Day 9 | August 3rd
When we last left our heroine … she had arrived very early at the FOX 5 Atlanta television studios.
As I was driving in I found myself in a very posh, green neighbourhood. Normally TV studios are either downtown or in an industrial area. This was neither. The only clue I had that I was going in the right direction was a massive antenna high above the tree tops. Upon arrival I discovered the prettiest studio I have ever seen. (The picture was a bit dark as I was taking it against the sun at 8:30am.)
As I had been up since 3:00am at this point I was famished. I needed to find a bank machine and breakfast. I pulled out my cellphone and began to Google banks to try and find an ATM close by. I found a Bank of America and set my (mostly) trusty sidekick to give me turn-by-turn instructions. I arrived at my destination and there was no bank to be found. Not again!
What I did find was the most amazing little diner called Rise -n- Dine. I had enough cash for breakfast, so in I went. As I was only one I sat at the counter, chatted with my neighbours and had a hearty breakfast. Now to find an ATM. As I was walking back to my car I looked across the roundabout and there was the bank I couldn’t find. YEAH!
Now that I was fed and had some funds, it was off to CNN for my long anticipated tour. (Last year when my friend Steph and I were in Atlanta for the 23rd Annual National Sweepstakes Convention we only had time to see one sight, so we chose The World of Coke. I had stated if I ever get back to Atlanta I would take the CNN tour.)
I was so disappointed. Not because the tour was bad, but because I had basically done the same thing for free a couple of hours before at FOX 5 Atlanta. Let me explain. On the tour they showed us the studio, how the cameras worked, how the teleprompters worked, how the clip-on mics worked, etc. I already knew all of that AND I got to sit in the guest chair on set! Oh well …
Time to get some work done. I began my trek to Linda’s stopping at Starbucks on the way. After several hours of being online it was time to get back on the road. I arrived at Linda’s just before dinner. I settled in and off we went to Cracker Barrel. (You would think at this point I would be sick of eating at the same places but between consistency along the chain and the good food, I was very content with my salad. (Plus we don’t have Cracker Barrel in Canada, so it’s a real treat!)
We spent the evening chatting about life and all of sweepstakes adventures.
Day 10 | August 4th
Linda had WiFi in her home so I spent the morning online as the next day would be spent mainly on the road. Before I knew it, it was time to head to Smallcakes. I had a quick lunch at Firehouse Subs before setting up for the first workshop.
The shop had a small room in the back mainly used for birthday parties but also perfect for a workshop. The entire place smelled like sugar and chocolate. I wondered how long I could hold off before buying a cupcake. (I lasted until after the first session.)
I had ten people pre-registered for the first session and one for the second. I was tempted to call J.C. and tell him to come early as there was room, but what if people came from seeing me on TV that morning? I chose not to.
When workshop 1 was complete and before I did the drawings I popped out to see how many were waiting. It was just J.C. so I called him in for the drawings. A couple stayed from the first session to review the topics so we had three.
FOR MORE PICTURES SEE THE #CQTOUR PHOTO ALBUM ON FACEBOOK
After an hour the shop seemed to be closing. I could have sworn the shop closed at 6:00pm, not 5:00pm. Oh dear! We quickly wrapped things up and hustled ourselves out of the store. It was decided J.C. and I would head over to Starbucks for coffee (where else?!) and keep the workshop going.
I think I over did the happy face in the photo. I look crazy, LOL!
Also how cute is it that J.C. looks like his Facebook avatar?
We had a great conversation. He is also an entrepreneur so we talked marketing and sweepstakes for more than an hour. (J.C. is always looking for more Facebook friends and Twitter followers. Connect with him as he posts heaps of sweeps.) As both of us are talkers we put the laptops away and headed for dinner. We talked shop until dark. I drove back to Linda’s. Linda and I chatted until late. As I had a long drive the next day I finally went to bed.
GOOD LUCK!
Carolyn Wilman (aka @ContestQueen) is the author of You Can’t Win If You Don’t Enter. She teaches others how to find, organize, enter and win contests, sweepstakes and giveaways. To-date others have won over $1,000,000 using her Online Contesting System. With over twenty years experience as a Sweepstakes Management Consultant, Carolyn also helps companies create, and viral market, winning promotions maximizing ROI and loyal customers.
It was a LOT of fun…thanks for coming! Anyone can add me for sweeps (on FB as David Balkin or on Twitter @DavidBalkin1).