I have never been what most people would call lucky. Well, maybe that is not completely true. Overall, my life has been and is very good. I have a nice home, a wonderful hubby, two beautiful pups, and a job I really love. With that said, I learned a long time ago not to take my chances with games of chance.

When I was in high school, I was part of a small group of kids who were trying to show that the nearby casino did in fact let kids in to play the slots. I got in and it took me 10 minutes to lose $20 in quarters. It was a quick lesson for me. I don't even play the lottery, though Ray is a big believer in "You can't win if you don't play!".

This year while at PrideFest, I did my usual browsing around through the various vendor tents. Many of them hold raffles to give people this and that. Some of them are free and some of them charge small amounts for the raffle as a fundraiser for this or that charity.

Well, I won one of the free raffles and one of the ones in which I bought tickets. The first is a 7 day and 6 night trip. Four of the days will be spent at a nice hotel in Orlando, Florida with tickets to Universal Studios and a related park. it also comes with a free rental car with unlimited mileage, though I would have to pick up the cost of gas. The final three days are set aside for a cruise to the Bahamas. I just have to arrange for the air fare to connect to the destination, which won't be too bad if I time it right. I have 18 months to take the trip

The second prize is a two-night stay at a really cool guest house in P-town. It was actually a raffle to help raise money for an MCC church in Boston. I bought 10 tickets for $5. There were actually 10 guest houses participating because they had all donated the stays. I will just have to use the gift certificate during the off season from October to April, but that works for me. It will be a nice down time. I have always wanted to go to P-town, and this is a great opportunity to do it.