The Flight Phone Call

On June 1st I received a phone call that they were having problems getting the people from Houston out of Hobby so the nice lady from Headquarters asked if it was okay to fly out of Bush. That was fine with me it didn't matter!! I had done some searching on the internet to see if I could find groups talking about the trips dates and I did, I found that alot of people were coming from San Antonio.

I asked the lady if everybody was going to be from Houston and San Antonio and she told me the majority will be from San Antonio and surrounding cities, and the rest would be from Houston and surrounding cities. She told me there was exactly 25 people from Houston going and she was trying to get us all on the same flight!! She told me they started taking groups from around the same place so if a couple hit it off with another couple and wanted to hang out further that couple wouldn't be 1,000 miles away. Which I thought was pretty smart of them!!

As we spoke she was booking my flight, the flight from Houston leaves at 6:30am and has a layover in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The return flight home has a layover in Salt Lake City and will arrive in Houston at 9pm. She said to expect our tickets by the 18th!!!!!!! I am so excited!!!!

Our dates for the Marlboro Summer Ranch 2010

2 weeks and 5 days later another knock on the door, it's a Fed Ex man again. He had the documents that would tell us if we were going or not and the dates! I opened the packet and Yesss, we got the trip our dates were June 30 - July 3, 2010.

There was a paper that said Gear is available for your use at the Marlboro Ranch. Please provide sizes for the items listed below. It asked our boot size (men's and women's), our hat size (hat sizer was enclosed) and also our jacket size.

Inside this packet, we had to fill out and return our Activity Preference and Gear Forms. On the Activity Preference Form we had to rank each activity based on what we wanted to do most 1= most interested; 10= least interested.

Adventure Trek - Head out with your hiking shoes and GPS and navigate your way up to an intense zip line sun , soaring 150 feet over a mountain creek.

Fly-fishing - Angle for trout in our very own mountain-stream-fed lake. Our backyard boasts some of the best fly-fishing in these parts.

Sporting Clays - Learn from one of our expert marksmen to be a good shot. Then put your skills to the test on our private range.

Back country Tour - Explore the back country of the Ranch in a 4x4, take in the scenery and stop for a chuckwagon lunch along the way.

Mountain Biking - Venture off the trail, go rugged and enjoy the ride. It's all the freedom of the west, like never before.

Archery - Team up with one of our professionals to learn what it takes to make a great archer. Then put your skills to the test on our realistic target course.

Horse Basics - Get to know the Ranch horses- then pick up some tips from our expert wranglers.

Horseback Riding - Saddle up for an easy ride through our high country.

Cattle Drive - Qualify riders get to round up a herd, drive it home and learn what it means to be a real cowboy.

Off-roading - Get instructions from an off road expert, then get behind the wheel to take in the land.

* I shall receive a call to confirm my mailing address

* On or about June 18th, 2010, you will receive your airline tickets and check in the amount of $750.00.

* I will receive a form 1099 in January of 2011, reflecting the approximate retail value of the trip and cash indicated in the Terms and Conditions which is $4,560.00.

Invitation To The Marlboro Ranch In Montana

I opened up my email and came across one from Marlboro. An email saying that I was selected to receive a 4-day/3-night adventure. First thing I thought was yeah right. But in the back of my mind I was like okay, I'll respond!! So I did just that, I responded to the Marlboro Summer Ranch 2010 Offer for an opportunity to receive an adventure of a lifetime!!!!! Once I responded it said I should receive a packet in about a week...........A couple days later April 16th to be exact I heard a knock on the door, it was a man from FedEx, he had my packet!!!! I signed for it and went inside to open it.

The packet that had all the details inside!!!!!!

Inside the packet: We are pleased to inform you that, on behalf of Philip Morris USA (PM USA), that you have been selected to attend the the Marlboro Summer Ranch 2010, subject to verification of eligibility. And that's not all. PM USA also invites you to bring along a traveling companion, 21 years of age or older.

We will have the opportunity to participate in activities such as horseback riding, zip-lining, fishing, mountain biking, off-roading, hiking, hay rides, massages, cattle drives, billiards, dancing, ranch backcountry tours and more!! So all we had to do was fill out a bunch of papers get them notarized and have them returned in 7 days. So that we did! They said it will take 4 weeks to verify our eligibility status and confirm our travel arrangements.