Summer Blog-Off Contest

2008

In our second annual TBE Summer Blog-Off Contest, we challenged our readers to submit their most memorable, inspiring, funny, heart-wrenching, life-changing and/or life-threatening travel experiences (500 words or less). Once again TBE picked the three finalists and our dedicated readers decided on the winner.

Congratulations to Paula Van Galio! By popular vote of TBE readers, she is the winner with her entry, “Water Invasion”. Paula lives in Santa Maria, California with her husband. She has traveled with TBE to China as well as to Egypt & Jordan. Read Paula's winning entry along with our other two finalists here: 2008 Blog-Off Finalists

2007

In our first annual TBE Summer Blog-Off Contest, our readers were challenged to submit their most memorable, inspiring, funny, heart-wrenching, life-changing and/or life-threatening travel experiences (500 words or less). TBE picked the three finalists and our dedicated readers decided on the winner.

Congratulations to Deb Barshafsky! By popular vote of TBE readers, she is the winner of our first annual blog contest with her entry, “Pilgrimage to the Motherland”. This remarkable story prompted many comments from our readers, some of which included:

One of the most poignant travel stories ever. Everyone in America is from somewhere else not too long ago. It amazes me what family stories hold. -- Jessica Beattie
Sweet and touching… I cried! -- Billie Joe Ruonavaara
A very moving, heartfelt story -- Deb Powers
Instead of taking the easy way out, Deb plumbed the depths of her emotions and came up with something that continues to resonate with the reader. Rather than write a jokey or an "Ooops!" story, she got inside herself and produced a tale of lasting value -- Miles Jordan
This story pulled at my heartstrings -- Sylvia Broyles
Thoughtful story that made me think of how much invisible, untold suffering is embedded in our parents' generation, and how much they love us and try to protect us from the reality behind their stories. There's a lot buried under those beautiful meadows of their memories. I am so glad the writer got to experience that trip, and rejoice that she perceived the meaning in the experience. So many times we miss what they are telling us. -- Jan Walker

Deb is a food-obsessed leo living and writing in a 100+ year old craftsman-style bungalow in Augusta, Georgia. By day, she is vice president of decision support at a health sciences university and, by night, a freelance food writer. Her first TBE-orchestrated journey was to Chile in fall 2004. She has also traveled with TBE to India, Spain, Peru and the Amazon, and most recently Thailand. She will also be one of 22 world travelers joining TBE to Egypt and Jordan this fall. Among Deb's achievements are concocting the perfect key lime pie martini and teaching her recently adopted Chinese shar pei, Sooli, how to sword fight. Deb will be entering the Master of Arts in Gastronomy program offered by Le Cordon Bleu and the University of Adelaide this February. If you'd like another taste of her writing, visit her online at Bitegeist, the food writing web site she launched last August.

Read Deb’s winning entry, ”Pilgrimage to the Motherland”, along with our other two finalists:

2007 Blog-Off Finalists

(These files are in .pdf format. If you don't have Adobe Reader, download it here.)

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