I wrote a blog in March about finding out about the trip, so I thought I would give a detailed report of what it was like to win.

Flashback several months ago. While watching Sammy's Rock & Roll Roadtrip, I see a commercial to enter to win a trip to the Birthday Bash that was sponsored by Mercury Insurance. So, I paused the DVR, jumped up and entered. I honestly didn't think much of it, as I'm sure most of you would be thinking "what are the odds". Fast forward to March. I received a voicemail on my 10 year anniversary saying that I won. I honestly thought it was on of my friends playing a joke.. it checked too many boxes: Anniversary, Sammy, trip, etc. The wife and I have not been on a trip alone in over 10 years. Everything up to this point was focused on our son/family type trip.

After several months of emails, an interview for Mercury Insurance's blog I finally got the itinerary. That is when it really sank in that I(we) won. I kept waiting for somebody to tell me "sorry, we made a mistake". Nope, this was the real deal!

So, on to the trip:

Day 1: We flew out of Houston on Tuesday, the 11th. Once we landed in Cabo, we were greeted by what would be our "team" for the remainder of the trip. There was a representative from Mercury Insurance, a couple of folks from AEG Global and later on the crew from AXS-TV. Everybody we met was very down to earth and extremely nice. The AXS-TV guys recorded us here and there, but it wasn't non-stop by any means. We all headed to dinner that evening before going to the Cabo Wabo. It was pretty surreal on every level. We go to bypass the line and get our two wrist bands. We went to the upstairs balcony overlooking the patio area for a little while before being ushered into what I would call a private lounge area.

Sammy came out shortly after and met us and hammed it up for the camera with us. He was really nice and even though you knew he was spread pretty thin meeting other folks, he made you feel welcome. We did get to try the new Santo Mezquila, which was really good and I can't wait to be able to buy it! Shortly after that we were taken to one of the VIP booths for the show. What a show it was. My wife and I had such an awesome time! For sure, the best show I've been to.

Day 2: We had an early start that morning and they filmed us horseback riding on the beach. After that we had a private tour of the Cabo Wabo with Jorge. Jorge was super nice and showed us around and told us some neat facts about the cantina. That evening we had dinner with the AXS crew at the Cabo Wabo and later hung out the resort pool.

Day 3: No early start today, so we enjoyed the beach, pools and resort until it was time to meet up again for dinner and the final show. One side note about food... We didn't have a bad meal while we were there. Everything was great and the portions were huge! So, we make it back to the Cabo Wabo with plenty of time before the show. Once again, we had a VIP booth, which made for a great vantage point to view the show. Again, the team from Mercury Insurance and AEG were so much fun to hang out with and they were fans too... we were all singing along and having a great time! A few minutes before the show, the cameraman for AXS-TV brought my wife and I up front, as he wanted footage of us durring the show. I know we ruffled some feathers on that one, but I understand. Heck, if I'd been waiting forever to get that close, I'd be upset that somebody just jumped in front of me.

Jim, the cameraman explained that he just wanted some footage for a couple of songs and we'd head back and that seemed to smooth things over. The funny thing is, after a few minutes of waiting for the show to start, security told us we had to leave. We were fine with it. Like I said, I completely understand and I hope if we upset anybody, they understand too. I will say that it seemed that this show was quicker than the first, but I'm sure that is due to us not wanting this adventure to end. We did run into a few Redheads (from Canada I believe) while goofing around in some of the shops next to the cantina and they were super cool and funny. I wish we had the chance to meet more of you.

Day 4: We flew back home the with awesome memories, new friends and a new vacation spot to go to. Yep, we are hooked on Cabo and are already making plans to be there for next years Birthday Bash (now to get lucky with the ticket lottery!).

I want to give a huge shout-out to Sammy for even making this possible, Erik from Mercury Insurance, Erin and Jon from AEG, Stormer, Jim, Kevin and Tate from AXS-TV and the others in our group. You guys are the best!

So, the moral of the story... If you happen to watch next season's shows of Sammy's Rock & Roll Roadtrip and you see a commercial for the Mercury Insurance Birthday Bash Sweepskates... ENTER IT because fans really can win!

Thanks for reading and if you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer them.

See you in Cabo!
Jake