Gettin’ Carried Away

When I started my travel blog, I dedicated it to several people… mainly, my mother. Exactly one year later, here I am, celebrating her birthday (again) and the one-year anniversary of Gettin’ Carried Away.

I’ve already listed all the blessings I have received because of my travel blog, so I don’t want to do that again. What I need to do is express my love and gratitude to my blog’s number one fan: my mom. Even though I’ve written about her several times, I don’t think I could ever fully convey just how special Alice Williams is.

~* Mom, A 70s vixen in Hawaii *~

She’s the kind of mom who…

• … will run out to Walgreens to get travel-sized toiletries after we’ve teared the house apart looking for the ones she picked up (on a whim) a few weeks beforehand.
• … will take a scribbled travel checklist I wrote by hand and turn it into a more organized, typed Excel spreadsheet so that I don’t leave a single Tylenol, cough drop or Q-tip at home.
• … will comment on my blog posts as “Alice.” Not “mommy.”
• … will get excited about every travel writing gig I pick up, even if it pays peanuts.
• … will make a huge, home-cooked meal the day I return from a trip, even if I’ve only been gone less than a two days.
• … will quote me, from an article I wrote four years ago for the college newspaper.
• … will remember every single place I’ve visited and ever person I’ve met along the way.

I could go on and on telling you all the wonderful things my mom as done, continues to do and will always do. And you know what she’d say? “It’s all part of being a mom.” Because Alice Williams is the most selfless person I know (and I admire her greatly), I am GIVING gifts on the the day of my blog’s birthday!

First, EVERYONE that entered the FREE HOTEL STAY contest will receive a one-of-a-kind, custom-made luggage tag, created by yours truly. All 21 entries will be getting an email with a few questions so that the luggage tag will be personalized to perfection. Finally, the winner of two free weekend nights at the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago is…

Andrew, The Brooklyn Nomad!

Thank you to everyone that entered the contest, to all my RSS subscribers, to everyone that stops by even for a few minutes and, most importantly, to my mom. Happy travels!

Exactly two weeks ago, I wrote about Southwest’s potential ownership of Frontier Airlines. Frontier had filed for bankruptcy earlier this year in April, and Southwest put in a bid of $170 million to acquire the airline. This sounded like a good business deal to me, especially since Southwest is gaining ground on bigger carriers like American and United.

However, because the two Pilot Unions (SWAPA and FAPA) could not reach an agreement on how they would work together, Southwest’s bid was deemed unacceptable, and Republic Airways walked away with the goods.

Either way, I think Southwest Airlines is in a really good position right now. It’s the only carrier that offers free checked baggage, and their airfare is ridiculously cheap at times. As you can see, SWA has had my loyalty for awhile now. S what do you think the problem was between the two labor unions? Perhaps there were too many FA employees to keep them on and mix them in with SWA employees?

Can you believe it’s already August? Flowers are in full bloom, crayons and notebooks are hitting store shelves and baseball season is more than halfway over. But, more importantly, Gettin’ Carried Away is celebrating a birthday this month… its 1st Birthday, to be exact!

I can’t believe how far my travel blog has come in a year: it won an award; it landed me the Community Manager position at TBEX (giving me the opportunity to meet some of the most influential bloggers/writers in the travel industry); it launched my career as a travel writer; and it became the outlet I longed for, a place where I could share my travels with the world through a medium I dearly love, writing. None of this would have happened without your readership, so thank you, from the bottom of my heart.

Birthdays are usually celebrated with the three P’s… parties, pastries and presents. I’m sad to say that I don’t have the resources to throw a huge party for all my followers. And I’m not the best baker in the world, as frosting tends to end up all over me instead of the cake.

However, I do have a travel gift for one lucky reader as a thank you for helping Gettin’ Carried Away get this far: a FREE weekend at the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago, courtesy of Edelman and the Illinois Bureau of Tourism.

In order to enter for your chance to receive a free hotel stay, leave a comment below describing your best Chicago experience.

• Do you have a favorite restaurant?
• Which attraction do you like the best?
• What is the best neighborhood?
• Even if you have never been to the Windy City, perhaps you tried Chicago-style food somewhere else in the world, or maybe you caught a White Sox/Cubs/Bulls/Bear/Blackhawks game in another city.

The winner will be chosen by a random number generator. Please limit yourself to only one comment, as readers who post more than one comment will be disqualified. The lucky person will be announced on Gettin’ Carried Away’s actual birthday, Sunday, August 16.