An Interesting Sculpture- Tallinn, Estonia

While preparing for a trip to the Baltics, I came across an image of a really creative sculpture in Tallinn, Estonia. It was of a stone body (in 3 pieces) relaxing/ laying down in the park. 

I saw the image in the Lonely Planet guide I was using to help plan the trip. 

It was something that I wanted to see in person but was not a top priority for the visit.

We really loved walking around Tallinn. There are lots of great things to see while exploring the medieval old town. On the last day of our visit I still had not had a chance to find the sculpture that had caught my eye.

While taking the bus back from a day trip we were getting close to the bus station. I was looking out the windows as we were passing by Toompark. All of a sudden I caught a glimpse of the sculpture!

After getting off the bus, Kim and I walked a short while back around the park to visit the sculpture.

The sculpture is called "Puhkaja" which means holidaymaker in Estonian. I was thrilled to have had a chance to see the sculpture and decided to take a moment to relax and attempt to copy the pose of this holidaymaker before heading back to our hostel.

Last Minute Hotel Change of Plans- Country Inn Rapid City, SD

We had a sudden change of plans on our first night's hotel stay on our current trip to
South Dakota. Kim and I had selected the Country Inn & Suites Rapid City to fulfill her night for the Stay 1, Get 1 promo.

Our flight arrived in Rapid City, SD around 11:00AM so we stopped for a bite to eat before trying to check in to the hotel a little early.

When we arrived at the hotel we were first told that our room was not ready and to come back at 3:00. Bummer- we were all exhausted and just wanted to get some rest.

A couple of minutes later they said that there was a room for us but the water was not working in most of the hotel. It had been hit by lightning the night before and damaged a pipe knocking, out the water.

The problem was supposed to be fixed by 6:00.

Country Inn & Suites Rapid City

We went up to the room and got some rest for a couple of hours and then spent some time checking out Rapid City. We headed back to the hotel a little after 6:00. 

We were immediately informed that the pipe they had tried to fix was not the issue and didn't know when the  problem would be resolved. They also let people know that nobody could stay in the hotel (who would want to?) since the fire sprinklers wouldn't be working.

The staff was working hard trying to find rooms for everyone. We were "offered" a room across the street at a Cambria Suites. The girl at the desk said that the hotel was brand new and would only cost $13 more plus tax than our night at the Country Inn. No thanks if you ask me!

I immediately started to wonder two things:

1. What would happen to our Stay 1, Get 1 bonus?
2. Why wasn't the Country Inn offering to cover the price difference for us?

This was a real pain that needed a fast solution.

We went back to our room and figured out a plan. 

Instead of staying in Rapid City for the night, we were going to drive about a half hour away and stay a bit closer to Mount Rushmore to make things easier for the following day. After fumbling around on my phone for a bit, I found a reasonably priced hotel and booked it. 

Upon checking out from the Country Inn, I made sure that we were not charged for the night and asked for a receipt. The receipt is proof that we checked in and out of the hotel.

I feel that Kim and I fulfilled our obligations to earn the Stay 1, Get 1 bonus. 

I wonder what Club Carlson will have to say about this when I contact them to find out?

To Be Continued...

An Unlikely Place For A Souvenir- Easter Island, Chile

I was asked by travel clothing company SCOTTEVEST/ SeV to write an article for their weekly Pocket Guide newsletter. I am happy to announce that this post will be featured there!

             

           

Over the years I've definitely slowed down on buying souvenirs on my trips. It seems like you  see the same trinkets and junk for sale all over the world. However, I still do like to try to bring a little something back (to Kim's dismay!) with me to remember the countries I've visited. Things that I collect are masks, traditional hats, shot glasses (silly and pointless, but why stop now) or anything that seems really interesting and unique.

On our visit to Easter Island we hired a guide for two of our four days. Kim and I rarely hire guides but we figured for EI it would be a good idea to get a better understanding of what we were looking at. While visiting the sites I had mentioned that I would like to get a small statue of a Moai to bring home. (Moai are the carved rock figures found all over the island. You can see them in the title picture for my blog)
Soon after, he mentioned that we should visit the local jail where they might have better prices.

"Artisinal Shop" sign with guard standing by

I was extremely surprised that we could go visit the jail to pick up some souvenirs and had to make it a part of our plans!

When we arrived there was a sign outside with some rules listing items that you could not bring inside. The items on the list were alcohol, drugs, cell phones, cameras and weapons. Luckily they did not enforce the camera rule (I asked first).

An inmate at work

The inmates have it pretty easy in the jail and are given a lot of freedom. They have decent areas to sleep and a kitchen area to prepare food. The souvenir area was impressive. They get to use power tools and other seemingly dangerous items to create their crafts.

The quality seemed top-notch and they even made a sign for the entrance to the jail.

They actually did not sell what I was looking for but I had to buy a little something to remember my visit to jail. I decided to buy a carved fishing hook necklace (worn in the picture above). I do not recall what I paid but after a quick negotiation I bought it for around half of the initial asking price. 

The Necklace

I haven't worn my necklace since the day I bought it, but when I see it with some of my other travel related souvenirs, I always remember my odd visit to jail on Easter Island!

Win A Trip To Germany from Radeberger Pilsner

Radeberger Pilsner is giving away a chance to win a 5 day trip to Germany for you and a friend which includes a visit to their brewery. I was at a restaurant when I noticed an ad for this contest on a Radeberger beer coaster.

On the trip to Germany, the winners (3) will visit three cities:

1. Radeberger to tour the Radeberger Pilsner Brewery
2. Dresden 
3. Berlin

When I visited Germany a few years back we went to Munich and Cologne. I had a great time, visited lots of breweries and was really impressed with the country. I would love to go back to visit a few new cities.

 

The Prize:

• Round trip coach airline tickets from JFK airport to Berlin for winner and guest
• Hotel accommodations for two for 5 days, 4 nights 
• Two round trip train tickets from Berlin to Radeberger (with a stop in Dresden)
• $600 for meals

Sweepstakes open to US residents of CT, NJ and NY

Must be 21 years of age or older

Sweepstakes ends 7/31/12

Enter the Radeberger Pilsner sweepstakes HERE

Our Upcoming Trip To South Dakota

We're leaving early Wednesday morning on our second trip (flying) with Lucas. I originally wanted to go to Europe but didn't feel that it was worth the money or miles for a one week trip.
We decided to visit South Dakota instead.

I usually would not decide to stay in the US and pass up the opportunity to visit another country but this time it made a lot of sense.

Here is my reasoning:

Flights to Europe are very pricey right now and I was not looking to pay for a flight. Using miles would've been expensive (in terms of miles needed) due to availability. I've wanted to visit South Dakota for quite some time and I found what I think is an excellent deal. There is a lot to see in the United States so I think this was a perfect opportunity to see a part of the country that I have never been to.

Trip Details and Planning:

The Flight:

For 25,000 miles each (one Continental Airlines credit card sign up bonus of 50K) plus $10 tax per ticket we are flying to Rapid City, South Dakota on United Airlines. To purchase a flight, the cheapest price I found was in the $450 range. This was the first time that Kim and I used miles for a domestic flight reward.  

Accommodations:

For our hotel stays, we are staying two nights at Country Inn & Suites Rapid City. The room was a bit more than I'd usually spend but with the Stay 1 Get 1 promo we'll each earn bonus points good for at least one free night (hopefully more than that). I also used some points that I purchased with Choice Hotels during the Daily Getaways promotion to save some money on another night's hotel stay. For the remaining few nights, we'll be staying at a few local, quirky and cheap places.

Car Rental:

I rarely rent cars but one is essential to get around in South Dakota. I couldn't find any great deals and going for the cheapest compact car wasn't going to cut it this time. The newest member of our travel team, comes with a lot of luggage. We need to bring quite a bit of gear for Lucas so I wanted a car with some space.

I chatted a bit with my friend Stefan- he writes the Rapid Travel Chai blog and has written a bunch of posts related to car rentals. I told him what kind of car I was looking for, the location and dates and he suggested that I consider booking through the Capital One rewards site. I ended up getting a mid-size SUV for about $5-10 more (total)  than a compact! SCORE!

Trip Itinerary:

I decided to try something new for this trip. I did my usual research of things that I want to see and visit during our trip. I then decided to try to use Twitter to plan my itinerary.

I contacted the South Dakota Tourism board (TravelSD.com) by sending a tweet to them through Twitter. I asked for help with planning a one week itinerary and received a response from them pretty fast. After briefly sending messages through Twitter, the representative suggested that we correspond through e-mail.. I explained what I wanted to see and do during my stay and got some great suggestions on how to spend the week. 

The itinerary seems to be very good and should help us avoid driving out of the way or backtracking. The South Dakota Tourism Board was very helpful and I plan to use Twitter to help in future trip planning!

I am looking forward to visiting a new part of the United States and plan to write a bunch of posts about our visit to South Dakota. Don't forget to keep checking back!

**Image above: Nat Geo Adventure**

Win A Legendary Trip To Scotland

VisitScotland is running a competition (sweepstakes) where you could win a trip to Scotland to "experience the land that inspired Disney-Pixar's Brave".

The prize is a five night trip for four to Scotland where you will stay in luxurious hotels and visit some amazing places and sites with a private tour guide.

 The Prize:

• Five nights hotel stay ( 2 nights at Balmoral Hotel, 1 night at De Vere Cameron House & two nights at Brodie Castle)
• Various meals during the trip
• After hours tour of National Museum of Scotland with a curator
• VIP visit to Stirling Castle with private guide and 30 minute archery lesson
• Chartered private flight with Loch Lomond Sea Planes
• Tour of the Callanish Standing Stones
• Private chartered boat tour to Loch Ness
• Guided tour and entry to Urqhuart Castle
• Driver/ Guide for trip duration

Overseas winner and travel companions receive economy class return flight to Scotland
UK winner and travel companions will receive alternative transportation

Enter the competition by March 1, 2013

Limit one entry per person or e-mail address

Open to people age 18 and older & must be legal resident of country selected upon entry

Trip must be taken between 9/1/13 to 10/31/13

Register for the competition HERE

Yahoo News: Man Turns Airplane Into Home

Photo from AirplaneHome.com

Many people have different ideas of what their dream home would be. Some would love a place by a lake, a nice apartment in the city or a house in the countryside.

Bruce Campbell of Oregon had his own ideas and decided to purchase a Boeing 727-200 and turn it into his dream home.

According to the Yahoo News article and video, Campbell purchased the plane for $100,000, gutted it and has created a home for himself. The "home" is still not complete and is still undergoing renovations. The airplane home has running water, one working bathroom and has been wired for electricity. The plane lacks privacy but due to it being located in the woods this is not much of an issue. 

Photo from AirplaneHome.com

Campbell decided to create a home out of a retired airplane due to feeling that wood was a terrible building material. He says that "airlines are profoundly well-designed". There is no TV or radio on board so he uses his iPod and spends time in the cockpit for entertainment.

While checking out Bruce Campbell's site AirplaneHome.com, I read that he has been working on this project (home) for over 10 years. He spends half of his time in Nippon and hopes to build a second airplane home there someday.

Check out the Yahoo article HERE

Jumping by The Sweetest Place On Earth Sign- Hershey, PA

While on a family trip to Pennsylvania Dutch Country, we had part of a day planned to visit Hershey's Chocolate World to do a Chocolate Tasting Adventure.

While driving there I suddenly came upon this sign and had to stop for some photos.

For those that don't know, I am a big fan of signs. (check out my Ridiculous Street Signs tab)

Kim and I timed our jumps perfectly and got a great, synchronized jumping picture!

Win a Trip to the Great Barrier Reef

Eagle Creek is running a sweepstakes with some great prizes:

• Grand Prize: A trip for Two to Australia's Great Barrier Reef & a set of E.C. luggage
• Second Prize: A set of Eagle Creek luggage.

About the Grand Prize:

• Round-trip airfare (economy) from select U.S. and Canadian cities (Los Angeles, San Francisco, Dallas, New York and Vancouver)
• Five nights accommodations in Cairns
• Roundtrip airport to hotel transfers in Cairns
• Day trip to the outer Great Barrier Reef
• Set of Eagle Creek Luggage

Open to U.S. and Canadian residents
Sweepstakes ends July 15, 2012
  
Sign up to enter for a chance to win HERE

United Airlines: The Outperform Recognition Program- Nominate an Employee and You Can Win

It's always nice to give and receive recognition for doing a great job. United Airlines is looking for help from it's customers to reward employees that give excellent customer service.

The Outperform Recognition Program is pretty neat because it promotes recognizing UA employees that are great with customer service and also gives you the chance at winning airline tickets or award miles. 

To nominate employees, you use the United mobile app for Apple and Android devices.

Here is the way it works: 

• When you receive excellent customer service, you can nominate an eligible United employee in the Outperform Recognition Program 
• You can nominate up to five employees per nomination period through the United app
• If the employee that you nominated is a winner in the random drawing, then you win too.

Win A Roundtrip Ticket to South Africa

Karell Travel is giving away one roundtrip ticket to South Africa.

To access the entry form you need to "like" Karell on Facebook by July 6, 2012.

Some details about the prize:

• One roundtrip economy flight from New York/ Washington D.C. to Johannesburg
• Travel must be completed by May 31, 2013
• Not valid for travel between July 1- August 31, 2012 or December 9- January 15, 2013
• Prize is non- transferable

Sweepstakes open to residents of the United States

You must be at least 18 years old to enter

To access the contest entry page, "Like" Karell Travel HERE

Delta: One Bite At A Time Bonus- Earn Up to 3,000 Bonus Miles

Delta SkyMiles Dining is running a promo called One Bite At A Time

You can earn 300 bonus miles each time you spend $100 (in any combination of dines) and also complete a review for each qualifying dine.

The fine print says that this offer is by invitation only for select SkyMiles Dining members.

Check your inbox for an e-mail of this offer or give it a shot by trying to sign up HERE.

Rules for the bonus offer:

• Register for the One Bite At A Time Bonus
• Spend $100 dining at participating locations through 12/31/12
• Complete dining reviews within 30 days of each dine
• You can earn the bonus up to 10 times, earning 3,000 miles

If you don't have a SkyMiles Dining account, you can register and earn 1,200 bonus miles after your first dine. Spend $25 or more and complete a review within 30 days of dining.

Sign up for SkyMiles Dining HERE

JetBlue- Get Away With It Game Show Contest

JetBlue Getaways is running a game show style contest where you can win one of several  vacation packages. To play the game you participate live through Skype

If selected you will have to answer various questions over a couple of rounds to have a chance at one of the grand prizes.

The Prizes: 4 day/ 3 night Vacation Packages including flights & hotel to:

• Riviera Maya- Mayakoba Resort
• Turks & Caicos- Seven Stars Resort on Grace Beach
• Cancun- Westin Laguna mar Ocean Resort
• Bermuda- Fairmont Southhampton
• Las Vegas- Hard Rock Hotel & Casino

They will also be giving away lots of $50 JetBlue Getaways promo codes

Open to legal residents of the 50 U.S. states and D.C.

Must be 18 years old at time of entry

There are a bunch of funny rules listed in the terms. 

Here are a couple:

1. Contestants must be fully and appropriately dressed at all times
2. Contestants may not wear any costumes or disguises

Application period for game show ends June 22, 2012 at 5:00 pm ET

Sign up for the JetBlue Get Away With It Contest HERE

Happy Father's Day & Last Day for Delta Sweepstakes

Father's Day 2012 is an extra-special one for me- It's my first time celebrating as a Dad! 

To start off the weekend we did one of my favorite things- we spent Friday night at the Radisson in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. The main purpose of this little trip was to earn 50,000 Club Carlson points from the Big Night Giveaway promotion.

We'll be spending Father's Day with family, which should be very nice.

Lucas Miles W.

My son Lucas Miles W. was born on January 11, 2012. He is a very happy, cute and curious baby. He is always smiling, laughing & looking around and loves to play. He has been a great travel partner so far. Lucas has visited one country (outside the US) and 3 U.S. states. We look forward to our upcoming trip to South Dakota in a couple of weeks from now and hope to visit Europe at the end of August.

I want to wish all of the Dads out there a Happy Father's Day!

Don't forget that today is the last day to sign up for the Delta Dad's Big Break Sweepstakes!


*Father's Day graphic above found in Google search.

Win a Sizzling Trip to South Beach from SpaFinder

SpaFinder is giving away a relaxing trip to South Beach with a very generous prize package.

The Prize:

• Roundtrip coach airfare for two to Miami
• Three night stay in ocean view room at Delano
• One 60 minute couples massage at Delano
• Daily continental breakfast
• $200 American Express gift card
• $200 SpaFinder gift certificate
• $200 Loehmann's gift certificate

Prize expires June 13, 2013 and there are some blackout dates

Approximate value of prize is $4800

Open to legal residents of the 50 United States & D.C.

Must be 18 or older to enter

Enter the sweepstakes by June 30, 2012 HERE

TripAdvisor: 10 Must See Islands

Here is a list of 10 must-see islands that I saw in a TripAdvisor post. 

The list on TA shows a picture of each place but does not have any direct information. There are links below each picture to find cheapest flights, top hotels and top attractions. It's definitely an interesting way to connect the info to the post.

Here is the list:

1. Ko Phi Phi Don, Thailand
2. Bali, Indonesia
3. Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
4. Easter Island, Chile
5. Ischia, Italy
6. Sri Lanka
7. Santorini, Greece
8. Madagascar
9. Anguilla, Caribbean
10. Maui, Hawaii USA

The list has some pretty interesting places on it. I've also been to two of the islands- Ko Phi Phi and Easter Island. In my opinion both are worth of being on this list. I didn't get to spend a lot of time on Ko Phi Phi but it was beautiful from what we saw of it. Easter Island was incredible. We spent a good amount of time there and saw lots of amazing sites.

From this list the top places I would love to visit are Bali, the Galapagos Islands, Sri Lanka and Madagascar.

Check out the list and find out about each island on TripAdvisor HERE.

Southwest Airlines Sweepstakes- Enter to Win A New Mexico Getaway

Southwest Airlines Spirit Magazine is running a sweepstakes giving away a trip to New Mexico. It takes about one minute to enter so it's definitely worth a shot!

The Prize:

• Two Tickets on Southwest Airlines
• Two Night Stay for Two at Inn of the Mountain Gods
• Dinner at Wendell's Steak & Seafood Restaurant
• $50 Resort Credit
• $25 in Spirit Play for Two

Approximate value of prize is $1,500 (a 1099 will be issued for tax purposes)

Must be at least 21 years old to enter

Sweepstakes ends midnight on June 30, 2012

Enter the sweepstakes HERE

The Little Merman in Denmark

Hans (photo from USA Today article)

On both of my trips to Denmark I made sure to visit the famous Little Mermaid statue. The statue is based on the fairy tale written by Hans Christian Andersen. It's located in Langelinie Park in Copenhagen. It's a very popular tourist attraction always drawing a crowd.

I'd definitely consider it the symbol of the city or possibly even the country.

The Little Mermaid- 1st visit

I recently heard about a new statue in Denmark while reading USA Today online- Hans.

Hans is the male counterpart to the Little Mermaid (maybe a boyfriend or brother) and located an hour away in Elsinore. Elsinore is famous for Kronborg Castle, the setting for Hamlet. Kim and I visited Kronborg in 2011 and really enjoyed it. The statue sounds pretty cool and the eyes will blink once an hour with the help of a hydraulic system according to the USA Today article.
It adds another interesting, quick attraction to check out if you decide to visit the area!

Hans photo found in Google search

Here are a couple more of my Little Mermaid photos:

The Little Mermaind- 2nd visit

I figured a jump might warm me up!

Check out the full USA Today article HERE

Win A Trip To the South of France

I saw this contest advertised in TimeOut NY:  

Sud de France Developpement is giving away a vacation to the South of France

The Prize:

• Round trip economy airfare for two from New York City (JFK, LaGuardia or Newark) to Montpellier, France
• Six nights at the Hotel du Chateau with breakfast
• Value of the prize is $7,638

To enter the contest you need to answer one question:

• What is the name of the famous canal, listed as a World Heritage site by UNESCO, that runs through the Languedoc-Roussillon region? (The answer is Canal du Midi)

Contest open to US residents and ends at 9am on June 13, 2012

Enter the contest HERE

** At the link above you can also sign up for two other contests- one of them being a two night stay at the Sands Casino Resort in Bethlehem, PA.

Delta- Dad's Big Break Sweepstakes

Delta is running a sweepstakes through Facebook called Dad's Big Break for Father's Day.

The prize is a 4-day getaway for one Dad and his family.

Entering is pretty simple. All you need to do is fill out the entry form on Facebook which takes less than a minute. All the form asks for is your name, e-mail and date of birth.

More about the prize:

• Four roundtrip economy class tickets to any destination in the continental U.S.
• $1,000 American Express gift card
• Travel must be completed one year from the date of issued certificate

Open to legal residents of the U.S. 

Must be 21 years or older to enter

Enter the sweepstakes by 11:59 ET on June 17, 2012

Find out more and enter the sweepstakes HERE

SCOTTEVEST Father's Day Sale- 30% Off Select Items

A few weeks ago I wrote a review about a great product: the ScotteVest Fleece 5.0 Jacket. (Check it out HERE)

The jacket has many features that can help make traveling easier for you. The fleece has 24 pockets (it can even hold an iPad), has built in wire management for your headphones and can be worn as a jacket or vest.

ScotteVest is running a Father's Day Sale offering 30% off 13 of their products. 

The Fleece 5.0 is one of the products being offered during the sale. It regularly sells for $140, which in my opinion is a fair price and on par with comparable jackets. However getting it on sale for $98 is a really great deal! I'd definitely recommend this as a gift for Dad (or for yourself).

The other items on sale are a good mix of the ScotteVest product line. There are jackets, vests, shirts, pants and shorts being offered at 30% off.

Sale ends before 12:01 AM ET on June 11, 2012.

Check out the ScotteVest items on sale for Father's Day HERE

Big Apple Barbecue Block Party- NYC June 9 & 10, 2012

This weekend I'll be eating some great food at the Big Apple Barbecue Block Party in NYC. The event features top BBQ pitmasters from all over the country.

The event will be entering it's 10th year and features "award-winning barbecue and Southern-inspired fare from the country’s top pitmasters available for $8/plate".
There will be 18 pitmasters at the event from "barbecue capitals like Texas, North Carolina, Alabama, Illinois and more". There is also live music and cooking seminars throughout the day.

Pitmaster Ed Mitchell

I've been to the BBQ a few times. The whole area smells amazing from all of the barbecue being prepared around Madison Square Park. The event attracts a huge crowd and you can end up waiting at some of the stands for 30- 40 minutes before getting the chance to buy your food. However, the food is really great which makes it worth the wait.

To avoid the long lines, this year we purchased a FastPass which allows you and a guest to go on express lines to get your food. It cost's $125 and comes with a $100 credit good for food, drinks and merchandise. The FastPasses have sold out but we felt it was a worthwhile purchase to avoid the huge lines, especially since we'll be going with Lucas.

Squirrel looking for scraps

Here are pictures of some of the food from last year:

The Big Apple Barbecue Block Party takes place on June 9-10 from 11am-6pm.
Find out more about the Big Apple Barbecue Block Party HERE

Win the Ultimate $3,000 Exploration Package

I received an e-mail about Scoutmob's Ultimate Exploration Sweepstakes which is offering a very generous prize worth $3,000. 

To sign up for this sweepstakes you'll need to register for Scoutmob, Jetsetter and Joyus.

On the sweepstakes sign up page all you do is select the city where you live (the options are limited) and enter your e-mail address.

I am not familiar with Jetsetter or Joyous but have been using Scoutmob for a few years now. 

I've done pretty well (and saved some money) using the Scoutmob mobile app  to get great local deals at restaurants in the NYC area. What I love about Scoutmob is that deals are always free and the offers are at least 50% off.

Jetsetter is an online travel community that "provides members with insider access, expert knowledge and exclusive deals on the world's greatest vacations". It might be worth checking out their site in the future.

Joyus is an "online shopping experience that helps you discover and buy the things you'll love". I checked out the site which is pretty interesting. They do video sales where they show how to make the products for sale- work for you. Items are available for a limited time. The site offers apparel, beauty, home, jewelry and lifestyle products.

The Prize:

• $1,000 cash from Scoutmob (American Express gift card)
• $1,000 Jetsetter travel credit
• $1,000 Joyus shopping credit

Open to legal residents of the United States

Must be 18 years or older at time of entry

Sweepstakes ends June 10, 2012 at 11:59PM E.T.

Sign up for the sweepstakes HERE