Week 99er

Reviewer's Retreat is officially over, all the traveling bloggers have hopefully made it home by now. Our small group logged over 660 miles yesterday alone and have all made it home safely. 

I have to say we had a fantastic time at Reviewer's Retreat, and were so busy we didn't even get to go enjoy the water park! 

We even had a great time in the car, with over 12 hours each direction we had great bonding experiences and have created memories we will have forever. 

After our classes on the second day, they had a Pajama Party for all of the attending bloggers. A chocolate fountain, cotton candy, drinks and more goodies. 

One of our favorite parts - the scavenger hunt! In a team of ten we ran around the Great Wolf Lodge to find different clues and tweet them up. The game was sponsored by Pampers. Our team - Team Silver did it in just over five minutes (clues were on multiple floors too!) - and we won! A group comprised of Coupon Bloggers who also do reviews dominated the game. We are all so happy and thankful for the sponsorship of Pampers! Thank you! 

Why do Bloggers go to conferences and retreats? No, it's not just for the swag (free products) - that's just a perk of going! But we get to network with other bloggers, PR firms, companies launching new products so we can show you the newest things coming out. But most of all - to learn! There are rules to blogging, regulations we have to follow, ethics bloggers need to be aware of and new technology that we can use to help you follow us. Remember, bloggers pay to go to these conferences and retreats - so we can grow for our readers. 

If you are a blogger and do product reviews you should definitely consider going to Reviewer's Retreat.

Here is our Math problem from the trip:

I've grown up around the Big Three Automotive brands my whole life - and currently live in the Motor City. My car is great for road trips, and have a huge trunk - but even that wasn't enough for this trip! 

I definitely know I will be back for Reviewer's Retreat 2013! 

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.    

Have you ever been to the Great Wolf Lodge? I haven't before this trip! I'm amazed at the amount of things we have in this hotel! 

We have a room that sleeps 6 comfortably, but have 5 adults.. and let's just say a lot of stuff! It may have exploded everywhere - but we're enjoying our space and room too! 

We can even go downstairs and find fantastic things like Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies! I'm not even kidding!  I'm a little sad they don't make them gluten free, but that doesn't mean I wont find a recipe to adapt myself! 

We have the water park, the arcade, stores, Dunkin Donuts and more in the hotel. It's a kid's paradise! 

Today is a full school day for us bloggers - classes, snack breaks, lunch, classes, networking - rinse repeat. But tonight is a pajama party Sponsored by Pampers. We get to have a scavenger hunt and have won some great prizes already! 

Over the next few weeks, there will be a lot of information from this conference showing up here on the blog. I'm very excited about what we've learned already and can't wait to learn more! 

Today, is our official first day of Reviewer's Retreat. This is the first blogging conference I've been too. So far, we've learned a lot, networked with other great bloggers and just had a great time! 

Yesterday I took off from Detroit at 730 am, the first stop was to pick up Jaime from Coupon Crazy and Freebie Fanatic. We then ventured into Ohio to find Kim from Front Page Freebies! It was a long and even a white knuckled ride part of the time ;). Next stop - a trip to the top of the Mountain to visit Laura from Another Cent Saved!  

After over 12 hours in the car - we finally arrived at the Great Wolf Lodge in Concord, NC! We're so thankful for the great weather and easy trip down (even though it was a super long drive!)

Check out this amazing bag of swag they gave to all the attendees! I'm just amazed at the variety of items that we get to sample and try! Trust me - you will hear more about all of these products soon I promise :). 

Today was the first day of Reviewers Retreat - basically school for bloggers. We get to meet companies to make relationships with, meet other blogger friends in person and network. 

So far it has been a very informative conference - and we've had some fun while we're at it ;). 

Classes start in just under 8 hours again - so we're all logging off our computers in the room (yes, we're all dorks). But until then... 

Blogger Powers Unite! 

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.