PRE-CONVENTION
Wednesday, July 5th
My contest buddy Susan flew in from Ottawa and met me at the Toronto airport, where we then flew to Pheonix together.
As our friend Wendy flew in earlier from New York, she was unpacking in the villa at the Scottsdale Plaza Resort & Villas. (Yes, we went all out and rented the biggest room available, as the hotel offers great rates for attendees. We are hoping to do the same next year.)
As we were booked on an all-day excursion the next day, we went straight away to the main hall to get our registration packets, welcome bags, donate some prizes and enter our Pick-A-Prize tickets.
I was happy to discover that there was a Trader Joe’s two minutes from the hotel. The three of us went to stock up on breakfast foods, snacks, drinks, and water. (If you have followed me for any length of time, you know I collect Trader Joe’s shopping bags, and I got mine for Arizona!)
When we returned, Wendy and Susan went to the pool as I finished creating my RoboForm 101 presentation. Once they got back, we went to In & Out Burger. So good!!
DAY 1
Thursday, July 6th
The day started early as we were on an all-day excursion, back only long enough to get ready for the convention kick-off Meet & Greet.
The bus left at 9:00 am and took us to a ghost town 45 min away through the desert landscape. I discovered that the tour normally involves a desert walk, but it was switched due to the fact it was ‘hot season.’ (NOTE: The temperature is in Celcius!!)
We toured the ghost town, which partly looked real and partly looked fabricated, so I am not 100% sure it wasn’t just a tourist attraction.
I did try some Prickly Pear Lemonade. It was good.
Then it was off for a steamboat ride on Canyon Lake. It was created by the surrounding dams.
By then, it was past lunch, so we were taken to Tortilla Flats. The town has a population of 6. There used to be about 120, but almost everyone moved when the town flooded. However, the restaurant in town was bustling. We had a delicious lunch, and then I napped on the bus ride back to the hotel.
As we had a big late lunch, we had snacks in our room before we went to the Meet & Greet.
Then the winning began! I didn’t win anything from the Pick-A-Prize; there were still three more days!!
Go to my Facebook page for the full 34th Annual National Sweepstakes Convention photo album. If you want to contribute any pictures, please email them to me.
You can find a current convention list on my website if you want to attend an event.
Hi Carolyn,
I think it would be a lot of fun to attend a Sweepstakes convention. Do you think it would be possible to hold a VIRTUAL Sweepstakes Convention? Do you think it would draw a lot of sweepers?
They had a 100% virtual convention in 2020 and a dual convention last year and 300 attended. However, it’s not the learning that is key to the convention. You can take a class from me or Tom Cavalli to do that. It’s the other attendees and the energy of the entire event that makes it magical. That cannot be captured online.