This 12-day trip took me through 18 states and four adventures. The first four days were sweepstakes-related, so they are being shared here on Contest Queen. The last nine were metaphysical in nature, so they were shared on Words For Winning.
DAY 1 – March 21st
FIRST ADVENTURE – The Tarheel Sweepstakes Club Spring Banquet
My original plan was to be through the city before rush hour traffic. I woke up at 4:00 AM but had so many last-minute things to do that I didn’t leave until after 5:30 AM. Right into the morning traffic.
It was a 12-hour drive to Mooresville, North Carolina. I had a 6:00 PM monthly Zoom meeting for my Silva Method Instructor Training program. (You may remember that Helene Hadsell worked for Jose Silva, and Tag Powell was also a Silva Instructor, which is why I decided to learn what they did and master the art of manifesting a winning life as they did.) I planned to find a hotel around 4:00 PM, eat dinner, and attend the 3-hour meeting.
Because I left late, I wasn’t in an optimal place to stop. I had the energy, so I kept driving. I stopped to get gas and had something to eat. I decided to ring the hotel, and they could add a night to my reservation, so I decided that because I was so close to my final destination, I would drive the rest of the way.
5 STATES TRAVELLED: Ontario, New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, and North Carolina.
DAY 2 – March 22nd
I started the day by chatting with fellow sweepers at breakfast before I got some work done. After texting back and forth with my friend Kathy Partak, I ran errands (USPS and UPS) before meeting her back at the hotel for lunch. (You may remember Kathy from one of my podcasts, live streams, or recent Nectar of the Vine giveaways.)
We got takeout from the Mexican restaurant a few doors down from the hotel, and Kathy helped me pack prizes and assemble my basket donation for the banquet the next day. Of course, we livestreamed all of our shenanigans. WATCH HERE
As we still had time before she had to head home and I had to head off to the event BBQ, we did a Goodwill run. I should have done a haul video as I got some great things: a laptop bag, two purses, tights, a hoodie/jacket, a pullover, and a t-shirt. Kathy told me her tip when traveling for work was to search on Maps ‘Goodwill Near Me.’ I loved that idea and went to Goodwill two more times on my way home.
Robyn, one of the members of The Tarheel Sweepers, lives on a farm and generously hosted a BBQ in her barn. It was perfect as it was raining and we could enjoy all the festivities. This year, there was a hippy theme. There was music, food, games, sweets, and a costume contest. Fun was had by all.
Afterward, I relaxed in bed with a cup of tea and wrote out all the Canadian Trivia questions I would use for the game I hosted at the banquet.
DAY 3 – March 23rd
The day started early, as I had to be at the banquet hall to bring in all my donations and prizes. It took several trips as I brought 109 butter tarts, five large prize bags, five consultation prizes, and my basket for the contest.
The day alternated between draw sessions, games, and food. There were literally hundreds of prizes. There were over 200 pick-a-prizes to win, all the baskets, the session prizes, the game prizes, and the grand prizes. There were welcome bags, snacks, lunch, and lots of laughter with friends.
The beauty of technology allowed me to dial into the meeting and listen, akin to a podcast. Once I arrived, I rejoined via video once I checked into my room. After the meeting, I unloaded my car and went to bed, as I had another couple of big days ahead of me.
My trivia contest was a huge hit. After lunch, we passed out the butter tarts. I had placed a sticker with a number on each one. I used Random.org on my phone to draw ten players. If your number was picked, I asked you a question. If you got it right, you won a big prize bag. If you got it wrong, you won a consultation prize. I kept going until all the prizes were given out. (I had 11 questions, but Instagram limits me to 10 images, so you can READ THEM HERE if you want to see most of my questions or all of them on TikTok. READ THOSE HERE.)
I also drew eight more numbers for Christi Rechtsteiner of Sweepsheet so more people had chances to win prizes as there wouldn’t be duplicates. (Note the picture of Christi with Tom Cavalli of iWinContests. I think it’s the first time I’ve seen him in an IWIN or Disney t-shirt.)
My entry in the basket contest was dismal. It was my first time trying. I had envisioned a winter wonderland of Canadian treats hidden under folds of white plastic and paper, making it look like snowy mountains. It looked like blobs of white. Plus, the hotel blow dryer didn’t get very hot, so the shrink wrap didn’t work—next year. Thankfully, the winner loved the basket, as they knew they were in for some tasty treats!
What did I win? $25 cash, a $25 Golden Corral gift card, a $10 Dollartree gift card, a dashcam, $45 in Fandango gift cards, and both Dr. Pepper pick-a-prize gift baskets.
As I had time after the event, I went to Costco to get some pants for George. Yes, all dressed in green with sparkles. I got a lot of smiles.
Then I returned to my room, had leftover Mexican food for dinner, and did some laundry. Because I had such a wonderful day, I hosted an impromptu livestream, sharing all my prizes before packing them up to continue my road trip. WATCH HERE
DAY 4 – March 24th
I slept in. I was so tired after three days of going non-stop I needed the rest. I got ready, had breakfast, packed up the car, checked out, and then chatted with fellow sweepers in the lobby until noon before I knew I had to get going if I wanted to be in Alvarado, Texas, on March 25th.
As I left late, I decided I would get as far as possible because it was 16 hours from Mooresville to Alvarado, and I didn’t want an extra long drive on the second travel day. A seven-hour drive took me nine hours with stops and traffic. I stayed in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
3 MORE STATES TRAVELLED: North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama.
I created a compilation video of all the TikToks I made during the trip, highlighting all four adventures. (I didn’t post every video on Instagram or YouTube, as some are longer than the allocated time. ENJOY!)
Continue reading about the road trip adventure on Words For Winning.
Have you ever attended a sweepstakes event?
Nice recap!
I enjoyed your videos and Jaime and I are still enjoying the treats from your basket. I thought it was a very good basket with a lot of thought to it. He was really thrilled to win it, he used to get one of the chocolate bars (the one with the chocolate bubbles) as a child for a treat when someone from Canada was visiting his father’s workplace in Mexico. The hickory potato sticks are tasty also! It was so nice seeing you again. Let me know when you make it out to Tucson, now that would be a LONG road trip.
Whoops, forgot to say, we have not had time to make the recipes yet but will let you know how they turn out!