An ice-blue glacier hovers over the Arctic Ocean (Iceland)
A chance to travel Iceland. You (or at least I) don’t say “No” when it’s free, even if you do have to leave in 9 days!
The Unexpected
Finally, I have a minute to explain this craziness!
Do you ever wonder why it never happens to you? A win, I mean.
The dream house. The sexy car. The even sexier cash. The to-die-for holiday… All those entry forms you’ve filled out and stuffed into boxes for prizes that you’d look absolutely spectacular collecting.
But really, who gets those “You’re the winner!” calls anyway?
Blonde, of BlondeBrunetteTravel, that’s who. (And then I did, too!!)
Here’s the scoop, with a not-so-small dose of, “Holy Crap! This is really happening!”
The Win: A Tour of I-C-E-land
No judgement here! Blonde’s winning photo that took her and me to Iceland.
Hilarious blogger and contest fanatic, Blonde, posted this photo in response to a call to “Share your wildest travel story, travel photo or travel video with SADcars” of Iceland. Is it any surprise that it attracted the most reader votes in the end? And yes, that meant she won. (This, by the way, is the same Blonde who is doing this amazing home exchange in Spain.)
The minute she was notified, she posted her win on Facebook, noting that her usual sidekick, Brunette, couldn’t go.
The prize? Flights for 2 to Iceland (that had to be used this month!). Plus a complementary rental car, several day tours and 2 nights in a brand new hostel in the capital city of Reykjavik.
Now, stay with me here, and keep in mind that the country is named I-C-E-land. And, prepare for outrageous imagery to veritably explode in your head:
The prize also included a camping pass and a tent.
No joke. Ice. Camping. Tent.
Frankly, I’m not really sure that that had fully registered within me when I responded to her Facebook post, with “Pick me! Pick me!”
Here’s the crazy part [of many]: She did!
The Whim: Saying Yes to Iceland
Plane-spotting from the tarmac, enroute to Iceland.
With my fabulous husband saying, “Go! Go! Go!” I said “Yes! Yes! Yes!”
With my “Yes” blessed by Brunette, I accepted Blonde’s win on a whim and christened myself the happily Indebted Tagalong, IT for short. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Brunette!
Suddenly we were both panic-planning. No, scratch that. We went straight to panic-packing.
Only nine days later, I left for Iceland.
As I sat on the plane I was very tired, very excited and very grateful. Admittedly there was a little trepidation sprinkled here and there. After all, I’d be bunking with Blonde.
My Take
Hey, it worked for me! You might want to try it:
- Find a friend who loves to enter contests.
- Remind your friend often that you like them and that they like you.
- Tell your friend you want to share their prizes.
- Say “Yes!” even if you don’t know how you’ll pull it off.
Your Take
June 22, 2013 at 3:48 pm
Way cool story… I’m a big fan of Iceland, need to explore some more when I go back.
June 22, 2013 at 6:29 pm
I think this is one of my favorite stories! 🙂 I’d heard good things about Iceland but had never been. Now I know I’ll be back. From volcanoes to glaciers, whales, reindeer, lava fields and icebergs, this place is pretty bloody amazing! Perhaps Iceland is where we’ll meet for a coffee, Kerwin. And, by the way, they do that well, too!