Lesson Learned: No Trip to Peru for Me

I received an email last week that took me by surprise.  In February, I had entered an online contest giving away a trip to Peru.  The email said that I had won!! I enter contests all the time, and have never won a big prize -- so I was a bit leery.

I checked it out, and everything was legitimate.  I really did win a trip to Peru.  My excitement dropped a bit when I noticed the line "Airfare is not included." I thought maybe the airfare wouldn't bee too expensive. A quick, hopeful Google search told me the airfare to the place I needed to go would run about $1200/person.

While it looked like an amazing trip (hiking trails, sleeping in eco-luxury-lodges, etc.) it definitely wasn't for me with that price tag.

I fully investigated it, and when it came time to accept, I had to gracefully decline.  It was my fault that I entered without reading the rules carefully.  I was hoping that maybe I could receive a substitute prize, but that wasn't possible.

Lesson learned?  Read the rules!  People really DO win giveaways sponsored on the Internet!  If you're up for an interesting adventure, and have the extra money for airfare, check out the giveaways at Liquor.com. They don't have one going right now, but they might do another amazing trip in the future.

I spent a couple days fantasizing about a week-long trip alone with my husband exploring a foreign country.  It would have been glorious.  Back to reality -- I'll have to make do exploring Arizona with my entire family this year. 

From now on, I'll read carefully to make sure ALL expenses are covered when I enter a trip giveaway.  Next time I win, I want to be able to accept the prize.