Leaving at 4:30 am to ensure I wasn’t delayed at Customs or airport security, I began my annual trip to a sweepers mecca, the convention.

24th Annual National Sweepstakes Convention

I left Toronto, headed to Denver, changed planes, and landed in Salt Lake City UT in the early afternoon.  Boy was it hot.  (The temperature hovers around 100°F (35ºC) during the day and dips down to 50ºF (10ºC) at night.)

At the airport, I ran into Lisa, Stevie, and their daughter Mia.  Lisa and Stevie are little people and required an accessible vehicle to take them and their scooters to the hotel.  After a long wait and a few phone calls, I took Mia and all the luggage back to the hotel where we waited for her parents.  Once Lisa arrived (the requested vehicle could only bring one of them at a time) we chatted and after Stevie finally arrived I went to get settled in myself.

I was lucky enough to share a room with Carol McLaughlin (This N That Sweepstakes Club Newsletter) and found her waiting for me sitting at the desk entering sweepstakes.  (Well, what else would she be doing?! LOL!)

Once settled, we met friends in the lobby, and off we went for a late lunch/early dinner at Denny’s.  We came back just in time to attend that evening’s activity: a mix and mingle in the courtyard complete with bonfire, pink lemonade, s’mores, and an acoustic guitar duo.

bonfire

For some reason, I took only one picture the whole day and not even one with my friends.  Just the fire pit at the evening’s mix and mingle.

After far too much sugar, chatting with friends for hours, and jet lag catching up with me, I headed to bed.

If you want to be part of the fun, next year’s convention will be held from August 27th-31st, 2014 at the Rosen Shingle Creek in Orlando FL. Details can be found on the #25Orlando convention website (to be live soon).

GOOD LUCK!