One year ago today, a travel blog called Conesus Lake House appeared on the scene and posted its debut story– a tribute to Conesus Lake’s Western New York sunsets. The featured photograph of a blazing orange and red sunset over the Lake became the blog’s iconic banner, a window into the view from Conesus Lake House and the mindset of its owner-occupants.

Since that day, Conesus Lake House’s stories from around the Finger Lakes of upstate New York and beyond have captured looks from over three thousand unique visitors, a little over fifty of whom are faithful followers.

And we wish to thank you. Yes, we— a first-person pronoun now appears in this typically second-person perspective text. You read correctly, and the voiceover narrative cuts to the couple you see cradling a box of grapes below. We’re your hosts at Conesus Lake House, and we wish to thank you for all your support over the past year.

As a token of our appreciation, we are launching a new feature of the site that’s been retrofitted to all our past stories. We love sharing the narrative of our travels and experiences, but wouldn’t it be nice to see some quick stats? Moving forward, all travel stories will include a travel itinerary at the bottom– a map of the route, mileage and time required for each leg, special places and fun facts, food and beverages consumed, petrol stops for road trips, and an approximation of the total time and budget spent on the trip. You can easily find the list of all travel itineraries by clicking “Travel Magazine” in the navigation menu. If you need to find something specific, click “Search” in the navigation menu to search the site for your favorite city, lake, or restaurant we mentioned.

As Ken says to Barbie in that famous Aqua song: “Well Barbie, we’re just getting started.” More stories, more upstate New York cities, and more conversations with strangers and new friends alike are on the way. Stay tuned, follow us, and share. Peace.