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Saturday, February 25, 2012

Expedia® Rocks the House!


#TriniCarnival2k12 / Image: @OneBrownGirl
I was on a press trip in Trinidad and Tobago for Carnival when the press release came out about the partnership between Expedia® and The Passport Party Project.  It was Carnival Tuesday in fact...and after a full day of Carnival fĂȘte-ing, I went back to my hotel room at the Hyatt Regency Trinidad and could tell by my email inboxes, my Twitter feed, and Kim Mance's TBEX newsletter that the news was out.  Exhausted from the day, I managed to re-tweet and post the news on my Facebook pages and then I went downstairs and ordered a glass of champagne.  Alone and smiling, I toasted to the 100 underserved girls all over the nation that will be given a world view.  No amount of fatigue could wipe off the silly grin I had on my face...even as I laid down my head that evening.  This is really happening, I thought.  Expedia® has got my back and the backs of 100 girls and their families.  #booyah

Austin, Texas / The State Capitol
Skyline image courtesy of Wiki
So now the real work begins as I recover from an exhausting trip and get ready for the Austin Passport Party this coming Saturday.  Even though I couldn't do this without Passport Party volunteers Shelley Seale, Program Manager Melissa Sustaita of the Ann Richards School of Young Women Leaders, or gracious venue host Barbara Joubert of The Miracle Foundation (I mean that too), I still have quite a few logistics to figure out, supplies to gather, and emails to answer so this will likely be a super busy five days for me as Thursday (the day I fly out) will be here before I know it.

I am happy and I am grateful.  Thank you all for your support.  I promise to get back to each and every one of you within the next few weeks and appreciate your patience as I wrap my head around this glorious glorious news:  Expedia® is the official travel sponsor of The Passport Party Project.  How cool is that?!  Carnival ain't got nothing on this.  *Big grin*

Yours in service...





The Twitter hashtag is #PassportPartyProject
and #AustinPassportParty

Friday, February 10, 2012

Passport Day in the USA 2012


Earlier this week, The Bureau of Consular Affairs in Washington, DC reached out to me to congratulate The Passport Party Project on its passport/global awareness initiative and we have been brainstorming about ways The Passport Party Project and bloggers can be involved in Passport Day in the USA on March 10, 2012.  Isn't that the coolest?!?!

If any US travel and/or lifestyle bloggers out there are interested in participating in Passport Day in the USA, please email PassportPartyProject@gmail.com with your email address, blog and city you live in.  The Bureau of Consular Affairs has extended an invitation to some of us to vist our local Passport Office on March 10, 2012 to show us how the process actually works.

For more info about Passport Day in the USA 2012, please check out their site here

Everyone should have a passport.




Post revised: 2/11/12

Monday, February 6, 2012

Passport Fee Update

For the past week or so I've been seeing lots of press about the how the cost of obtaining a new passport has gone up.  At first I thought "Just great! Like I need another expense." [Insert a frustrated Tracey-face here]...but then I checked the U.S. Department of State's Web site and the cost of obtaining a new passport for a minor under the age of 16 has not changed one. little. penny.  Woot! 

And while I'm tickled pink that minors got a break (sorry grown-ups), there is nothing - I repeat - nothing that can stop The Passport Party Project from continuing with its global awareness campaign.  And on that note, let me skidaddle and get to work on getting these parties started keeping these parties going...