Have You Time Traveled Lately?

Devoted Times Travelers visit Key West, New York City & more

Published: July 1, 2012


New York City: From left Debbie and Kelli Tomassoni of Old Forge, CNN anchor Anderson Cooper, and Barb and Alicia Simon of Scott Twp. on the set of "Anderson" talk show.
More often than not, the people on the other end of the line are calling the Lifestyles department about their photos.

Callers share how they took a trip a few months ago and snapped a picture of themselves holding a copy of the newspaper for the Times Traveler contest. They are wondering if the paper received it and when it will be published.

Usually, the answer is "yes," with an added, "it will run as soon as possible." Keep in mind, however, what began as just a few submissions has grown to hundreds in the year since the photo contest launched in The Times-Tribune and The Sunday Times. Published Times Travelers are eligible for a chance to win a $500 travel package by random drawing.

We run as many as we can each week and still have approximately 300 waiting to go, with more coming in every day. In fact, the unfortunate folder set aside to store the entries is at its breaking point.

If there's anything the Times Traveler contest has made clear, it's that the people of Northeast Pennsylvania love to travel.

There are photos from traditional journeys like weekends at the New Jersey shore or baseball games in Philadelphia, but there also are pictures from nearly every corner of the globe. While some travelers have visited the Arctic Circle, we haven't spotted any entries from Antarctica. So if anyone is heading to the South Pole soon, don't forget your newspaper.

Today we present a few dozen snapshots readers have submitted showing some of the fun and often exotic destinations to which they have traveled, the first of a five-week installment of the Times Traveler series in The Sunday Times. Among them are Paul and Louise Pawlowski of Scranton, who sat in front of one of the world's most famous backdrops for their entry, holding a copy of The Times-Tribune by the pyramids at Giza, Egypt.

Then there's Maggy Bushwick of Scranton and Beatrice Brom of Jerusalem, Israel, who were in the middle of a fish pedicure in that ancient city when they had their photo taken. And Jim Johannes of Waymart can be found holding up his paper through the steam at Mount Princeton Hot Springs in Colorado.

Barbara Simon of Scott Twp. even grabbed a famous face for her entry when she went to see Anderson Cooper's talk show in New York City. Ms. Simon, along with Debbie and Kelli Tomassoni of Old Forge and Alicia Simon of Scott Twp., posed with the CNN newsman and their copy of The Sunday Times.

Travelers also have taken their newspapers to some favorite spots nearby, like Knoebels Amusement Resort in Elysburg, which Richard and Marie Laske of Scranton visited with their daughter, Sandi Georgia. Marie Santilli of Moosic, Karen Clifford of Spring Brook Twp., Linda Keene of Taylor and Elizabeth Chiorazzi of Scranton were just a few of the folks who snapped their pictures while in New York City.

Even our publishers have tried to get in on the action, jokingly submitting a photograph from their visit to India. (Don't worry, no one from our Times-Shamrock family can win.)

It's been a blast watching readers travel the region, the country and even the globe. Truth be told, my colleagues and I have been living vicariously through readers' adventures.

So hit the road and keep those contest entries coming.

Contact the writer: cheaney@timesshamrock.com