It’s been a two-year long journey but my unswerving commitment to remake myself as a travel writer is beginning to pay off. I have been hired by UpTake.com as a freelance travel writer for their “Attractions” blog (you may have noticed the new badge at the right that says “I travel and write about it on UpTake”).

UpTake is a travel search and discovery site that helps users make informed decisions about what best fits their travel preferences. There are so many travel sites, it is often hard to know which one is right for you. Like everything else, travel is becoming a very specialized field. If you already know exactly what you want to book, you should be on sites such as Expedia, Southwest, or Hilton. If you have a range of options in mind but are shopping for the lowest price, you should try FareCast, FareChase, or SideStep. If you want to read a travel review or skim trip journals, you’ll want to visit TripAdvisor, RealTravel, or Yahoo! Trip Planner. If you need help deciding what to book, where to go, where to stay, or what to do, go to UpTake first.

They scoured more than 1,000 sites to collect 400,000 places to go, things to do, and places to stay in the U.S. Then they analyzed and organized over 20 million travelers’ opinions to enable searches based on exact travel requirements and preferences. It’s sort of one-stop shopping for deciding where to go on your next vacation.

The UpTake blog is a sister to the main search engine. It is divided into seven categories (see the tabs across the top: vacations, attractions, beaches, hotels, lodging, restaurants, and travel industry). I am writing about attractions. My first two posts featured the lighthouses of North Carolina’s Outer Banks and Manatee Springs State Park in Chiefland, Florida.

Hope you’ll stop by and take a took. You may just discover some new places to visit!