T@B: the Travel Trailer for Roaming Urbanites

by Justin Glow on

We’ve been noticing a wave of modern campers that are making their presence known in the world of glamping this year. Along with the Deseo, and Desgin Within Reach’s collaboration with Airstream, newcomer (to us, anyway) T@B is offering a “smart, stylish, independent” travel trailer for roaming urbanites with an itch to hit the road in style.

What’s unique about the T@B is its low weight and small footprint, which makes towing a cinch. According to their FAQ, “Most light trucks and SUVs can easily handle the T@B. In addition, many mini vans and passenger cars can also pull them.” Combine that with multiple floor plans, color schemes, and extras to choose from, and you’ve got yourself a highly customizable trailer that appeals to the pickiest of travelers.

Can you say Camping 2.0?

The Wavebox

by Willy Volk on

Well, it looks like glamping may be inching to the mainstream. Just check out the the WaveBox, a rugged, portable lunchbox that’s also a microwave. Running on 3 power options — AC, DC direct clip to a car battery, or DC connection to a cigarette lighter — the Wavebox allows glampers to heat up their popcorn, French toast, Hot Pockets, or whatever, without the hassle of that old messy, annoying thing, the campfire.

Featuring 3 quick-cook preset buttons for one-touch heating and electronic controls with LED display, the $199 Wavebox even boasts an integrated CoolWave soft-side cooler, which fits inside the WaveBox to keep food and beverages cool during transport. If all of this is just blowing your mind, check out WaveBOXMan’s geeky but thorough product vide-overview.

Love it? So does everyone else. The Wavebox is on backorder until May 1. Contact the makers to get on the waiting list.

[Via Get Outdoors]

Free Accommodation in Paris

by Iva Skoch on

If you are into mixing culture with adventure travel, Paris is the new hot location. Apparently, you can pitch your tent right on the banks of the Seine these days.

Friends who just honeymooned in Paris sent me this picture, actually a series of pictures. Look closely – yes, those are all tents of the homeless along the Seine.

This is what they said: “How on Earth can these folk camp around The Pompidou Center? At the shore of the Seine beneath the Musee D’Orsay? With dogs. Fires. Reading newspapers. Playing instruments with competence. One bloke in the Palais de Tokyo was charging his phone, playing Nintendo GameBoy, rolling smokes and sipping a six pack of Belgian blond beer. Is this a common phenomenon for…art galleries?”

Well, after a glasses of chilled Chablis, I guess you could call this a postmodern approach to housing. I hear that the views are great, but the service is so so. And, of course, it is always BYOB.

Fresh Fruits and the Nude Beach of Sauvie Island, Oregon

by Iva Skoch on

Portland, Oregon, is home to some wonderful sights and is a terrific, vibrant town nestled in some of the best scenery in the country. But, however picturesque the city is, you might still need to “get away from it all.” One of the best places to go is a small alluvial island near the convergence of the Columbia and Willamette (pronounced will-A-mit, sounds like “dammit”) rivers, called Sauvie Island.

It’s actually minutes from the center of town, but it’s worlds away. Here, the lovable hippie-grunginess of the Pacific Northwest meets the quaintness of Tuscany and the vistas of Switzerland. You can find ‘u-pick’ farms growing vegetables and flowers, along with dairy cows, horses, and a big wildlife preserve. There are camping locations, nature trails and beaches.

Right now is the time to head there to grab your late-summer-harvest fresh foods. Make sure to try the different berries indigenous to this region, such as the marionberry, which even grow wild on the roadsides. If you are not afraid of starches, test your orientation skills in the Corn Maize, an annual maze cut through a farmer’s field. A tip for runners or cyclists: the paved portion of the island is a scenic 12-mile loop of good, flat pavement.

The best time to go is early morning, when the quiet little rural island is still waking up. Clear days offer gorgeous views of both Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Hood and very little traffic. It’s common legend that it has Portland’s only nude beach; but this, I can neither confirm or deny. I can confirm, however, as a former resident, that the legendary Pacific Northwest “Pillsbury-doughboy tan” can be spotted here, in the wild.

Sex and Violence, Elk-style

by Iva Skoch on

With a goal to get some exercise in during a gluttonous trip to San Francisco, friends took us for a hike in the striking Point Reyes National Seashore Park, only an hour northwest of the city. After eyeing us, the jovial ranger suggested we take the Tomales Point hike. “It is about 5 miles each way, sandy but moderate, and there is a good chance to see some sex and violence along the way,” he said. We were sold. Yes, cheaply.

Hiking is not for everyone. However, throw in the possibility of viewing live sexual acts, and urban dwellers pour into the woods by the Jeep-loads. OK, when you get there, you realize the only participants are elk. But still, if you are into viewing fellow mammals procreate, hiking Point Reyes might be for you.

Although we did not plan our trip with elk (or sex) in mind, last weekend we found ourselves in the middle of the elk mating season, which usually runs from the end of July through October. Literally hundreds of elk surrounded us along the sandy path with magnificent views of the ocean. The mating process itself is every feminist’s worst nightmare. During the mating season, elk bulls gather females into harems. Each harem has about 20 or so females, or as many as a bull can defend from competing males.

Still, scientific curiosity aside, it was slightly disturbing to see all the tourists, photographers, and experts set up their tripods and telescopes to see exactly what is going on, hoping to document the act first-hand.

Without completely giving away the details, there is a lot of elk sniffing-around and bugling going on. While the males seemed very much into it, the females stayed blasé, if not bored. An on-looking photographer summarized the scene: “This is like the worst pick-up bar ever!”