Our annual Take Your Simi Valley Acorn on Vacation contest was a resounding success again this year as the paper received a record number of entries from Simi families travelling to locations across the state, country and globe.

The colorful results grace both our front page and page 18 with the second- and third-place winners, as well as a few honorable mentions.

The Acorn staff would like to thank all in our community who went to the trouble of taking our little paper with them on their well-deserved vacations (did you get any funny looks?), plus having the patience to wait a few months to see the photo published.

If your vacation pic was not selected as one of our winners, don't fret—it's still going in the paper, along with every other vacation entry we've received that's included the necessary information.

And when it does run, one of our friendly staff members will be sure to contact you and let you know it's appeared.

Since the very first Acorn found its way into a carry-on bag, we've been amazed just how well this little paper can travel. We've seen the Acorn Newspapers held high in remote and frigid Antarctica, Red Square in Moscow, from the top of the Great Wall of China and snorkeling in the depths of reefs surrounding the Australian coast. Remarkable.

But it's not only the folks who appear in the pictures who enjoy seeing them in the pages of the Acorn. What we've discovered over years of holding the contest is that residents enjoy seeing where their neighbors go on vacation as well . . . possibly a "keeping up with the Joneses" effect.

So keep those photos coming, and be patient. Any pictures received after Sept. 5 will be stored and judged in the 2009 contest. To find out all the details on how you can get your family's vacation photo into the Acorn, visit www.simivalleyacorn.com.