Dear Friends & Fans,

Let me start by thanking all of you for your votes and support--it means so much to me.  This little online contest has been a lively little ride and it's not over yet.

Given the approaching deadline and my lack of several thousand votes, I am hereby withdrawiing my candidacy.  I still believe that all of our wildest dreams will come true and I am determined as ever to make it to Antarctica.  Just you wait. 

That said, I don't want any of my hard-earned votes to go to waste.  Therefore, I hereby commit all of my votes (502 at present) to my fellow contestant, Devorah Bennu.  I apologize for the added difficulty, but in the end, it'll be worth it.  Let's get Devorah to Antarctica!!

Since Quark refuses to let me simply transfer my votes, I must ask all of you to once again, log on and then switch your vote to Devorah Bennu. Thank you! 

Find out more about Devorah here:  http://www.blogyourwaytoantarctica.com/blogs/view/152

TOP 10 REASONS TO VOTE FOR DEVORAH

1. She's an actual BLOGGER

2. She's an actual scientist.

3. She loves birds and has parrots.

4. She's on Twitter & knows how to use it.

5. She's really nice.

6. A lot of people will actually read her stuff because she can write.

7. She looks great in an anorak.

8. She's all-American.

9. She takes awesome pictures.

10. Her name means "honeybee" in Hebrew.  How cool is that?

* And to all you other contestants out there:  Now is the time to transfer your votes to Devorah.  Together, we can win this thing!