Dear Readers,

If you've ever been on the road for an extended time, you know how good it feels to be home. After a very busy June and July, we decided to catch the last days of summer from right at home.

The weeks at home gave us a good chance to get caught up with friends, home, and Lovetripper. We're already looking ahead to the 2004 issues and planning a schedule filled with romantic stories.

L to R: Luis Ayala, Paris Permenter, John Bigley, Margaret Ayala

We also had the chance to have dinner with our good friends and the printers of our books, Luis and Margaret Ayala from Rum Runner Press. Like us, Margaret and Luis are a husband-wife team who enjoy traveling and writing. Luis and Margaret not only handle the printing of our Lovetripper books but they are also some of the world's top authorities on rum (check out their website for rum recipes, books, and a great free newsletter.)

We're also excited to announce this month that we're expanding the staff of Lovetripper! Now with over 1700 pages of content, we're happy to say that we've hired a new Director of Sales and Marketing, Lauren Kay.

L to R: John Bigley, Paris Permenter, Lauren Kay

A graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, Lauren will be handling the Romantic Travel Directory and is the point of contact for anyone interested in advertising on Lovetripper. Her help is a great relief for us; we'll now be able to devote more time to what we like the best: traveling and writing!

We hope you enjoy this month's issue, which brings together romantic destinations from around the world. We've also added a new little microsite featuring Romantic Renaissance Festivals. We've heard from many readers who are interested in getting married at Renaissance festivals. Fall is a great time for the festivals and next month will mark the start of the US's largest festival just about four hours from our offices: the Texas Renaissance Festival.

Now it's back to the keyboards and to planning some fall trips. As nice as it is to be home, our feet get a little itchy after a few weeks. We'll soon be off to explore some more romantic destinations and will report back to you on what we find.

Until later, Paris and John

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