Introduction

I have been very busy lately. It is such an exciting time for me, my site is expanding and growing and becoming so popular! There is just so much happening it is hard to keep track of it all!

They told me at Site Build It (SBI) that this would happen, but my site was only small, it was only a hobby! I really did not think it would really happen, but I am getting over the hump, my site is being noticed! Most of this I have to thank you, my followers for. Thank you for checking out my site, thank you for reading some of my pages and thank you for signing up to my Ezine!

I also have to thank my brother John for signing me up with SBI and being my support through it all. Plus to the rest of my family who have also been very supportive to me. I have one of the best families ever.

And of course I have to say a big Thank You to Site Build It for teaching me how to do it all and giving me all the support I needed. If you have ever thought of making up your own web site business I encourage you to watch the Site Build It Video Tour(SBI) to see what it is all about.

I will try to explain a little about what is happening now. When you build a website your goal is to have it ranking high up in the major search engines, in the top ten is best. When you are in that spot then people find your site easier and you start receiving more visitors per day. If the site is interesting enough then these people keep coming back and become loyal followers. Once this happens your site just snowballs, it is called getting over the hump.

For a lot of people this happens much earlier in their website business then it did for me. This is because of several reasons, the main one is I did not get into this as a business; I started this site as a hobby, something to do while I took care of my mother. I was not as concerned about ranking high, I just wanted something to work on to fill my time.

The keywords for the Annapolis Valley were not really very strong ones. There was not a lot of demand for them and more than enough supply. If I wanted a site to make money with then I would have chosen a much more popular topic. But Annapolis Valley was my passion! I love the valley and have strived all my life to promote it; this web site was my perfect opportunity.

Now the site has grown enough that I am comfortable enough to start doing a little advertising. It is time to start promoting some products I believe in and yes make a little money for myself. But I am not really in this for the money, that has not changed, so I will take time to investigate the products and companies I am going to join with. I want to be particular on the companies and products I will be promoting on my web site.

You will notice over the next while some of these ads being added to my pages. I am redoing my pages now and adding a third column on the right where I will list many of my sponsors. If you check out my accommodation pages: Annapolis Motels and Annapolis Vacation Rentals you will see examples of these ads and right columns. As you will noticed TripAdvisor is the first sponsor I have affiliated with as I really like the service they provide and the way they provide it. I will be joining with a few other sponsors for different products over the next while. I hope to cover some of the products you may be looking for while you are in the Annapolis Valley.

Upcoming Events

I know this is getting to be a long Ezine, but I would like to mention one more thing and this is the place for me to mention it. It has a lot to do with events happening in the Annapolis Valley and how I find out about them.

I had a person contact me this week through facebook chat about an event coming up in the Annapolis Valley that he would like added to my events page and wondered how to get the information to me.

As I would really like to know about things happening in the valley I have made several ways for people to let me know, but it seems a lot of people do not know about them.

On my main Annapolis Events Page there is a form at the bottom that you can use to tell me about your event. Please remember to put the name of the event, date & time and location. I can only report about events I know about and it is hard sometimes to find the date and times for all of the things happening. I have also had people give the time & date but not what event it was.

You may also use the form on My Contact Page for this plus for any other reason you wish to contact me for. It is there for your use.

There is one more simple way for those who like to Social Network to let me know about their events and spread the word themselves.

Awhile back I started a facebook group called Annapolis Valley Vacation which I wanted to compliment my web site. I wanted a place where I could interact with my followers; give them a place where they could tell me their stories, about their vacations there. I also hoped it would be where people could easily let me know what is happening around the valley, any events or festival dates etc.

I also use the group to add links to new pages I have put up, giving anyone who does not use my blog or RSS feed a place to check for updates. There is a large collection of pictures of the Annapolis Valley, many of the ones I have taken for this website plus many others that I had, plus a few videos I have made up.

I created this facebook group for you to use, leave your pictures, write your comments and tell about your events. Please feel free to join it and use this site, but please keep it respectable and about the Annapolis Valley of Nova Scotia.

Updates & Changes to Annapolis-Valley-Vacation.com

Now I want to share with you the section on Annapolis Valley Mysteries. and Annapolis Valley Treasure.

Sometimes it is hard to decide if a story is a folklore, ghost story or mystery, some could fit into all three categories. But I found these to have a bit more of a mystery to them. Some were solved and some never were.

Then I found several stories about buried treasure in the valley. Some of these really sounded more like ghost stories or mysteries. But as there were enough to have their own section so I put all the ones about treasure in together.

Again I used several old postcards for pictures on these pages, I think they just go with the story well. I am going to try to link these old postcard pictures so they will open up to a bigger picture to view. But this may take me awhile to get done, I did not think about it when I made up the pages.

I will start with the Annapolis Valley Mysteries.:

• Jerome of Sandy Cove

• The Margaretsville Mystery Woman

• The Pool Shark of Granville Ferry

• The Murder of Charlotte Hill/a>

• The Mary Celeste

Now for the Annapolis Valley Treasure pages:

• Acadian Gold

• Capt Kidd's Treasure

• If You Dream It

• Rooster Blood

• Halls Harbour Treasure

• Circle of Trees

• Pot of Coins

• Port Royal Treasure

Well I hope you enjoy reading these stories, I find them very interesting myself. I have always been a bit of a local history buff. I am not sure I will go looking for any buried treasure though, even though it is rumored some of it is still hidden under the ground.

Maybe my friends at Nova Scotia Adventure and Explore will find some when they are exploring some of those old caves.

I hope you are all having a good winter so far and that you are getting a chance to get out and enjoy it. On those days when you can't get out, I hope you are planning your visit to the Annapolis Valley this summer! We are already over halfway through February, spring is getting closer! I can really see a difference in the length of the days out here in Saskatchewan now.

Remember if you have any suggestions of things you would like to see on this site please feel free to contact me by answering to this Ezine, using my contact forms, or now by submitting your stories yourself.

Until next month, have fun, live good and love hard!