Hi Everyone! What a wild couple of weeks it has been for me! On May 13th my mom, aunt, and I hit the road and traveled from Southern Minnesota to St.Louis, Metropolis, Nashville, Chattanooga, Andersonville National Historic Site, Savannah, Charleston, and finally our ultimate destination was Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. This year the annual BlogPaws Conference was taking place in gorgeous Myrtle Beach.
This is my second BlogPaws Conference and these three days were jam packed. I was able to meet up with old and new friends, visit with sponsors, learn more about blogging, and how we can make a difference by giving back.
Let’s dive right in to it!
I first would like to give a HUGE shout out to Natural Balance for sponsoring my trip to the BlogPaws Conference. To learn more about Natural Balance, their L.I.D dog food, and their “Buy With Confidence” check out my latest post.
Like I already stated, we took road trip and in total covered more than 3,000 miles! While we were at the BlogPaws Conference we stayed on the 5th flood of the luxurious Sheraton Myrtle Beach Convention Center Hotel. It was such a treat to wake up each morning watching the sun rise over the ocean.
One of the best parts about the BlogPaws Conference is meeting up with old and new friends! The BlogPaws Conference is the only time that I get to see them and get to hang out with them. The BlogPaws Conference isn’t just for dogs, you will also find cats (lots of cats), bearded dragons, rats, and even ferrets.
The BlogPaws Conference is a great opportunity to meet up with other members of pet/dog groups we’ve joined online to also meet in person. I was able to meet up with many troop members of the PupScouts.
Another part of BlogPaw’s that I love is meeting all the amazing brands that attend including Natural Balance. This is a great time to meet with brands in person who we’ve worked with over the year. As well as meet new brands. And lets not for get the swag they give out! 🙂
Other fun things that happened at the Conference:
- Attended educational session to learn more about grow my blog.
- Had amazing meals.
- There were two key note speeches that left me wanting to change the world.
- Attended a Sip and Paint where my mom made this picture of River and I. Can you tell who is who!?!
- We were invited to VIP meals hosted by Natural Balance, Bayer, and AAHA.
- Participated in the Red Carpet Event hosted by Natural Balance.
- We saw a special sneak peek at the new movie called, “Megan Leavey.” Trust me, your not going to want to miss it!!!
- Created a special “Honor Flag” in honor of Abbey, who I called my Dog Aunt.
The absolute best part of the BlogPaws Conference is seeing how a small community of animal loving people can make such a difference and help out. Let’s look at how much BlogPaws donated by the numbers:
Here is what the BlogPaws Conference 495 attendees helped to donate and support:
$10,500 to shelters, rescues, and animal welfare organizations across the country.
$7,000 of cash to shelters and rescues chosen by our Nose-to-Nose winners.
$50,000 to veterinary hospitals supporting shelters and rescues.
Every year, BlogPaws donates body armor to a local canine unit to protect the dog in the line of duty. And this year is no different!
We also learned how we can help domestic violence survivors and their pets! During the BlogPaws Conference, over 1,050 letters were sent to senators in support of the PAWS Act. Bayer Animal Health and their PAWS Act initiative is dedicated to keeping families together and aiding and assisting domestic violence survivors and their pets. At BlogPaws, Bayer told us about an amazing initiative to help victims of domestic violence and their pets. Pets can be used as pawns, and victims often stay in abusive relationships because they can’t take their pets to domestic violence shelters. The PAWS Act will help these victims, including their pets.
Click on this link and please sign the petition. It is very simple and only takes a minute or two: http://petandwomensafety.com/
I’m going to share more about this in a future post.
Finally, we had time to visit the ocean! What an experience I will never forget. Once a foster dog in Minnesota, now traveling around the United States, I sure feel blessed.
I will be sharing so much more about our trip! Here are some of the post to come:
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- Visiting the Arch in St.Louis
- Seeing Superman
- Touring Nashville
- Visiting Andersonville National Historic Site
- Touring Savannah
- Magnolia Plantation and Gardens in Charleston, South Carolina
- Photo Session on the Beach
- And many more including stories for previous road trips!!!
Did you attend the conference? If so, I would love to hear what your favorite part was!!!
