Howler Brothers 2018 September Surf Expo Update

October arrived here in Florida with 90 degree weather.  So far this year we have missed the hurricanes that like to ravage the Sunshine State this time of the year. We still have over one month until the hurricane season ends so I have my fingers crossed. 

This past September 6th, 7th and 8th 2018 Surf Expo rolled out the red carpet for surf lifestyle brands, store owners, buyers and hordes of media. Yours truly was one the attendees. 

Surf Expo each year brings together old friends who remissness about times past and new found friends to talk about endless possibilities.  Since I started attending Surf Expo back in 2008, it has been a great experience.  I have cultivated a few Surf Expo friends like Howler Brothers.  I have been following and blogging about these crazy Texans for some time now. Because the Orange County Convention Center is home for the January and September Surf Expos and the July ICAST, the worlds largest sport fishing trade show, I get to visit with the Howler Brothers crew when they attend 3 times a year.  I can always depend on Mason Brent, one of the Howler Brothers founders, to be manning the booth. That's his picture within the picture above.  He is one crazy dude. 

Over the past years the Howler Brothers brand has expanded their product line to include more than just shirts, pants, hats and outerwear.  Their gear and accessories collections have really expanded.  You can now purchase from their website and their Texas store surfboards, Smith sunglasses, fly rods and a SUP  paddle.  There is no telling what is in store when they come to the 2019 January Surf Expo.  I can't wait.

So this month I really got jazzed up when I received my Howler Brothers email.  Right there in my email were the new Smith x Howler
sunglasses and snap-back hat.  Being a big fan of Smith Optics, the new Smith x Howler frames with their camo pattern rocked. I know these will sell out soon. If the sunglasses were not enough, the new Smith x Howler camo snap-back hat with the Smith x Howler logo was a perfect addition.  What a combination to wear on the slopes this winter or during your next fall and winter hiking or surf trip.

Also new for 2018 is the Howler Brothers Yellow Rose Collection. This collection was designed for the annual Austin Parks Foundation, Austin City Limits Festival. The Austin City Limits television series uses the festival to support the Austin Parks Foundation. The collection is sold on the Howler Brothers and the festival website and at the event.

This weekend and next weekend October 12th, 13th and 14th is the Austin City Limits Festival.  You can watch the festival on Red Bull TV.  So be sure to check out the festival as well as the Howler Brothers website. 

Until next time, be safe in the sun and have a great day in the great outdoors.

Howler Brothers at 2018 ICAST

When  ever I go to ICAST or Surf Expo, I always stop by the Howler Brothers booth to say hello to Mason and the crew.  This year was  no exception.  This year I was surprised to see the Howler Mobile parked in their booth.  The entire Howler Brothers product line up is designed to be worn as everyday wear during the summer, spring, fall and winter.

Since I started attending ICAST and Surf Expo, I have never missed visiting their booth.  What I have missed is a trip to Austin, Texas to visit the Howler Bothers World Headquarters.  That is on my bucket list.  With summer in full swing, now might be the time to score some cool fall and winter clothes and jackets.  Howler Brothers are have a website sale going on right now. Be sure to check it out.

With Surf Expo just right around the corner in September, be sure to check back after September 10th for more news about the Howler Brothers. Until next time, be safe in the sun and have a great day in the great outdoors.

FisheWear Women's Fly Fishing Apparel and Gear at 2018 ICAST

The 2018 ICAST is a gift that keeps on giving.  At this year's show I met a great bunch of women fly anglers at the FisheWear booth.  The story on how Linda Leary started FisheWear reads like a fairy tale story. From hatching the  idea to being an Orvis collaborator in about four years is very impressive.

The booth was a buzz as buyers were being introduced to the amazing, colorful line up of fly fishing apparel and gear.  If you like colors and crazy artwork, FisheWear is the brand for you.  One of the components of big trade shows like ICAST and Surf Expo that draws me in, are the dazzling arrays of graphic designs and artwork covering every square inch of the show floor space.  The FisheWear booth blended in perfectly.  All of their products are covered with multi-color designs.

Who does not love to wear color clothes, especially those designed for fly fishing or other types angling? 

So if you are in the market for some new fly fishing clothes or gear, or if you are refreshing your fly fishing gear and clothes, do not miss the opportunity to check out FisheWear.  You will not be disappointed.  So until the 2019 ICAST, be safe in the sun and have a great day in the great outdoors.

2018 ICAST Slide Show

The goLock VENTURE Innovative Security System at 2018 ICAST

I purchased my first fishing kayak in 2004.  I have taken my kayak to kayak fishing locations and tournaments in North Carolina and Florida from Pensacola to Key West to Wilmington, NC and points in between.  All with my kayak cabled to the roof of my Honda CRV.  All of these trips involved spending the night in hotels. Each time I arrived at the hotel and parked, I tried to park close to the front door and under parking lot lights.  I did this to mitigate the risk of someone stealing my kayak from the roof of my car.  That was then and today is now.  There is a new product that was demonstrated at ICAST by the goLock Technology Inc. company, the goLock Venture locking system. 

The goLock Venture locking system, as it was explained at their booth by Steve Jones, the inventor, is an electronic cable locking system that protects your kayak or other equipment or fishing gear from theft two ways: 1) triggering an audible 95 decibel alarm at location where the locking system is being used and 2) sending you an alert to an application on your smart phone using cellular or Bluetooth technology.  The Venture cables come in 1/8" and 3/8" diameter and in 3, 7, 10 and 20 foot lengths.  Talking about reducing the anxiety of leaving your kayak cabled to the roof of your vehicle or a trailer over night. 

This new product certainly does the trick.  Steve showed me, at the booth, how the alarm will go off even when the alarm was tampered with not being breached.  I really liked the ability to be alerted in my hotel room when someone was messing with my kayak. Steve said that the Venture security system was great for cyclist who cable their bike to bike stands. If you use your imagination, you can come up with other ways to use the Venture with its different cable lengths.  So before you invest in a cable security system, you really need to check out the goLock Venture. The goLock Venture coming to a outdoor specialty retailer soon.

Until next time, be safe in the sun and have a great day in the great outdoors.

2018 ICAST Is a Wrap

The 2018 ICAST trade show that is held annually at the Orlando Orange County Convention Center was another great success.   As with any large event like this many of the brand sales and marketing staff, who man the booths come and go. All my contacts from past years are now all gone.  A relationship like these enables media bloke like myself to get a different prospective on new products being present at the show. 

This year, with out any contacts, I had to sort of freelance the show trying to get the attention of booth staff.  Most of the time, unless you are a little pushy, which I am not, you cannot get the attention of booth sales and marketing staff. This is especially true at the major brand booths.  In addition, because booth staff are there to make sales, I never take up their time away from making sales.  This year as I walked the floor I spent my time with small brands where booth traffic was not as hectic as with major brands.  I did have one fun experience at the show.  Here is a little background on my fun.  About five years ago, when  one of my contacts gave me a fly rod to donate to the Jacksonville Kayak Classic, it was won by Jason Schall.

Jason is an amazing angler from Charleston, SC. He has caught over 600 different species of fish. Jason is a two time winner of the IGFA Chester H. Wolfe Outstanding Sportsmanship Award. He won in 2014 and 2018. Jason is also a member of sport fishing whose who. He is on the pro staff of many brands and spends his time promoting sport fishing. I always like to hook up with him at ICAST. Well this year as I walked the show floor after meeting him and his wife early on, I kept crossing his path all day long.  I was able to snap a few photos of Jason and Jennifer. Always fun to see Jason at ICAST.

ICAST is made up of one fishing tournament day, one demo day on the water behind the convention center and three show days. This makes ICAST a week long event.  In the past I always spent two days at the show. But this year I only s pent one day.  Even with one day it was a fun filled experience.  I will b e posting my show video and a few small brand articles to my blog over the next few weeks.

So until next year, be safe in the sun and have a great day in the great out doors.

HydraPak Shows Support of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership at 2018 ICAST

The 2018 ICAST trade show lived up to the hype that this year's show would be better than ever.  Looks like the ICAST team hit the nail on the head.

When I walk the show floor, I am always looking for those brands that give back to the outdoor community.  HydraPak was one of those brands that caught my eye this year.

HydraPak has a long history of supporting outdoor causes.  This year at ICAST they teamed with the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership to raise money for their mission of  "To guarantee all Americans quality places to hunt and fish".  At the HydraPak booth if you donated $5.00, they gave you a limited edition Stow Bottle.  I could not get my money out of my wallet fast enough.  I only regret that I did not donate more money to score a few more bottles.

 If you are not familiar with HydraPak products, they make complete lineup of hydration reservoirs, flexible bottles, soft flasks, and water storage containers in 2, 3, 4, and 8 liter sizes.  These water storage bags, bottles and containers are amazingly strong.  While at the booth I picked up on of the flasks full of water and asked about the strength. The HydraPak team member who was giving me the product lineup rundown quickly tossed the flask on the floor and stood up on it with one of her feet.  She looked to weight about 110 pounds. She said that because how the products are manufactured the neck is actually molded by heat to the flexible body.  All the HydraPak products can be used when hiking, biking, hunting, fishing, trail running and snowboarding and skiing.  She said you can freeze water and not worry about bottle breakage.

I started hiking and backpacking during the early 1970s (Age give-a-way).  I have hiked and backpacked in Alaska, Colorado, North and South Carolina.  During those days one used a aluminum or heavy plastic bottles or canteens.  It would have been great to have had a very light weight HydraPak bottle or flask. When the bottle or flask was emptied you just rolled it up and put it in your day pack or backpack until time to fill it up again. It takes up almost no space at all.

If you are interested in getting a few HydraPak reservoirs, flexible bottles, soft flasks, and water storage containers and you do not happen to have outdoor retailer in your neighborhood,  you can just visit their website.  REI and Amazon both carry Hydrpak products.

So until next time, be safe in the sun and have a great day in the great outdoors.

Hop-On Hop-Off New Orleans Tour Video Clips

Hop-On Hop-Off Tour of New Orleans

St Louis Cemetery No 1 Tour 6 30 18

The Great Outdoors Restaurant High Springs, Florida

On February 17, 2018 I had the opportunity to visit Mill Creek Farm the retirement home for horses in Alachua, Florida with my daughter and her hubby and friends from California who took a break from blitzing all the Disney parks to enjoy a leisurely day in the country.  After our visit to the farm we headed over to High Springs, Florida to have a late lunch at the Great Outdoors Restaurant. 

The drive from Mill Creek Farm to the Great Outdoors was a little over 7 miles.  Our group of six was seated in a booth that had two side chairs.  This was perfect for my wide body as most booths are two small to sit comfortable in.  We were given advanced warning about how good the food was because daughter Becky and her husband Nigel had eaten there two times before. 


Our appetizer was  an order of home made chips with blue cheese.  For our main courses we had the Portobello Burger, Shrimp Poor Boy, BLT, ToFu Salad, Fried Green Tomatoes with Grits and a Parmesan Encrusted Grilled Cheese Sandwich with 4 different cheeses.  Wow, our table was overflowing with food. Each of these dishes had its own unique flavor profile. For beverages we all had water with lemon.  Four of use had ale and cider.  I had a pint of hard cider and my wife had a Irish Red Ale along with our friends from California, Mike and Kelly.  

Diane was our server. When she came to ask about deserts I told her that restaurant guests needed to be warned about the size of the appetizers and main courses.  I said that if you wanted desert you needed to order it first. We were so full we passed on deserts.  All and all this was a great end to fun day in central Florida horse country.

Until next time, be safe in the sun and have a great day in the great outdoors.  

Mill Creek Farm - The Retirement Home for Horses

I had the opportunity to visit Mill Creek Farm the retirement home for horses in Alachua, Florida with my daughter and her hubby and friends from California who took a break from blitzing all the Disney parks to enjoy a leisurely day in the country. 

What a pleasant way to spend a Saturday afternoon.  The farm is just a short drive off US I-75 at exit 414 at highway 441.   It took us about 2 hours and 20 minuted to make the trip from Champions Gate just off I-4.  We arrived around 1:00 PM.  

The Mill Creek Farm is a 501-C-3 non-profit.  The farm is 100% funded by donations and volunteer help.  It was established in 1983 and was started with 140 acres.  Today the farm is composed of 335 acres and is the home for more than 135 horses.  There is no charge for admission but you can make a donations at the main entrance point when you arrive or leave.  All donations, no matter how small or large, are greatly appreciated.

The highlight  of our visit to the farm was to walk around the 335 acres along the well groomed paths to meet and feed the horses.  The horses can eat raw carrots, bananas and sliced apples.  If you do not being your own carrots, you can purchase a bag at the main entrance point stand where donations can be made.  If you walk the entire path to meet all the horses, you will need a big bunch of carrots.  I saw a family with children pulling a wagon with a huge bag of carrots.  Looked like 25 pound or more.  

Because you can easily spend more than the two hours we spent there, you need to get there when it opens at 11:00 AM.  The farm is only open on Saturday from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM.  They close the front gate at 2:45 PM and want you out of the farm by 3:00 PM.  In fact we were the last visitors on the path.  We were followed by a volunteer riding a golf cart the last stretch of the main path back to the main entrance point.  

We had a great day.  Check out my video of our visit  posted to Outdoor Recreation In Orlando.  Until next time, be safe in the sun  and  have a great day in the great outdoors. 

Mill Creek Farm The Retirement Home for Horses

Made in America Surfing Lifestyle Apparel

Have you checked the label in your board shorts or any of your other surfing clothes to see where they are made?  Would you be surprised to learn that most of what you wear is not made in America but made in sweat shops all around the world.  According to the Textile Fashion Study, China, Hong Cong, Italy, and Bangladesh are the top four. There is a good bet that your surf shorts came from one of these countries.  But if you do your homework you might find great surfing apparel made in America.


At the 2018 Surf Expo, Birdwell Beach Britches and Katin were two exhibitors who make apparel in America.  Birdwell apparel, hats and bags all carry the "Made in the USA" tag.  The Katin brand has some "Made in the USA" label on some of their products.

The reason this caught my attention is that I watched a cable news documentary the other night about the fashion industry which surf lifestyle apparel is part of.  I learned a new term, Fast Fashion.  What is Fast Fashion you may ask.  Fast Fashion is when the fashion industry produces cheap disposable clothes with new fashion season / styles coming out instead of a few times a year to more than ten times a year.  Cheap clothing where styles change often has a big impact on the environment when all these disposal clothes are tossed in the trash or donated. 

Did you know that most of the clothes you donate never, never get worn again.  The internet is filled on articles on this subject.  The documentary I watched showed how much used clothing ended up in Haiti.  Used clothing is shipped out in 1,000 pound bails. Click HERE to read one of these articles from Fashionista.

With Surf Expo being a two times a year event, that appears to me to be perfect.  But Surf Expo is not the only apparel trade show where new styles are rolled out.  I am not sure with America's appetite for new clothing styles can anything be done to stem the tide of throw-a-way clothes. 

All that being said, I would hope that surfers all over the world would be more conscious about the surf lifestyle apparel purchases they make and do their part to reduce the amount of used clothing  piling up in warehouses and landfills around the globe.

Until next time, be safe in the sun and have a great day in the great outdoors. 

ecoboardin at 2018 Surf Expo

I started attending Surf Expo and ICAST about 10 years ago.  Over that time period I have seen the slow but deliberate change in fishing kayaks and surf boards by  watermen and surfers.  Kayaks have truly been transformed to where the fishing kayak is today with amazing seats and all sorts of peddle / paddle drives.  Surfboards have not changed as dramatically as kayaks.  Surfboard materials like the foam cores, stringers, fins, and fiberglass have changed with time but the surfboard is still a shaped composite board with a curved up nose with one to three fins on the back.  Even Stand Up Paddle Boards (SUPs), which are very big surfboards that are wider and longer than your average surfboard, are constructed using the same components as surfboards. Instead of using the wave action action to propel the surfboard, a SUP rider uses a specially designed paddle. 

Radical innovation did not affect the SUP market until last year when BOTE rolled out their Rover. The Rover is a redesigned hopped SUP with a real cutout for a small out board motor.  In Europe a company called Aquanami has both a jet ski motor operated kayak and SUP.  They have not set up a distributorship here in the USA.  So where am I going with this.  

At this year's January Surf Expo a new exhibitor showed off their battery powered surf board. The company is ecoboardin. They are located in Fort Pierce, Florida.  At their booth I spoke with Carla Elicondo about their battery powered propulsion system in their innovative surf board.  They had a video running in the booth I could not take my eyes off of.  My bad I did not take a video of their long video.  Check out the short video clip from their website I posted today.  Ecoboardin has two models, the Carver and the Manta.  The list price is $5,390.00.  An extra battery costs $1,980.00.  These prices are good for each model.  The battery life for the Carver is 20 minutes at full speed.  But you can get more battery life at slower speeds. The Manta is designed for slower speeds.  The battery life for the Manta is about 2.5 hours.   I really like the concept. 

The price will not scare first adapters away because you can easily spend up to 5 grand on an extremely tricked out kayak. So why not spend that much on an electric powered surf board.  Only time will tell how the surfing market place reacts to this new surfing technology.  If the reaction is like what happened to kayak propulsion systems, hang on to your hat it will be a fun ride.  


Until next time, be safe in the sun and have a great day in the great outdoors.  

The Carver by ecoboardin

Sunshine States Goods Rocks 2018 Surf Expo

From being a producer on the Oprah Show to a Florida surf lifestyle entrepreneur, any task Chelsea McMillan sets her mind to becomes a success. Sunshine State Goods is an up and coming Florida surf lifestyle apparel brand.

I met Chelsea in an odd way at the 2018 January Surf Expo.  While I was sitting at one of the round tables in one of the eating areas, Chelsea was walking around the showroom floor dropping sales and marketing cards on the table.  We acknowledge each other and she went on her way to the next table. At Surf Expo, the center of all the round eating tables were used as a depository of surfing stickers, rack cards and other forms of brand advertising. Well sometime later when I was sitting at another table at a different location on the expo floor, low and behold here comes Chelsea still making her rounds. Below is the marketing piece she was placing on each table. 

We smiled and recognized the fact that we have crossed paths again.  From that point on, I decided to stop by her booth to see what Sunshine State Goods was all about. 

When I arrived at any expo booth I am always wary not to interrupt any sales discussion with potential customers. If a booth is very busy I always swing back later when the booth is less busy.  Upon arriving at the Sunshine State Goods booth there were no potential customers to contend with. 

Chelsea greeted me with a smile that said we meet again.  Meeting people at surf expo is such a blast.  At that time I dove right in and ask about the history of the brand.  She explained the company history. She said she started the business because she saw an opportunity to develop a line of Florida themed apparel.  Click HERE for a great article about Chelsea McMillan on the Erwin Shaw Street website.  Their interview of Chelsea tells the whole story.  

I have been doing graphic design since the early 1980 when Corel Draw first came on the market. During these 35 plus years I have designed hundreds of tee shirts so when I am given the opportunity write about surf lifestyle apparel, especially tee shirts, I have a sound basis for my comments.  

As Chelsea showed me different shirt styles with different designs I asked her who did her artwork.  She said she used local Florida artist.  I commented that I like the simplicity of the artwork on the Sunshine State Goods apparel.  I said that because I am not a fan of tee shirt designs with a 1,000 colors with very complex  designs.  The art work Chelsea is using clearly shows off the Sunshine State in simplistic terms.  During our short talk, Chelsea mentioned that they supported Florida with a special Hurricane Irma tee shirt design and they were a big supporter of Florida Wildlife Corridor.  According to the Florida Wildlife Corridor, "it is a statewide network of lands and water that supports wildlife and people".   

You can find Sunshine State Goods at neighborhood stores located in many of Florida beach side cities.  Click HERE for a list of their retail partners.  If you do not live close to any of these retail partners, you can order online from their website.  They also have a Facebook page, a Twitter page, a Pinterest page and an Instagram page.  From one Floridian to another, pick up your Sunshine State Goods tee shirt today.

Until next time be safe in the sun and have a great day in the great outdoors.  

OutterBox at 2018 Surf Expo

If you have ever attended Surf Expo, ICAST or any of the Outdoor Retailer shows, you would know how easy it is to miss exhibitors.  This year was no exception for me.  When I approached the OutterBox Cooler booth I asked if this was the first time they exhibited.  No was the answer I got.  I just happen to miss them during one of my past visits to Surf Expo before when I was doing one of my cooler war articles.  

OutterBox has designed a really great "Made In America" cooler.  These coolers are made in Detroit using automobile manufacturing technology.   The coolers come in three sizes, 25, 45, and 65 quarts. Each cooler has many accessory attachment points where you can add other OtterBox accessories. 

Easily one can see that these coolers go head to head with Yeti or any of the top of the line coolers.  While talking to Levi, Sattler, OutterBox Account Director, he point out the latches.  Latches! I loved these latches.  These latches are of a cam lock design.  You can close them with on finger. I love these latches. Did I say I love these latches. 

During Hurricane Irma I purchased an Igloo 55 Quart Sportsman Cooler at my local Sam's Club that have large rubber handles. You really have to tug on these to get the lid shut.  Now I only paid about $175.00 for my cooler.  The OutterBox 65 quart cost $349.99 and the 45 quart $299.99.  But if you know any thing about coolers you know that when shopping for a high technology cooler, price does matter.   You get more features from OtterBox than getting a cooler than from a coller from Walmart or Sam's Club.  If I had it to do all over again, an OutterBox cooler just might be sitting in my garage. Check out my video on the Venture 45 cooler.  So if you are in the need of a top of the line cooler, the OutterBox 25, 45, or 65 quarts size just may do the trick.

Until next time be safe in the sun and have a great day in the great outdoors. 

OutterBox at the 2018 Surf Expo

WoodRoze at 2018 Surf Expo

The January Surf Expo typically has a bigger attendance than does the September show.  This year's expo was no exception.  Happy to see a full floor since the 2017 September show was cursed by Hurricane Irma.

On my last day at the show while resting my bones at one of the eating areas a gentleman sat down at my table with this laptop.  When I look at his badge, it read Donald Trump.  If you know me I could not resist.  I said Mr. President which started up a conversation.  I did not realize that his name was really David Maracher after reading his business card.  What a hoot.  While speaking to David, I learned that he was an avid sportsman who was a professional muskie angler, and turkey and deer hunter.  In his day job he is an independent investment professional money manager in Williamsville, NY.  The reason he was attending Surf Expo was to support his son's business, WoodRoze Sustainable Optics.  WoodRoze is a surf lifestyle business based out of New Smyrna Beach, Florida.  At the booth I mnet Wyatt who showed me all their sunglasses styles.  They use Carl Zeiss lenses.  WoodRoze offers a wide range of wood, fashion, and fishing sunglasses. 

They also have watches, apparel and other surf lifestyle gear.  What makes WoodRoze sunglasses popular is the quality, style and price points.  Their designer sunglasses carry a $60.00 price point with their fishing sunglasses in the $149.00 range.

So the next time you are looking for a new pair of sunglasses or a watch, the WoodRoze wood sunglasses and watches are very unique.

Until next time be safe in the sun and have a great day in the great outdoors.

41st Central Florida Scottish Highland Games Photos

41st Central Florida Scottish Highland Games Mass Bands

41st Central Florida Scottish Highland Games Host Band Inspection