NYC duo gets tapped for Orlando smile assignment

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Orlando has spoken! A pair of New Yorkers rose above hundreds of applicants to become Orlando’s Smile Ambassadors. For 67 days, they will experience more than 100 attractions offered … which includes a hell of a lot more than just a dance with the Mouse. Alligators will be involved, for example. Along the way, they’ll blog and their experiences, giving the rest of the world an “in the trenches” view of what Orlando has to offer.

The final test for Kyle Post, a Broadway performer and Stacey Doornbos, a childcare worker in Harlem, was a 67-hour “boot camp” that ended on July 29, 2009. The candidates went hang gliding, did some indoor skydiving and checked out downtown Orlando, blogging and tweeting as though it were the real deal.

“Every member of the selection committee agrees that selecting one pair from our ten finalists was one of the toughest career decisions we have each faced,” said Gary C. Sain, president and CEO of the Orlando CVB. “Each pair demonstrated tremendous creativity, desire and commitment. We thank all of the finalists for making us smile and ultimately look forward to Kyle and Stacey bringing the complete Orlando experience to life for a worldwide audience starting Aug. 27.”

Kyle and Stacey have been frends since childhood, growing up together in Holland, Michigan. They have taken more than 30 amusement park trips together and say they’ve been on 618 rides. Kyle moved to New York and was cast in RENT, and Stacey wound up in the city after experiencing seven countries in three months.

The duo took a “friendship honeymoon” (how it pains me to use that expression … it’s worse than “staycation”) to Orlando shortly after they finished college, so it’s easy to see why Kyle says, “We feel like everything we have done in our lives so far has led to this moment.” He continues that they “chose to apply for this position because Orlando embodies everything we are – passionate, charismatic and adventurous. We can’t wait to start our 67 days in Orlando to share everything we learn about what this amazing destination has to offer.”

Vote for the winner of Gadling’s Perfect Road Trip contest!

by Grant Martin on

It’s finally here. After hours of careful deliberation, turmoil and drama, the editorial team at Gadling has selected FIVE fantastic candidates to win the Perfect Road Trip Contest.

You’ll recall that together with Cadillac, Gadling is sponsoring the Perfect Road Trip Contest to send one lucky winner (and guest) on a fantastic, all-expense-paid road trip trip of their design — in an all new Cadillac SRX. So the stakes are high and the competition heavy.

But it’s up to you to select the winner.

Take a read through the entries below and vote on your favorite at the bottom of the post. We’ll collect votes until 5PM on Thursday, August 6th, and announce the winner on the following Friday morning.

Entry #1: Key West, Florida — Jon
Three words. Over Seas Highway. Where else can you drive 105 miles of Islands linked together?

A surprise for my wife’s birthday, we would fly to colorful Miami to start our trip. A quick trip over to soak up some sun in South Beach will get us started (windows down, sunroof open, Latin Jazz blaring from the stereo.) Time to head south. Continue reading —>

Entry #2: The American Northwest — Scott
My perfect 2-day road trip:

Fly in to Portland, OR with my wife and daughter and pick up my new SRX. From the airport, stop and get some coffee and bacon donuts at Voodoo Donut in Portland and then drive through wine country in the Yamhill valley and head straight to the coast. We’d play on the beach and enjoy fresh seafood in Newport before heading south along the beach, with me enjoying the curves and AWD while wife and daughter enjoy the comfortable ride and great stereo. Continue reading —>

Entry #3: The American Southwest — Patrick

Timing is everything. It is just possible if we leave on September 10th early from Denver International Airport, headed with a beeline South for New Mexico, to experience the opening night of Fiestas de Santa Fe, complete with the burning of the Zozobra, while also getting a chance to seek out some of the most rare and exciting locales in the US. Let’s get started! I have saved a map on Google so you can follow along on our journey. Continue reading —>

Entry #4: Nashville to New Orleans — JR

This is a Cadillac we’re talking about. An American icon, immortalized in songs like Vince Taylor’s rockabilly classic Brand New Cadillac .

So when my baby drives up in a brand new Cadillac, there is only one perfect drive: Nashville to New Orleans. How Cadillac is that? For any Cadillac, this road trip would be a rite of passage; for a brand-new one like our SRX, it’s a baptism of the highest order. Continue reading —>

Entry #5: San Francisco to the Central Valley — Sylvan

The trip starts in San Francisco. Head over the Golden Gate bridge to get a spectacular view of the Marin headlands. Continue along Hwy 1. As you descend to the coast, the road hugs the the hills and affords a spectacular view of the Pacific. Continue to Point Reyes Station. Cowgirl Creamery is headquartered here, and they run a small cantina. Stop for some of their spectacular Clabbered Cottage Cheese and Red Hawk cheese. There are a couple small bakeries lining the main strip in the town; stop in to grab some scones to accompany your Cowgirl goodies. Continue reading —>

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Staycations suck: Enter to win a free vacation

by Katie Hammel on

Staycation. The marketing term used to describe a vacation taken at home may be clever, but it won’t make it any more fun. Staycations inherently suck. Try as you might, you just can’t make yet another day at the movies, picnic or museum outing in your own hometown quite as exciting as a full-fledged family vacation to a new destination. At least, that’s the argument LastMinuteTravel.com is making with its new “Staycations Suck” campaign and giveaway.

To combat the staycation blues, six lucky winners will be chosen each week from July 13 to August 21 (that means there’s still five chances to win) to receive the trip of their choice. . . with a few restrictions of course.

To enter, all you need to do is follow Staycations Suck on Twitter or Facebook and send a message saying why your staycation sucks the most. The best entry for the week will be chosen based on creativity and originality. Winners will be asked to chose three date and location combinations (within North American) and will receive round-trip airfare and accommodations for two people to one of their selected destinations. The total prize costs cannot exceed $6000 and winners must pay taxes on the trip.

Enter to win a free trip from Seattle to Reykjavik on Icelandair

by Katie Hammel on

Iceland. Just the name makes you shiver. But despite its frigid moniker, Iceland is surprisingly warm, especially during the long days of summer. With almost 24 hours of daylight, it’s the perfect time to explore the country’s other-worldly landscape. Watch geysers erupt, scamper over moss-covered former lava fields, stand in the shadows of plunging waterfalls, hike through rifts in the earth’s crust, gorge on smoked puffin or grilled whale, and cavort with the short, stocky Icelandic horses that seem to be everywhere you look.

Now, thanks to new non-stop service from Seattle to Reykjavik starting July 23, it’s even easy for west-coasters to travel to Iceland just in time for summer. And one lucky winner will get to go for free.

To celebrate the inauguration of its new non-stop route, Icelandair is sending one winner and a guest on board the very first flight. They’ll fly from Seattle to Reykjavik and then on to Copenhagen, where they’ll spend one night and enjoy a canal boat sightseeing tour. From there they’ll take an overnight cruise to Oslo, spending two nights in town before they fly back to Reykjavik. After three nights in Iceland, the winner will fly back direct to Seattle on July 31st.

To enter, just visit the website and fill out a form. Winners must be residents of the US or Canada and available to travel from July 23-31. Winners will be announced tomorrow, July 17th.

Oh and today’s the last day to enter, so what are you waiting for? Good luck!

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Travel photography scholarship in Antarctica!

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Think you have what it takes to hang with a National Geographic photog? Now, could you last two weeks shooting in Antarctica? If you think you have what it takes, check out the new WorldNomads.com travel photography scholarship. If you win the assignment, you’ll go take Gap Adventure’s Antarctica Classic M/S Expedition to the Shetland Islands and Antarctic Peninsula, and your photos will appear on the National Geographic Channel’s website.

Oh, and since I’ll probably reblog it, let me know. They can also appear on Gadling if the winner’s cool and gives me permission.

“This truly is a once in a lifetime opportunity to experience life as a National Geographic photographer,” comments Amanda Byrne, Scholarship Coordinator for WorldNomads.com. “In addition to a wonderful trip, the scholarship recipient will receive AUD$2000 worth of Pentax photographic equipment of their choice to really help them take the best pictures possible.”

Ready to give it a shot? Apply here!