Thank you for the nomination! 

I was kindly nominated for the Blogger Recognition Award by www.pintspoundsandpate.com. Check out her blog — it shines a spotlight on some great travel destinations that I hope to visit myself someday. Also, give her a follow on Twitter if you haven’t already. I’ve enjoyed connecting with her over shared interests — England, Scotland, Harry Potter, Agatha Christie, and more.

Rules for the Blogger Recognition Award

  • Thank whoever nominated you and provide a link to their blog
  • Write a post to show your award
  • Attach the award to the post
  • Give a brief story of how your blog started
  • Give a piece of advice or two to new bloggers
  • Select 10 other blogs you want to give the award to

Why I Started Blogging 

When a friend was making plans to cruise to Alaska, I was pondering ways I could provide her with all of my Alaska know-how. The educator in me thought, “Powerpoint?” But then I decided I wanted something more permanent that I could share with other friends too. So that’s how SureFooted Travel was born.

I’m easily able to find writing time thanks to my elderly dog, Ned. He is on a medicine that he has to take one hour before breakfast. So I give myself that hour to work on the blog. And because he doesn’t sleep through the night anymore, sometimes I’m working on the blog when he is restless at 4:00 a.m. In effect, I’m sleep-deprived on a daily basis. But I’m thankful to Ned for giving me the impetus to take the blog from idea to reality.

Ned yellow lab Blogger Recognition Award

Ned is a “mama’s boy” who is always by my side.

It was rewarding when my friend and then a few others used my site to help them plan their own Alaskan cruises. Likewise, I hope now to be a resource for any other travelers across the miles who are interested in cruising to Alaska.

Glacier Bay National Park

Enjoying the glacier viewing at Glacier Bay National Park

We’ve cruised to Alaska three times – it is our favorite cruise destination. We’re planning a fourth trip sometime in the future. In the meantime, when I’m done writing my series on Alaskan cruises, I’ll include posts about some of our other favorite destinations, such as Ireland and Vegas.

Two Pieces of Advice to New Bloggers 

1. As a travel blogger, I’m writing about a destination (Alaska) that I know and love. Choose your favorite topic or destination and build a niche around that. If you’re writing about something that you love, your enthusiasm will shine through.

2. Choose one social media platform and start there. Just because other bloggers are using Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram at once doesn’t mean that you need to dive into all four initially – or even at all. I’m glad that I started with Twitter. I’m working on building my following, connecting with other travel bloggers, and enjoying the incredibly supportive community. At this point, I’m choosing not to use Instagram and am still undecided about promoting via Facebook. But I’m hoping to integrate Pinterest into SureFooted Travel in 2019, and I think it will be fun and interactive. If, like me, you have a full-time job in addition to blogging, it is all about baby steps.

My Nominations

I nominate for the Blogger Recognition Award:

@sightseekerKC

@lazydayproject

@4seasonsofus

@wandercrystal

@TravelYesPlease

@lostgirlsguide

@bgbloggers

@amomthatsleeps

@tanaymichele

@CarpeDiemEire

SureFooted Travel Let’s make the most of our vacation days!