I’d like to send out a great big “thank you!” to Rachel of The Penniless Traveler and Naveed Chaudhry of Lovely Shoots for nominating me for the Very Inspiring Blogger Award. I’m so happy you enjoy my posts and pics, and am flattered by your nomination…To everyone reading this, I highly recommend both Rachel’s and Naveed’s blogs, both of which I follow:

Lovely Shoots – Lovely Photographs of the World
I really enjoy the beautiful, often candid shots of different locations around the world, as well as the insights that accompany these shots.  Check it out here:
http://lovelyshoots.wordpress.com/

The Penniless Traveler – Traveling the World for the Fortune-less
Rachel takes the time to find and review unique, often less-well-known things to do if you’re a traveler on a budget — many of which are acutally FREE!  It doesn’t get much better than that!
http://thepennilesstraveler.wordpress.com/

To all of the blogs below that I now nominate in turn, here’s how it works:

1. Link back to the blogger(s) who nominated you.

2. Post the award image to your page. Here it is!

3. Share 7 facts about yourself. Hmmm…let’s see…

1. My second-favorite thing to do (after road trips) is snowboarding. I came this close to giving up after my first day trying it…but I’m so glad I stuck with it. It’s worth it for all of you contemplating giving it a try!
2. I have a German Shepherd named Odin who only has 3 paws, and a pug named Bubba who thinks he runs the house.
3. I used to play the viola and piano…not well, mind you…
4. My two phobias are bears and being near very large things (think humpback whale in the water below your boat).
5. I love the rain and actually miss living in SE Alaska, where it rains nearly every day.
6. If I could go anywhere in the world, I’d visit Karin Blixen’s coffee plantation in Kenya. Out of Africa is my favorite movie of all time!
7. I’m close to finishing my BA in anthropology/archaeology, purely for love of the subject.

4. Nominate 15 other blogs and inform them about it. There are so many blogs love, including the two mentioned above, but here are some of my other favorites:

1. http://bucketlistpublications.com/
2. http://timeforarethink.net/
3. http://thepoelog.wordpress.com/
4. http://photocitations.wordpress.com/
5. http://dusttracks.com/
6. http://chanceofsun.wordpress.com/
7. http://theblondecoyote.com/
8. http://russelrayphotos2.com/
9. http://thelocaltravelerns.com/
10. http://ourboler.com/
11. http://enchantedbluetravelingbunny.wordpress.com/
12. http://invisibletracks.wordpress.com/
13. http://lookingatthewest.com/
14. http://artistforlandscapes.wordpress.com
15. http://leonids.us/

Thank you again for the nomination, it means a lot to me.  Here’s to the continued sharing of our insights and experiences and hoping many more are inspired to do the same.