AUSTIN, Texas, July 19, 2006

Selfless Acts Rewarded With 'Vacation'

Orlando Trip Awaits Austin Woman, Son

  • Play CBS Video Video Disney World 'Vacation'

    Only On The Web: Dave Price visited Austin, Texas, to give Darla and Ian Evans a special "Great American Vacation" getaway to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla.

  • Video 'Vacation' To Disney World

    Dave Price visited Austin, Texas, to award a family with a "Great American Vacation" present to Disney World in Orlando.

  • Video The Broken Spoke

    If Austin, Texas, is the live music capital of the world, then The Broken Spoke is its Carnegie Hall. Dave Price decided to check it out.

    • William Peeper, president of the Orlando/Orange County Convention and Visitors Bureau, right, was on hand to invite Darla and Ian Evans on a

      William Peeper, president of the Orlando/Orange County Convention and Visitors Bureau, right, was on hand to invite Darla and Ian Evans on a "first-class visit" to Orlando.  (CBS/The Early Show)

    • <b>Dave Price</b> chats with

      Dave Price chats with "Great American Vacation" recipients Darla and Ian Evans of Austin, Texas. Ian was thrilled about his upcoming vacation to Orlando, Fla.  (CBS/The Early Show)

    • While in Texas... <b>Dave Price</b> talks with James White, the owner of Austin's Broken Spoke.

      While in Texas... Dave Price talks with James White, the owner of Austin's Broken Spoke.  (CBS/The Early Show)

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  • Photos "Vacation" Photos

    See the places we've been and the people we've met during The Early Show's "Great American Vacation" tour.

  • Video Archive 'Vacation' Video

    The Early Show's "Great American Vacation" recipients and stories from our road trip

  • The Early Show 2006 Road Trip!

    We traveled the country giving away dream vacations! See where we've been and who got surprise getaways.

(CBS)  The Early Show's "Great American Vacation" Winnebago tour continued with a stop in Austin, Texas, "The Live Music Capital of the World" on Wednesday to give a deserving viewer a fabulous getaway.

Thanks to a letter to The Early Show from Margie Malone, Darla Evans and her son, Ian, are going on vacation!

Malone wrote that Evans, a single mom who has worked for the Austin Parks Department for 24 years, and Ian have never gone away on any kind of special vacation together. That's about to change.

William Peeper, president of the Orlando/Orange County Convention and Visitors Bureau, was on hand at Austin's Auditorium Shores Park to invite Evans, Ian, and two of their friends on a five-day, four-night trip to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla.

"It's always very special when we get to honor special people," Peeper said. "And they'll have a first-class visit to Orlando."

Airfare is courtesy of our "Great American Vacation" travel partner, American Airlines.

The surprise was music to Evans' ears.

"Shocking, I still don't believe it. We thought we were just going to bring Margie down here," she said of the trip to Disney World that will be Ian's first. "This is too good," she said while hugging her son.

Find out what makes Austin's Darla Evans so special


Evans is described as an exceptional person — a lovely woman who gives of herself to her community.

"Her tireless energy continues to beautify Austin," Malone said. "She's the one that is responsible for not only the garden center, the botanical gardens, but on the streets of downtown Austin — all the beautiful flowers (you see). So she does a great service to the taxpayers of Austin."

Dave Price gets dressed up for a night out at Austin's The Broken Spoke.


On a personal note, "Even thought she works in this hot sun all the time, when she gets off work she still finds time to come over and plant plants in my yard," Malone, who is confined to a wheelchair, told The Early Show's Dave Price. "Recently, I redid my whole home and she's crawled around every inch of it, I think."

Malone said it's not uncommon for Evans to take people to the grocery store when needed or help an elderly neighbor move.

"She always gives of herself," Malone said. "She is a very deserving woman."

Do you know someone deserving of a "Great American Vacation?"

Next stops:
July 21: Waco | July 26: Baton Rouge, La | July 28: Little Rock, Ark.


Check out our map: if you live in one if the cities we're visiting, tell us about the one thing we just have to see and about someone there who's deserving of a "Great American Vacation."

E-mail us at vacation@cbsnews.com


Who knows... maybe we'll send them packing!


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