How To Put On Foul Weather Gear

by Josh Wolff on

People sometimes think that sailing is a sport centered upon warm sunny days and graceful lines across open water. Competitive sailing is a bit different. If it rains, you sail through the storm. If you need to tack in the middle of the night, you get up, grab a handle and start grinding. And if the salt water is 34 degrees and the swells are higher than your boat – well, you deal with it.

Foul weather gear is what sailors use to stay (mostly) dry during harsh conditions on the water. At the Volvo Ocean Race’s stopover in Miami this spring, our friends at Camper gave us a chance to try on some of the team’s gear. As usual, it didn’t go as planned.

12-Year-Old Hiking The Appalachian Trail

by Kraig Becker on

Unlike most kids her age, 12-year-old Reed Gjonnes won’t be spending the summer hanging around the house doing nothing. The young lady and her father Eric have traveled from their home in Oregon to the eastern U.S. where they are spending their summer hiking the Appalachian Trail, a route that runs from Maine to Georgia and stretches 2180 miles in length.

The father-daughter duo began their hike back in April at the southernmost point of the trail, which is located on Springer Mountain in Georgia. Since then they have been hiking north, covering an average of about 25 miles per day. That’s a very impressive number considering the remote and rugged terrain that the trail covers. Along the way they’ve camped under the stars, encountered a wide array of wildlife and met numerous other hikers.

The trip hasn’t been without its challenges. While passing through Pennsylvania a few weeks back, Reed tripped on the rocky ground and broke her arm. Her dad was able to create a makeshift sling using one of his shirts and the two managed to walk into a nearby town in search of a doctor. After getting a cast put on her arm and spending a couple of days resting up, they were soon back on the trail and covering more miles.

While the nearly 2200 mile long Appalachian Trail may seem daunting to most of us, it isn’t even the longest trail that Reed and Eric have walked together. Last year they spent the summer hiking the 2650-mile Pacific Crest Trail, which runs north from California’s border with Mexico, ending in British Columbia, Canada. Next year they plan to trek America’s third classic trail, the 3100-mile long Continental Divide Trail, which also runs from Canada to Mexico, passing through five western U.S. states in the process.

[Photo credit: Kitson Jazynka of the Washington Post]

Video Of The Day: Thunderstorm Sunset in Brooklyn

by Elizabeth Seward on

“Two Thunderstorms and a Sunset Over Brooklyn Time Lapse” from John Huntington on Vimeo.

Enough people I know from NYC posted photos of this thunderstorm sunset from the other night on various social media outlets that I felt compelled to seek out a video and see it for myself. Just the other day, a thunderstorm with ominous clouds rolled into the New York area and was still hanging around by sunset. The photos I saw from friends of the sky that evening are awe-inspiring. Were you in NYC for this storm? Do you have your own photos or videos of the sky that day and night? Feel free to share links to them with us in the comments if so.

Expedia Releases 2012’s Best Reviewed Hotels List

by Jessica Festa on

This week, Expedia released their findings for their 2012 Insiders’ Select rankings, an annual list put out based on more than 500,000 customer hotel reviews. Only 650 of the 150,000 Expedia properties are designated as Insiders’ Select hotels. Likewise, selected hotels are the ones that consistently offer competitive pricing, immaculate amenities and distinguished customer service.

Of the hotels found across 74 countries, there are 28% in North America, 25% in Europe, 3% in South America, 19% in Asia and 25% elsewhere. Moreover, there is an array of star ratings and accommodation styles. For example, 35% are luxury, 17% are sustainable, 11 are ski-friendly, 87 are for families and 116 provide beach settings.

The top 10 properties chosen for this year’s list include:

1. Marrol’s Boutique Hotel (5 Stars, Bratislava, Slovakia)
2. Hotel Al Codega (4 Stars, Venice, Italy)
3. Hotel Royal Corin (4 Stars, La Fortuna de San Carlos, Costa Rica)
4. Hilton Garden Inn Aberdeen (4 Stars, Aberdeen, Scotland)
5. Four Seasons Miami (5 Stars, Miami, Florida)
6. Madison Hotel Hamburg (4.5 Stars, Hamburg/Hanover, Germany)
7. Element Omaha Midtown Crossing (3 Stars, Omaha, Nebraska)
8. Sonnenalp Resort Of Vail (4.5 Stars, Vail-Beaven Creek, Colorado)
9. Taj Lands’ End (5 Stars, Mumbai, India)
10. Mr. C Beverly Hills (5 Stars, Los Angeles, California)

Click here to see the full list.

Facebook Announces The World’s Most Social Landmarks

by Jessica Festa on

For those looking to meet others and make connections when traveling, Facebook has named the 25 most social landmarks in the world. To collect data, the social network looked at user check-ins across 25 cities around the world, to determine which sites were the most communal. They found that parks, shopping centers and gardens attracted the most people, although in Norway the popular hangout seems to be T.G.I. Friday’s.

The top 25 attractions in the world, in alphabetical order by country, were found to be:

1. Buenos Aires, Argentina: Unicenter (shopping center)
2. Melbourne, Australia: Crown Casino
3. São Paulo, Brazil: Parque de Ibirapuera (park)
4. Toronto, Canada: Rogers Centre (sports stadium)
5. Copenhagen, Denmark: Copenhagen Tivoli Gardens (cultural center)
6. Paris, France: Avenue de Champs-Èlysèe (iconic neighborhood)
7. Berlin, Germany: Kurfürstendamm (iconic neighborhood)
8. New Delhi, India: Gurudwara Bangla Sahib (house of worship)
9. Dublin, Ireland: The O2 Dublin (concert arena)
10. Rome, Italy: Colosseum (historic landmark)11. Tokyo, Japan: Tokyo Dome (baseball stadium)
12. Mexico City, Mexico: Centro Historico de la Ciudad de Mexico (historical area)
13. Aukland, New Zealand: Eden Park (park)
14. Oslo, Norway: T.G.I. Friday’s Aker Brygge (restaurant)
15. Moscow, Russia: Propoganda Nightclub (nightclub)
16. Singapore: Singapore Universal Studios (amusement park)
17. Johannesburg, South Africa: Montecasino (casino)
18. Seoul, South Korea: Lotte World (amusement park)
19. Barcelona, Spain: Camp Nou (soccer stadium)
20. Stockholm, Sweden: Gröna Lund (amusement park)
21. London, United Kingdom: The O2 (concert arena)
22. Chicago, United States: Wrigley Field (sports stadium)
23. San Francisco, United States: AT&T Park (park)
24. New York, United States: Times Square (entertainment district)
25. Los Angeles, United States: Staples Center (sports arena)

What’s your favorite place to meet people when traveling?