How many of us have been surfing along on a community or news website to have a pop up opportunity of a “Free Trip” present itself. Of course many of us enter only to wonder, “Who actually wins these things?”
Well, I do. On Sept. 2, after ignoring the junk box of my personal email for most of the day, I arrived home to a voicemail that I was the second name drawn in a contest from KOMO News 4 and Seattle Refined for a complete trip to Atlantic City for the 2016 Miss America Pageant being held on Sept. 13.
Apparently the winner drawn first was unable to go and so I was up next. I simply needed to respond back by 4:30 p.m. Well when I walked in the door and retrieved the message at 5:40 p.m., I figured what the heck. It was after the deadline but I would still respond just in case. I am very glad I did respond because even though they had moved on to the next winner in line, that person also had issues with going. That put everything back on me as the lucky recipient.
As the winner, I received two round-trip air tickets, two nights at Bally’s Atlantic City, two tickets to the Miss America Pageant and a $1,000 check for spending money.
Since my husband could not get the day off and best girlfriend could, we packed our bags and headed out.
Neither Atlantic City, New Jersey, or the Miss American Pageant are things that I would seek out to spend my own money on, however if somebody else is paying the way, why not. Basically I was being offered a free adventure to a part of the country I had not visited or experienced. My friend and I both decided to embrace our innermost girl and roll with the experience.
After a five-plus hour flight, we arrive in Philadelphia on the afternoon of Saturday, Sept. 12. Due to the limited time we had I used some of that spending money for town car service that would transport us the 60 miles between Philly and AC. Our driver was a New Jersey native and goldmine of area information. We bemoaned the fact that our quick three day trip had us zipping over the Delaware River and driving past the rich and wonderful history that the Philadelphia area has to offer as the birthplace of America.
Being at the Miss American Pageant is a somewhat surreal experience. It is a fully televised production and everything is, staged, set and timed accordingly. The building that hosts the event it is located right on the famous Boardwalk and about a half a block walk from our hotel. Our seats were on the floor right at the end of the runway from the stage. When the contestants were lined up to take the stage from the floor at one point, we actually chatted with a few of them.
In 1984 I was a 14 year old girl that did not fully understand the reason why then Miss America Vanessa Williams was forced to resign her crown. That full understanding would come a few more years down the road but it was one of those random moments of life while growing up that shatters a portion of your innocence, one small piece at a time.
As a 45-year-old woman watching the official apology being made to her by the Miss America organization after all of these years it felt right and long overdue. I must also say that Vanessa Williams is one beautiful woman inside and out. Her live singing performance literally right in front of us was nothing short of spectacular.
One of the things that happened before the actual televised portion of the show starts is the presentation of the Honorary Miss America titles. Never heard of this before? Neither had I. Past Miss America winners come out and present these honorary titles to the wives and widows of fallen soldiers from all branches of the military. It is a moving tribute that only those in attendance get to see. I shed more than a few tears as the heartbreaking story behind each honoree was revealed and the word strength had new names and faces to define it.
Sadly Miss Washington did not make it into the top 15 but I must say she was beautiful and represented our state very well. Each state had its own cheering section. We were very proud to be there to cheer her on for Washington and best of all she gets to remain our Miss Washington for the rest of the year.
We flew back into Seattle at 8:3 p.m. on Monday the 14th. Another five hour flight that felt more like 15 hours after so little time on the ground between traveling from coast to coast but overall the trip was well worth it and ended up being a lot of fun.
Kitsap is fortunate enough to have its own connection to Miss America. The Miss West Sound Scholarship Program is where local young women start on their journey to Miss America. I had the pleasure of driving a parade car for Miss West Sound 2014 and Miss West Sound Outstanding Teen 2014. These were great young women taking hold of this opportunity to earn a significant amount of money towards their secondary educations in the form of scholarships. Many of them are able to graduate with their college degrees, debt-free when all is said and done.
The Miss West Sound and Miss West Sound Outstanding Teen 2016 event is happening Saturday, Oct. 3, 2015, at 4 p.m. at the Bremerton High School Performing Arts Auditorium. For more information and tickets you can click here, http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2252526.
Check it out. You never know who you see now at this event, may go on to be the next Miss America.
