Nominated for the Liebster Blog Award!

Exciting! Travels with Tam was nominated by Adventures of Empty Nesters, and I thank Suzanne Stavert for such an honor! The Liebster Award is for discovering “newish” bloggers, and while I have been doing this for about two years, I still feel very much like a newbie. I learn something every day, and I am enjoying the journey! One is supposed to list 11 facts about oneself, then answer 11 questions. So here goes!

11 Facts 

• I grew up in the midwest, Ohio to be exact (with family in Kentucky, and a lot of Kentucky influence!).
• I was adopted when I was around 2 years old, and I was taken in at 6 months by my parents.
• I have a wonderful family. My husband and I have two young adult children, and they are both marrying in 2015! My son married on May 3, and my daughter will marry on October 3. Yes, a very busy year!
• My husband, Randy, had a double lung transplant in September, 2013. I blogged about the events, and have continued to do so since transplant definitely has an impact on the rest of your life. (Our Lung Transplant Journey)
• I LOVE to scuba dive and take underwater photos.
• I LOVE to travel, and I used to be a travel agent, back in another lifetime!
• I LOVE history, and other cultures, and going on volunteer citizen science dive trips.
• I am a conservationist, I care passionately about our oceans, the earth, and the animals who exist alongside humans. We are driving them to extinction, and driving our planet to the edge of its ability to support human life. I support many conservation groups, but especially those concerned with the ocean.
• I have a Master of Science in Sociology, with an emphasis on Gender and Criminology. My Bachelor of Arts is in Sociology with an emphasis on Political Economy.
• I taught Gender, Criminology, and Race at the University level for several years, then counseled high school students regarding their college choices in private practice.
• I am enthusiastic, thrilled, and exhilarated to travel, learn, and experience. “Wonder” is my middle name! (not really)

  

  You probably know too much by now, but I have to answer 11 questions. I’ll try to be brief, which is obviously a difficult task!

1. What is your dream destination? That one is too tough to answer…I have been to many of my dream destinations, but there are plenty left, mostly Antarctica (animals), Indonesia (diving), Galapagos, and Austraila. Two of these destinations are already planned for next year.
2. What places have you visited that you thought were highly overrated? Hmmm. I really enjoy traveling…I’m pretty excited about anywhere I go, actually. Probably “hell” on Grand Cayman…I thought that was a little lame.
3. What is your favorite U.S. destination? Again, a tough one. I love San Francisco and Boston, my two favorite US cities. Northern California, the Pacific Coast Highway, and Lake Tahoe are among my favorites too. And let’s not forget the southern (east) coast of Florida and the Keys.
4. What makes you happy? So many things make me happy! My family, friends, manta rays, whale sharks, eels…all fishy creatures and all land creatures (except snakes and big spiders, I’m a little leery of them). Reading. My dogs. Photography. Diving. The ocean. Trees. Vistas. Poker. I’m pretty easy to please, actually.
5. Why did you start blogging? My first stab at blogging was in 2012, and it was on a travel blog site…I had gone to Africa by myself on my first Citizen Science trip, and blogging about it was the way I kept my family and friends informed. It was also a way for me to document my experience. I had a life-changing trip, and found that my love of writing was still strong.
6. What are your top three bucket list items? Number one, I don’t like the term “bucket list”. What are my top 3 places to go before I die? I guess I would have to say that I want to dive the Galapagos, Cocos Island, and Raja Ampat…prior to the time I would/might be unable to dive. But….there are many other things and places I want to do and see before that! It’s endless.
7. What is one piece of advice you would offer or one saying you live by? My code? I’m a Desiderata kind of person. What I live by is this: tomorrow is promised to no one. Do what you want NOW, say what you need to say NOW. Now is all we will ever get.
8. What is the best thing anyone has ever said about your blog? Aside from people enjoying it and my photographs, and saying they live vicariously through me? (you have to admit, that is pretty flattering!). The best thing I have heard is “I have learned so much from you.”
9. What is your ultimate guilty pleasure? Eating fresh, hot chocolate chip cookies (or peanut butter, I’m not fussy) straight out of the oven with a tall glass of milk while reading a favorite book.
10. What is one product or service you cannot live without? I cannot live without a presciption scuba diving mask or I would miss an entire world…and my underwater camera is second!
11. What two countries make you the happiest to visit? Mexico is number one. I love the coasts, islands, people and underwater creatures of wonderful, sunny Mexico! The second is England. I have an absolute love affair with English history, English culture, and Richard III. According to my DNA I am 62% UK (English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh). England is magical to me…it would take a novel to explain it all…but I could spend years there.

Now it is my turn to do some nominating…I’m not sure how many to nominate, but here goes:

Midlife Traveller

Cindy Gaskell                   82 degree Quest

Heather                             The Travel Type Blog

Kimberly Montgomery  FiftyJewels

Hélène Tragos Stelian   The Next Act for Women

One Salty Blonde

Jenny                                 A Taste of Travel Blog

Cheryl and/or Lisa          What Boundaries?