Getaway Goods

*Patagonia Black Hole Duffel 90L - waterproof fabric, sealed zips and seams, plus a padded bottom protect your gear from the rain and the brutality of baggage claim. Soft shoulder straps convert the bag to a backpack-and give you something to cling to in the event your plane goes down in the Pacific: $130, Patagonia.com

*Klean Kanteen Reflect - the reflect is an extremely durable and simple 27-ounce bottle made from stainless steel and bamboo that any eco freak will approve. Go green and stay hydrated: $33, kleankanteen.com

*Merrell Interlude - made from waterproof nylon, the Interlude packs four cargo pockets and a stowaway hood. It will keep you and your stuff dry on a hike but also folds down into a neck pillow. The best part? No one will know you own a neck pillow: $200, merrell.com

*New Balance MT915 - this trail running shoe is versatile enough for any training or outdoor adventure you can get yourself into. It's got a sleek look and an aggressive low-profile design with plenty of shock absorbing cushioning for a snug, comfortable fit: $125, newbalance.com

*Kodak PlaySport Video Camera - don't miss a frame. The PlaySport captures 1080p HD video and 5MP stills, and it's waterproof and shockproof--so there's pretty much nowhere it can't go. Click the share button and your video will upload to Facebook or YouTube: $180, kodak.com

SMILE! HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY WKND BUY SOMEONE'S STARBUCKS TODAY :o)

Discounts & Deals Outdoor Entertaining!!!

Alfresco dining doesn't have to mean paper plates & bug lamps. These specially priced accessories are practical yet charming.

1. Cutting Edge Cutting Boards by Bambu: Made of durable bamboo and beautiful enough to double as serving trays. $12 to $28; branchhome.com

2. Horne Serving Tools: Everything should be sunnier in the summertime, including your utensils. (These are stainless steel and enamel) $35 each; shophorne.com

3. Coconut Lacquerware Bowls by Bambu: Do a little island living with these food-safe bowls made from actual shells. In five colors. $16 each; branchhome.com

4. Alberino Lantern: Insert a candle between the wires for festive lighting that can be hung or set on a tabletop. In three colors. Height 171/2 inches. $15; zgallerie.com

5. Soji Solar Lantern:  The solar-powered bulb inside the weather-resistant nylon shade collects sunlight all day, then lights up the night sky. In six colors. $16; daytripsociety.com

6. Fiesta Oval Tray: Looks like pottery, but it's unbreakable plastic - so pile it high with burgers at your next cookout. In five colors. Size: 16 by 19 inches. $22; overstock.com enter code 206777 at checkout.

GRILLING GADGETS! Who says you can't play with fire? These nine ingenious tools are flipping fun!

Best For Basting - Bodum Bistro Sauce Pot: the lid of this cheery jar has a barbecue sauce-gripping silicone brush built right in. To Buy: $20; bodumusa.com

Best For Hotdogs - Crate and Barrel Hot Dog & Sausage Griller: the sleek stainless-steel rollers keep links off of direct heat--and safe from charring--as they cook to snappy, ballpark-style perfection. To Buy: $20; crateandbarrel.com

Best For Seasoning - Mr Bar-B-Q Shaker: with a 17-inch reach, this trusty device lets you add a final dash of seasoning while staying at a comfortable distance from the flames. To Buy: $16; northlineexpress.com

Best For Beer-Can Chicken - Steven Raichlen's Beer Can Chicken Roaster: fill the cup that fits into this sturdy stainless-steel tray with beer (or, heck, with wine or hard cider), place a chicken on top, and grill. The result: a bird that's five-napkins juicy. To Buy: $30; grilling4all.com

Best For Smoking (Sans a Smoker) - Char-Broil Cast-Iron Smoker Box: flavor your fire like a master: Pack the box with soaked grilling chips (apple or hickory) place it on one side of the grill, and let the woodsy aroma infuse your food. To Buy: $16; charbroil.com

Best For Burgers - Perfect Burger Press by Progressive International: use this lightweight plastic contraption to mold flawless six-ounce patties--then just pop the meat on the grill. To Buy: $5; kitchencollection.com

Best Night-Light - L.L. Bean Trailblazer II Headlamp: No more juggling tongs and a flashlight: This LED headlamp lets you illuminate your grill hands-free. To Buy: $30; llbean.com

Best For Ribs - Weber Style Stainless-Steel Rib Rack: this space-saving tool holds four slabs of ribs upright for ideal heat circulation (Yes, you can still close the grill lid) To Buy: $35; store.weber.com

Best Multi-Purpose Tool - BBQ Hooker Four-In-One: Like a Swiss army knife (grilling edition), it has a thin spatula for flipping burgers, a serrated edge for cutting meat, a hook for wrangling steaks, and a bottle opener. To Buy: $20; amazon.com

SMILE 1ST THING IN MORNING, HAVE AN INCREDIBLE WEDS. HUMP DAY! :)

Optimize your iPhone & High Life...

Mobile Palace: Thanks to the MSR Backcountry Barn, tent camping no longer requires crouching in a snug nylon bubble. Near-vertical walls allow full use of its expansive floor space (80 square feet), allowing even 6-footers enough room to stand, stretch and set up a table for a late night poker game. During the day, the floor can be rolled so you are able to keep bikes secure without muddying your bedroom floor. [$700; cascadedesigns.com]

Dinner for Four (or More) Packed smarter than a Tokyo apartment, MSR's Flex 4 System has all the accoutrements to prepare a gourmand's feast. Its anodized 5.3-liter cook pot fits a second 3.2 liter pot, four plates, and four insulated cups. And at less than four pounds, it's clean enough for backpacking should base camp get boring. [$160; cascadedesigns.com]

Backcountry Gourmet: Part cooktop, part grill, the Primus Profile Duo sports a 12,000-btu propane flame-bar for searing steaks and grilling vegetables on a nonstick surface, while a 9,7000-btu side burner warms up a demi-glace. Take that, beans and wienies. [$120; primuscamping.com]

Glass Act: The manly act of camp craft requires stout gear, even if the sole purpose of said gear is to hold a healthy pour of pinot grigio. The Glacier Stainless Steel wine glass won't shatter en route, and its stowable stem unscrews to save storage space in the trunk. Another benefit: The steel keeps cool longer than glass, meaning well-chilled whites stays drinkable long after quiet hour. [$13; gsioutdoors.com]

Best Seat in the House: The most important piece of car camp furniture? A place to park your butt that's so comfortable you won't miss your couch divot. The GCI Wilderness Recliner is the best we've found, thanks to a pair of webbed straps that can be adjusted to any angle with a tug. The movable lumbar support and beer holder are bonuses. [$60; integrityoutdoorbrands.com]

Optimize Your iPhone

IGRILL - igrillinc.com; $99 A wireless thermometer that relays the precious slabs of meat on the grill. Instead of sweating over hot coals, why not knock golf balls around the yard while the porterhouses make their way to medium (or a really well-done 400 degrees)? Just insert the probe into your steak, set the desired temp, and wander up to 200 feet away. Your phone will buzz you when the meat's done to your liking.

IRADAR - cobrairadar.com; $129 A tiny receiver that detects radar guns and alerts you via your iPhone. By leveraging its GPS & internet access, your phone becomes a smarter detector. It can alert you to known smokey hangouts & traffic cameras, the locations of which are stored in an enormous & constantly updated online database. Alerts are displayed onscreen, offering a far more elegant fix than your shoe box size device from 1995.

WIFI SCALE - withings.com; $159 A tempered glass scale that takes note of your weight, body-fat, lean-and-muscle-mass percentages, then beams that data to your phone. It makes progress reports and charts you can monitor with a level of neuroticism usually reserved for high school wrestling coaches. For inspiration, you can set it to share your vital stats through Facebook & Twitter, because shame is a great motivator.

IBIKE DASH - ibikesports.com; $199 A weatherproof, handlebar-mounted iPhone dock that works with a fork-mounted speed sensor. By collecting mountains of data, during your rides, your speed, distance, routes, lap times, and more get logged. Afterward you can sync to a PC or Mac & dull the pain of recovery time by pouring over your stats. Its other service? Sparing you the indignity of tucking your phone into your Lycra shorts.

GRIFFIN BACON - griffintechnology.com; $79 A small receiver that connects to your home theatre. Allows you to control the whole setup via iPhone. Your components will be in sync, thanks to an app that knows which devices you want on, depending on what activity you want to do. (Hit the "watch movie" button & the DVD stereo, & TV all come on) And since it uses Bluetooth, you can flip channels even if a cereal bowl is in the way.

SMILE INCESSANTLY SATURDAY & SUNDAY! BUY A COFFEE/BREAKFAST BE KIND :)

What's New June 2011

Power On The Fly - Hiking in the woods with a dead camera? Plug your gadget into Power Trekk's fuel-cell charger, add a fuel pack and one tablespoon of water, and your charge begins ($TBD; powertrekk.com)

Tougher Tretorns - This summer, channel the effortless cool of Bjorn Borg by lacing up these Tretorn Rodlera Mesh sneakers. While they're inspired by the Swedish brand's iconic Silver Wings, they're tougher than the Tretorns of yesteryear ($95; store.tretorn.com)

Light Breaker - The windproof material of Rab's five-ounce Cirrus Windtop blocks the cold without adding bulk ($110; us.rab.uk.com)

Formula-I Frame - Specialized tapped McLaren's 45 years of racing experience to develop the S-Works + McLaren Venge - the fastest and sturdiest ride we've ever seen (from $8,000; venge.specialized.com)

Heavy Hitter - You need to buy only one hammer, so get one that looks as good as Estwing's Leather Handled Claw Hammer ($39; estwing.com)

Stand-Up Rapids - Sundance Kayak School is the first outfitter to offer stand-up paddle-boarding trips down southern Oregon's 60-degree Rogue River, where Class III whitewater awaits ($125; sundanceriver.com)

Bourbon With Bite - Colonel E.H. Taylor Sour Mash Whiskey: pretty bottle, moonshine punch ($70; buffalotrace.com)


SMILE EACH DAY! HELP OUT THE LESS FORTUNATE, BUY SOMEONE A STARBUCKS :)

Save BIG $$$ on Summer Travel...

Go Ahead - Get Out Of Town. But First Check Out These 10 Smart Strategies for Making a Less Costly Escape.

1) Lift off from a smaller airport: You can reap significant savings if you're willing to put up with a bit of inconvenience. Often you can snag a better deal on airline tickets if you bypass the majors and fly out of a regional airport instead. At press time, Real Simple found that it was $50 cheaper to fly to New York City from the Akron-Canton Airport than from the Cleveland hub. Use the search feature on the easy-to-navigate Kayak.com to compare airpares near you. But bear in mind-prices at the pump, the cost of driving to a more remote airport could wipe out some of your savings. Go to FreeCostCalculator.com, run by AAA, to estimate your outlay on gasoline.

2) Check a Bag for $0: Baggage fees have become a massive profit center for airlines: In 2010 the industry raked in more than $2.5 billion in these charges. But two airlines will let you check bags for free: JetBlue Airways allows one bag per passenger; Southwest Airlines permits two. Fly on them whenever possible and you'll save $50 or more round-trip per passenger. If those airlines don't suit your plans, sign up for a credit card with travel perks: Delta Air Lines waives one baggage fee per flight for customers who use its American Express Skymiles credit card, and Continental Airlines allows two free checked bags per traveler when the flight is booked on its Chase Presidential Plus card. Also, see if your hotel refunds baggage fees. Kimpton hotles currently credits up to $25 toward each room on request, and the Inter-continental Hotel Group offers a promotion for baggage-fee reimbursements from time to time, says Anne Banas, the executive editor of the travel site SmarterTravel.com

3) Find hidden hotel freebies: Room prices are down from their peak--averaging $99 a night as of this past February, compared with a high of $109 a night in 2008, according to the data firm, STR. But a' la carte fees, for everything from internet access (about $10 to $15 daily) to parking (about $20 a night or more) can cause sticker shock when it's time to pay the bill. Go to www.priceline.com/freebies to search for hotels that provide guests with complimentary breakfast, parking, or credits toward spa treatments or rounds of golf. And check out wififreespot.com, which lists hotle chains, such as Hollywood Suite by Hilton & Hyatt Place, that offer Wi-Fi on the house.

4) Cruise from a port closer to home: Until a few years ago, many vacationers had to fly to Miami or Orlando to hop on a cruise. No longer: Several companies, including Norwegian Cruise Line & Royal Carribean International, now set sail from ports located near large population centers around the country, such as New York City; Seattle; Galveston, Texas, Charleston, South Carolina; and Baltimore. And if you live near one of those locations, that can save you a bundle. Case in point: As of mid-April, taking a Carnival Cruise Lines trip directly from Charleston to the Bahamas cost $569 less than flying from Charleston to Miami, staying one night in a hotel, and departing the next day. The only drawback? "It takes longer for the ship to reach the destination, so you spend more time on the boat," says Carolyn Spencer Brown, editor-in-chief of the review site CruiseCritic.com. "But for most people that's preferable to filling time in airport."

5) Get the cheapest possible set of wheels: Prices for loaner vehicles fluctuate constantly, but not many travelers take the time to recheck rates after booking, even though there's no fee to cancel or change a reservation with any major car-rental company. To make this task easier, book with AutoSlash.com, a site that continues to check prices (on both domestic and foreign reservations) until your pickup date. If it finds a lower rate, you are automatically rebooked for free, and the new confirmation details are sent to your in-box. For a recent weeklong car rental in Los Angeles that originally cost $227, AutoSlash rebooked the reservation twice, reducing the price by $19. It also offered a free upgrade from a compact to a midsize car.

6) Use Bing's price predictor: Who hasn't read about a major fare sale the day after putting down a nonrefundable deposit on a reservation?(Ouch). Bing.com/travel helps you decide when to pull the trigger. After you put in your desired flight itinerary, the site tells you whether to buy your ticket now, or wait, based on historical fare data and price trends. (The site claims to have a 75% accuracy rate, which independent experts don't dispute) You can use Bing's "rate indicator" to shop for hotel rooms, too. It tells you whether a current price is a "deal", an "average rate", or "not a deal".

7) Follow Twitter sales: Twitter has become 'the' place for travel companies to announce sales that seem too good to be true--but aren't. Followers get first dibs on fare cuts before they go viral on the Wed. The specials are often for last-minute getaways. A recent one advertised tickets on Spirit Airlines (@SpiritAirlines) from Washington, DC to Fort Lauderdale, FLA, for just $54 each way. JetBlue Airways (@JetBlue) also offers noteworthy deals. The boutique-hotel specialist Quikbook (@Quikbook) is another good source, informing followers of discounts of up to 40% at independent hotels in major U.S. cities, such as Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles and Chicago's Peninsula Hotel.

8) Look for overseas discount carriers: Flights by low-cost foreign airlines, (such as Easyjet, based in the United Kingdom) don't show up on Expedia.com or Orbitz.com. But you can still take advantage of their rock-bottom prices: Book a ticket to a hub like Paris or Rome on a major carrier, then use Skyscanner.com or Momondo.com to reserve seats on a low-fare airline if you're headed to a smaller city, like Copenhagen or Nice. "These tickets can be ridiculously cheap. My husband recently flew from London to Girona, Spain, for less than $20 one way", says Pauline Frommer, the creator of Pauline Frommer Guides travel books.

9) Don't get dinged by credit-card fees: Many banks add a 3% foreign-transaction surcharge to the total cost of your purchase when you use a credit card abroad. But you can find ways around this charge by signing up for a credit card that waves the fee. Capital One does not assess the fee on any of its cards, and American Express has dropped the fee on its platinum card. Citi has followed suit on its Thank You Premier and Prestige lines, and Chase waives it on cards issued with British Airways, Hyatt, Continental Airlines, and United Airlines, among others. You might also avoid ATM charges by calling your bank before you travel and asking if it has any financial partners at your destinations.

10) Invite yourself to private hotel sales: Lately more and more premium hotels are offering discounts on rooms via members-only websites. Some of the "deals", however, aren't much different from what's being offered on the hotel's own websites. But two sites--Jetsetter.com and TripAlertz.com--make good on their promise to give users access to exclusive bargains. Recently you could get a room at the Vintage Inn, in Yountville, CA for $285 a night instead of $405, or stay at the Benson Hotel in Portland,Oregon, for $100 a night instead of $159. To get free access to the sites, sign up at TripAlertz.com and jetsetter.com/realsimple


SMILE THIS WKND ENJOY YOUR FRIENDS, HAVE A COFFEE & BE KIND TO ONE ANOTHER

Why Twitter Wants TweetDeck – and TweetDeckers – So Badly | Social Media Today

Why Twitter Wants TweetDeck – and TweetDeckers – So Badly | Social Media Today

Rumor or fact? This is a very good read...what do you think?

21st-Century Moonshine..Come Get Ya Some!

If You're Not Down With the Brown, give Some White Whiskey A Try!

1) Death's Door White Whiskey - 80% wheat, 20% barley From the heart of Packers country, this tipple is made from 80% red winter wheat(most white whiskeys are corn-based)and tastes like some sort of bastard love child of sake and tequila(that's a good thing).
2) Marko K. Spirits Doubled & Twisted Light Whiskey - 100% malted barley Made from a base of hoppy California IPAs (beer!), Doubled & Twisted is named for how the spirit coils over as it comes out of the still at 160 proof. Bottled, it's 99. Twisted indeed!
3) Glen Thunder Corn Whiskey - 90% corn, 5% rye, 5$ barley malt Given that NASCAR got its start with a bunch of speed-crazy moonshiners, it's only fitting that this sweet and smooth sauce is dedicated to the legendary Watkins Glen raceway.
4) Hudson New York Corn Whiskey - 100% corn Unaged and distilled in small batches, this Hudson Valley hooch offers a big buzz that belies its little bottle. And if you're concerned by the size, just drink two at a time.
5) Kings Country Distillery Moonshine - 80% corn, 20% barley Leave it to New York City's first licensed distillery since Prohibition to call this spirit by by it's classic white-trash handle. Break out the corncob pipes city slickers.
6) Buffalo Trace White Dog Mash #1 - Corn, rye, barley malt Even though the at Buffalo Trace have been whipping up the hard stuff since 1787, it wasn't until last year that they decided to actually bottle the 125-proof firewater they normally age until it becomes the country's best bourbon.

THE GIN CROWD: rethinking the G&T, one new and surprisingly tasty gin at a time!


Three Upstarts Worth Trying

BREUKELEN: my informal focus group was evenly divided between gin lovers and gin agnostics, and the latter uniformly flipped for this New York spirit. To be honest, I bought this gin almost as a gag -- ph, great, some Brooklyn hipsters must have gotten their mitts on a still -- but it's a powerful contender. Thin, sweet, and tasting strongly of anise, it reminded some of grappa and others of sake. It's easily the most sippable gin I've ever had.
Best In: A G&T with a strong, lemony tonic like Fever-Tree

CITADELLE RESERVE: was on the opposite end of the spectrum. Aged in oak casks, which is unusual for gin nowadays, it's instantly distinguished by a yellowish hue. Citadelle, distilled in France, is a gin fanatic's gin: it won't turn any novices. My friends found it nearly undrinkable straight -- byt tamed with a splash of Dolin's dry vermouth in a martini, it immediately behaved much better.
Best In: An old school, honest-to-goodness martini with a lemon twist (no olive for this one)

AVIATION: is a smooth, citrusy gin made in Portland, Oregon. It's unsurprisingly terrific in its namesake cocktail, but it's easy to sip as well. When I mixed it with Fever-Tree tonic water, the resulting G&T had a strong and interesting whiff of fennel. Another great gin in this family is 'Greylock', distilled in Massachusetts and boasting an added smokiness.
Best In: The Aviation cocktail, of course, served martini-style with maraschino and lemon juice.


SMILE, SMILE, SMILE - TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY :)  ENJOY YOUR WEEK & OTHERS!