Hook & Gaff Sport Watches

On January 26th, Surf Expo will open its doors at the Orange County Convention Center on International Drive.  The January expo is one of two expos each year.

Each show starts on Thursday and ends on Saturday afternoon. The other expo is held in September.  I will be attending the 27th and the 28th.  This year there is a new exhibitor Hook & Gaff Watch Company coming to the expo.  H&G is a purveyor of luxury sport watches.  Click HERE for their website. I plan to stop by  their booth to check out their entire line up of sport watches.  Here are a few photos of their sport watch line up.  Stay tuned for my follow up article after the show.

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

Colonial Williamsburg at Christmas

During the Christmas holiday season getting outside in the great outdoors does  not always mean going hiking or mountain biking.  Our National Parks system has great outdoor parks where one can walk out side from exhibit to exhibit.

Colonial Williamsburg is one such place.  Williamsburg was founded in 1692 along the Virginia Peninsula.  It was the capital of the Virginia Colony from 1699 - 1780. Today Colonial Williamsburg is contained in the city limits of Williamsburg, Virginia.  Located between Interstate 64 and the James River just south of Interstate 64  exit 238.  Just east of Colonial Williamsburg is Bush Gardens and to the south Historic Jamestowne.

Visiting what is referred to as the America's Historic Triangle is well worth the trip.  While visiting Colonial Williamsburg, if you are active duty or retired military, showing your ID card gets you into the Liberty Lounge. The Liberty Lounge is a place to relax and recharge after spending time walking the streets of Colonial Williamsburg visiting all the exhibits.  At one end of Duke of Gloucester Street is Merchants Square where one will find restaurants and shops filled with colonial souvenirs to take back home.  Because Colonial Williamsburg is part of the City of Williamsburg, one can walk the streets and visit all the restaurants and shops with out paying an entry fee.  If you want to tour any of the historic buildings, one will need to purchase a ticket at the Colonial Williamsburg Visitor Center.  In addition to day tickets, one can get other types of entry tickets like annual passes. Click HERE to visit the Colonial Williamsburg website to purchase tickets online.

Parking is available around town in any of the city parking lots, but it is recommended if you purchase a ticket to park at the visitors and ride the shuttle bus to Colonial Williamsburg.  Buses run all day long stopping at bus stops located throughout Colonial Williamsburg.

The City of Williamsburg has many hotels in the area.  If one wants to stay really close to all the exhibits, there are three hotels located in Colonial Williamsburg, Woodlands Hotel & Suites, Williamsburg Lodge and the Williamsburg Inn.  Each is in walking distance of the three main streets of Colonial Williamsburg.  See map of the are above.

 Any time of the year is the right time to visit.  Each season brings a different look and feel to Colonial Williamsburg.  Picking the right time to visit is important if you do not like crowds. During the time between Thanksgiving and New Years Day, might be less crowded because schools are out on winter break and school tours are not occurring.

So the next time you are visiting Virginia do not leave out a trip to America's Historical Triangle and Colonial Williamsburg.  Click HERE for a video of photos and video clips taken at Colonial Williamsburg. Until next time, be safe in the sun and have a great day in the great doors.

The National Museum of the Marine Corp

Just outside of Quantico, Virginia is the National Museum of the Marine Corp.  It is an amazing tribute to the men and women who have served so gallantly defending America's freedom around the world.  I had the opportunity to visit the museum while on a family Christmas holiday vacation.  My wife Kathi and son Thomas, who is a LTC in the U.S. Army National Guard spent a long afternoon with me touring the museum.  There is no entrance fee.  The museum is free.  Depending how long one stays at each exhibit, it takes about two hours to complete the tour.  Then there is the gift shop.  It is loaded with every kind of Marine Corp memorabilia you can think of.  More hats and tee shirts than you will see anywhere.  Being retired U.S. Air Force, I learned a lot about the history of the Marine Corp I did not know.   Loads of fun.  Click HERE for the museum website.  Also click HERE for my video of photos and video clips from my tour.

I you ae ever visiting the DC area, do not miss out on visiting the National Museum of the Marine Corp.  Until next time, be safe in the sun and have a great day in the great outdoors.

AVEX Thermal Travel Mugs

Since Surf Expo last September I have been seeing more advertisements for thermal bottles on TV and on webpage advertising.  There is even a company hocking their special thermal bottle to carry your wine in.  There are loads of choices for shoppers this holiday season with everyone trying to out due each other.  At Surf Expo, Engle, Yeti, Orca and AVEX were four brands showing off their new products.  Some brands like Orca appeared to be catching up rolling out new products that brands like AVEX showed at the January Surf Expo show.  I have been using my AVEX 16 Oz. AUTOSEAL thermal travel mug for almost tow years now.  It delivers exactly what the AVEX advertises.  It keeps my coffee hot for 5-6 hours depending on the temperature the coffee was when I filled my bottle.  I like the large auto seal release button on the cap. I traveled from Melbourne, Florida to Sedona, Arizona in July for a photo shoot. I used my thermal travel mug and my AVEX water bottle on my trip.  Both work very well.

This year AVEX came out with a larger travel mug that holds 20 ounces.  They have also redesigned the cap and AUTOSEAL.  The thermal bottle double wall construction is the same on both bottles.  But the design changes on the caps are significant. Where the Highland has a release button, the Recharge has a on/off pin that locks the auto seal button from moving when closed. It is easier to lock the Highland cap than the Recharge. See photos below.  Another change is the threads on the cap and bottle.  The Highland bottle had inside threads and the Recharge bottle has outside threads.  Where the Highland cap opening and closing action seems rough, the Recharge cap opens and closes very smoothly.  The Highland thermal mug has a 5 hour rating and the Recharge has an 8 hour rating.  Even

though both thermal mugs have different operating characteristics, both thermal mugs do a great job in keeping your hot beverages hot.

So this holiday shopping season you might want to look  at the AVEX thermal travel mugs as a holiday gift.  You can order on line from AVEX by clicking HERE for the AVEX website or visit any online re-seller like AMAZON.  Merry Christmas and a happy holidays. Until next time, be safe in the sun and have a great day in the great outdoors.

Fusion Waterproof Speakers

During this holiday shopping season as you visit big box stores like Same's Club, Bass Pro Shop or any local outdoor retailer you will see many different WiFi speakers  with varying styles, shapes and price ranges.  Looks like this Christmas WiFi speakers will be under someone's tree.

At the September Surf Expo in Orlando, Florida I visited the Fusion booth to see what they claim is the first portable bluetooth water sports stereo.  The Fusion portable water sports stereo was designed in New Zealand. It was created to handle the rough treatment water sports enthusiast can subject their gear to.  The speakers come on white, blue and red colors.  The Bluetooth

connections is IPX7 rated. This means it has passed the most rugged water resistance testing.  The speaker also floats.  It can be connected to a surfboard or your kayak by using the puck mounting system.  HERE to visit the Fusion website.  As it was demonstrated in the booth, it had great sound and was easily connected and removed.

At Surf Expo the puck mounting system was connected to a surfboard in the booth.  You can see the mounting system in one of the photos below. Click
Looks like this just might be the gift for the person who loves the water.  Here locally in central Florida you can find the Fusion portable bluetooth water sports stereo at your local West Marine store. Happy shopping.  Until next time, be safe in the sun and have a great day in the great outdoors.

Great IPhone Case

With Black Friday in full swing and Cyber Monday just two days away, I know that outdoor enthusiast are always looking for that right gift.  About a month ago I was asked to check out the new HitCase waterproof Shield IPhone case.   Being that I live in an Apple IPhone household I could not pass up  the opportunity to do a product review.

HitCase sent me one waterproof Shield for an IPhone 6 Plus/6 Plus S and an IPhone 5/5S.  The instructions were very easy to use. After performing a waterproof seal test with no phones, both phones went into the case very easy.  Above are the photos of both phones in their new cases.  What I especially liked was the case frame was aluminum not plastic.  Having an aluminum frame will come in handy if you happen to have an IPhone 6. The aluminum frame will help prevent your phone from bending.  HitCase also has loads of other IPhone accessories to include a lens kit, a selfie stick and a variety of different mounts.  So this holiday season, check HitCase for your stocking stuffers. Click HERE for their website.

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

The Biltmore Estate and House

Throughout the Southeast there are a lot of places to visit.  Asheville, North Carolina is one such place.  Asheville has been called the "Paris of the South". It is listed as one of the Top 25 Cities for Art.  One of Asheville's most noted places to visit is the famous Biltmore Estate. The Biltmore House was built by George Washington Vanderbilt II. Construction started in 1889 and was completed in 1895.  The Biltmore House is the largest privately owned house in America at 178, 926 square feet.  If you ever get a chance to visit Asheville do not miss a chance to tour the Biltmore Estate.  The entry fee to tour the estate was $65.00.

The Biltmore Estate includes the house, gardens, winery, farm village, the Biltmore Inn and Deer Park.  Because of the distance from the house to Deer Park, the winery and farm village, one must ride a shuttle.  To get to the gardens it is just a short 1/4 mile walk from the house. Once one gets to the garden conservatory there is another 1/2 mile walk to bass lake and the boat house. So good walking shoes might be necessary.

While at the estate there are many good places to eat.  The restaurant was very busy the day I was there.  The wait for a table for four was very manageable. The table service was very good as was the food my group ordered.  The grilled cheese sandwich was very popular item on the menu as was the soup choices.

A visit to the winery is a must. Wine tasting is free although you can pay extra for special wine tasting or you can get accommodation and tour packages all rolled up into one.  There are so many choices.  I stayed with my wife at the Hilton Double Tree which was a short drive to the Biltmore Estate ticket office.  But one can make reservations at the Village Hotel on the Biltmore Estate of the Inn on the Biltmore Estate or one of many local hotels close to the estate. Click Here for the Biltmore Estate website.

During my visit to the estate I took hundreds of photos and video clips. The following are links to my videos on my YouTube Channel.

Biltmore House 1
Biltmore House 2
Biltmore House 3
Biltmore House 4
Biltmore House 5
Biltmore House 6
Biltmore House 7
Biltmore Winery 8

If you are planning a trip to see the Biltmore Estate and the House, check out the great floor plans on the HogWartsCampus website. Looking at these before your tour really helps you understand the magnatude of the house. I found this web page researching the Biltmore House.  The following renderings were created by Randruff and can be seen on the HogWartsCampus webpage along with many other great location.