Ron James is the “wine, food and travel guy.” He is a national award-winning print and online journalist, graphic designer, television producer and radio personality. The native Californians nationally syndicated wine and food columns have appeared in newspapers and magazines around the world. Ron is founder, editor and publisher of Wine Dine & Travel Magazine.

Maribeth Mellin is an award-winning journalist whose travel articles have appeared in Endless Vacation Magazine, U-T San Diego and Dallas Morning News among others. She also travels and writes for several websites including CNN Travel, Concierge.com and Zagat, and has authored travel books on Peru, Argentina, Costa Rica, Mexico, Hawaii and California.

Alison DaRosa is a six-time winner of the Lowell Thomas Gold Award for travel writing, the most prestigious prize in travel journalism. She served 15 years as Travel Editor of The San Diego Union-Tribune and was the award-winning editor of the San Diego News Network Travel Page. Alisonwrites a monthly Travel Deals column for the San Diego Union-Tribune and is a regular freelance contributor to the travel sections of the Los Angeles Times, USA Today and AOL Travel. Learn more about Alison on her website, www.AlisdaRosa.com.

Jody and John are award-winning journalists and novelists. John is a Lowell Thomas Award-Winner and was feature editor of The San Diego Union-Tribune, arts editor of The Baltimore Sun and writer-editor-columnist for the travel department of The Los Angeles Times. Jody was a journalist at the Charlotte Observer, where she was on a team that won the Pulitzer Prize. Her articles have been published in many publications including The New York Times and The Los Angeles Times. They live on a farm in Lexington, Virginia.

Sharon Whitley Larsen’s work has appeared in many major publications, including Reader’s Digest (and 19 international issues), Chicken Soup for the Soul books, and Los Angeles Times Magazine. She’s the author of British Travel Tidbits (2017) and Travel Tidbits (2018), published by Sanbun Publishers in New Delhi. Sharon also had a two-year travel column “Travel Tidbits” in the Union Jack newspaper. Her favorite topic is travel (favorite destination London)..

Carl H. Larsen is a veteran journalist based in San Diego. He now focuses on travel writing, and is summoned to pull out his notebook whenever there’s the plaintive cry of a steam locomotive nearby. In San Diego, he is a college-extension instructor who has led courses on the Titanic and the popular TV series “Downton Abbey.”

Brian Clark is a Madison, Wisconsin-based writer and photographer who likes to ski, kayak, scuba dive, bicycle and sail as often he can. A former staff writer for The San Diego Union-Tribune, he now contributes to a number of publications.

London-based writer and photographer Amy Laughinghouse has attempted to overcome her fears (and sometimes basic common sense) through her adventures in 30 countries around the world. She dishes on the perks and perils of globetrotting for publications like LonelyPlanet.com, AAA Journey Magazine, Virtuoso Life, and The Dallas Morning News. Her travel tales can also be found on her website, www.amylaughinghouse.com.

Kitty Morse is a Casablanca-born food and travel writer, speaker, and author of 11 cookbooks, five of them on the cuisine of her native Morocco. Her memoir, Mint Tea and Minarets: a banquet of Moroccan memories, and its French translation, Le Riad au Bord de l’Oued, are both recipients of a Gourmand World Award. https://www.kittymorse.com.

Margie Goldsmith is a NYC-based author, writer and photographer who has explored 140 countries on seven continents. She has won 85 awards including the prestigious Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Gold Award. She has written over 1,000 articles for Robb Report, Travel + Leisure, Business Jet Traveler, American Way, Hemispheres, Wall Street Journal, Globe and Mail.

Priscilla Lister is a longtime journalist in her native San Diego. She has covered many subjects over the years, but travel is her favorite. Her work, including photography, has appeared in The San Diego Union-Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Alaska Airlines’ magazine and numerous other publications throughout the U.S. and Canada. She is the author of “Take a Hike: San Diego County,” a comprehensive hiking guide to 260 trails in amazing San Diego County.

Diane worked for the Ojai Valley news before becoming a free-lance journalist. Her work has appeared in many magazines including Hemispheres,  Reader’s Digest, The Sun, More Magazine, Sierra Alive. She has  been featured in The Los Angeles Times, The Napa Valley Register, Sacramento Bee, the San Diego Union Tribune,  among other newspapers. She is a member of the Society of American Travel Writers.