Whew! This is the final post in my recent series about blog awards, this time The Versatile Blogger award. I’ve been very versatile on my own blog – almost to the point of flakiness. Though I started out with three totally unrelated topics to blog about, I eventually discovered that, call it what I might, I was usually blogging about travel. For several months now, my blog has been completely devoted to the subject of travel and it fits me like an old shoe.
One of my fellow bloggers, Equatours, nominated me for my third Versatile Blogger Award. In honor of them and the travel industry as a whole, I’m going to nominate fifteen other travel blogs for the same honor. Lord knows that when you’re out on the road you need to be versatile and flexible. Here are my nominees:
1. Belle Grove Plantation Bed and Breakfast – Talk about guilty pleasures, if blogs had calories, I couldn’t read this one. It’s got travel, it’s got history and it’s got food. How can anyone resist it? Michelle and Jeff Darnell are the proud proprietors of Belle Grove Plantation Bed and Breakfast, but the B&B isn’t open, yet. They invited us to travel along with them as they follow the road to opening day. Belle View was the birthplace of President James Madison. I wrote a post about Ash Lawn – Highland, home of President James Munroe and Michelle found me. That’s the kind of lady she is. Once I commented that a teacup she bought looked like my grandmother’s china pattern which had been sold long ago, but it wasn’t long until I had a piece of the pattern delivered to my door. Thank you Michelle. Frankly, I don’t know how she does it all. She’s researching the history of the plantation, scouting places to visit in the area, trying out all the local eateries, developing her menu for the B&B and shopping for furniture – all while she holds down a job. She reports on all she’s doing in her posts and it’s absolutely fascinating. You’re gonna thank me for recommending this one.
2. Mental Mosaic – I met Tui Cameron at the DFW Writer’s Conference this year and she seemed to have it going on. We exchanged cards and I subscribed to her blog through Google Reader. Tui does several things on her blog, but I have two favorites. She travels to interesting places in Texas which are off the beaten path and then reports back to her readers. She also reviews live performances in the DFW area. Make tracks over to Mental Mosaic.
3. Gypsy Road Trip – Before the reality channels made an industry out of modern day gypsies, I had a very romantic notion about them. I thought of them as exotic sorts; beautiful women wearing full tiered skirts, blouses slipping off their shoulders and roses behind their ears; handsome men who were good with horses and serial heartbreakers. Like Joni Mitchell and clouds, I’ve seen both sides now and it’s gypsy illusions I prefer. Gypsy Bev doesn’t have a picture of herself on her website, so I’m free to keep my illusions. Travel with her for places to go and things to see.
4. Two Oregonians – Ted and Bethany found me first, because I’d visited their state and fallen madly in love with it. They generously referred to my blog as one where you could find out more about Oregon. But the two Oregonians aren’t stuck in Oregon. They just went to Cape Town for their 6th anniversary and then moved on to Cambodia. They give versatility a whole new meaning. Click over there and see if you can keep up.
5. Mike McMurray’s Forest Photography – The same love of Oregon that led me to Two Oregonians led me to start following Mike McMurray. Not all of his photography is from Oregon, but a lot happens to be. What all of his photography is, is gorgeous! I started following his blog from the first time I found it. Chances are you will too.
6. Emily Luxton – One thing I’ve learned as I’ve scouted around the travel blog world is that Brits travel to more interesting places than Americans. I hate to say it but they do. Emily herself blogs about her native London mostly and makes me want to get there now! But she also has guest blogs that take me to all kinds of locales throughout the world. I keep thinking, “I’ve never even heard of this place. How did they find it?” Let me know if you end up asking the same.
7. The Local Traveler NS – The NS is for Nova Scotia. I’ll admit, Nova Scotia wasn’t on my short list until I found this blog. After a month of following their blog, Nova Scotia has definitely moved up on my list of priorities. Check them out and see if you don’t agree with me.
8. Where’s My T-Back – Eva dedicated this blog to those suffering from dementia, so that’s one reason to follow her, but I go there for the pictures. Some of her photos highlight the gorgeous and the beautiful of the places she visits. Other times its just the fun or the weird, but it’s always a visual treat.
9. 1001 Scribbles - Ana Silva is a student at the University of Coimbra in Portugal and like Eva, she heads into the world lens first. Ana’s blog is not all about her own photography, but includes guest blogs, and all of them are a joy to behold.
10. Digidame – Lois Whitman-Hess does not write about travel per se, but she travels a lot. Her schtick is what’s happening in the digital world and she claims she’s trying to plug us Baby Boomers into it, but I don’t think you have to be a Baby Boomer to enjoy her. The reason I included her with my travel buddies is because many of the gadgets she introduces us to are the gadgets she discovers to make her own travels easier.
11. Guide to Rhodes – Is there any way not to like a photoblog about Greece? It’s a great resource for an insiders view on what’s happening in the country right now, but I confess, I go for the pictures.
12. Retiree Diary – Michael Lai is a retiree based in Hong Kong. English is not his first language and writing is not his first love, but he’s taking us along with him in life with lovely pictures. Go see them for yourself.
13. iPhone Photographer – Great photos taken with an iPhone and advice on how to do that. I don’t have an iPhone, but I enjoy the pictures. If you have an iPhone and wish you could take better pictures, David Pasillas is your guy.
14. Enjoy the View – Tracy Constantine’s photolog is one I’ve only been following for a short while, but all you have to do is go there to fall in love with his lens.
15. Go Abroad.com – Here’s another blog I’ve only recently plugged into. I found them through facebook a long time ago, but didn’t have my networking thing going well at the time. The site is chockful of info that will help you if you’re crossing any ponds for your travels.
And now I’m done. Nominees, please remember, to accept your nomination you have to:
1. Add the award to your blog
2. Thank your nominator and link back to them.
3. Mention seven random things about yourself
4. Pass on these rules to whoever you nominate
5. Nominate 15 other bloggers for the award and tell your readers something about them.
OOOPS – one other thing, I promised to remind you of the great blogs I recommended for the other two awards I received, because there are a whole lot more of you following me today than were following me back then. There were more nominees back in the day, but since then attrition has occurred. Here’s the ones you can still enjoy:
Stephanie Peterson’s Candid Pastor’s Wife
Stephanie Alexander’s The Glass Slipper
Congratulations on your award. You’ve passed the award on with flair and I’ll enjoy visiting the sites you’ve mentioned. I love it when bloggers tell me about pages I’ll be visiting. It’s something like a note in the lunch pail before leaving home.
Thank you!! I hope you enjoy the new places you visit!