From Unemployed to Entrepreneur — Mealtickets Celebrates 10 Year Anniversary
October 25, 2011
10 Miles Down the Road Less Traveled
11-1-11 is the anniversary of the day I let go of the the 8-5, steady paycheck life and slapped on a new name tag: Entrepreneur.
I had just lost my graphic design job, after 9/11 collapsed the travel industry, taking with it our ad agency’s biggest client. So there I stood in my Robert Frost moment, facing two roads diverged. I took the road less traveled by. It lead to the start of a little card company called Mealtickets & Unusual Ideas.
Now here we are, 10 years later. Still alive, still creating, and still working to promote the Traverse Area to the hundreds of thousands of visitors who travel to northern Michigan each year.
In honor of this milestone I decided to throw a party to thank my clients and friends in the hospitality industry, without whom my little business wouldn’t have grown.
On November 1, 2011 we’ll mark that moment in time when faced with two roads I took the one less traveled by…and that has made all the difference.
Mealtickets 10 Year Anniversary Celebration
Date: 11-1-11 from 5:30pm - 7:30pm
Food & Wine Pairings | Giveaways | Door-prizes | Drink Specials
We’re hosting a Happy Hour reception for our clients and guests to celebrate, with fabulous door prizes, Traverse Traveler swag and a throw-back to old fashioned social networking: face to face!
Want to join us?
Rate our app on iTunes and you’ll be entered to win a special Traverse Traveler prize pack including a guest invitation to our party!
Here’s how to enter:
1. Rate the app on iTunes
2. Email Brandy at info@mealtickets.com with a copy of your review!
We will draw names from the emails we receive and announce the winners on Friday, October 29th!
This event is by invitation only, so rate the app Today!
Sleeping Bear Dunes Voted America’s Most Beautiful Place
August 17, 2011
Today Good Morning America announced the winner of the Most Beautiful Place in America. Tens of thousands cast their vote to determine the winner: Sleeping Bear Dunes!
As a native Michigander I can certainly see why Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore would be placed in the top 10. But it’s truly a testament to the passion of area residents and visitors who voted for this midwest treasure over some other fantastic locales.
The Sleeping Bear Dunes hold many treasures, and memories that go back as far as I can remember. Trips to the dune climb when I was a child, when they used to offer dune buggy rides. Endless runs up and down those hills left us scraping sand from our scalp days later. But one of my favorite places in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is South Manitou Island.
We’ve made a tradition of taking the kids out to South Manitou by boat and spending the day exploring the beach, climbing the lighthouse and crusing past the wreck of the Morazan. Looking out over the Manitou passage, and across to Glen Arbor and the face of the Sleeping Bear is a stunningly beautiful vista. And the reason so many of us are passionate about Michigan. The colors of the water may look like the Carribean, but the spirit is Pure Michigan.
I’m thrilled that our region is once again getting the national attention it deserves. We are so lucky to live in this amazing place. What more can I say:
If you’d like to see a few more photographic reasons, check out our Sleeping Bear Dunes Photo Gallery.
Traverse Traveler Giveaway during TCFF
July 25, 2011
Spot Traverse Traveler in the Lip Dub and You Could Win
In honor of the premiere of the Traverse City Lip Dub during the Traverse City Film Festival we are announcing a giveaway for a lucky Traverse Traveler fan.
Did you know, Traverse Traveler had the opportunity to take part in the Traverse City Lip Dub? Brandy Wheeler, owner of Mealtickets & Unusual Ideas —the Traverse Traveler — was one of the singers in the community production created by FishSoup Films and the Traverse City Film Festival?
In honor of the premiere of the Lip Dub on Tuesday July 26th at the open space, Traverse Traveler is holding a contest to giveaway one of the T-shirts specially created for the Traverse Traveler crew.
To enter to win "Like" our Traverse Traveler Facebook page, then send us a message with the lines Brandy sings on the Traverse City Lip Dub.
Not on Facebook? Email us here with the lines Brandy sings and you’ll be entered to win. Contest ends at the end of the TCFF on July 31st.
Traverse City, a Pure Michigan Destination
June 14, 2011
Pure Michigan debuts the new Traverse City "True North" ad today.
I’m excited to see my hometown featured on the Pure Michigan campaign, where millions of viewers can admire our beautiful community from a comfy cushion in their living room as Tim Allen’s voice lulls them into a state of utopia. With any luck they’ll be convinced that Traverse City is where they want to spend their next vacation.
And since planning the vacation is part of the fun, I hope the next step they take is to reach for their iPhone and download our handy mobile guide, the Traverse Traveler app. It’s a great resource for designing that trip to Traverse —whether you’re at home, abroad, at an airport or lying in bed watching TV.
Click here to download the app on your iPhone!
Plan Your Trip to Traverse with New iPhone App from Mealtickets
December 17, 2010
Mealtickets & Unusual Ideas is proud to present a brand new iPhone app called Traverse Traveler.
The Traverse Traveler iPhone app is a handy mobile guide for the Traverse area visitor designed to promote local restaurants, wineries, attractions, shopping, events, services and more. And best of all…it’s a FREE download for iPhone and iTouch users.
Whether you’re planning a trip to northwest Michigan, or are lucky enough to live here, this app makes it much easier to find local businesses.
Today’s smart phone user is accustomed to finding everything they need right there in the app store. And now they can find information about Traverse City there too.
Want to plan a wine tour that includes a nearby restaurant stop for lunch? Our app can do that.
Need to find the quickest route from your hotel to the ski lodge to meet friends? Our app can do that.
You just arrived in town and wondered if there are any events to check out? Our app can show you that too.
Can’t wait? Download the Traverse Traveler iPhone app here
What makes Traverse Traveler unique?
There are thousands of apps out there, many of which promote restaurants, movie theaters or general information about an area. So what makes Traverse Traveler unique?
- Listings are ordered by proximity to the iPhone user. So if you’re hanging out Benzie county, the listings nearest to you come up first. This is helpful for finding a hotel or the closest bar.
- Maps & directions make it easy to navigate from one location to the next. Great for planning a wine tour or discovering that off-the-beaten-path restaurant.
- Social sharing from the app means you can post to Facebook or Twitter, or email info to your friends without leaving the app.
- Events by date let you know what’s going on while you’re in town.
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Near Me feature pinpoints the 25 listings closest to you, from within all categories. See exactly how close your hotel is ski lodge to plan your drive time.
Free for All
Not only is Traverse Traveler a FREE download, it’s also free for local businesses to get a listing.
The Traverse Traveler app offers three types of listings to accommodate any business that’s interested in joining:
- Basic Listings
- Enhanced Listings
- Event Listings
Submit information to us and you can receive a FREE basic listing in the Traverse Traveler app. Basic listings are free, and we’re glad to give them. The enhanced listings will give you a lot more interactive options and visual presence in the app—if you’re into that kind of thing. You can link to your website and email, add photos to your listing, promote events and specials, and utilize social media. So if you have an active online presence, you might want to consider this valuable addition. And we’re selling them for only $99/year, so why not?
Visit the all new Traverse Traveler website to learn more about the app. List Your Business today!
Why develop an iPhone app for Mealtickets?
The Mealtickets & Unusual Ideas mission has always been to provide Traverse area visitors with useful information and directions to local restaurants and attractions, in a colorful, convenient and portable way. The number one reason our little cards are so popular among visitors is their size. Travelers love them because they fit in their pocket or purse. Right next to their phone.
An iPhone app is a perfect expansion of the services we provide as it fits our mission to a tee. We work hard to keep up with technology, and the needs of our customers. The app is a great way to do just that. We hope you’ll agree.
Mealtickets & Unusual Ideas also believes in keeping it local. Our card displays feature only distinctive, locally-owned restaurants and attractions because that’s what makes our area unique. And our Mealtickets advertisers benefit most of all. Card advertisers receive a fully-enhanced listing in the Traverse Traveler iPhone app as part of the service, at no additional cost. Now is the best time to become a Mealtickets advertiser and take advantage of this great new feature.
To advertise with Mealtickets & Unusual Ideas contact us at info@mealtickets.com.
To list your business on the Traverse Traveler app, click here for our easy online forms.
To download the Traverse Traveler iPhone app, click here.
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