Daily Pampering: October Triathlete Camp in Luxury Hawaii Resort

by Annie Scott on


It can be difficult to find the perfect balance between vigorous work and pleasure, and this is an excellent example of a successful pairing. Mauna Lani Bay Hotel and Bungalows on the Big Island of Hawaii has a new Iron-Fit package for October 2010 which will have you feeling relaxed and rock solid — triathlon style.

The resort will be hosting Team Mauna Lani, comprised of Ironman champs Tim DeBoom from Colorado, Matt Lieto from Oregon, John Flanagan from Oahu, Belinda Granger from Australia and Luke Bell also from Australia (pictured at right) this October. You can train right alongside them for Hawaii’s most elite endurance events. Beginner and amateur athletes are welcome.

General Manager of Mauna Lani Bay Hotel and Bungalows, Brian Butterworth, says, “We are inspired by each athlete’s commitment and passion for competing at the elite level and are very excited to be part of their journey. We hope Team Mauna Lani will encourage more people to take up endurance sports and train in one of the best locations in the world.”

The Iron-Fit package at Mauna Lani includes:

  • Daily tri-road bicycle use (the roads nearby are ideal for cycling and altitude training)
  • A daily personal trainer
  • A daily sports massage
  • Access to Mauna Lani’s world-class fitness center and 25 meter lap pool
  • Access to the private secluded beach for ocean swimming
  • All the spoils of this luxury resort, including golf courses, gourmet food and a beautiful spa

Just try not to get amazingly fit when you have a daily trainer and daily massage. And, while you’re training and becoming one with the environment, it’s good to know that Mauna Lani is an eco-friendly hotel. You can read more about their green programs here.

Iron-Fit packages start at $700 for a standard single and rise to $1,350 for an ocean-front double room. If you have a spouse to bring along who thinks you’re crazy, park them by the pool, hand them a cocktail and everyone wins.

Want more? Get your daily dose of pampering right here.

Inside Bronners Christmas Wonderland – the largest Christmas store in the world

by Scott Carmichael on

About 6 hours from Chicago (or two hours from Detroit) is Bronners Christmas Wonderland. This year-round Christmas store is home to over 50,000 Christmas items, including 6000 different ornaments, 100’s of trees, an entire department devoted to Christmas lights and several art design studios where professionals hand paint ornaments. Bronners is so large, that you’ll need at least two or three hours just to walk through its various departments. Thankfully, a full service cafe awaits tired Christmas shoppers for a mid-point break. Bronners is also home to a theater, chapel and a shipping department where you can ship your purchases back home.

There is something rather odd about shopping at Bronners in the summer, but during my recent visit in September, we were close enough to Christmas that it actually felt quite comforting. Just keep in mind that you’ll leave the store humming Christmas music for the next couple of hours.

Ornaments are sorted by style – and you’ll find entire sections devoted to themes. For example, if you want a bowling ornament, you’ll be able to pick from about 40 different ones. There is even a section just for ornaments decorated for countries. And yes – things do become quite overwhelming, but you’ll have a hard time not finding some really cute Christmas items.

Bronners opened its original doors back in 1945 when Wally Bronner switched from painting signs, to creating Christmas ornaments for the locals. Sixty-five years later, his store is the largest in the world, often welcoming up to 10,000 visitors on a single day. Sadly, Wally Bronner passed away in 2008, but the store continues to grow based on the vision of the man behind it.

Getting to Bronners is a bit of a trek – thankfully there is plenty to do in Frankenmuth, so the drive to Michigan isn’t for nothing.

At night, thousands of lights make the entire complex even nicer to visit. Even when the store is closed, a drive through the parking lot is a show on its own.

Several of the departments sell ornaments that can be decorated, and artists will decorate those for free. On busy days, expect the decorating to take an hour or more. On quiet days, there is usually no wait.

A trip to Bronners is a ton of fun, as long as you allow yourself enough time to browse the various departments. Purchases are all well packaged for your ride home, and even the biggest Scrooge will have a hard time staying grumpy surrounded by so much Christmas joy.

Bronners is the first big building in Frankenmuth, and signs directing you to it are found all down the highways, so the place is quite hard to miss. Opening hours are listed on their site.

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National Geographic names Gear of the Year for 2010

by Kraig Becker on

If you’re looking for advice on the best outdoor and travel gear available today, you might as well get it from National Geographic Adventure.To that end, the organization has posted its selection for their annual Gear of the Year awards, pointing a spotlight on a host of new and innovative products that are sure to make your next trip a more enjoyable one.

The list contains 32 great items ranging from gloves to jackets to sleeping bags and just about everything in between. There are suggestions for hot new cameras, a couple of pairs of boots, skis, and even an electric motorcycle that is both fun to ride and environmentally friendly.

While the list of products may be very diverse, they all share a few things in common, namely great design and good use of modern technology. Some of the products that earn the “Gear of the Year” honors include the DeLorme Earthmate, a device that combines a hand held GPS system with a specially designed SPOT Satellite Messenger, that allows you to send text and Twitter messages, not to mention update your Facebook status, while traveling through some of the most remote places on Earth. Gerber earns a nod for their Ultimate Knife, endorsed by Bear Grylls himself, while Patagonia offers up an incredibly warm down-filled sweater that weighs just 10 ounces. How’s that for traveling light?

Travelers looking to upgrade their cameras will want to check out the Canon Powershot S95, which now seems to be the point and shoot camera to beat and the new Nikon D3100 which is getting rave reviews in the budget DSLR arena. And if you’re looking for a new way to carry all of your gear, you might want to check out the Exchange 26 duffel bag courtesy of Briggs & Riley. Nat Geo gives it high marks for being lightweight but still able to carry more than other luggage, while still maintaining a high level of quality and good looks.

As a self confessed gear hound, I can’t help but love these kinds of lists. They not only help me to select the gear I’ll be traveling with in the near future, but they keep me abreast of trends in the industry as well. The problem is, I sometimes get severe gear lust, prompting me to want everything on display.

So, what has National Geographic just added to your wish list?

Crif Dogs: The Top Hotdogs in New York City

by Tom Johansmeyer on

The various hotdog-and-papaya joints scattered across Manhattan are great for a quick fix, but if you want to truly experience a hotdog’s potential, you have to schlep down to the East Village. Tucked away on St. Mark’s Place, just in from Avenue A, you’ll find Crif Dogs, an establishment that redefines what many consider to be the worst form of meat.

The small, dark restaurant has committed itself to the hotdog in a way like no place I’ve ever been. A few old arcade games greet you at the door, and the décor will not strike you as carefully planned. Linger at the cash register for a moment, and you’ll see a “Wicked Girl” action figure (if you don’t know that that is, leave a comment, and I’ll help you out). And, there are even a few secrets to be found around Crif … if you know where to look.

An expansive menu hangs above the counter, and it is littered with creations that even my lust for unhealthy eating didn’t equip me to fathom. The “Good Morning,” for example, is festooned with cheese, bacon and a fried egg. Bacon, in fact, features prominently on several Crif hotdogs, including the Chihuahua, which comes with guacamole and sour cream (these two are my favorites by far – the bacon is a big part of the reason why). There are other menu items, such as French fries and burgers, but I tend to skip them, preferring to order an extra dog rather than fill the limited space in my stomach with something else.

What Crif Dogs serves is among the best I’ve ever had, with the only competition coming from Popo’s in Swmascott, Massachusetts and a small stand just off Camp Casey in Tong Du Chon, South Korea (which may not even exist anymore – it’s been a dozen years since I last “dined” there). The dogs are hot, they snap and they are packed with flavor in a way that keeps the toppings from masking it. To call a Crif Dog a superior hotdog would be an understatement. And you won’t have any problems with the bun. Though it isn’t toasted (take this as a suggestion, Crif), it’s firm and dry.

Crif Dogs is a bit out of the way if you’re sticking to the usual tourist spots when visiting New York City, but it’s worth a subway hike (and then a walk) to sink your teeth into one of Crif’s creations. The experience is worth it.

[Thanks to @welshwonder for putting a few dogs back with me on my last trip to Crif]

Obscenities and ethnic slurs fly on Queen Mary 2, get passengers ejected

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Gloria Sher and her husband, Frederick Evans, believe they were defending themselves. And, let’s assume they are old enough to know what that means. She’s 82 years old, a spring chicken compared to her 91-year-old husband. Well, the elderly pair was thrown off the Queen Mary 2 over a verbal brawl that they say was kicked off by another passenger who made an anti-Semitic comment at a black-tie dinner.

Their five-week, $20,000 cruise almost came to an early end at a port in Quebec, which is where the ship was ready to drop them, banished for foul language. Other passengers came to the couple’s defense, however, and the pair was permitted to stay on board for another six days, though under house-arrest conditions. Sher and Evans weren’t allowed to leave their cabin – and their alcohol was confiscated.

So, what happened?”Minutes into their meal” at the black-tie event, Sher tells the New York Post, one of the people at his table told him to shut up before saying, “There are too many Jews on board.” Sher dropped the F-bomb in reply and went back to her room.

The ship’s captain took the side of the alleged anti-Semite, and told Sher she’d have to “leave the ship,” according to the New York Post, without even listening to his side of the story. The couple even knew the captain from previous trips – an inside connection that got them nowhere.

But, Sher may not be an angel, the New York Post continues:

But one passenger told The Post that the couple was at least partly to blame. Sher tends to get belligerent when drinking, the passenger said, recalling that she went on a rant one night because a lounge’s piano was closed.

Ultimately, they were able to stay on board, with occasional trips out of their room, until the ship got back to New York. The Cunard cruise line only offered a refund of $839 and said in a statement: “The Cunard cruise line — which would refund the couple only $839 — said in a statement that “Sir Evans and Lady Sher engaged in multiple incidences of disrespectful and disruptive behavior towards crew members and other guests.” The company supports the captain’s decision.

[photo by Dawn Endico via Flickr]