Tag Archives: Amazon

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Amazon eGift Card Winners Announced for my Veteran’s Day Weekend Giveaway

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Good morning everyone, I hope you all had a great Veteran’s Day Weekend.  Sorry for the delay, but I have selected the winners for the 5 $10 Amazon eGift Cards.  Thank you to everyone who left a comment on the giveaway post.  I wish I could have picked everyone, but here are my 5 favorite comments, sorted chronologically.  If you are a winner, check your email (and spam) for your Amazon eGift Card.  Congrats to all the winners and thank you to everyone who entered the giveaway.

Mrah i take care of a 500 acre property (and ~40~ yr old horse!!) in northern GA and have recently met an older couple in my area while out on a bike ride. when i last ran into them, they sheepishly asked what i was doing this weekend. i didn’t have plans. but. now i have plans. i’m helping them out with some yard work that for someone like me ain’t nuthin’ but for them is a big sumthin’!
they said they would like to pay me. i said, “sure, as long as it’s precisely and exactly $0.00!!” they laughed. and we shook hands.
Liz Sounds like a fun weekend!
I am attending a game night – I’m in a Meetup for board games, and a friend from that is having his own board game party. Will also see Murder on the Orient Express, with my boyfriend, and grab lunch that Sunday.
Anna Haha! Also in San Diego this weekend! At the Hyatt Mission Bay on an Award night. Will go to Sea World (it always honors veterans). Also, going to see Megan Leavey (about a soldier and her military dog). Because I love dogs. And it’s a German shepherd. And it’s Veteran’s Day weekend.
Swisspotluck I will drive down to visit my parents and we will go out to eat at their favorite restaurant. After the restaurant we will head to Starbucks and he gets his free Veteran’s Coffee. When we are tucked away at our table and chatting, I give him a handmade Veteran’s Day card. He was in the Air Force and went through the Russian language program at Syracuse. He was stationed near the North Sea and used to listen to Russian Radio transmissions for anything alarming. In respect to his particular job in the military, I always write the text in the card in Cyrillic. I use some true easy Russian words, but the rest is just English words transliterated into Cyrillic text. He doesn’t remember much Russian after 50 years, but still knows Cyrillic)
Lori The local aquarium offers free admission for veterans and spouses and we could use a free car wash.
My husband is an OEF/OIF veteran and usually spends the weekend talking to his buddies. I would love for us to travel to Washington DC over Veteran’s Day weekend as I have the points and miles, but he is not comfortable traveling/flying as of yet.
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​​7 Tips to Maximize your Fun at the San Diego Zoo

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Good morning everyone, I hope you all had a great weekend.  I just got back from a great San Diego weekend trip and had an amazing time at the world famous San Diego Zoo, so I wanted to share some tips to maximize the amount of fun you will have at the zoo too.  I am no expert at seeing zoos, but I think some of these tips will help make your visit more enjoyable.  For those who haven’t been to the San Diego Zoo before (or in a long time), the zoo recently celebrated its 100th birthday and made many improvements over the last few years.  Without further ado, here are my 7 tips to maximize your fun at the San Diego Zoo (with 2 bonus ideas at the end).

1 – Buy discount San Diego Zoo tickets online.  The normal price for tickets is $52, but if you buy them through Groupon, you can get tickets for only $39.99.  This deal is only good through December 20, but I am sure the Groupon discount comes around often.  To super charge your Groupon purchase, sign up for Ebates and earn cash back on your Groupon purchase.

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Amazon eGift Card Winners for Columbus Day Weekend Giveaway

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Good afternoon everyone, I hope you all had a great Columbus Day Weekend.  I wanted to thank everyone who participated in my giveaway and left a comment sharing their Columbus Day Weekend plans.  I wish I could pick everyone, but I could only pick 3 winners.  Here are the 3 winners who will each receive a $10 Amazon eGift Card.

Chris D Great timing. We are planning to possibly go to San Francisco/Monterey in Feb 2018. Would love to hear trip report of the Hyatt and aquarium in future. I was looking at Hyatt Monterey vs Carmel property. Our plans for Columbus day is to go to Mystic Aquarium in Mystic, CT with our 9 year old twins. We are big aquarium fans! Curious how Mystic will compare to your Monterey aquarium visit. Lots to do in the Mystic area with the old seaport and lots of shops and dining options. Thanks for sponsoring contest.
psychocycle i am staying near great smoky mountains national park. each day of the extended weekend i am out for a “century” on my bike. each 100 mile ride will criss-cross and cross-criss the appalachian trail several times. the climbs will be heinous, but what goes up must go down, and i’ll be glad to let gravity do the work! all this being said, it looks like hurricane/tropical storm nate will soak me, but better to be soaked with rain than soaked with sweat! ha thanks for your site. and thanks for the chance to win!
Nitra Going to Vancouver. My bday was Oct 1 so this is my “birthday trip.” Used 20k Avios to book DFW-YVR on AA round trip and using my 2 free nights from the Fairmont card for the Fairmont Pacific Rim. A friend is using UR points for another hotel for our 3rd night. Our Columbus Day Monday is Thanksgiving Day in Canada. Enjoy Monterey!

Thanks you for participating and good luck on the next giveaway :)

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Giveaway: Share your Columbus Day Weekend Plans & Win a $10 Amazon eGift Card

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Good morning everyone, happy Friday!  I don’t know about you, but I have big plans this Columbus Day Weekend.  I used a Hyatt Free Night Certificate and 30,000 Hyatt points to stay 3 nights at the Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel and Spa on Del Monte Golf Course (15,000 Hyatt points / night or ~$200 / night).  I am going with my girlfriend on a relaxing weekend trip.  Monterey / Carmel holds a very special spot in my heart because my family and relatives used to drive up to Monterey from Southern California every year for Thanksgiving week.  Some of my favorite childhood memories happened in Monterey / Carmel, so I am very excited about returning.

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Front entrance of the Hyatt Regency Monterey. Image source: https://monterey.regency.hyatt.com/en/hotel/home.html

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Shelli’s 100th Post $10 Amazon eGift Card Winners

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Good morning everyone, happy Friday!  A few days ago, we held a giveaway to celebrate my 100th post on TWG. Many, many thanks to all of you who read that post. I appreciate the time you took to leave comments. They were so much fun to read. And they’ve given me great ideas for the next 100 posts :) Encouragement from readers means a latte a lot to me!

After Grant and I read all the comments, it was unfortunate we couldn’t choose them all. Here are the winning comments:

Gaston I really enjoyed your most recent post “My Citi Prestige Credit Card Saved Me $1,000+ this Year with the 4th Night Free Benefit”. As always, you combine your sharing of great travel experiences with saving us $!
Denise My favorite post was learning about Slovenia. I am looking forward to hearing more about your travels.
Mike I loved the series on San DIego/Coronado! Now that the Hotel Del Coronado is a Hilton property I am planning to schedule a trip there and this series couldn’t have been more perfectly timed.
YoLaViajera My favorite post was one you wrote several months ago, but I saved it in my Favorites, for when I go to Vancouver. It’s titled “See, Eat & Drink: The Perfect Long Weekend in Vancouver, Canada”. I love the posts where you write not only about the hotel you’re staying at, but when you also give tips on dining and things to do. Congrats on your 100th post. Here’s to many more! :)
Jon W. Oh Gd, as you know, I love many of your posts but I guess my favorite is your BEAN around the world San Francisco Part 2 because it contains my personal favorite local roaster – Verve! Looking forward for your next visit to the Bay to try our roasters on the other side  of the Bay. P.S., did you publish your Vancouver post? PLan to try some coffee shops there next time I’m in town (aside from 49th parallel)
Leslie I really appreciated the post on “Italian Vacation Part 1: Gelato in Venice, Park Hyatt Milan Meat Slicer and the Last Supper.” I have been dying to visit Milan and I didn’t know about La Scala Museum. I love art, history and culture so this was just up my alley. Thanks for the detailed information on eateries and the gelato! YUM!
rm the post about coffee in boston was super. especially because i am a coffee aficionado. and even though i now am a caretaker and horsekeeper in talking rock, ga where my niche coffee market is all but absent…i am soon to fly to visit my sister/husband/my niece in boston. they are exclusively starbucks people. and based on your post, i plan to open their eyes (and all other senses!) to some alternatives…and to funding some local shops! thanks!
Liz I enjoyed your article on how to book flights using Citi Thank You points. I have a bunch of Thank You points and I never know when to use them, so this had some great advice!
Joe O You did a post interviewing an Uber driver about how much they earn I thought was really interesting… it was awhile ago, so I can’t find it now, but I swear it happened. :)
Bill Pisor We really enjoyed your post on “Which IHG hotels you’d book with 100,00 points”. We don’t as yet have that many points with IHG but your article gave us a wonderful goal to shoot for and many options on which hotels to choose! Keep up the great advice!

We will send out $10 Amazon eGift Cards to the winners via email, so check your email (and spam) folders for an email from Grant.  Thanks again to everyone who left a comment and for all the readers out there, wherever you are in the world.  Have a great day, and enjoy your travels!