For 2009, the winners of the Family Travel Forum Teen Travel Writing Scholarship were selected by professional writers and editors from the Society of American Travel Writers. They chose Kassandra Caudell’s essay “The Pennsylvania Hills” as the Third Place Winner.
What follows are comments from these esteemed judges about Kassandra’s work. The travelBIGO team thought that the whole community could learn something from what they had to say about a specific work. Their comments follow:
From Michael Verdon, Editor, Boating World Magazine:
“Hi Kassandra, you’ll probably get feedback from several other judges who also recognized the strength of the piece. Nice job. I like the fact that you didn’t have to go to Europe to find yourself, but instead found yourself in the hills of Pennsylvania through your extended family. Loved the picture reference of your great-grandmother. Very poignant. You really painted an exceptional and sympathetic portrait of Graysville. Great job.”
From John Macdonald, Travel Editor Emeritus, Seattle Times:
“When dour expectations turn delightful, there’s a story. At a dreaded family reunion, the writer went with the flow to find fascinating facts about her family — facts and personalities that turned to pride. Writer begins with an incident about using eggshells to measure milk, sets the fuller scene, then takes the reader with her on the journey through family time.”
More Comments from SATW Judges
From Kit Bernardi, Freelance Travel Writer:
“This was a joy to read, full of surprises and heart stirring emotions. Your lede was as good as they get and hooked me in instantly. I especially love the simple beauty discovered in learning ‘to measure milk in a half an eggshell…’ and that a teen realized that ‘…family reunions had possibility.’ The connection of the land’s typography to her great grandmother’s adventurous and colorful personality illustrated through vivid descriptions of the Pennsylvania rolling landscape works very well to tell us both about her spirited great grandmother IdaMae and the extended family connections, particularly between the grandmother and her younger sister. Kassandra gives her grandmother a larger-than-life quality akin to a tall tales character and conveys mysterious country folk know-how (e.g. the farm animals body build with the front legs shorter than the back so they can stand on a at a tilt). All this puts the reader right in the historic hills wandering among the tombstones, rolling dough and riffling through old photos.
“Kassandra doesn’t mask her dislike at spending time with ‘dull old people,’ a typical teen response. I liked her honesty about this. But she lets her stomach win her heart as the smells from the hall remind her that dull old people can cook gooseberry muffins and ‘Blue Boy Bait.’ Sentence syntax and length variation affective. The beauty of this essay is in the simple language telling of simple acts of daily life and the teen’s realization that they are what life is about, no matter what generation you are part of — the acts of kneading dough, measuring milk in an eggshell, listening to elders tell stories of times and people passed and watching crawfish squirm, perhaps in the same spot as IdaMae ‘… wondering at what life had to offer.’ This wondering spans generations and is a question we as humans ask despite our age and experience.
“Recommendation: Lose the last sentence. End the essay right there, with Kassandra and her sister on the bridge observing the same critters IdaMae may have on a bridge (a strong image for this essay about bridging generations). It is the spot where the characters and the reader unite, where the past, present and future culminate in a single simple act.”
To see more general judge’s comments on what makes an travel essay a winner, read the thoughts of Roger Rapoport, the publisher of RDR Books, in Professional Editor Shares Tips On What Makes a Great Essay.
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Dubai is a glorious city in the world but the desert safari is most thrilling tour in Dubai since 1980 . This is a great post and great team work .
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Good address for ski. My daughter loves skiing very much. It will be a good option for us for the next winter holiday.
Good to know as I have a daughter at 10 YOD and she loves skiing very much.
Seems there are lots of fun for kids in Las Vegas. I have never though about a such thing there. It will be a good option to consider for our next family holiday. Thank you.
What’s a wonderful & luxury holiday. I am dreaming about it.
It’s Fantastic And Useful Blog About World Heritage Sites and There information is very informative and useful.
Thanks for sharing.
I love reading your blogs, there are many useful information for travelers. Thank you very much for sharing.
Good advices when traveling with kids. Thank you very much.
What’s an amazing trip. Thank you for sharing.
Very nice day. We don’t have it in Vietnam 🙁
Amazing hotels. I love eco-resort with nature style instead of modern hotels.
Good to read this before I prepare my family trip in the summer.
Good to know this. Thank you for sharing. I will consider this for my children.
Thank you for these tips on how to plan a family safari! I’d like to be able to take my whole family and show them the beauty of Africa. But it always seemed so daunting to plan a whole trip that everyone would enjoy. I mean there’s always the age differences, and differences in interest as well to think about. Just thinking of ensuring that everything goes well planned is stressing me out. That’s why I turned to the internet in search of tips! Definitely will use your tips on how to choose a safari.
Very good tips. We all should follow these tips for a safe road trip. Thanks for the great help.
Thankyou Mr Ralph S for giving precise information on the overland.
i will be travelling for the 1st time from adelaide to melbourne this month end. it will be of grt help.
Soon I’ll be planning a trip to Dubai. Thanks for the information about what’s worth visiting.
Hello Lansdell family! This is a great place for a long weekend of outdoors exploration and a beautiful park. In late May, a new business is opening = https://www.floattheriver.net/ = which will run float trips on inner tubes on portions of the river. I asked some locals and they suggested that after biking and hiking and riding the train, your kids might enjoy day trips to nearby Canton, Akron or Cleveland. Each has lots of Metroparks (the public system of urban parks) and museums, etc to do and see. With some planning, all your days can be as full of variety as you would like. We hope you have a wonderful trip.
How did you get around the Darien Gap?
Very good
Thank you for sharing these warm and touching thoughts of yours! I’ve only been the Belarus once, but I wish I read it before going, something in my experience would definitely be different then. I did use some advise – from the telegram channel for foreigners https://t.me/Belanews but I guess your opinion would be great to consider and embrace too.
Thanks for all the info. We are planning on going in August, and are trying to find a nature-centered vacation for our family of 4, kids ages 7 and 4. We are from Southern Ontario, Canada and we came across this national park. Would you recommend this place for 3-4 days? Is there enough to do (hiking, train rides, exploring etc)? Somewhere else? We also looked at the Smoky Mountains but its about a 11-12 hours vs the 5-6 hours to Cuyohoga. Any advice would be helpful.
That place is really amazing. I want to spend my vacations on this beautiful place. Thanks for sharing this nice information.
I've been there last year. If someone is looking for a nice hotel I can highly recommend to take a look at the Hotel Rappen Rothenburg ob der Tauber.
Such a good information.Nice work.Very useful for us.
The gardens of Suzhou are absolutely beautiful and something that you don’t want to miss while you are there.
Traveling with your children in s Suzhou is super easy and safe. My family had a lot of fun and the kids really enjoyed there time there. One thing they really loved was going down all of the canals. Here is some great information on all the beautiful canals that you can explore.
It looks like a beautiful experience. Turkey is a wonderful country -and the fact that it’s not that expensive compared to other countries makes a visit there even more tempting. Thanks for sharing.
good tips, safety comes first so that our trip may be remembered as a happy memoir when we went to see and explore new places and have fun. and not as a terrifying night in the ER. god bless you all , be safe
Thanks for your insight for your fantastic posting. I’m glad I have taken the time to see this.
Great tips for road trips!
Thanks for posting, very valuable information .
Being visiting is one of the best experiences of my life. Being there and enjoying every bit of time is wonderful. Personally, my best experience is an underground aquarium and desert safari. One visited Dubai must go for these two activities.
Would love this for our family!
We’ve always wanted to go and now they are old enough to enjoy it.
Thanks so much for doing this!
The beaches, the weather, the food, the attractions and the activities- everything was perfect.
I think parents should focus more on preparing or educating their children about the proper etiquette and behaviors before the flight to avoid being a nuisance to others. I don’t know much about kids but as a first-time mom, that’s what I will do.
Hi,
You have explained the timeshare information for Spain country very well.Share more blogs which will we helpful for people like us in future.
Thanks
Seeking for your positive reply.
Hi,
I would like to travel out of the US with my son. I understand that I would need his father to sign and notarize a letter. He had not been a stand up dad to take care of his responsibilities so he left and I can’t find him. What can I do in a situation like that to travel with my son?
happy you enjoyed the story. This park is in Ohio where the climate can be capricious! It’s hottest between late April and November, however even April has the danger of some snow. In case you’re enjoying the great outdoors with children, the most secure wager is June to August, since it’s hotter and there’s little downpour. Make the most of your trek.
Wonderfully informative article!
I want to go travel with kids but I was not decided where we go. Your post is helpful for me. Thanks for sharing.
Tenerife is SO stunning! I love this volcanic landscape, sometimes you feel like you traveled to the Moon. This place has it all – great views, pleasant weather, awesome food, wine and laid-back people. Thanks for sharing ideas, I’ll use some of them on my next trip 🙂
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I automatically think the word “gumbling” when I heard Las Vegas. I never knew that Las Vegas has something to offer for youngsters. Will bring my children here soon.
Nice Article, it is very helpful to me.
There is no Doubt, Dubai is most popular destination among tourists from across the world and have gained high popularity in last decade. If you are in Dubai and dhow go for dhow cruise, there is some thing missing on your list. There are Dubai dhow cruise, Musandam Dibba dhow cruise and Khasab Musandam dhow cruise. Try some of them and you will love.
Istanbul layover tour is a great service to use the best of your time in Istanbul Airport. However if you like to have a private attention and flexibility, you can check private tour services of ISTANBUL LAYOVER TOURS. They are offering the layover tours from Istanbul International Airport.
Great article! Wanted for Christmas again. Do you know anything about this place ? It is very interesting to know the opinions. How much advance it is necessary to book a hotel and various entertainment before the holidays?