‘It’s not that I’m lucky ... I’m persistent’

Persistence pays off for a Prescott woman who keeps a notebook detailing the events on a morning show.

Susan Peavler won her eighth all-expenses-paid trip from “Live with Kelly and Ryan” Monday.

Peavler won a seven-day, six-night trip to Galley Bay Resort and Spa in Antigua by playing “Stump the Host” to win a mug by convincing television hosts Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest that she has 100 apple trees in her backyard and then correctly answering a question from Friday’s episode of “Live” — “What does David Bautista collect?” — with “lunchboxes” to win the trip.

Peavler has not decided whom she will be taking on this year’s trip. Her 7-year-old grandson, Jayme, came to visit Tuesday with the announcement, “I’m going to go on the trip with you. Right?”

Unfortunately for him, the resort is an adults-only spa.

Peavler said last year’s trip was an especially welcome one. Her husband, Ron, had always wanted to go to Maui. Peavler won a trip to Maui in January, and they were able to go in April — just before Ron’s health declined. Ron passed away in October.

Peavler said she has watched “Kelly and Ryan” since it was “Live with Regis and Kathy Lee” and keeps a notebook of what goes on during the show in case she gets a call to answer a question. She said her family thinks it’s crazy to keep such meticulous notes, but she gets results.

She said her motto is, “It’s not that I’m lucky ... I’m persistent. If you don’t enter, you can’t win.”

The trips

Peavler said these trips have been a great opportunity for her family. She has gone to places that she never would have been able to go. They are a working family that could not have saved up the $9,000 to $10,000 for such a trip.

This will be Peavler’s second trip to Antigua. She said it is very relaxing to be on the Caribbean Sea and it is very beautiful.

The most important thing Peavler said she does before each trip is to research local customs and rules.

“Some places didn’t want you to wear logos on your shirts from the U.S.,” she said. “They tell you not to drive around in places you don’t know. Don’t stop and ask questions unless it’s an open air place where there are lots of people.”

Peavler said she feels spoiled and gets a lot of attention when she goes on the trips. They haven’t cost her anything at all. Even gratuities are included.

“The food was fantastic,” she said. “We had more than three meals a day.”

“The word gets around and then people will talk to you,” Peavler said. “We were waiting for a table at this Italian restaurant and I guess the maitre’d told somebody I was there and then all these people were gathered around and they were all asking questions.”

The phone call

Once a person has been chosen for the contest, a representative will call to prepare them. Peavler said she had her questions ready for “Stump the Host” but the representative gave her different ones to use.

Peavler said she is very nervous while she waits to go on the air, but once the mic is open it disappears.

“They put you on hold, you can hear the show, but they can’t hear you, and you can’t say anything until they start the contest and they open the mic up,” Peavler said. “Then as soon as they do that, I’m not scared anymore.”

On previous calls, Peavler has said, “Hello,” to Ryan Seacrest, Kelly Ripa and Michael Gelman (producer) so this time she wanted to do something different. She greeted the audience instead, getting a big cheer and applause from everyone.