Sunday @ The Travel and Adventure Show in DC

Oh, the wonderful world of travel conventions… I had my first chance to experience such a thing this past Sunday at the Travel & Adventure Show in D.C. and it was an eye-opening experience in the most educational way.

As you may recall, I made a to-do list for 2015 in January and one item on that list was to book 3-4 trips in the U.S. this year. So far… 2 trips are completely booked, 1 trip has a deposit down (hello Caribbean cruise!) and as for the 4th trip? Wellll, it looks like Charles and I will be traveling to Mexico for a destination wedding this year! I know, I know. This totally goes against our domestic travel agreement. But considering the fact that Charles and I have traveled to St. John, USVI and France to witness our friends tie the knot, I think it’s safe to say that we might have a weakness for destination weddings. Love & Travel? I can’t think of a more complimentary partnership.

Anyways, I digress. Travel & Adventure Show. D.C. This past weekend.. Focus Setarra.

I feel like there was a point I was trying to make with the paragraph I wrote above but I can’t remember now. Hmmmm. (takes a break, makes dinner and then returns to the laptop.) The point I wanted to make was that since I’ve made travel a priority this year, I was really excited to see what this Travel & Adventure Show was all about. Cherry on top? Receiving complimentary tickets to attend this show from CapFABB in partnership with Jessica from The Dining Traveler. Thanks again Jessica & CapFABB!

Phew! Now that I’ve finally regained my memory, grab your tea or coffee and get comfortable because today’s post is a long one. Let’s get on with the show!

Charles and I arrived at the Convention Center around 1:00pm. We followed the signs and made our way down the escalator through the corridors until we found the registration area to pick up our tickets.

Tickets in hand, we took in the view from the balcony overlooking the show area and were surprised by 1) how big the venue was and 2) how many people were present! After picking up our jaws, we made our way down the escalator into the bubbling pit of excitement and energy.

Our first stop was at the Global Beats stage where we watched a few cultural dance performances before heading over to sit in on a bit of the cooking show where the chef was teaching everyone how to make plantains like they do in the Dominican Republic. My step-mom is Dominican and I can confirm that the chef’s cooking instructions were spot on ;)

We walked down aisles upon aisles filled with exhibition booths belonging to travel, tourism and adventure organizations that represented countries from all over the world.

Interested in booking an Italian culinary vacation package? There was a booth for that. Want more information about things to do and see in Thailand? Booth for that. Looking for a special travel vest that can store many items incognito? Booth for that. Want to enter to win a trip for 2 to Belize? Booth for that too annnnd they gave out complimentary bottles of rum to anyone who entered. Trust me, I know…

I’m pretty sure I signed up for all the giveaways that were offered and I may have also made Charles sign up for them too so we could increase our chances of winning. No shame in my game. A free trip is a free trip is a free trip is a free trip.

^^ My most favorite giveaway was the entry to win a 2 night weekend stay at the Cove Haven Resort in the Poconos Mountains. Cove Haven is a couples only all-inclusive resort specially catered to providing a romantic escape for interested lovers. The reason why I really wanted to win = Their 7 foot tall champagne glass whirlpool. I reallllly want to take a bath in that haha. It’s legitimately on my “life” to-do list.

We took a picture on their booth’s blow up bed and were told to post the picture on Instagram, hashtagging #LandOf Love. Charles and I considered doing a freak nasty pose on the bed but alas, my gramma reads this blog and so we kept it PG (you’re welcome Grams).

Curious about the more interactive areas of the Travel & Adventure Show, we found ourselves at the mountain climbing tower. I had never climbed anything like this before and was interested to give it a try despite the fact there were only little kids climbing the tower at the time.

^^ Representing for the adults haha

^^ My “Oh, that tower looks alot taller from here” face

^^ When it was my turn to climb, the attendant hooked me up to safety cord and I began the ascent. Unfortunately, I didn’t get too far. That photo above is literally about as far as I got. I don’t know how those kids were climbing up the tower so fast because I couldn’t get past the first rock ledge I climbed onto! Note to self: Work on your upper body strength Setarra because you have none whatsoever.

After that mountainous failure, Charles and I headed over to where the segways were located. Along the way, we taste tested Cabot Cheese, checked out a couple of super cool RV’s and listened to the one and only Rick Steves share his recommendations and tips for traveling in Europe!

^^ Can you spot Rick way in the background?

Located right next to the Travel Channel stage where Rick was presenting, we eventually made it to the DC City Segway Tours exhibition where I signed up for an introductory lesson on how to ride a segway. But first, a helmet. Because safety first.

The Segway attendant made me go through a few exercises with him, moving forward, backward and spinning around before letting me loose to go ride solo. I must confess that this experience was by far my most favorite part of the The Travel & Adventure Show! Charles and I definitely plan to sign up for a DC segway tour this summer! #residenttourist

When my 5 minutes of riding the segway were up, the The Travel & Adventure show was coming to a close. So we stopped by the Travel Channel Photo Booth to snap one last momento of the day before heading out.

We chose the background of a city we’d like to travel to the next time we’re ever in Europe. A few seconds later, we stepped in front of the green screen and said, “Money!” while the photographer took our photo.

^^ Oh yea, we look good in London. One day this will be a reality. One day hopefully sooner than later :)

Sales 101: Create a sense of urgency so the prospective buyer will feel like if they don’t buy now, they will miss out on the opportunity (ultimately influencing them to buy right then and there). The Travel & Adventure Show nailed it on that point. I think it’s a great platform that brings different travel related vendors together in one place.. Almost like a 1-stop for anyone suffering a major case of wanderlust and looking to ease the pain. There was so much going on, so many travel options to choose from, and so little time to truly process the multi-sensory experience.

The only fault I found with the Travel & Adventure Show would be the fact that there was a Sea World exhibit booth at the event which I purposely did not stop at because I am not their biggest fan. Blackfish <– If you haven’t seen this documentary, watch it now.

Have you ever attended a travel convention before?

Linking Up with Travel Tuesday & Random Wednesday.

** Please note: I received complimentary tickets to attend this show but all thoughts and opinions are and will always be my own.