Page 9 - WDT Winter 2018 japan

Maribeth Mellin

Maribeth Mellin is an award-winning journalist whose travel articles have appeared in End-
less Vacation Magazine, U-T San Diego and Dallas Morning News among others. She also trav-
els 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. Though
known as a Mexico pro, Maribeth has written about every continent and was especially
thrilled by the ice, air and penguins in Antarctica.

Alison DaRosa

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. She created San Diego Essential Guide, a highly rated travel app for mobile devices. Ali-
son writes a monthly Travel Deals column for the San Diego Union-Tribune and is a regular free-
lance contributor to the travel sections of the Los Angeles Times, USA Today and AOL Travel.

Carl H. Larsen

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.”

Judy & Len Garrison

Judy is the editor of Georgia Connector Magazine and Peach State Publications as well as a free-
lance writer/photographer/traveler for national/international publications including Deep South
Magazine, Interval Magazine, Simply Buckhead, US Airways Magazine, Southern Hospitality Traveler
and has a bi-monthly blog in Blue Ridge Country’s online edition. Her first book, North Georgia
Moonshine: A History of the Lovells and other Liquor Makers, is available at Amazon.com. She
and Len own Seeing Southern,L.L.C., a documentary photography company.
Wibke Carter

German-born Wibke Carter has lived in New Zealand and New York, and presently enjoys
,
life, love and laughter in London. Her work has appeared in The Globe and Mail, The San
Francisco Chronicle, BInspired Magazine,The Independent and more. When not traveling,
she is trying to tame her two cats and improve her DIY skills

Michael Burge

Michael Burge is an award-winning journalist who worked for many years as an assistant
metro editor and senior writer for The San Diego Union-Tribune. Michael and his wife, Kath-
leen, have logged countless miles visiting adult children in Asia and Scotland. The couple
met as Peace Corps volunteers in Kenya, so they have no one to blame but themselves for
their globe-trotting offspring.

Sharon Whitley Larsen

Sharon Whitley Larsen’s work has appeared in numerous publications, including Los Angeles
Times Magazine, U-T San Diego, Reader’s Digest (and 19 international editions), Creators Syndi-
cate, and several “Chicken Soup for the Soul” editions. She’s been lucky to attend a private
evening champagne reception in Buckingham Palace to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond
Jubilee, to dine with best-selling author Diana Gabaldon in the Scottish Highlands, and hike
with a barefoot Aborigine in the Australian Outback. Exploring sites from exotic travels in the
Arctic Circle to ritzy Rio, with passport in hand, she’s always ready for the next adventure!

WINEDINEANDTRAVEL.COM 9