Congratulations on an Incredible Six-Word Travel Memoir Contest!

Thanks to everyone for entering our Six-Word Travel Memoir Contest. We were overwhelmed by the response: more than 630 entries from past guests and new friends from all over the world. Equally impressive was the range and inventiveness of submissions. If there was ever evidence that travel broadens the mind and expands the soul, surely the creativity on display here was it.

We’d like to congratulate Robert Curry of Gainesville, Florida, whose entry, “Hike drink eat sleep repeat awesome,” was selected at random for our grand prize, a Kindle Paperwhite loaded with travel books. We’d also like to congratulate everyone else who entered for making this contest such a huge success. People approached their entries in many different ways, however we noticed a few broad trends.

Some entrants spiced things up by including a pun or rhyme in their submission:

Rocked red rocks at sunrise hike!  P. Wiley

Cava in a coupe glass. Salut!  M. Hale

Mt. Blanc: Mind blank of cares.  K. Buckley

Summer. Alps. On the rocks. Cheers!  M. Wolly

Hoodoos at sunrise. Who knew?  G. Rohrbasser

Savoring delectable Basque tapas. Pintxo me!  J. Drake

Others focused their entry on vivid colors:

Pastoral Ireland...20 shades of green.  D. Williams

The Black Sea is really blue!  J. Middlekauff

Red Pepper on Black Volcanic Rock.  M. Prostkoff

Pink haze in the distance—flamingoes!  R. Dehnad

Dazzlingly white Peruvian salt-mines fun.  E. Culman

Sunset in Jerusalem = Paradise in ochre.  D. Martin

Lavender Tyrol meadowland. Crocuses, majestic mountains.  C. Simpson

We were struck by the profound reverence with which some people described their travel experiences:

Amalfi Path of Gods: humbled hikers.  J. Drake

Peru: irresistibly alluring, Heaven on Earth.  S. Davidson

Cave art makes my mind tingle.  F. Schneider

Finally learned to leave work behind!  R. Grzybowski

Gazing at gorillas in jungle. Priceless.  K. Odwyer

New Zealand : Beauty defies any description.  F. Willis

Saw big dipper by my bed.  M. Wyzykowski

Honeymoon, ten years after "I do!"  S. Patrick

Of course, some travelers inspired us with their intrepidness:

Candlelight dinner in a Scottish hurricane.  R. Bearden

Falconry lessons in Nepal? Totally badass.  A. Conner

1400 steps down to Positano, Go!  B. McKinlay

Frisked by an elephant while showering.  B. Borton

Ziplining above jungle. Monkeys are laughing.  M. Prostkoff

Great explorers do not say "Yuck.”  L. Bigelow

Altitude with attitude: Salcantay and Condors!  K. Franklin

At an essential level, though it was clear how much you all love to travel. Need proof? Consider how many entries included the word “heart”:

I left Italy. My heart stayed.  S. Haley

Visited Glacier Park, melted my heart.  A. Beaird

Lost: heart. Last seen: San Francisco.  J. Palmer

Tetons created happy hearts, serene minds.  M. Donofri

Cuba opens your mind....and heart.  L. Ramsauer

Super, Amazing, Fantastic, Heart-Filled Vacation!  D. Baars

Finally, having sampled a bit of your experiences around the world, I think we can all agree with Kathy Vyskocil’s sentiment about the importance of actually getting out and experiencing the world:

Will never be an armchair traveler.  K. Vyskocil