When assembling this month’s blog carnival, I was shocked when I looked at the archives. Can you believe that it’s been over a year since I hosted a blog carnival?

My, my! Time flies!

Of course, in the intervening year has been filled with many other wonderful people hosting this blog carnival: Shanna of There and Back Again, EE over at NZ Muse, and most definitely Jim over at JimsGotWeb.

Each of them did a fantastic job when they hosted the carnival on their own blogs. Thank you! The door is certainly open if they want to host this carnival again. 🙂

A Galaxy of Gratitude

And, as always, a big thanks to everyone who took the time to submit their articles (and reach a wider audience in the process). This time, I couldn’t really narrow it down to the best three. Depending on your specific interests, all of the articles are worth a look (although, I must say I have a soft spot for the introspection contained within 2013: An honest critique to our own life.)

A Reminder & A Win-Win-Win

You knew this was coming.

If one of your articles is in this month’s edition, I would extend a galaxy of gratitude out to you for tweeting, stumbling, or “Liking” this carnival on Facebook! If you show some love for this carnival, it will love you back. 😉 (Vis a vis, spreading the word multiplies the reach of this blog carnival which in turn helps more people discover your article, as well.)

And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for:

Travel Destinations

Sarah Haight presents:
Five Exclusive Holiday Resorts posted at The Luxe List, saying,

“The world is full of beautiful destinations and we wanted to highlight five resorts in destinations that are only a short visit from mainland Europe.

Pinch of Adventure presents:
Madeira Island: Where the Sea meets a Volcano posted at A Pinch of Adventure, saying,

“Memories from a trip to Madeira!

Sarah Haight presents:
Best Winter Sun Holiday Destinations 2013/14 posted at The Luxe List, saying,

“We offer some ideas for winter sun holiday destinations for travellers.

Thailand Breeze presents:
Cozy Homestay In Kanchanaburi posted at Thailand Breeze.

Britanico presents:
Cuenca: Bounty, Beauty, Blood and Bureaucracy – Part I (Let’s Start at the very Beginning) posted at Man in the middle – La vida en Ecuador.

Sarah Haight presents:
Luxury Holiday ideas to escape Winter posted at The Luxe List.

Travel Photography

Zhu presents:
An Artsy Sunday in Montreal posted at Correr Es Mi Destino, saying,

“After that artsy morning, we headed to the Marché Jean Talon where we had great Mexican food—real Mexican food, not some Tex-Mex crap smothered in yellow cheese. My plato del día with beans, guacamole, rice, tortillas and pollo took me right back to Mexico. “Más Salsa Por Favor!”

Eulaivi Clutario presents:
Go Somewhere You’ve Never Been posted at IDEALISTICITY.

Travel Tips

Theresa Torres presents:
5 Tips for Traveling with Scuba Diving Gear posted at DeeperBlue.com, saying,

“Follow these tips the next time you are traveling with your scuba diving gear and make it easier on yourself so you’ll arrive at your destination with your gear intact.

Travel Stories

Sheila A. Scarborough presents:
Amelia Earhart and making your dreams come true posted at Perceptive Travel Blog, saying,

“Amelia Earhart….fashion and luggage designer? That and more is what you’ll learn from a visit to the aviation pioneer’s birthplace museum in Atchison, Kansas.

Gita Claassen presents:
A bus ride out of this world posted at GITA CLAASSEN | Travel & Fine Art Photographer, saying,

“The story of an uncomfortable public transport experience.

Kathleen presents:
Working hard or… posted at Avery Adventures.

Gabriel presents:
How Cold Could It Possibly Get in the Tropics? posted at We Travel and Blog.

Pinch of Adventure presents:
2013: An honest critique to our own life posted at A Pinch of Adventure.

Are you ready to JOIN FORCES?

If you write well, write about travel, and you haven’t submitted to the BTBC before… What are you waiting for? Blog Carnivals are free and powerful way to get more exposure to your work! By doing so, you reach multitudes, many of which have never even seen your site before, so it’s a real win-win-win situation.

I know this from firsthand experience because blog carnivals were helpful in spreading the word about this site. So if you’re a writer, and you’ve written something that relates to travel, go ahead and submit a piece you’re proud of to the next BTBC by going to the submission form. All I ask is that you read the common-sense ground rules. (It results in a much better carnival for everyone.)

If You’re A Long-Time Reader

Oh, and if you’re a long-time reader and are curious about the East Coast articles I talked about a while back, I’ve decided to put them on hold for now so I can focus on my Hawaii adventures. New 1080p HD videos are coming up soon, so stay tuned!

If you’re New here!

Welcome! Now that you’re here, why not check out an Epic Hawaiian crab race? Or my video of the time I went to the edge of the Kilauea Lava Lake? (Yes, it IS a literal lake of literal lava!)

Thanks to my brand new HD gear, there’s lots more videos (this time in 1080p HD) coming up in the next few weeks, so be sure to bookmark this page or follow me on the Twitter.

See you star-side! 😉