feel rushed, curated, or reduced to a few seconds on a screen, I still believe there is something wonderfully meaningful about sitting down and sharing a story. A real story.
One that takes time to tell. One that invites us to linger a little longer. One that reminds us that beauty is not always found in the grandest moments, but often in the quiet, ordinary ones. I know that the world of blogging has changed tremendously since 2013, and there have been countless conversations over the years about whether personal blogging still has a place in our world. But every single day, through your emails, messages, comments, and visits, I am reminded that there is still a beautiful place for thoughtful storytelling and genuine connection. And for that, I am so incredibly grateful.
To those of you who have been here since those very first posts in 2013, thank you.
To those who found Caravan Sonnet through a travel guide, a cruise review, a historical destination, a cozy home project, or a story about faith and healing, thank you.
To those who have prayed for me, encouraged me, shared your own stories, celebrated beautiful milestones, and walked alongside me through difficult seasons, thank you.
To the brands, tourism partners, hotels, destinations, and press teams who have trusted Caravan Sonnet to share meaningful stories over the years, thank you. It has been such a joy to partner together, and I am so grateful for the opportunities to discover and share beautiful places and experiences with this community. I look forward to many more years of growing and collaborating. thank you.
And to those of you who quietly visit this little space without ever leaving a comment or sending a message, please know that you are part of this story, too. I wish I could sit down with each of you over a cup of tea and tell you how much your presence here has meant.
Because ten million views is an extraordinary milestone, but the real gift has never been the number.
It has been the people. The friendships. The stories. The Connections.
The reminder that something started in a season of profound uncertainty can grow into something more beautiful than we could ever have planned. As I look ahead to the coming months and years, I am excited for the new adventures, beautiful places, meaningful stories, and quiet everyday moments that are still waiting to be discovered. There are so many things I hope to share, so many places I hope to explore, and so many stories I hope to tell.
But more than anything, I hope that Caravan Sonnet will continue to be a place that encourages you to live fully and intentionally, to discover beauty in unexpected places, to dignify the ordinary, and to remember that even in the most difficult seasons, hope is never wasted.
Thank you, friends, from the very bottom of my heart, for being part of it. Here is to the next chapter, the little adventures, the ordinary days, the extraordinary moments, and all of the beautiful stories still waiting to be written.
Love from the shores of Lake Champlain, Rebecca
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