If you follow me on social media, you know I have just returned from the adventure of a lifetime! I went to Alvarado, Texas as I went to collect Helene Hadsell’s library and business materials. Here is a quick outline of the trip and what treasures I found.

April 19

I got up early and headed west to the border.

TIP: I figured out if you are going to cross at Windsor/Detroit, take the tunnel as there is construction on the bridge and the trucks can only cross via the bridge.

I made good time, but once I crossed there was a lot of traffic due to construction. I waited until I got to Ohio to visit the UPS store to ship all my prizes to this year’s Annual National Sweepstakes Convention and other prizes via USPS (United States Postal Service). As it turned out I was near a Kroger’s, so before I got on the highway again, I popped in and scored some Duncan Hines Limited Edition Dolly Parton cake mixes and frostings.

Of course, being in Ohio, I stopped in Defiance to visit an iconic sweepstakes location: 800 Washinton Avenue. Home of the Ryan family as featured in The Prize Winner of Defiance Ohio by Terry Ryan.

The owner came home just as I was taking pictures. Asked if they liked living in the home. They did. They even had some memorabilia that was sold with the home. I didn’t get a chance to ask any more questions as he was going in and I needed to move my car.

Then it was on to Bloomington Indiana, where I met up with Sean Szolek-Van Valkenburgh (@seansvv on TikTok) as he specializes in teaching Terms and Conditions which dovetails into my #1 tip, always read the rules. We did duel TikTok live streams, which were a bit chaotic with his dog Luna barking, us chatting about sweepstakes rules and Sean taste testing all the Canadian treats I bought. (I forgot to take a picture of us together. I only got a short video.)

April 20

As I was off schedule, I slept in and, later than I wanted, I got on the road. I wanted to get to Little Rock, Arkansas which would make my drive to Alvarado, Texas shorter. Thankfully, I had several Audible books I had not listened to so it made the drive go by faster. Nothing exciting to report. I made it just past Little Rock and stayed in Bryant, Arkansas for the evening.

April 21

My daughter had seen a TikToker visit Buc-ee’s, a massive convenience store and gas bar outside of Dallas, Texas, in Royce City, and told me I had to stop, so I did. The place is so big it has its own carvery! You could easily spend hours there. I did buy their brisket sandwich and chips. Delicious.

I wanted to stop by the house Helene won on my way to Alvarado, but the traffic was too bad, so I just kept going. Arriving just after dinnertime, Dike Hadsell (Helene’s only living offspring) was there to greet me.

Dike and his wife Pheona lived in the building that was originally where the students stayed when they came to take courses and workshops from Helene. Helene’s home and conference center had been unused since she passed away in 2010. Dike showed me around and where all her books and business materials were.

As there is no time like the present, I started in one section and started sorting everything onto the big conference table. It would be easier to pack up, once I had everything in one place.

April 22

Back at it bright and early, I started in the back room, as it didn’t have much light the previous evening, and kept going. Between her office, the storage room, and her library, there were piles of books, papers, cassette tapes, 3 1/4″ floppy disks, and more books. It was quite a dusty job as everything has been sitting for over a decade.

It wasn’t all work. I made sure to spend some time with Dike and Pheona. We went for Mexican food at their favorite restaurant. A much-needed break from standing, sorting, lifting, and organizing.

April 23

I have always said, if I wasn’t a marketer, I would be a professional organizer. It took me less time than I thought to go through all of Helene’s things and only take what was relevant to maintaining her legacy now. There were so many interesting metaphysical books, but the information was either out-of-date or could easily be found online. Plus, I only had so much room in the car.

By early afternoon I was done. As it was a long drive home, I decided to get going. I made sure I stopped to see the custom-built home Helene won from the Formica Corporation and Trader Joe’s as I wanted a Texas bag.

NOTE: I trade Canadian chocolate for Trader Joe’s bags. Email me if you want to swap.

I treated myself to In-N-Out Burger for dinner and made it to Arkadelphia, Arkansas that night.

April 24

I wanted to get as far as I could the night before because I wanted to make it to Nashville by lunchtime. Why? I wanted to meet Mark and Rosa Mayhew. Mark is a master manifestor and creates the funniest, thought-provoking TikToks (@recalculator). We had a delicious lunch and then Mark and I did duel TikTok live streams. We also had a chance to talk about business, marketing, writing, publishing, and life in general.

NOTE: You can also find Sean and Mark on Instagram.

My favorite tidbit about the Mayhew home is they are literally on the Tennesse-Kentucky border. They live in Tennessee, but the field over their backyard fence is Kentucky. You can even see it in our picture. Cool!

Then I got back in my car to get as far north as I could. I landed in Elizabethtown, Kentucky.

April 25

Today I wanted to sleep in, but my body had other ideas waking up at my normal alarm time. Off I went being sure to stop in at Trader Joe’s in Louisville to get another bag (Yes, I really do collect them!) and pick up more snacks for the road. I made good time and ended my day in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

April 26

This was my last day on the road and was home just in time to go to bed. It was a lot of driving, but worth every moment for the adventure(s) I had. Be sure to follow my social media channels (links on the upper right of my website) to see what treasures I found and brought home.

HINT: I believe found enough unpublished stories to compile another book by Helene. If I am correct that would be published sometime in 2023.

Have you read any of Helene Hadsell’s books?