The pool in my building opened this weekend for the kick off to summer and with the access key, of course came the rules.
#20 is my favorite:
It’s a good thing they made that clear for all of us!
To think all the other residents and I were all about to head downstairs with our soap, shampoo and razors. Bummer.
What an amazing and happy surprise to come to my inbox and see that Paul W. from Chicago has made a donation to Blue Lollipop Road today! We are super excited and thankful, especially after the disappointing and confusing news today that were not chosen for Best of the Road. This goes to prove that people out there still believe in Blue Lollipop Road and want to support our message.
I am thrilled because this is the first $ donation that will go towards the Blue Lollipop Road Play it Forward Event weekend and the Blue Lollipop Road Memorial Scholarship fund to be awarded 8/18/12 in my hometown in Vermont.
Huge thanks to Paul. Every penny is appreciated and will absolutely make a difference in the life of a young person who will get the chance to travel and see things they would never otherwise be able to.
Yay for generous donations out of nowhere. You help keep us plugging away at this entity we believe so much in!
No, we were not chosen for Best of the Road 2012.
Along with other top voted and social media active teams- we are baffled too, just doesn’t seem to make sense that none of us were chosen. Fear not! We (that’s Blue Lollipop Road) has our other normal exciting stuff going on and we are super excited to refocus on things back at the home front!
*The new Blue Lollipop Road site will launch soon
*Blue Lollipop Road Play it Forward Event is in Vermont 8/18/12 where we will award a travel scholarship to a young female athlete and have a great weekend of reconnecting, reminiscing and honoring lost friends
*More
Did  say more? Oh yes. Just because Blue Lollipop Road was hardcore vying for a spot in the Best of the Road- you don’t think we had other things in the pipeline? Oh come on now. There’s always something brewing…
That’s right! In just a matter of hours, Mom and I hear whether or not we were chosen for Rand McNally and USA TODAY’s Best of the Road Rally 2012!!!
A few special shout outs and thank you’s:
1.) Thank you to Sean, an old high school friend who’s been an awesomely supportive follower of Blue Lollipop Road. Sean sent me the link for the Best of the Road Rally a month ago, to which I jumped all over to sign up for the first second I could. Thanks Sean! Without you Mom and I might not even be in the running!
2.) Thank you Mom. We both know we have given this portion of the rally fun our all, so no matter the results, we are already winners because went for it! Â Thank you for jumping right in and being as excited as me to be the other half of Team blue Lollipop Road! Thanks for being that parent that is unconditionally loving and supportive of the dreams we all have.
3.) Thank you Rand McNally and USA TODAY! What you are promoting with best of the Road, is what Mom and I, and Blue Lollipop Road are all about; The incredible amount of delicious, fun, beautiful, history, people and lessons in every nook and cranny of America. We are so happy there are organizations encouraging curiosity, exploration, and travel- to uncover the amazing people, places and things that are on the “back roads” all around us.
What a fun few weeks. We can only imagine how much of a blast the actual rally itself would be!
We are so thankful for all our family, friends, coworkers and neighbors for voting, spreading the news, and “rallying” for us. We have definitely felt the love and it’s been humbling.
Here’s to anticipation and running fast and furious to your passions. Life is short, so Team Blue Lollipop Road says GO FOR IT!
My favorite gift ideas ever- especially this time of year:
1.) Passports
2.) Annual National Park Passes
I started giving park passes as gifts in 2008 when 2 of my adventure outdoor loving friends got married. (I’m not so big on picking out a spatula and those last few towels people seem to need from the registry- what can I say.) They loved the pass and used it like gangbusters. At $80 it’s a steal! All that beauty and all that fun?! It’s a free for all into so many this USA gorgeous and play for a year. What a deal.
Now to passports:
It still amazes me that only about 33% of Americans have passports. Let’s be prepared people! Talk about the gift of freedom and something everyone should have. You never know when you might get invited to some far away locale, have to go overseas for work, or get an opportunity to explore a new place you never knew even existed  because your neighbor already paid for the trip but he can’t go for whatever reason.Why not be ready to rock and roll?
This holiday weekend marks the time when summer kicks off with a boom: Father’s Day, graduations and wedding season in full swing. Fret not for gift ideas that will make people smile and feel alive. Give the gift of passport or park pass and give the gift of freedom and fun!
I took this during a very early morning run last month. I’ve been at both ends and I want to go again!
Mom and I are waiting on pins and needles for word from Rand McNally to see if we are one of the 5 finalist teams for Best of the Road 2012.
I wish Mom was closer, or on the same works schedule as me so we could be making these videos together, but we are 1,000 miles away from each other today, so you just get my mug:
Thank goodness for cell phones, email, social media and Skype! At least Mom and I have been connected through those technology mediums during this rally. What a blast we have had! Funny how even if you are super close with someone and have traveled or spent a ton of time with them before- teaming up with that same person on a project makes you like or respect them even more.
I hope Rand McNally and USA TODAY see the genuine spirit of Mom and I and how much of a great asset and total fun we would be for this rally. Through this initial rally part we have worked hard to show who we are and what we are about.
It is my dream, my happy place and my most favorite thing to be on the road encouraging others to get out and explore. My believe that travel makes you a better person will always stay at the core of my soul and that will never change. I love being on the road more than anything. Mom has fallen in love with travel too over the past few years as she’s adventured to visit all of  us Peacock kids around the country where we’ve lived. It’s been fun for me to watch her see things while traveling for the first time, finally taking time for herself after working so hard  for years raising us. It’s pretty amazing as a “kid” to see your parent’s eyes light up the same way I’m sure she watched mine when I was a little girl finding new exciting things to learn about and explore.
For you kids of any age out there who want to do something, anything that is your big dream, the one that might seem unreachable, unreasonable, or unrealistic- it’s not. Mom Peacock always told me and still tells me to “go for it”. Reach for the stars, work hard and you will get it, keep a smile on your face when you fall down, jump right up- wipe that dirt off and try again because you can do anything you set your mind to.
She’s right.
So to Blue Lollipop Road readers and followers:
What’s your Rand McNally Best of the Road?- That thing you so badly want to be a part of or create for yourself? Jump in and tell them or yourself why you want it so badly. Show them who you are and what you’re made of. You might not be chosen or succeed the first time, or even the 22nd time, but keep plugging, work hard, and stay true to your passion and eventually someone will listen.
Mom and I hope Rand McNally is listening to us, because Team Blue Lollipop Road was born for this rally!
I am thrilled to share that we sent the application out today for the Blue Lollipop Road Memorial Scholarship!
This scholarship was established this year by BLR in honor of the spirit and zest for life embodied by my two friends and fellow soccer players, Maria Greene and Brandy Brown, who were killed in a car accident in 1994. (The same lovely ladies BLR is dedicated to.) The mission of this scholarship is to encourage a commitment to an active lifestyle, and to support travel for education and self-empowerment. This scholarship will award a deserving  freshman, sophomore or junior female soccer playing student at my old high school (Mount Anthony Union High School) with a monetary gift for:
*Participating in a MAUHS student exchange program;
*Taking a “Gap†Year between graduation and post-secondary education; and/or
*Going on an adventure travel trip intended for personal growth.
Yeah!
The scholarship will be awarded during the Blue Lollipop Road Play it Forward Strong Mojo Summit on August 18, 2012.
Planning and organizing this event and scholarship has been a long time in the works, so today is very exciting. (Thank you a million times over to my help Traci and Kate Emma!) I know there are a lot of young people like I was, who don’t have the financial means to explore outside their town, so I’m incredibly happy and proud to be able to honor my friends, and work to pay back/pay this forward to a deserving student. My community, school, and programs I participated in all those years ago have been a big part of shaping the woman I’ve become.
If you are an MAUHS student reading this and are interested in applying, please email diane(@)bluelollipoproad.com
If you are a visitor here who wants to support this scholarship fund and the Blue Lollipop Road Play it Forward event please click here. From all of us “kids” that dream big, and desire to keep exploring to better ourselves~ Thank you! I’m still dreaming big at 33 for Mom and I to win a finalist spot on the Best of the Road Rally 2012!
Anything is possible right?
Another note and a thank you from Mamma Peacock- my Team Blue Lollipop Road Partner in crime:
It certainly has been a fun journey so far to be a team vying for a finalist spot on Rand McNally/USA Today’s Best of the Road Rally 2012. This past few weeks has sparked engaging and exciting discussions with friends, neighbors, and coworkers. Each person I have talked with about the possible upcoming trip, has exclaimed “I’d love to do that!” It’s as if all curiosity and adventurous spirit comes alive inside again when people let themselves imagine trekking across America. I’ve had many conversations with my students about the USA and using maps. Even with all the technology that’s available, kids get so excited when you bring out a trusty paper map or atlas. All those states, lines and symbols spread in front of them makes them dive right into lessons. They boast with pride about pointing and sharing where they are from. Such enthusiasm in the young and old around me has been a welcomed part of all this rally energy. Faces light up on everyone any time I share stories about my travels or participation in this contest. Who knew there would be all this fun even before the actual road tripping starts?!
Thank you to everyone for the interest, the votes, the caring enough to be a part of the Team Blue Lollipop Road adventure so far. Lets keep our fingers crossed that we are chosen as a finalist team so Diane and I can show you best of the road! Â
