Jeep Rocks and Road Tour

Again with the Jeep obsession. I told you it was mildly unhealthy.

Dave had gotten an email from a friend stating that the Westfield Air Show (which was nearby to where we were camping and going on this past weekend) was also going to host a Jeep sponsored event called the Jeep Rocks and Road Tour. Dave's been to a few events like this, usually ski resort events, and it's designed for the Jeep owner to get a chance to test drive the new vehicles and other branding-type activities. He pre-registered (such a good idea!) and after we packed up camp and had breakfast on Sunday, we headed down to the air show.

The drive was pretty cool--all back roads and no highways through a pretty area of Western Mass. It rained the whole drive, heavy at times, but it was still a nice, scenic ride. We eventually made it to the air show and after a little confusion, ended up parking in the first main lot.

Despite the rain, there were a lot of people headed to the air show and traffic was pretty thick. We were totally unprepared for rain. In the weather reports we caught before we left home, none of them had mentioned rain, so it must have been a late development that we completely missed. Dave had one umbrella in the car, but no sweatshirt or anything (the one he'd had for camping was pretty filthy) and I had a hooded sweatshirt. It was a light rain, so we made do. A little wet, we started trudging through the parking lot (oh, yeah, those were the air fields--yea, mud!) and into the main gate.
We heard a few planes taking off to do their stunts, but with the clouds so low and the fog thick, you really couldn't see anything. In order to get the altitude to do any good tricks, the view of the planes was already obstructed by the clouds. Plus, if you tried to look up and see them, you just got pelted in the face by rain. But we heard a lot of big engines!

The show is big. There are a ton of activities and it's very family oriented. There were several big inflatables for the kids to bounce in, lots of planes to tour and other military stuff. Vendors with food and souvenirs and a few other placed to have fun in between watching the planes. Lego had set up an area where all the kids could go in and make a Lego airplane. That was pretty cute, but I like the decorations around their tent the best.
We eventually made it over to the Jeep area, which was as far away from where we parked as you could get. But we marched on. While the air show itself was cool, we wouldn't have been there had it not been for the Jeep stuff, and certainly not in the rain. (Are you with me on this obsession thing yet?) There were quite a few Jeep related activities going on too. We enter the tent, and since we were preregistered, we could bypass the line (which wasn't that deep) and headed right up to the front desk were a soldier who was helping out gave us our ID tags with our VIP stickers (yup, VIP just because Dave thought to click the link and tell them we were coming) and got us all set up to use the area. She also helped us find the main event (at least for Dave). They set up an "Owner's Playground" were anyone in a Jeep could drive on the dirt course, designed to simulate a 4x4 trail.

We had to go back to the car, out of the parking lot, go up the road and then come back into the air show from another entrance, but it was totally worth it. We got up to the entrance and the guy working in the tent at the Owner's Playground was awesome. He saw we were already registered and said, "Go ahead and do it as many times as you want!" Then he looked at Dave's Jeep and said, "I'd recommend doing it in low, but I'll leave that to you." I told him that we were already disengaged, and he laughed. Then he gave us each a Jeep key chain. I love free swag.
It was primarily a dirt course with holes and hills and good deal of mud, thanks to the rain, but they also put in this uneven bar thing and a teeter-totter, which was pretty cool. But I must confess. This is the last picture I was able to get because the battery died! I was so dedicated to having pictures for the blog (because blogs are better with pictures), that I wore down the battery! So I don't have any more of the course, but it was so much fun that after we did it the first time, I asked Dave if I could drive. So I did it too. It was a little unnerving and I had to back up and try again on this obstacle, but I had fun.

After we romped in the Owner's Playground, the guy in the tent told us how to get back to the nearby parking lot so we could return to the Jeep activities. We headed back and then started to look around at the Rocks and Road Tour. They had a whole area of Jeep history with a 1950s Willys, the original Army Jeep, some of the new models and museum style displays. They also had off-road and on-road courses where you could test drive a new model-year Liberty, Wrangler, or Grand Cherokee. We headed there and noticed the line was LONG. They had a separate line for each vehicle, but there must have been at least 30 people in each. Then we noticed the VIP line. We bypassed everyone else again (ye for preregistering!) and when we got to the front we noticed only one other couple in front of us. It was awesome. Dave took a few pictures for me with his phone. That hill in the background was part of the course.

Dave wanted to try out the Wrangler Unlimited, 4-door please. It was so cool He drove and I sat in the back. A Jeep expert rode shot gun and was pretty cool. Right away she and Dave started talking Jeep and she said to him, "Don't even bother using the brakes on this course. You know how to drive it, so just let it go." That big hill at the end was very cool--you couldn't see the road anymore on the way up, and when we pitched down, it was pretty steep. And the track was so muddy and awful--it was great! And Dave was excited about the Wrangler, which will probably be his vehicle of choice when his Cherokee stops running.

On our way out of the off-road course (we didn't do the on-road--too tame), we were asked to record a video (commercial) about our experience. Why not? So we did. I think they sent Dave the link, so I'll see if I can post it. If not, maybe you'll see us on TV sometime. They also took our picture--this is the style Jeep we drove, except we had that cool burnt orange color. But the green's not bad. We wandered around some more, and noticed they had a few other areas. There was a rock climbing wall (too wet to be safe) and an area for the kids. They corralled a level dirt track and put a bunch of Jeep Power Wheels in it and let the kids go at it. It was so cute! They also had a Soft-Top Challenge where you had to race against the clock to take the soft top off a Wrangler and fold it up in less than a minute. Since we've never had a Wrangler and wouldn't know where to begin, we passed on that opportunity. Then we saw the Teeter-Totter Challenge. This looked interesting. The challenge was to balance the Liberty on the teeter-totter for five seconds, and you only had a minute to do it. So hard. Dave tried first. I took some video of him trying it out.

Wow--posting that actually worked!

Then of course I had to try. Hey, I beat him in mini-golf, can you imagine if I had been able to do this? Alas, I could not, but he took my picture anyway. We looked at some of the displays, took a survey for Jeep and then got more free swag (I love free stuff). The woman taking my survey asked a standard question of why we came to the area today--primarily for the air show, primarily for Jeep, partially for the air show... I didn't let her finish and said, "Primarily for Jeep Rocks and Road." She looked at me and said, "Really?" I said, "Yup, have you seen his shirt?", pointing to Dave's Jeep club T-shirt.

We left the air show after that, not interested in being in the rain anymore and really hungry. We had such a good weekend and I'm totally surprised by it. I never expected camping to be as easy as it was and even engaging in my husband's Jeep obsession was pretty entertaining. Maybe he'll convert me...Nah, we're going away next weekend and definitely staying in a hotel.

Driving in Vermont - Day Time Edition

Apparently when it's dark out, all you see are deer and strange fox/beaver/possum type animals. In the day time, you get to see cows and sheep. But when you're in a car that seats 5 with 6 grown women, you start to make up what it is that you see. Apparently, you can be 30 years old, but still not be grown up enough to behave yourself in a moving vehicle, let alone concede that you need to take two cars because there aren't enough seat belts. (Yes it was my idea to take one car, but no one fought me on it.)

Saturday afternoon we decided to hit up some outlet shopping in Manchester, VT. It was a rainy afternoon and what's more fun that shopping with your girlfriends (or watching your girlfriends spend all their money on clothes and shoes. Or in my case, watching my friends watch me spend my money on clothes and shoes). We piled into my car, M in the front seat next to me and the other four ladies in the back seat. This is what I could see: Although this is also a classic image of L & B: We're so grown-up. Of course, I'm sure you can understand why I looked like this most of the time: It was about a half hour drive, and of course all we're seeing are cows and sheep. Somehow, and I actually was paying attention to the road, so I'm not totally sure how, there was conversation about being nice to sheep and cows, animals are people too, and someone combined words and suddenly, we'd discovered a new breed of hybrid mammal. Apparently this is a picture of sheeple: Yes, I slowed down to almost a complete stop so this picture could be captured. I'm so nice (and glad we were on a country road with no one around us). The little white dots are sheep/sheeple. But it did bring up the question what with the rain and all. If you leave your sheep out in the rain, will they shrink? I mean, being wool and all. Makes ya think.

We arrived in Manchester and although driving to a shopping trip typically feels like a journey in toward all good things, this particular drive felt like a journey to my personal Mecca. And as turned the corner, I spotted the motherload: Ann Taylor Factory Outlet. (I squealed.) Then we parked in a lot adjacent to a shoe store. Yummy!

Here are the details you need to know about my friends. I spent this shopping trip with 2 doctors, 2 post-docs and a vet. That means I'm the only one who doesn't wear scrubs or jeans nearly everyday and I'm the only one that does wear heels nearly everyday. (I bought two pairs of super cute shoes, 2 dresses, a skirt and a top. I was actually very well behaved.)

We continued shopping, had lunch and the realized that we still had a dozen very yummy cupcakes waiting for us at the house to celebrate our birthday (duh, that was the point right? Well, one of the points.) Driving back there actually was an actual, non-animal landmark that I veered off the road to stop at when someone in the back seat noticed it. A granite quarry, apparently the first of its kind (either in the U.S./colonies or Vermont, I didn't pay attention). But it was pretty, so we stopped. We went home, played some games, ate some dinner and devoured some cupcakes. And the games are where we really showed our maturity (or just let our hair down because some of us really needed a weekend away). Look, I'm just saying that when you play a game like Cranium that has clay as a game piece, and you get a bunch of women celebrating a "bachelorette" party, you're gonna have some shenanigans.

I ain't sayin', I'm just sayin'.

OMG, Someone Fixed Their Mistake!

Holy crap. I had a customer service FAIL that totally turned out good. When does that ever happen?

On Saturday I had a fabulous day of shopping. D went out to play in the dirt (er, mud) with his Jeep and I decided to finally use a pile of gift cards and coupons I'd had accumulated up. Seriously, I had gift cards to Lord & Taylor from maybe 2 years ago. It was pouring rain and I was totally looking forward to it.

I showered, got dressed, and left the house. I drove about 45 minutes to go to the really good mall (Natick Collections--it's so good, they don't even call it a mall). I got there early, which was good because with the rain, everyone wanted to park in the garage, not the lot. I parked, entered the mall in all my fabulousness (I looked great) and began my shopping spree. I won't bore you with the details, but the numbers are as follows:

4 dresses
4 skirts
7 tops
1 pair of pants
2 pairs of earrings
a bag of loot from Bath & Body Works
and miscellaneous funness from a Target stop on the way home

Total value of merchandise (also known as regular prices): $984.57
Total after in store sales: $592.53
Total paid with coupons and gift cards: $294.93
Total cash of my own I spent: $302.56

And of that cash, I actually still had the $250 I won last month on the SuperBowl Squares, so I really only spent $52.56 (which would have less, but I broke down at Target and bought a bag of jelly beans--but I digress). So yes, I am a shopping superstar, you're jealous, bow to me, yadda, yadda. But I digress--let's get to the good stuff.

When I was at the mall, I visited Ann Taylor. I heart Ann Taylor. Great work clothes, they always fit well, good quality, classic style. I had a coupon for $25 off my entire order. I browsed around the store, tried on a few items that ended up not working and finally decided on 2 shirts. They were having a sale if you bought 2 regularly priced items, you would get 25% off your order. I did not know if that would work in conjunction with my coupon, but I figured the nice lady at the counter would tell me if it didn't.

I proceeded to the counter, handed my items to the cashier and gave her my coupon. She rang me up, and in the process, the manager comes behind the counter, sees my coupon, and takes a look. The cashier gives me my total and I say, "Did you get my coupon?" She looks at it on the desk and says, "yes." Satisfied and not paying attention, I hand her my cash and the manager and I proceed to have a conversation about how she has never seen the coupon before. I said yes, I received an email asking me to take a survey, and when I was done, I was rewarded with this coupon. That was the reason for the visit, since the coupon expired the next day. We exchanged other pleasantries and I left the store, wishing them a great day.

Seriously, I had an awesome day, what with the shopping, and the me-time, and looking fantastic. I got home, and I just had to know what I got vs. what I spent, so I pulled out my receipts. And that's when I notice it. My coupon at Ann Taylor was not applied to my order. What? That was like $25 in cash. I was so upset. That coupon was kinda what spurred the entire shopping trip. I was not going to let that ruin my awesome day.

So I called the store 7 hours after I left it. I spoke to a wonderful assistant manager, Penny, who was so upset for me. She was ready to credit my card immediately. And even though she couldn't find the coupon in the register paperwork, she said she would look through the trash. The trash!! He kindness and willingness to correct the situation floored me. Unfortunately, since I paid cash, she couldn't figure out how to fix it. She promised to talk to the manager in the morning, and they would figure out how to send me a check for the difference or give me a store credit for the value of the coupon. I couldn't have been happier with Penny.

The next morning, Penny called me to say she had spoken the Jessica, the store manager, who remembered the situation and since she wasn't working that day, would call me the next day to correct the issue. Still pleased, I thanked Penny for her help and awaited my call from Jessica.

On Monday, Jessica called me and said she there was some miscommunication at the register, because my coupon wouldn't be applicable in conjunction with the sale. But since my coupon was of greater value, she could put the difference (a whopping $3.50) on a store credit for me.

[Insert part where Ms. C. starts to get firm with who is in control of this situation here]

I explained to Jessica that there wasn't a miscommunication, there was no communication since the cashier failed to explain that the two promotions would not work together. Had she mentioned it, I would have gone back and found a 3rd item on which to use the coupon. Jessica responded with a "Yeah, I guess...um, ok. We'll I don't have the coupon code though." After a lengthy conversation where I reiterated several times how I acquired the coupon, no I do not have the code, no I do not have the link to the survey I took 3 weeks ago and no, I do not have the email that invited me to take the survey, Jessica finally said she just needed to talk to someone to get the appropriate code and would call me back that day or the next. I stayed calm and told her I looked forward to hearing from her.

She did not call back that day.

She did not call back the next day.

I had just relayed this story to some coworkers who encouraged me to call and insert the ugly side of Ms. C. into the situation when I returned to my desk to a message from Jessica. She would be happy to send me an item with the discount applied. So I called her back and in 3-5 business days I should be receiving a very cute skirt at $25 off.

Frustrating as it was at times, I am actually incredibly impressed with how the situation was rectified and they worked to make me a happy customer. Could it have been handled a little more efficiently by Jessica? Probably, but overall, I'm very happy. My work is in a customer service environment with approximately 35 women who are in their target demographic, so a lot of them women I work with wear AT clothes. So, now I'm telling all my coworkers about my experience, and I'll have a fun story to share next time we have a customer service training.

So if you haven't shopped Ann Taylor lately, check out the sales. And if you need help finding good sales, I may be available. For a fee.