Writers & Photographers for Real Travel Adventures Magazine

Real Travel Adventures International Magazine

Thank you to our capable contributors who provide these entertaining and informative features and enticing photos for you to enjoy.

Tom Adkinson ; Tim Bete ; Thomas Carroll ; Steve Fey ; Spencer O'Connor ; Scott Israelson ; Sarah Hutt ; Ron Kapon ; Ron & Linda Jacobs ; Robert Painter ; Rob Goss ; Rita Cook ; Bill Neely ; Peter Kauffner ; Paula Court ; Pam Shucker ; Nell Raun-Linde ; Mickey Meredith ; Melanie Circle ; Maxine Sommers ; Lynn Seldon ; Linda Ballou ; larry&gail Taylor ; Katie Mooney ; John MacDonald ; John Macdonald ; Jane Danielson ; Jack Goldfarb ; Helen Mann ; Heidi Arbe ; Guylaine Spencer ; Doug Eads ; CHarles Jacobs ; Cameron Burns ; Brooke Cunningham ; Brenda Elwell ; Brecken Donelson ; Bob Koff ; Bob & Dianne Fisher ; ben bleiman ; Barry Evetts ; Ashley Pitts ; Andrew Der ; Alyssa Sykes Collins ; Nancy Tardy , Victoria Dew; Benny Bleiman, Linda Fasteson, Rick Moran, J.C.Bailey, Rona Gilbert, Jenna Orkin, Jim McManus, Cecilia M. Miller, Rick Moran, Hank Lowenstein, Joseph Martino, Rachel Decker, Delores Peralta, Marion D.S. Dreyfus, Antonio Graceffo, Joe David, Hendson Quan, Leslie Adams, Kirsty Turner, Karyn White, John Ciullo, Josh Mitchell, Mary MacIntosh, Linda Vissat, Amanda Hargraves, Andres Mariani, Brent Lewin, Barry Napier, Arvind Viswanathan, Helen Fasken, Kate Meyers, Alvin Starkman, Kim Bluth,Johnna Kaplan, Bart Berry, Sarah Morgan, Sheila O'Connor, Ann JPhillips, Victoria L. Cooksey, Yvonne Tapson King, DeLencia Carter, John MacDonald, Stacy Traficante-Gutshall, Jennifer Aitken, Kitty Baker, Kregg Jorgenson, Dawn Harvey, Burgess and Charmaine Shucker, Dean Bartosh, Wayne Hunt, Juliana Keeping, Jacintha Vroom, Shannon Ports, Gaston Lacombe, Mary Clark, Dawna Robertson, Pria Ingram

Leslie Adams

Leslie is a psychiatric nurse who first became addicted to travel after finishing university and a Swedish river raft guide said, "if you wait for the right time, the right man or the right amount of money, you'll never go anywhere."

To date she has wandered through more than fifty different countries and has been fortunate to live and work in Spain, Chile, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.

She has a TEFL certificate and has taught English abroad but has also been known to muster cattle, sell encyclopedias or tie boysenberry vines.

She has traveled to or lived in most parts of the U.S. and thinks it is one of the most beautiful places on the planet. She currently resides in the liberal mecca of Santa Cruz, CA.

Leslie prefers adventure travel and can't really count it as a trip if her knees haven't been up to her chin for at least 14 bumpy hours shared with chickens and sick goats. She tries to travel at least once a year for two to four months and when home, besides working and saving for the next trip, she enjoys yoga, outdoor sports, making home movies of her travels and catching up with her amazing and supportive friends and family.

Finally, Leslie considers travel her small way to promote world peace by fostering respect and understanding of all people, all religions and all walks of life. Her chosen motto would be the old bumper sticker adage: "Live Simply, so that others might simply live".

P.S. These articles and other travel stories are also available at Real Travel Adventures Ezine: your free online monthly travel magazine with hundreds of features and photos on travel to anywhere. Subscribe for free at http://www.RealTravelAdventures.com. And, no, they're not paying us to say that. However, if you would like to hire Leslie to travel and write about it please contact her via LeslieTravels@gmail.com :)

For more stories and photos, check out my website, click here

Jennifer Aitken is a successful business writer living in Canada. She sometimes writes for the following blogs: Selling Timeshare, Wine Making Supplies, and China Lenox.

Heidi Ayarbe

Heidi Ayarbe spends most of her time trying to support her traveling and writing habits. In other words, she's held down pretty much every kind of job imaginable! Born in Nevada to children of Basque and Norwegian immigrants, it's no wonder she likes to get up and go -- it must be in her explorer blood!

Currently, Heidi and her Colombian husband, Cesar, are living in Barcelona, Spain. Together, they have created the virtual travel guide (www.galapaguide.com) about the Galapagos Islands and a virtual shopping mall in which half of the proceeds go toward education in Colombia and Latin America (www.shoppingfordreams.com). Machupicchuguide.com is soon to follow.

Heidi's first children's book, Kaixo Amerika, will be out in June. She hopes a lot more books will follow!

heidiarb@yahoo.com

Kitty Baker is a former world traveler and photojournalist featured in the travel section of most major US newspapers before they downsized. Presently she is writing a book "You Are Somebody-Write Your Memoir."

Linda Ballou

Blessed with a double dose of genetic wanderlust, I love to explore. My pioneering parents took me to Alaska when I was thirteen, where I became firmly grounded in nature. From there I journeyed to proud California where I obtained a Bachelor's Degree in English Literature and a Doctorate in urban savvy. Today I am a free-lance writer, based in Los Angeles, specializing in soft outdoor adventures.

My mission is to experience as many beautiful places on our planet as I can, before they are no more. Travel tales relating my experiences while kayaking, horseback riding, sailing, birding and hiking about the globe have appeared in numerous national magazines, as well as the L.A. Times. Presently, I am having a great deal of fun collecting travel stories, and profiles of people I have met in "naturally high places" for my book; Lost Angel Walk About.

Lballou6@aol.com

Bart Allen Berry is a veteran adventure guide, trainer and corporate consultant, specializing in experiential team development for the world’s finest companies for the past 23 years and has guided and trained over 200,000 people. bart@aquariustraining.com

Dean Bartosh is a Milwaukee area travel writer who loves leaving the safe confines of the resort areas because "that's where all the action takes place". He is also an avid motorcyclist who loves to photograph and write about the interesting people and places encountered while on the road. His motorcycle blog can be found at www.eternalbiker.blogspot.com.

Kim Bluth is an American writer who was born in New York City and grew up all over the United States. She currently lives in the Netherlands as she follows her husband's career around the world while indoctrinating their three children (and a dog named Candy) into the nomadic lifestyle of corporate expatriates.

Her career path has proved quite chaotic. She graduated from California State University with a bachelor degree in psychology and then promptly moved back to New York to work in banking and investments on Wall Street. When commuting into New York proved too difficult while eight months pregnant, she changed careers to be closer to home, becoming a technical support specialist for an insurance software company in western Connecticut. Twelve years, two more children, and two corporate transfers later, she quit that job in the interest of her children and her sanity. She found her love of writing while attempting to catalog her experiences, frustrations and excitement over her family's transfer to The Netherlands.

She is a self-billed travel and culinary fanatic who has a hard time staying in one place too long. Much of what she writes is creative non-fiction, but she also dabbles in fiction and the occasional artistic photograph; basically anything that strikes her fancy. When not absorbed with her various writing projects or the needs of her children, she is the editor for Going Dutch Magazine, a magazine of The American Women's Club of The Hague. In addition to her pieces on this website, she has been published in the on-line version of The Daily Palette of The University of Iowa and has written quite a few hotel reviews which can be seen in TripAdvisor.com.

Cameron M. Burns

Australia-born Cameron M. Burns is a Colorado-based communications and marketing specialist. After graduating from the University of Colorado with a degree in environmental design, he worked as a movie technician in Hollywood before taking up writing, photography, and design full-time. He has authored or co-authored eighteen books, and several thousand magazine, newspaper, and journal articles, and has won fourteen awards for his writing including the North American Association of Travel Journalists' 2002 "Book of the Year" award and the 1998 Grand Prize at the Banff Mountaineering Book Festival (shared, for World Mountaineering). He is a member of the American Society of Journalists & Authors, the Society of Professional Journalists, and the American Alpine Club. He is the founder of Hard-Pressed Books, a small press based in Basalt, Colorado and currently serves as staff editor at Rocky Mountain Institute in Colorado.

cameron@rmi.org

http://rmi.org

Benny Bleiman

Benny is a freelance writer, meat-eater and travel fanatic. After graduating from Georgetown University, he settled in San Francisco. When not writing Benny tends bar to pay the rent and spends time planning his next trips. A bike tour of Madagascar is next, followed by a trip around Krygestan, dressed as a Pashtun for a book he's researching. Wish him well. Please contact him with insights, critics, or questions. Bennybleiman@yahoo.com, cell: 202-297-5867.

Nelle Burgess is our 92 year old writer who still enjoys good health, excellent mind, and travel. Her memoirs of travels on early roads in the USA are fascinating to read and enjoy. Please see September 2006 and May 2007 issues. She is still an active artist as well as writer and a fun travel partner. nellehoney@webtv.net

DeLencia Carter was born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama. When I graduated high school, I moved to Montgomery, Alabama and earned a degree in Computer Science. I still reside in Montgomery and work as an Accounting Clerk.

I always liked to go places when I was a child. But my passion for travel was unleashed when travel opportunities became available to me through my job. Almost every year, I went to a conference or two and sometimes met a celebrity here and there. I attended some meetings, but I couldn't wait to go and see what that p articular city had to offer. I love watching the Travel Channel. I would love to travel all over the world capturing beautiful nature scenes, different kinds of people, and the marvelous, modern buildings created by mankind.

Richard Chudy is the co-owner of CabosBest.com, a travel portal specializing

in Cabo San Lucas and Baja Sur, Mexico. To learn more about Cabo, visit

http://www.cabosbest.com.

John Ciullo:

John Ciullo is the co-founder of Parallel 41 Patagonia, an ecotourism travel company based in Bariloche, Argentina. He can be reached through his website at www.parallel41.com or directly at jmciullo@yahoo.com.

Alyssa Skye Collins is a freelance writer, published in both print magazines and on the internet .Visit her at http://the_writechoice42.tripod.com/

Mary Walker Clark Mary Walker Clark was raised to travel by a mother who fearlessly crossed the United States for years in her Plymouth station wagon before taking her five children to Europe in 1970 for a three month summer tour, complete with a Volkswagon bus. It is this "traveling gene" that has been passed down through the next two generations.

After 29 years of practicing law and traveling on the side, Mary has now brought her writing skills to the travel world. Her stories personalize cultures through the world as well as in the U.S. By reading intensely before a trip, she can incorporate a country's history or literature into her stories. And by avoiding organized tours, she encounters individuals in their every day life, a rich source for reporting from the normal tourist spots.

Mary writes a regular travel column for The Paris News and maintains her travel blog, www.thetravelinggene.com.

Rita Cook

A seasoned writer and award-winning producer with over a decade of diversified experience. She has collaborated on many assignments with such formidable entertainment entities as Turner Network Television, Prevue, CRC Entertainment, Montrose Pictures and Finney Entertainment. For Script Magazine she writes a column and also in Screentalk, Bass Player and various other business and travel magazines.

Ms. Cook has traveled extensively as a travel editor and editor-in-chief for Insider Magazine as well as Waxahachie Daily Light, Ellis County Chronicle Lifesmart Magazine and Star Service, where she is a travel correspondent. Cook was also recently named Editorial Director for Premier Bride. Ms. Cook's book "How to Become An Independent Producer" can be purchased on the Internet.She is a Vice President of the Film Advisory Board in Los Angeles.

Victoria L. Cooksey is the author of 3 cookbooks including Cooking with Cooksey, available at www.bn.com (Barnes and Noble), amazon.com or by calling 1-800-288-4677. Her travel/cooking columns, including her newest series Traveling to Eat and Other Tales: Paris, France, have appeared in several newspapers for over four years. Victoria has two years of xperience cooking live on television, giving baking demonstrations and her articles have been featured in Home Cooking Magazine, Veggie Life Magazine, and an upcoming issue of Transitions Abroad Magazine. When not writing,Victoria works in occupational therapy. She has another trip planned to Paris this fall. Victoria L. Cooksey may be reached at beyourfreedom@yahoo.com. For more information and photos visit www.angelfire.com/stars4/victorialcooksey.

Jane Danielson is a Freelance Writer for the Disabled and Poet and has been published in extensively in Canada and United States. She became mobility disabled 13 years ago and uses a cane, wheelchair and electric scooter Jane believes that traveling is a prescription for a healthy optimistic outlook, especially for the disabled but really for everyone. Some of Jane’s articles include Camping in a National Park and, Whale Watching on Brier Island, Fun in Florida and Healing Powers of Hawaii. Her travel articles always look at the positive experience of traveling, with a realization of the obstacles that must be overcome to achieve this experience. Email: janlin@attcanada.ca

Joe David has traveled extensively and has been writing about his experiences for over 20 years. He is also the author of two novels, Teacher of the Year and The Fire Within. For more information about the author, visit: www.bfat.com

Rachel Decker currently lives in Chicago, Illinois, where she works as many jobs as possible to pay for her travels. Most of these jobs are in technical theatre, but she also sings in a band to help fund her wanderlust. She graduated from Lawrence University in 2000 and ventures out as often as possible; she loves seeing what the world has to offer. Rachel also loves reading about the adventures of other travellers. racheldecker10@hotmail.com

Andrew Der

andrewtder@yahoo.com As an environmental consultant, I have, for the last 20 years, written for land development companies and government agencies requiring technical and scientific guidance in the environmental disciplines. Over time, my interests and yearnings have wandered into travel journalism as an opportunity to explore more creative outlets and utilize long neglected photography skills. In addition to science and nature, my primary destination interests are creative and cultural family destinations, my children, Eastern Europe - my birthplace - and the occasional offbeat experience. Emphasis is on whatever unique niches and opportunities I uncover in my travels. For More Click Here

Victoria Dew is a Los Angeles based writer who has spent her entire career working in film and television. Having survived the wilds of Hollywood for more than seven years, she is now seeking greener pastures and cleaner air; whereas once she longed to be Bi-Coastal, she is presently striving to become Bi-Hemispheric.

Brecken Donelson is a freelance photojournalist with multiple publishing

successes to her credit including articles in Northwest Travel Magazine.

She has traveled extensively throughout the European Continent, and enjoys

the adventure of meeting new people willing to share their home, culture and

traditions. With all her travels she still has not found any place as

beautiful and diverse has her adored Washington State, where she resides.

Brecken is a member of an international community of writers online. The

author can be reached directly at brecken_21@hotmail.com.

Marion D.S. Dreyfus is a British-born journalist and poet with particular interest in ecology, world healthcare, pharmacology and medicine, the politics of the Middle East, humor, gender relations, culture and the performing arts. She has traveled widely and lived in Central and South America, Europe, Africa and the Far East.

Doug Eads We grieve that this fine writer passed away in June. We will miss his wonderful contributions.

Doug Eads is Editor of the widely recognized Travelworld International magazine, and a Contributing Editor for Cruise Reviews, a large Internet cruise-review center. He is also a contributing Editor-Columnist and journalist with Senior Citizen Magazine. He has also appeared on radio and TV in the past relating to his writing. Doug is a member of the International Food, Wine and Travel Writers Association and for years the Society of Professional Journalists. He is a contributing member of the East/West Travel News Wire Service and has writing credits from various publications.

Doug has bachelors’ degrees in world history and psychology and a master’s degree in business management and administration. He has been a contributing writer for Supervisory Management and Management World. A cruise and sailing enthusiast, he frequently writes about travel by ship.

Brenda Elwell

Brenda Elwel is the author of The Single Parent Travel Handbook and managing editor of The Single Parent Travel Network (SingleParentTravel.net) She is also the founder of Single Parent Tours.

A veteran of over thirty years experience in the travel industry and a worldwide adventurer, Brenda Elwell has lived abroad and traveled to over 60 countries and 45 states, half of them as a single parent with her two kids in tow. A graduate of Colby College with a B.A. in languages, Ms. Elwell conceived the idea of single parent travel 18 years ago, while traveling in Europe on her first single parent family vacation. Several years later, she completed her CTC (Certified Travel Consultant) degree with a research paper on the topic "Marketing Travel to the Single Parent". Addicted to adventurous travel to remote and exotic places, Ms. Elwell is at home anywhere on the planet. An accomplished hiker and photographer, she is also a connoisseur of ethnic and exotic foods, having sampled such delicacies as Peruvian Cuy (don't ask!), Kenyan Pepper Bark and Amazonian lemon ants, the latter two eaten fresh off the tree.

http://www.globalbrenda.com/A/brenda.htm

Linda Fasteson

An avid traveler with an interest in international relations, Linda views travel as the best way to better understand the people and places around us.

Her background in education, research, and business is reflected in her travel planning and writing. She enjoys sharing what she has learned, making domestic and international travel accessible, affordable, and enlightening.

Her experience with academic writing and editing and broad interests, combined with extensive travel, makes for an easy transition to travel and leisure writing. Aside from Internet publishing, Linda will be submitting to newspapers in the Northeast on spec.

She has traveled extensively throughout the United States and Canada, Eastern and Western Europe, the British Isles, Scandinavia, the Mediterranean, the former Soviet Union, Asia, Australia, South America, Africa, Mexico, and the Caribbean.

Additionally, many of these trips, along with her years of expertise with travel and research on travel, have given Linda a valuable base for cruise knowledge and review. Aside from this extensive travel expertise, Linda is well-versed on value travel and travel resources for today’s domestic and world traveler.

Linda is a member of NATJA and a contributor to Travelworld International Magazine.

Bob Fisher Travelosophy / Bob Fisher Bob is a Canadian travel journalist, editor, retired educator, and a former marketing manager. He has served on the Board of Directors of the Travel Media Association of Canada, and is currently also a member of: the World Federation of Journalists and Travel Writers; the North American Travel Journalists Association; The North American Association of Travel & Lifestyle Writers; The International Ecotourism Society; The Ethical Traveler Association; and The International Travel Writers Alliance. He produces conceptual, in-depth, content-rich multimedia narratives that explore the universal layers of meaning inherent in travel. His principal editorial and research assistant is his wife Dianne, an historian who specializes in social and art history, and who is also a retired educator. Bob is also now “authorized and commissioned to serve as an Ambassador of Good Will” for the State of Arkansas, USA. He is also a member of The Travel Educators group. You can also read Bob's Blog at The Philosophical Traveller: Taking the Long Way Home articles . Subscribe to his excellent Travel News Letter at www.Travelosophy.ca

RONA GILBERT is a freelance writer based in Columbus, OH. She recently left her corporate job after12 years in politics and public relations to pursue her passion of learning through travel. She particularly enjoys motivating others to get out and see the world (or even just their own back yard) and to experience new and different cultures and ways of life through travel. She is particularly adept at locating off-the-beaten path and independently owned accommodations ranging from small intimate inns to guest houses to renting private apartments for a more diverse and authentic travel experience. Contact here

Jack Goldfarb

Jack first learned about the big wide world while collecting postage stamps as a kid. His fascination with geography, history, and exotic scenes of faraway lands virtually stamped him as a future traveler to search out these far-flung lands for himself.

In thirty-five years as a travel journalist he has written articles for magazines and newspapers on five continents based on his travels in 110 countries. He has lived in London and Tel Aviv and now resides in New York. His favorite continent is Asia. His favorite countries are Nepal, Finland, Mauritius, and Albania. His favorite cities are Capetown, St. Petersburg, Melbourne and Calcutta.

Rob Goss, lives in Devon England.I have lived in Tokyo for about 5 years working at universities, teaching business English and studying Japanese (at times). I am now doing a post-graduate course in Journalism by distance education while working full-time.

Antonio GraceffoIMotivational Speaking, Writing, Movies, Adventure, and Martial Arts

Originally from New York City, Antonio speaks Chinese, Khmer, French, German, Spanish, Italian, and Thai. He holds diplomas from universities in the US, Germany, and England. He has studied and competed in martial arts and boxing for over twenty-five years, and has studied at the Shaolin Temple, in Mainland China and a Muay Thai (boxing) temple, in Thailand. He works as a full time adventurer, writer, and film star. He has just finished a contract in Cambodia, where he was writing adventure books, staring in Kung Fu films, and boxing professionally.

Since returning to the USA in 2006, Antonio has become a much sought after motivational speaker. To find out more about Antonio’s speaking and writing, see Antonio’s website http://speakingadventure.com/

Antonio's writing has appeared in: Bangkok Post, Hong Kong Saturday Morning Standard, Farang, West East fashion, Escape Artist, Travelers Impressions, Travel UK, Kung Fu Magazine, and Black belt Magazine.

Antonio has written a number of adventure travel books, which are available on amazon.com

The Monk from Brooklyn

Bikes, Boats, and Boxing Gloves

The Desert of death on Three Wheels

Adventures in Formosa

Contact the author at: antonio_graceffo@hotmail.com

Website http://speakingadventure.com/

Stacy Traficante-Gutshall

I am a freelance photographer in central Pennsylvania. Born and raised in the small city of Altoona, I often travel the mountains, valleys and country-side of Pennsylvania with camera in hand to capture my own personal journey through my Living Lens. (www.livinglens.net - under construction at this time). After spending over 12 years as a legal secretary/paralegal, tending to some real estate ventures, and currently working as the personal assistant to a local real estate developer in the hospitality field, my work background has given me the tools for writing. My goal is to capture life in photographs and create light-hearted stories for magazines around the world to scrutinize for publication and the delight of their readers.

Amanda Hargraves van Mulligen is British born, married to a Dutchman and lives in the Netherlands. She runs her own writing and translation business near The Hague and has a background in Human Resources. Amanda has a bachelor degree in European Studies, which included a year spent studying in Toulouse, France and has a post-graduate degree in Human Resources Management. Travelling and photography are top of her list of things to do in her spare time. She also writes about her experiences living as an expat in The Netherlands as well as general travel articles. For more information please visit www.thewritingwell.eu or contact Amanda at info@thewritingwell.eu

Dawn Harvey is a professional actress and writer whose work has been published on Wcities, Boots N All, Actors Ink, and Helium. She has appeared on Saturday Night Live, Law & Order: SVU, and onstage at Ensemble Studio Theatre in New York City. For more information, please visit www.dawnharvey.com.

Fyllis Hockman has been writing all her life -- and every job since her 20's has been based upon that skill -- even those in which she had no idea what it was she was writing about...until she became a travel writer almost 20 years ago. The opportunities are diverse; the experiences incomparable, and because she's immersed in the immediacy of where she is, she knows very well what it is she is writing about. And her fervent hope is that she can convey that to her readers.

A Washington, D.C.-based freelance travel writer, and long-standing member of the Society of American Travel Writers (SATW) and Travel Journalists Guild (TJG). She writes regularly for The Washington Times, is

syndicated by the Copley News Service, and is a feature columnist for The Lowell (MA) Sun. Ms. Hockman's travel stories also have appeared in many other publications. She is the author of AAA Guidebook: A Photo Journey to Washington, D.C. and co-author of the Pelican Guide to Maryland.

WAYNE HUNT has traveled to Central and South America, Western Europe, Canada and Alaska, Hawaii and Mexico, and Indonesia. Future destinations of choice include Barbados, Damanhur and Italy, and Vienna/Bratislava. When not tour guiding domestically in the US, Wayne likes to hide out at Esalen, a retreat center in Big Sur, California. He reads Tarot, dances freestyle, surfs a little, is a fledgling yogi and a Leo. He loves outdoor music festivals and the NBA, and likes to fancy himself as an environigentleman. He is interested in Chinese brush painting, transpersonal ecopsychology, and finding a mystery school that integrates plant medicines. He would also like to learn Italian, Spanish, and maybe Portuguese, in order to further his travel adventures.

Pria Ingram is native to India, having moved to the US when she was seven from Rajasthan and currently resides in Denver, CO. She is the proud mom of a 10 year-old boy and is expecting a daughter 2/09. Pria’s extensive educational background includes an MBA in Market Strategy, bachelors in English Writing and Psychology, Certificates in Asian Studies, Legal Studies (certified paralegal), Government Contracting, Contract Management, Property Management, and Photography/Video Production. Pria’s work experiences include public relations, advertising, marketing, sales, free-lance writing for magazines and a newspaper, account executive for magazines and a newspaper, teaching writing & literature, contract management, counseling, and executive assistance. Pria is currently a writer/marketing consultant (www.priaingrum.com) and owns an importing business (www.komalstyle.com). To relax, she enjoys reading, gardening, and vegetarian cooking.

Ronald M. Jacobs is a member of North American Travel Journalists Association. ronaldmjacobs2@comcast.net

With more than three decades of international marketing experience, I have successfully marketed cruise lines, airlines, and a dizzying array of restaurants, international destinations and destination resorts. The intimate associations I have had with those projects have vested me with an hoteliers' and restaurateurs’ discriminating eye for service and quality.

My wife and I travel as Free Independent Travelers doing all our own bookings and itineraries and our own driving. I do a good deal of my own photography. My wife is chief researcher and antique authority. Our focus is on travel, antiquing, food, and wine . I have been published in numerous regional magazines and newspapers.I have also had articles published on the Miami Gran Prix and its European roots.

Kregg P.J. Jorgenson is an award winning writer and the author of the Vietnam War best selling book, Acceptable Loss: An Infantry Soldier's Perspective. A former contrbuting editor for several national publications and a frequent contributor to Europeanweekly.net

Johnna Kaplan

is a graduate of New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. After pursuing several other careers, and attempting without success to stay in one place for more than two years at a time, she recently realized that a life combining writing and traveling was the obvious choice. A native New Yorker, she currently lives in St. Louis, MO.

Ron Kapon

Ron received a BA in Marketing from Columbia College and an MS in Advertising from Columbia University Graduate School of Business. In addition, he is a graduate of the Grossman Beverage Program and The German Wine Academy.Ron keeps himself busy as Regional Vice President of Tasters Guild International and co-director of its New York Chapter.He is a Managing Director Emeritas of Acker, Merrall & Condit, the oldest wine merchant in America.Ron is President of Profit Plus Marketing & Management Company.

Ron's writings appear regularly in The Resident Publications, , Real Travel Adventures, Tasters Guild Journal, former wine editor of Trump World Magazine and his newest column appears in Bergen County Magazine.His travel & lifestyle pieces run on Sports Network which receives over 600,000 unique visitors A DAY. In addition, he has authored an audiocassette entitled Discovering The World of Wine. He is the co-host of the syndicated radio show- The Wonderful World of Wine & Spirits available in 6 states. Regular contributor to the first world-wide internet talk show hosted by Sally Jessy Raphael

Ron is a member of the Society For Wine Educators, a lecturer at The Wine Workshop and a co-founder of The Wine Media Guild.He is a Professor at Fairleigh Dickinson University's Hotel, Restaurant & Tourism School and former Director of the wine program at Queens College Continuing Education Department.Ron is also the Senior Bureau Chief East for East West News Bureau as well as a partner in Wine Event Planners.

vinoron@yahoo.com

http://www.tastersguildny.com

Juliana Keeping is a Chicagoan currently residing in Qinhuangdao, China, whereshe is teaching English for the year at a university and learning Mandarin. She has a background as a reporter and won a Peter Lisagor for investigative journalism in 2005. Current projects include editing and writing for online, non-fiction-based publication Spry Mag (www.sprymag.com), which she helped to found.Her blog is From China, with Love, www.lovefromchina.wordpress.com.

Carol Kehlmeier is a former newspaper woman and columnist. Her most recent work has apeared in The Lutheran, Senior Source, Whispers From Heaven, Signs of the Times, Bible Advocate, Absolutewrite.com and writerscrossing.com.She lives in westerville, Ohio, is married, a mother, and a grandmother.

Yvonne Tapson King was born and lived in England and studied three years in France before moving to South Carolina as professor of French at Presbyterian College. She has traveled extensively and believes that one is more enriched by staying a while in one place –even an out-of-the-way village—than by taking wide ranging tours.

Gaston Lacombe is a freelance journalist and photographer, born in Canada and currently based in Washington DC. He is the North-American correspondent for the European travel magazine "Èemodâns", (based in Latvia). He has visited more than 40 countries in the last 20 years, and lived in Eastern Europe for 11 of those years. In the past, Gaston Lacombe has worked as a teacher, radio journalist, international education consultant, speech writer and diplomat. Gaston.lacombe@gmail.com

Michael Levy is the author of WHAT IS THE POINT ($9.95, Paperback - 110 pages, October 9, 1998, ISBN: 0966806905) Minds of Blue Souls of Gold ($9.95, Paperback - 127 pages, January 20, 1999) Point Of Life Inc.; ISBN: 0966806913) Enjoy Yourself It's Later Than You Think ($9.95, Paperback - 128 pages, June 10, 1999, Point Of Life Inc.; ISBN: 0966806921). Michael's website is at http://www.pointoflife.com/ . His Articles and Poems are now on over 1000 web sites, journals and magazines. He has appeared on hundreds of radio programs, TV in the U K and USA and was a recent guest on the Howard Stern Show. Michael Levy's books may be purchased at http://www.pointoflife.com/polorder.html PointOfLife.com

BRENT LEWIN is from Toronto, Canada. For the past 3 years I have been travelling/working abroad. I spent a year travelling though Southeast Asia and teaching English in Chiang Mai, Thailand, saved up $ then took some time

off to travel through Myanmmar, India, and Nepal. Upon returning home to Canada I was recruited for a government sponsored internship to work for a Canadian run logistics company in Budapest, Hungary. After completing the

internship in October, I was offerred a full-time job working at their Kabul

office and I accepted. When Im not working or playing guitar I am out

driving around Kabul taking photos.

Despite how the media portrays Afghanistan, Kabul is generally safe place as

long as you use some common sense and respect local customs.

Hank Lowenstein, who wrote the feature Into Africa explains: "My travel companion (broken wrist) is the Vice Chairperson for the Wildlife Conservation Society, so we both have a real interest in animals and landscapes. I am in the Executive Recruitment business, specializing in Financial Services. (I was able to be in e-mail contact with my office from almost everywhere). The Aga Kahn Hospital in Nairobi was first rate. We found a German trained orthopedic specialist who was able to set my companion’s wrist and cast it so that we could continue our trip."

John MacDonald is in his mid-fifties and presently resides in Andalucia. Although a British subject he was brought up in Australia and New Zealand. He has worked in Southern Africa and Saudi Arabia as well as a stint in the British Army serving in Germany.He writes freelance for several English Speaking Spanish periodicals and takes his own photographs./John/ is a qualified photographer and has a diploma in freelance journalism. He also studied archaeology with the University of Exeter./John/ is available for free-lance or staff work anywhere in the

world. John's web site at located at http://www.caratacus.eu

Andres Mariani of Buenos Aires, Argentina, has been living for the last two years in Dublin, Ireland. It was THE experience of my life since I got to travel throughout all Europe including Morocco and Turkey.

Joseph P.Martino: I have authored over 100 quotes. He was born 9-17-37 in Staten Island, NY, spent his Army tour in Korea, and then served as a New York State Peace Officer for 32 years. He has many patented inventions which include safety and fire prevention devices. Johnny Carson played with his patented practice baseball bat on the show.

Two pro baseball teams experimented with his practice

bats and a pro football team used his ankle exerciser. Martino played army and semi-pro baseball,along with other sports. He and his inventions have been featured in Associated Press and Sports Illustrated. He has traveled to over 40 countries. His quotes and poems are published worldwide.

Mary McIntosh is 85 years old and an active writer, published recently in numreous places. We are thrilled to be priviledged to publish some of her works. Watch for her forthcoming book on her memoirs as a teen in the 1930's. I worked as a secretary for the USAF Space Program in Los Angeles for 25 years. Just before my retirement in 1991 that strange new device called a computer was brought in. However, they were only for word processing - no Internet. When I retired I knew I needed something to work on as I wanted to do some serious writing, so bought a second-hand computer, but still only word processing. I finally got tired of my boys telling me I needed to get Internet. One of my stories, which was published on a web site, was about how I learned to love the computer by latching onto a web site of the little town in the northern part of England where I used to spend my summers as a little girl with my grandmother (an abbreviated version of that story is what's going to be in Bylines). That did the trick. I've been "sold" on it ever since. However, for a couple of years I stayed with Word Star as that is what I'd learned at work. When I finally realized everyone had Word I reluctantly had to quit. One of the things we older people find hard to do is to make changes, but I'm learning! I'm now busy writing a memoir, "Somedays Nothing Much Happened," based on a five-year diary I kept (and still have) from 1935-1939, aged 15-19. As you can well imagine, life in those days was far different than a teenager of today. Plus during those five years I attended an all-girls boarding school in Stamford, CT, and they are almost non-existent now. We were such "pure and holy" young people and I'm trying to spice it up a bit, as my critiquer in CA wants me to do. It's fun, though. Each chapter is a different month, which means there'll be 60 chapters and I'm now on #7, so I need to hurry up and beat Father Time!!

Jim McManus is an aviation entrepreneur and long-time Florida resident. He and his wife Kathy have been passionate about aviation since early childhood. Commercially rated pilots. They have been active participants in the aviation industry for over six years. A zealous focus on the guest experience and extraordinary attention to detail have been integral keystones of their enterprises which include SkyTrek Tours and 18th Century Aviation, a hot air balloon operation in the Tampa Bay area.

Contact them at:

mcmanusj@tampabay.rr.com or info@SkyTrekTours.com

Kate Meyers is a Boston-based freelance writer with a passion for travel, food and wine and a desire to see and sample as much of the world's tastes, scents and sounds as possible.

So far, Meyers has explored the shops and restaurants of Florence, Italy, dined on lamb stew after traversing the Irish countryside by bicycle, and taken part in an authentic feria celebration in Puebla, Mexico. In the coming year, her travel plans will take her to France, where she'll shop in Paris, swim and sun on the Atlantic coast, and sip wine in Provence.

When she's not exploring different cultures abroad, Meyers spends much of her free time enjoying the outdoors in New England. Whether it's the beach, the ski slopes, or the back country trails of the wilderness, Meyers is always on the look-out for adventure, pen and pad in hand, and always eager to share what she sees with other travel enthusiasts.

Cecilia M. Miller is a freelance author who enjoys accompanying her articles with photos from her own collection. To her credit, she has experienced multiple publishing successes in newspapers, newsletters, magazines and online world wide. She specializes in Travel Adventures, Advocacy and Life Stories. She makes her home in the heartland of America, in her beloved state of Iowa. Her family includes her spouse, five children, two dogs and one fish.

She's a member of two communities of peer writers with one being local and the other an international group online. The author can be reached directly at AuthorCMMiller@hotmail.com.

Josh Mitchell is a writer-filmmaker from Boston whose most recent travels

include Key West and The Dominican Republic. As owner of his own small

production company Wickid Pissa Films, he has been all over the United

States promoting his unique movies.

He hopes to make Southeast Asia his next adventure.

You can watch a collection of his short films on his website

http://www.myspace.com/wickidpissaboston

Rick Moran is an editor with the Lemons Newspaper Group of Sanger, TX and is an Adjunct Professor of Journalism at Richland College in Dallas, which will be hosting a special workshop on Unexplained Phenomenon in October. Rick has reported on many such cases as an avocation, including the True Story of the Amityville Horror and Mothman Prophecies Revisited. He lives in The Colony, Texas.

rick.moran@earthlink.net

Sarah Morgan grew up in Oregon and spent most of her life exploring the great outdoors. She and her husband now live on Costa Rica's Caribbean coast with their dogs and lots and lots of monkeys.

She is a freelance writer published in several Ezines, and is currently working on a memoir of her years living in this part of the world. You can see more of her writing at her blog site http://noticiasdepuntauva.blogspot.com or contact the author directly at writer.scmorg@gmail.com

Barry Napier is now an 'elder statesman' (well, grey-haired and aged 59, so that's close enough to assume a perceived greatness!). He has turned to travel writing only in the past few years, simply because he loves to travel and loves to write. His favourite place is Malta, which he visits time and again, for holidays as well as for articles.

Before being utterly unfamous for travel writing he worked in a variety of spheres, such as college lecturing (including some tourism teaching), art & design, health and theology. Barry has written academically in all these areas for about 30 years, and has also written BBC overseas radio scripts, in science and health.Hence he has a regular column with an online space-science magazine. He is a graduate of universities in the UK and the USA, with a BA, BEd, MA and PhD and other qualifications.

Barry lives in Swansea, Wales, UK, with his wife Diane, and has to be surgically separated from his computer every evening, such is his love for writing. His travel philosophy is very simple - 'Travel is that bit between here and there'. For him, travel is whatever happens in between two or three steps, so he loves to see suburbs and 'real' homes of locals. Tourist attractions are just added-on!

Sheila O'Connor writes on travel around the world. Sheila produces a newsletter with writing markets for writers and can be reached at sheila.oconnor@juno.com

Jenna Orkin has written about subjects ranging from motherhood to Bach specialist Rosalyn Tureck to the environmental disaster of 9/11. She is currently spokesperson for the World Trade Center Environmental Organization (wtceo.org) since her son was a student at Stuyvesant High School, four blocks north of the WTC on 9/11.

Robert Painter

Robert Painter is a Photographer/Journalist living in Albuquerque, New Mexico. A member of the North American Travel Journalists Association, he is also the author of The Native American Indian Artist Directory, a guide to Native artists across North America.

Robert writes about a wide variety of travel topics including adventure travel, cruises, luxury spas, rail travel and destinations around the globe. He is particularly interested in photographing the people he meets in various parts of the world. If you expect top find Robert at home, you'll have to look outdoors. When not traveling or writing he spends most of his time hiking, climbing, rafting, canoeing, biking, playing tennis or competing in track & field events.

He was recently selected to be featured in a writer's calendar for 2005. The calendar provides a glimpse into the writing habits and styles of each of the 52 selected writers. Look for him in May in the Bylines 2005 Writer's Desk Calendar! rpainter6465@comcast.net.

Delores Peralta is co-owner of CabosBest.com, a travel portal specializing

in Cabo San Lucas and Baja Sur, Mexico. For more information about Cabo,

visit them online at http://www.cabosbest.com.

Ashley Pitts, a Mississippian and a college student. She is an aspiring writer and is employed with the County School District as an assistant teacher. She loves to travel, and The Great Smoky Mountains are among her favorite places to visit. "The thing that I love most about it is that anytime of year is the best time of year to visit." Real Travel Adventures International Magazine is proud to publish her first article.

Ann Phillips got a taste for adventure travel at a very early age when her father would choose to explore some unmarked dirt road near their home in Portland, Oregon. Sometimes they ended up in a farmer's barnyard. Other times, they just followed the road until it ended.

Years later, Ann went to Guadalajara, Mexico and stayed there for six monthers where she spent a lot of time painting the scenery, learning some Spanish, and enjoying the culture. She sneaked on to a fighting bull ranch with some friends and tried her hand at playing matador with a yearling calf. Another time she bought a golden eagle from a pet shop and then let it go. This extended visit made for a great first out-of-country adventure.

In 1988 she made her first trip to India, where she spent five weeks on her own, visiting tiger reserves and traveling everywhere by train. Two years later there was a return to India, then came trips to Cambodia, Timbuktu, Egypt, the Peruvian Amazon, Machu Picchu, Norther Peru and the galapagos Islands. Lately she has made two trips to the Copper Canyons in the state of Chihuahua, Mexico. Every trip resulted in a large scrap book or two made up of her photographs and journals, which have become part of her family history.

Shannon Ports

Hendson Quan works as a business consultant in San Francisco and enjoys writing, traveling, and seeing new places and faces.

NELL RAUN-LINDE

Nell Raun-Linde, a free-lance writer, with a travel specialty. Published in AAA, Senior, regional, inflight, wine and web magazines. Published in San Francisco Bay Area newspapers, plus others in the U.S. Resides in historic Benicia, a small California town, incorporated before the gold rush. Benicia is 35 miles from San Francisco and 20 miles from Napa Valley.

An almost-around-the-world traveler from the Bering Sea to Cape Horn; from Beijing to Tasmania; from islands in the South Pacific and the Caribbean to islands in Europe; from crisscrossing Europe via train and ferry boats to plane and car travel across the US.

Travel is a passion, as is reading, history and family . . . and drinking wine. Her husband is the photographer she depends on for her articles.

Dawna Robertson is a freelance travel writer based between Honolulu and San Diego, Dawna specializes in destinations and adventures in the Hawaiian Islands and Mexico. Her stories have appeared in publications that include The New York Times, San Francisco Magazine, Los Angeles Magazine, Smart Meetings, Hemispheres, Outside and Travel Agent Magazine. She is a frequent contributor to TravelAge West, a bi-weekly magazine targeting retail travel agents and wholesalers in the Western United States. During a 25-year stint of residing exclusively in Hawaii, she also served as Director of Communications for a Honolulu-based hotel and resort condominium management company overseeing 12 properties on four islands. An avid marathon runner, Dawna is a member of the Society of American Travel Writers.

Valerie Russo, who holds a BS in Music and an MBA, enjoys helping

people discover cultural treasures and recreational opportunities

throughout the United States. She writes features and travel articles

for magazines and newspapers and is the author of the South Shore

Women's Heritage Trail of Greater Boston, which was designated as a

National Millennium Trail by the White House Millennium Council.

LYNN SELDON

Lynn has been a full-time freelancer since the mid-80s and his work has appeared in more than 500 publications, including: Smithsonian; Southern Living; Playboy; GOLF Magazine; Cruise Travel; Rodale's Scuba Diving; Outside; Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel; Travel & Leisure; Atlanta Journal-Constitution; Miami Herald; Charlotte Observer; Memphis Commercial Appeal; and St. Petersburg Times.

Lynn is based out of Oak Island, North Carolina. For more information on Lynn's writing and photography, please visit www.lynnseldon.com.

Tom Scheuneman

Tom Scheuneman is the editor and publisher of the online newsletter “The Traveler”. He also works as a freelance travel writer, web content provider, and sound engineer. Tom is a member of the Bay Area Travel Writers Association, and lives in San Francisco. Tom Schueneman

Editor/Publisher - The Traveler

http://www.touristtravel.com

Chamaine & Burgess Shucker are travel writers and photographers while they enjoy other careers as well. They specialize in adventure travels.

Alvin Starkman together with wife Arlene operates Casa Machaya Oaxaca Bed & Breakfast ( http://www.oaxacadream.com ). Alvin received his masters in social anthropology in 1978, and his law degree in 1984. Thereafter he was a litigator in Toronto until taking early retirement. He and his family were frequent visitors to Oaxaca between 1991 and when they became permanent residents in 2004. Alvin writes about life and cultural traditions in Oaxaca, tours couples, families and small groups to the craft villages, ruins, colonial churches and more off-the-beaten-track destinations in Oaxaca state, and is a special consultant to documentary film production companies.

Nancy Tardy, currently lives in Henderson, NV.

Growing up in rural, southwestern Oklahoma gave me the incentive to explore the wider world, its sights and cultures. I am currently working my way through major international cities, plus I am attracted to off-the-beaten path destinations and adventure travel

Kirsty Turner I am an experience freelance writer with articles published in magazines such as Esteem, Bella, Outlook Traveler, and I.Q. after traveling throughout South East Asia, I am currently teaching in Thailand whilst I prepare to travel again.

Arvind Viswanathan was born and raised in the coastal South Indian town of Madras (currently named Chennai). Growing up on the vast expansive beaches of this sleepy town, he learned the importance of dreaming. Besides that, his life revolved around the game of cricket and soccer. Despite fantasies of holding aloft championship trophies in both these games, he also pursued his studies quite seriously. This latter pursuit gave him a Master's degree in Polymer Science, while the former fantasies remained just that.

Following this, Arvind moved to University of Massachusetts Lowell, in Lowell, MA for a Doctorate degree in Polymer Science, which he obtained in 1998. During the course of his graduate studies, he also interned in Peoria, IL for a brief period of four months. Subsequently, he had two postdoctoral research stints lasting a total of five years in Universities in New Brunswick, NJ and Missoula, MT. Then, he moved back to Bangalore, India, in 2004 close to his hometown of Chennai , to work at GE, after ten good years in the United States.

Arvind's hobbies include reading, writing and traveling. He is an avid fan of science fiction, horror and speculative fiction writings, and he also reads about existentialism philosophy. He is an amateur writer, largely imitating some of his favorite authors. The mountains inspire him to a new way of thinking, thus he typically focuses his travels to the higher, undulating terrain.

Celia Spence is a college student at the College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts, but is originally from Tacoma, WA. She will earn her degree in Russian, with a minor in Chinese and Naval Science in May of 2005. Until recently, she was a midshipman in the Naval ROTC program at Holy Cross but was forced to resign for medical reasons. Celia spent the fall semester of 2003 as one of two Americans at Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth, England.

Guylaine Spencer is a Canadian freelancer specializing in travel, history and the arts. Her work has appeared in the Christian Science Monitor, 50 Plus, Transitions Abroad, Niagara Life, France Today, and other publications. She can be reached at spencerg2001@yahoo.com"

Alvin Starkman

Alvin Starkman received his Masters in Social Anthropology from Toronto's

York University in 1978, and taught sociology and anthropology at York,

Sheridan College and other institutions until he began his legal training in

1981 at the prestigious Osgoode Hall Law School. Upon his call to the Bar

of the Law Society of Upper Canada he began his career as a litigator.

From 1986 until 2004 he was a partner at Banks & Starkman, restricting his

practice to family law, personal injuries, employment law and civil

litigation. The pressures of practice dictated that he begin to spend

periods of time away from the office, and so from 1991 onward, Oaxaca,

Mexico became his chosen travel destination. He, his wife Arlene and

daughter Sarah, began vacationing for longer periods of time in Oaxaca,

while becoming immersed in the life and social networks of the city and

surrounding villages. Finally, after spending 4 years building their dream

home into the side of a hill just outside of the Centro Histórico, Alvin and

Arlene moved to Oaxaca permanently.

Having changed his writing style from academic and then legal, to

journalistic and travelogue, Alvin now writes for a number of travel

websites, and does monthly translations for a local newspaper called

go-oaxaca, while maintaining his legal edge by contributing regularly to

The Upper Canadian, a national antiques bimonthly journal writing about

antiques, auctions and the law. In Oaxaca the Starkmans operate a unique bed

and breakfast (Casa Machaya Oaxaca Bed & Breakfast), renting a self

contained level of their home to tourists. His anthropological background

coupled with his extensive knowledge of Oaxaca enable Alvin to provide and

unique perspective on the tours he provides, not only to the more

traditional sites such as craft villages, towns on market days and ruins,

but also to more off-the-beaten-track attractions such as visits to a

nationally known sculptor, a traditional knifemaker, the quaintest of

village mezcal production facilities for tastings, in addition to full-day

ventures into the mountains visiting sites such as Hierve el Agua. Arlene

teaches English, continues with he