Local Eats: Chislic in South Dakota

While traveling, Kim and I always like to find local foods to try in the area we are visiting. 

South Dakota didn't seem to have any unique, local foods until we came across Chislic.

According to Wikipedia, Chislic is "virtually unknown outside the state of South Dakota". 

The meat (it can be beef, lamb or venison) is cubed and deep fried. Chislic can vary in how it is prepared based on the area you are in.

Chislic

I came across chislic while looking at the menus for a few restaurants for lunch one day and decided that I had to try it!

We headed over to the Bumpin Buffalo in Hill City. The restaurant had a nice bar area and lots of taxidermy buffalo heads (wearing hats) hanging on the walls.

 

When I asked the waitress about chislic she enthusiastically told me how good it was so I went ahead and ordered it. 

I couldn't wait to dig in. The dish looked really tasty and was a generous portion. The meat was almost crunchy on the outside (in a good way) and moist & juicy on the inside. It was as dark as charcoal but not overcooked at all.

 

At the Bumpin Buffalo chislic is marinated sirloin tips, deep fried to perfection.

I can't disagree with them at all- I really loved the dish... it may have been perfection or at least pretty close!

Check out the Bumpin Buffalo's website HERE

Win A Trip To The Austin City Limits Music Festival

Scoutmob is sponsoring a trip to the Austin City Limits Music Festival

When you enter the sweepstakes you agree to receive e-mail from Scoutmob and Time Out and to receive the F&W Daily. It's kind of annoying to have to sign up for all of these e-mails. However, I already get Scoutmob and do not mind Time Out. I can't say that I need the F&W Daily. I'll probably opt out of those e-mails later on.

The Prize:

• Two round-trip coach airfare tickets to Austin
• Two 3-day general admission passes to the sold out Austin City Limits Music Festival which takes places on October 12-14
• Two nights hotel stay

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

Must be 18 years or older at date of entry

Enter by August 15, 2012 at 11:59 pm ET

Sign up for the sweepstakes HERE

Progress In Planning Our Next Big Trip

A couple of weeks ago I wrote a post regarding the headache we had to go through to book our next flight. (Check out the post here) I definitely think it was worth the effort and can't wait to get on the flight already!

Lucas Miles W.

The flight that we booked will take us from New York City to Singapore in business class. This will be Lucas' first time flying in style internationally! It will also be our most ambitious trip traveling with him to date.

When we booked this flight we did not plan to stay in Singapore for 2 weeks. Singapore is our gateway to checking out a few places in South East Asia. Kim and I have been to SE Asia two times and it's probably our favorite part of the world. We can not wait to visit for our third time with a third wheel- Lucas!

On our first two trips we visited:

1. Trip 1- Thailand
2. Trip 2- Vietnam & Cambodia (with a visit to Hong Kong & Macau on the way home)

For our upcoming trip we will visit:

1. Singapore- two days
2. Bali, Indonesia- 9 days
3. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia- 2 days
4. Singapore- 1 day

You can check out the route we will be taking around SE Asia on the map above.
(To get around Asia we booked flights on low-cost airline Air Asia.)

Our next order of business is to book our hotel rooms for the trip.
So far I've only booked our first night in Singapore. We will be staying at the Intercontinental Singapore for $49 which is an amazing deal. 

We were able to book the room at such a great rate thanks to the Chase Priority Club Visa. 

By paying the $49 annual fee, I received one free night at any Priority Club hotel.
The Intercontinental Singapore would've cost around $230 had I paid full price.

I think the $49 fee is worth paying each year to get that free night! 

For our last night in Singapore we are considering booking the Intercontinental again which would cost 25,000 Priority Club points. (When I got the card I received 60,000 PC points, Kim received 80,000)

Lucas' new teether!

Anyway, time to get back to planning this trip! It's fast approaching.
 
***If you have a moment, check out the post today by Rene over at Delta Points. His post is an interesting topic- how old were you on your first flight. (Thanks for the mention Rene! )

Hotel Review: Radisson Valley Forge, PA

To fulfill Kim's stay for the Radisson Big Night Giveaway we decided to book a room at the Radisson Valley Forge in Pennsylvania. The hotel looked very nice and has a private casino attached to it for added entertainment if you are into gambling.

We booked an Executive Guest Room that had a king size bed. The room cost $120 with tax. Definitely not a cheap stay by any means but when you add in the 50,000 Club Carlson points that we will earn, I find it to be a very good deal. The 50K points will get us at least one free night at a Club Carlson property in the future but it could potentially get us up to 5 free nights.

The Work Area

I was impressed with the room from the moment we stepped inside. The room was very spacious and had a lot of nice features.

There was a nice work area that had a large desk and comfortable chair. (I took advantage of it and worked on some blog posts there)

There was also a comfortable chair to relax in and put your feet up on. It could also be used to have an extra person sleep on if needed. We decided to use it as a resting place for our bags.

Entertainment Center

The flat screen TV had a decent selection of channels to choose from. It is on a swivel stand so you can watch TV from bed or while getting some work done at the desk.

I am not a fan of the Sleep Number beds that the Radisson uses. I find them to be a pain to adjust and would prefer a normal, firm mattress. Kim didn't have a problem with the bed and Lucas was very happy and enjoyed it very much.

Lucas enjoying the bed

The bathroom was a pretty good setup. The sink was in the room when you first walk in. Next to it is a cabinet to put your things in if needed.

The toilet and tub/ shower are in a room next to the wash area. It seemed a bit dated and small but got the job done.

A little about the Valley Forge Area:

The Valley Forge Casino Resort is connected to the hotel through a walkway. It is a private casino and opened a few months ago. If you are staying at the Radisson it is free to get in, otherwise you need to have a membership (around $30 for 3 months, good for you and a guest) or spend $10 minimum at the hotel to get a pass. 

The casino is relatively small but very nice. It has lots of slot machines and some table games (I only noticed blackjack). If you're into those games then this casino is a nice form of added entertainment to checkout during your visit.

The Radisson is in what I feel is an excellent location. There are a few things to do within a 20 minute drive.

• Valley Forge National Historic Park is right down the road, under 5 minutes away
• The massive King of Prussia Mall is under 10 minutes away by car
• There are a couple of different outlets around 20 minutes away. We stopped by the Philadelphia Premium Outlets  for a quick visit.
• The city of Philadelphia is 18 miles away which can also be about 20 minutes by car

We were definitely pleased with the Radisson Valley Forge and would recommend it if you want to visit the Valley Forge area or visit Philadelphia but stay a bit outside the city.

Check out the Radisson Valley Forge HERE

Travel Channel- Take Back Your Summer In Vegas Sweepstakes

Travel Channel is running a sweepstakes with the prize being a 3 day/ two night trip for two to Las Vegas

The Grand Prize for the Winner and Guest Includes:

• Round trip coach airfare 
• 3 days/ 2 nights hotel stay
• Round trip airport transportation in Vegas
• All taxes related to accommodations and airfare
• Approximate retail value- $3,000

One entry per person, per day is allowed

Travel must be completed by August 1, 2013

Open to legal residents of the 48 contiguous United States and DC

Must be 21 years or older to enter

Sweepstakes ends 5:00 pm ET on July 31, 2012

Sign up for the Travel Channel Vegas Sweepstakes HERE

Hanging With the Burros- Custer, South Dakota

This post is being featured in travel clothing company SCOTTEVEST/ SeV's weekly Pocket Guide newsletter.

 

While planning a visit to Custer State Park, I knew that it had a pretty large herd of bison along with many other animals. I was curious as to what other animals called the park home. 

I found out that a small donkey called burros also lived there.

(Check out my post about Custer State Park here.)

Initially you might think- Who cares? I didn't fly from NYC to South Dakota to see some donkeys in a park. However, these burros are wild, living freely in the park and are also very friendly. 

The burros are friendly because they are always on the lookout for a free meal!

I read that you can feed and interact with them but to be careful as they still are wild animals.

Our first stop at Custer was early on the second evening of our trip. I was on the lookout for burros and finally came across two standing around in a field. I expected them to come over to the car but they showed little interest. I decided to lower the window and wave my arm outside while holding an apple. This did the trick! One of the burros came over slowly followed by the second one.

I have to admit that I was a bit of a wimp at first. I was debating whether or not to get out of the car and decided against it. I had the window half down and was feeding the burros apples through it. This was not the best idea as the apples kept falling back into the car. Once the burros got a hold of the apples, they would bite them in half, squirting apple chunks and juice all over the car. They then went on to lick the car and window (seemed like a free car wash at first) making a mess and making it very hard to see out of the window!

The following morning we returned to Custer. I came better prepared this time. While at breakfast, Kim ordered pancakes. They were huge, practically the size of hubcaps. She ate one of them and I figured that I should bring the leftovers for the burros. I asked the waiter to wrap them up and told him what they were for. I think he thought I was joking since I had to remind him to wrap them a second time.

After driving for a while in the park, we came across a large group of burros. They were  in the same spot as the previous day. There were lots of mommy's with their calves. Some were lying down and relaxing, others were friendly and came up to any vehicle that pulled over.

Most of the burros were pretty calm and laid back while a few were a bit on the aggressive side. Each vehicle that pulled up was a potential meal and they wanted to be fed! 

I started off by breaking out the pancakes. I figured the burros would like them from a conversation that I had with a park ranger at Mount Rushmore. The ranger had told me how it was OK to feed the burros and that we should feed them healthy food. If the ranger was telling me to feed them healthy food I figured they must love junky food!

Once the pancake container came out, I was surrounded by a bunch of burros. One of the burros was aggressive towards the others so I had to try to shoo him away to share some pancakes with the others!

Asides from the pancakes, I also had some apples that I bought the previous day. They seem to be the choice snack option that most people bring to feed the burros.

 

 

We ended up spending about 45 minutes feeding and playing with the burros.
It was a memorable experience that ranks up there with other animal interactions that we've had in the past.

I was surprised at how much fun we had hanging with the burros in Custer State Park!

Le Club Accor Hotels- 25% Off In North America & Triple Points

Le Club Accor is running a summer booking promotion at Novotels in North America

Book 3 nights or more and get:

• 25% off the stay
• $25 voucher good for lunch or dinner at the hotel restaurant
• Triple Points

The offer is good at the following locations:

• Novotel Montreal Aeroport
• Novotel Montreal Centre
• Novotel New York Times Square
• Novotel Ottawa
• Novotel Toronto Centre
• Novotel Toronot Mississauga Cntr
• Novotel Toronto North York
• Novotel Toronto Vaughan

Book your stays by 8/31/2012

Valid for stays arriving by 9/9/12

You must provide your loyalty/ member number when making your reservation

Make your reservations HERE

Update: Country Inn & Suites Rapid City Issue

I wrote about our Last Minute Hotel Change of Plans at the Country Inn, Rapid City about three weeks ago. I've been meaning to write an update to what the outcome was but Club Carlson and the Country Inn property were very slow to act on the matter.

Here is a quick recap:

For our first night in Rapid City, South Dakota we booked a room at the Country Inn & Suites. Upon check in we were informed of a water issue- there wasn't any at the moment! The problem was being worked on and was supposed to be fixed by 6:00 that evening. When we returned to the hotel we were told the problem was not what they thought and everybody had to find rooms elsewhere. They offered to help us find another room and the option was a hotel nearby which was "only" $13 more plus tax for the night. I declined and found my own room. My main concern was what would happen to the Stay 1, Get 1 Club Carlson points we were supposed to earn for our stay. Before leaving the hotel I checked with the desk to make sure that we would not be charged and was given a paper. The paper seemed more like what you get when you check out not a receipt for a reversal of the charge.

A couple of days later I contacted Club Carlson through Twitter and received a speedy response. They asked me to send an e-mail regarding the situation. Soon after sending the e-mail, we received a response that the problem would be resolved. We were told that we should expect to hear back from them again after the weekend.

We did not hear back from the rep after the weekend but I was really happy to see that the 44,000 Gold Points bonus (and other points associated with the booking) did post to Kim's Club Carlson account! I was really impressed that they did the right thing and gave us the bonus for our non-stay.

About a day later I was wondering- maybe the points posted because we were charged for the room, not due to Club Carlson being so kind. I had Kim check her credit card statement and what do you know, we were never refunded for the stay!

We decided to deal with the hotel directly to get our refund. I wasn't worried about getting the money back but was worried that Club Carlson might take back the Gold Points bonus. 

Getting the refund was a bit frustrating but it got taken care of in the end. It took us four calls spread out over a few days to get it done.

1. July 5- Spoke to Jake. He told us that he was busy checking guests in and would give us a call back which he never did.
2. July 7- Call #1- Spoke with Jake again. He transferred Kim to the general manager's line to leave a message. The phone kept ringing & the answering machine never picked up for Kim to leave a message... Go figure!
3. July 7- Call #2- Kim called back and spoke with a female employee (we did not get her name). She said that she would look into the matter and call back which she never did.
4. July 8- Spoke with Shelby. She told us that managers do not work on Sundays. We explained the situation and she actually seemed to care. She said that she would look into what was going on and call back in 15 minutes.
5. July 8- Shelby did call back (when she said she would) and was able to refund Kim's card for our non-stay. Finally a competent employee!

While this back and forth was going on we had discussed the idea of reaching out to Club Carlson social media. We decided against it since that did not lead to much happening in the past. Another option was to file a claim with the credit card company. Filing with the credit card company can be a pain, sending in documents and proof so we felt calling the hotel directly was the way to go.

In the end I think that Kim's Gold Points bonus posted due to the mistake of Country Inn & Suites charging her for our non-stay. Maybe I am wrong and Club Carlson responded to our e-mails and awarded the points bonus for our troubles but I doubt that this is the case.

I waited a couple of weeks to post regarding this situation because I wanted to see if Kim's bonus points would be taken back by Club Carlson.. I am happy to say that I've been checking on a daily basis and her account has all of the points earned from the Rapid City Country Inn booking.

For this headache, Kim earned:

Jul 2, 2012	Adjust	Adjustment - Discretionary Award	3,000
Jul 2, 2012	Earn	Country Inn & Suites By Carlson, Rapid City, SD - Jun 27, 2012 to Jun 28, 2012 - Country Inn - Rapid City , SD US Points|Room Earning 20 Points per USD	2,535
Jul 2, 2012	Earn	Country Inn - Rapid City , SD US Points|Online Booking Member Bonus Points	1,000
Jul 2, 2012	Earn	Country Inn - Rapid City , SD US Points|Country Inns So Go Country 44,000 Point Bonus	44,000
Jun 19, 2012	Earn	Radisson Hotel Valley Forge - Jun 15, 2012 to Jun 16, 2012 - Radisson - King of Prussia , PA US Points|Room Earning 20 Points per USD	2,224

I think that in the end this whole ordeal was worth the time we put in to earn 52,759 Club Carlson Gold Points!

Win A Trip To The UK To See the Chelsea Football Club

Delta's Chelsea Football Club Contest gives you the chance to win a trip for two to London to attend the season opened for Chelsea FC.

The contest is being run through Facebook. To enter you need to fill out some basic information and let them know why you should win.

The Prize:

• 2 tickets to the Chelsea FC home opener on August 25, 2012
• Round trip economy airfare for 2 from the U.S. to London
• 3 nights hotel accommodations
• $500 American Express gift card

Contest open to legal residents of the United States

Must be 21 years of age or older to enter

Enter by July 28, 2012 11:59 p.m. ET

Enter for your chance to win HERE

Win A Waterproof Camera From Rough Guides

Rough Guides is running a contest with the prize being a Pentax Optio WG-1 Waterproof Digital Camera

Kim and I have been using waterproof cameras for years. I wouldn't choose one as our main camera but I think they serve a useful purpose. Our waterproof cameras have come in handy while swimming, snorkeling and even just walking around in the rain.

Some Features of the Camera:

• 14 megapixels
• Waterproof, Shockproof, Crushproof, Coldproof, Dustproof
• 2.7 inch LCD Screen
• Wide-angle 5x internal optical zoom lens
• GPS Functionality

Some Rules:
Contest ends August 3, 2012
Must be 16 or older to enter
Promotion open to residents of the United Kingdom, Canada (except Quebec) and the U.S.A.

Enter for your chance to win the Pentax Optio WG-1 HERE

Enter To Win A $20,000 British Columbia Vacation

The Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Innovation of British Columbia is sponsoring the:

BC's Perfect Moments Vacation Giveaway Contest

The Prize:

Grand Prize to British Columbia for winner and up to 10 guests with specific trip components to be customized by winner and sponsor.

Includes:

• Round trip economy transportation (air or ground) for winner and up to 10 guests to Vancouver, British Columbia
• Transportation from Vancouver to selected destinations (may include economy rental car)
• Accommodations at destinations
• British Columbia experiences selected by winner
• $1,000 CDN spending money for winner

Open to residents of the United States, District of Colombia and Canada

Must be 19 or older at time of entry

Contest ends October 31, 2012

Sign up for the contest HERE

Win A Trip To The Crystal Coast of North Carolina

The North Carolina Division of Tourism is running a sweepstakes:

Kick Back and Relax- The Crystal Coast Sweepstakes

The winner of the trip will stay in Beaufort, voted "America's Coolest Small Town" by Budget Travel.

The Prize:

• Three nights accommodations for up to four people in a three bedroom condo in Beaufort
• Family four pack of admissions to North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores and a stuffed penguin
• Dinner for up to four people at Bistro By the Sea in Morehead City
• Four tickets for a Double-Decker Bus Tour , Historic House Tour and Old Burying Ground Tour in Historic Beaufort
• $500 Visa gift card to help get you there

Open to legal residents living in the U.S. and Canada

Must be at least 18 years of age

Enter by July 31, 2012

Find out more and signup for the sweepstakes HERE

Our First American Safari in Custer State Park- South Dakota

While researching things to do for our trip to South Dakota, I came across Custer State Park. Kim and I really love seeing wildlife in their natural setting and we read that Custer  had lots of animals to view in the park on an 18- mile Wildlife Loop Road. I was really looking forward to the visit.

We've been to Africa two times and got to view and get up close with lots of animals on game drives, hiking, biking and boat safaris. We've also had many other  great animal related experiences all around the world. Check out my post My Top 5 Animal Encounters to see some of the experiences that we've had.

The animal at the top of my list to see was bison (American buffalo). Ever since I got to see cape buffalo in Africa I wanted to see the American version.

Our first stop in the park was at the general store for a snack. I started chatting with an elderly woman at the register. I asked her questions about animals in the park and best times to view them. The woman gave me some great advice. She told me that the best time to experience the WIldlife Loop was early evenings and also first thing in the morning. We were planning on coming the following morning due to the recommendation of the South Dakota Tourism but hadn't planned on coming at night.

Luckily we took the woman's advice and went back to Custer around 7:00pm. On the way we saw a couple of bison right outside the park which was  awesome! Once we started the loop we came across a prairie dog town and saw tons of them running around. A few minutes later we were stuck in traffic. The traffic on the road was not cars, it was a massive herd of bison. They were everywhere! The bison walked right by our car, I could have reached out and touched one if I wanted to. This experience alone made heading back to the park at night totally worth it. 

Asides from the prairie dogs and bison, we also saw pronghorns, deer and burros.

Pronghorn

Prairie Dog

Burro

The following morning we were running a bit late. We saw a few bison once again on the way in to the park but then had to stop to change Lucas. After stopping again at the prairie dog town, I expected to see a huge herd of bison. We did the full wildlife loop and did not see any!

Good thing that I listened to the lady in the shop or I would've only seen a few bison on the side of the road.