Gifts for the Adventurous

Made In The USA Christmas List - 2011



Found a great new (to me) company,  76garments.com  who has posted their list of 10+ American Made Gift Ideas.  Buying American made is something I try to do when possible.  As they have written:

Amazon Kindle Fire

Ok, now I'm a fan of the Kindle Fire.  I finally had a chance to play with one of these the other day and I really like them. Of course if you are a fan of Apple and have $500 to spend I think I would still get the iPad just so it matches up with your phone, etc., but if you only want to spend $200 and still get a great looking reader that can go online, this is for you. The picture was great and it is light in your hand with a fast moving touch screen. 




Check them out and get yours here:
Kindle Fire ($200 and free shipping from Amazon)


Merry Christmas!!
aMT

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Christmas Gift For The Adventurous Gent 2011 Part 2

I just keep remembering and discovering more things that I wanted to add so I just started a new post to hold them all.

I would bet that you will have no problem finding something for that guy on your list from one of these two posts.

Part 1 is here.

Now on to Part 2:

Stocking Stuffers

Valet recently posted a great breakdown of the traditional contents of a stocking and why some of the items are in it.  Turns out Santa was right on track at my house when he puts pens and oranges in my stocking every year.  See Valet's Stocking Blueprint to get started.

Pearl Harbor Day - Dec 7th, 70 Years Ago

Hawaii is near the top of my Life List.  The combination of mountains, beaches, volcanoes, culture, and adventure sports makes it a destination I have always wanted to see.

 via cnn.com

The Nina And The Pinta In Memphis



Replicas of the Nina and the Pinta were recently in Memphis.  Being an avid reader and fan of History, I couldn't pass up the chance to see and experience the ships that brought explorers and settlers across the Atlantic to the New World.

If you missed it, here are some pictures of the ships.

Christmas Gifts For The Adventurous Gent 2011

Christmas Gifts for the Adventurous Gent

Gift Guide 2011


I consider myself a Gentleman, Scholar, Athlete and Adventurer, and pick things I would like to get under the tree on Christmas morning.
 
Be sure to check out last year's post:

Christmas Gifts for the Adventurous Gent 2010.


I hope this list inspires some great ideas or at least a related gift.  If so, let us know!
Thanks and Merry Christmas!

Brad Thor - Full Black - Christmas Gift Guide 2011

Christmas Gift List 2011

Brad Thor - Full Black



If you haven't read a Brad Thor book, you are missing a great active author.  Hurry and get started reading him before all his books are made into movies.  The first will be out in the next year or so.

I recently finished his newest; Full Black: A Thriller (Scot Harvath).  

All of Thor's books are action packed and based around a special operator named Scot Harvath who defends America from our modern threats and Full Black is no exception.

I highly recommend Full Black for almost anyone on your gift list this year. ($16)





Map head by Ken Jennings - Christmas Gift Guide 2011

Some travelers like to obsess over how many geographic regions or countries they have been to in the world, their "life list".  If you are in this group or if you or someone you know if like me and can stare at a map for an hour, I found the book for you.



Ken Jennings won a thousand (estimate) rounds on Jeopardy and now puts his thoughts into the funny things that appear in maps, such as why borders look the way they do, in his new book Maphead: Charting the Wide, Weird World of Geography Wonks   

I didn't know he was a Geography wonk but it makes sense. Learning borders both political and physical is a key to learning why things and cultures are why and where they are.($15)




Americana and Cars


Saw the car from one of my favorite current commercials recently.  Had to get a few shots of it.  I can just picture George Washington flying the American Flag out the window.   



Spatchcock Chicken And Lone Star Beer

I don't know how Lone Star beer is perceived in Texas, but when I get some imported to Tennessee I hold it in high regard.  It was this beer that inspired my latest 'invention'.  The Beer Can Smoker.
This may have already been invented by someone, somewhere, but in my world this is the first.

I was grilling Spatchcock Chicken and decided I needed a smoking box to put mesquite chips in but didn't have one.  But I did have a beer can in my hand (Lone Star), and a knife in my pocket, so I improvised.  Here are the results:



Weekend Trip to Nashville, TN - September 2011

We got a chance for a quick trip to Nashville for the weekend so we decided to try a boutique hotel instead of a chain.  We were pleasantly surprised with what we found.

via hoetlpreston.com


Waypoints - September 27th, 2011





image via WSJ

Mountain climbing training.  The new Nina and Pinta on tour.  Lost Wall Street Protesters.  Great local hunting and fishing spots in Oregon and why Americans are innovative, resourceful and generous if simply left alone.


First Fire of Fall 2011

One of my favorite things about Fall is being able to have a fire in the backyard without sweating to death.
Here is my first one this Fall thanks to our new fire pit.





Elvis Week 2011 - Memphis, Tn

ELVIS Week!

If you are visiting Memphis for Elvis week the big things you should see are Sun Studio, and Graceland of course.



Waypoints - August 2011 - Travel Tips

Including:
Travel rules no one tells you.
Overnight cruise liner coming back to Memphis.
And remember to prepare for the unexpected when traveling abroad.


Travel Author - Paul Theroux

It seems that the list of books I want to read grows weekly.  I finally got started on Born To Run after reading the free preview in Google books.  Now I have another one on the list.  It seems there is never enough time in the day to read them all. 


Father's Day Gift Guide 2011

Father's Day - June 19th 2011

Father's Day is coming up soon.  Get a jump on it with this quick gift list of items that I know I would want.  Whether your guy is a grill master, traveler, outdoors-man, sports junky or prep, there is something here for him.


Update:  Its still not too late to get something for Father's Day and let him pick it out himself.  Just print a gift certificate from Amazon.  Just Buy.  Select Print at Home.  and Stuff in a Card.  Done.





KA-BAR Full Size US Marine Corp Fighting Knife, Straight - reproduction of the knife carried in WWII.
KA-BAR Full Size US Marine Corp Fighting Knife, Straight


Kershaw Ken Onion Leek Folding Knife with Speed Safe- slides in your pocket smooth, and opens smooth with the assisted opening action.
Kershaw Ken Onion Leek Folding Knife with Speed Safe


Adventure Reading - Field Tested Books

Some deep thinking for this Sunday.

The company behind Field Notes, of which you know I'm a fan, has come up with the idea to test the theory that books and place affect one another.  Meaning where you read a book has just as much of an affect on your feelings about the book and what you feel while reading the content of the book as the book itself does.

I like that idea and it immediately made me realize that I can picture my surroundings the majority of the time while I read each book I have ever read.  Thus, in my mind, proving the theory.  Try it yourself, think of one of your favorite books and not only does the content of the book come to mind, but to me the place appears also.  This is greatly related to this blog because I am a fan of both travel and books among many other things.



Summer Road Trip - Travel Safety Gear



The Summer road trip is probably a tradition in lots of families.  I know it is in mine.
No one likes to think about bad things happening on their vacation, and with every other driver staring at their cell phone instead of the road, you never know what can happen.  Being prepared is the best way to prevent a bad situation from turning into a disaster.


Inspirations - "The Good Girls Guide to Getting Lost"

My Field Notes Notebooks Customized Dry Transfer ___Edition


Some of the best experiences while traveling can be the ones that weren't planned.  Although most people don't take it to the extreme this author did. This self-proclaimed 'good girl' took off after college to a place she had never been, which ended up being a year long adventure spanning multiple continents.


Summer Adventure Reading: New Releases For June 2011

 Life List: Australia


Memorial Day 2011.  Respect. 




Two new books I noticed being released this June would be great adventure reads for your relaxing time at the beach.



"Natural" Running - Travel and Trail Footwear

Every shoe company is getting in on the natural running kick these days.  And if you know of one that doesn't have a shoe that fits this category currently, you can probably bet they are working on one.

There was a very interesting article on this topic on The Art of Manliness this week that discusses how we as humans need to exercise to be healthy and that a long list of ailments was unknown to our ancestors who had to do physical work every day just to survive.  They mention some of our anatomical features that suggest we were made to run and run fast for a long time.  The book Born to Run($10) goes into this deeper and is about a hidden tribe of Indians in Mexico who are said to be the best runners in the world.   And judging by the reviews on Amazon it looks great and I'm ordering it. 

Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen (Vintage)


My FIELD NOTES Collection

Its starting to be an addiction.  I have more on the way as I type this.




Start your addiction here.


Thanks for the visits!  Don't for get to subscribe at the top right!




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Waypoints - May 23, 2011

 Mississippi River Boats on the flooded river May 9, 2011

  • The Wall Street Journal discusses the future of air travel, which includes a new generation of jets designed to ease the stress during flights and RFID (Radio frequency identification) tags on your luggage.

Inspirations - Field Notes Road Trip Kit

This is a great idea!

Gear up for that Road Trip.  As I have said before, having notebooks with you on a trip is one of the best ways to document the trip in writing about how you feel when you are there.  Sometimes it is hard to capture that with pictures alone.



Thank You Memphis Grizzlies

Thank You Memphis Grizzlies! 








For a great run and for helping the city of Memphis get in the headlines around the nation for a good reason!!

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We Have Magicians At The FedEx Forum

 
No, I'm not getting the Grizzlies confused with that team in Orlando.  I mean this amazing new ability the beer people have of filling a beer glass from the bottom.  This is obviously some sort of magic, either that or Jesus has blessed these people with ability to turn air into beer.  There is no other explanation. 


John James Audubon's Birthday

If you logged onto Google this week, Tuesday April 26th to be exact, you saw the most recent version of the Google Doodle.





This was to signify the birthday of John James Audubon (1785-1851), who was the first person to attempt to paint and identify all the birds of North America and the inspiration for the founding of the National Audubon Society.  

Landscapes As American History

From the time of the early American settlers when they were bringing dandelions to North America as ornamental plants (what were those people thinking?) we have intentionally and unintentionally changed the surrounding landscape.  

American Eden: From Monticello to Central Park to Our Backyards: What Our Gardens Tell Us About Who We Are


Adventure Gear of the Year 2011



For those that are into the camping adventure side of travel, National Geographic Adventure (RIP paper magazine version, NG Traveler is just not the same) has just released their 2011 Gear of the Year list.

Some of my favorites from the list:

Nikon COOLPIX P300 12.2 CMOS Digital Camera with 4.2x f/1.8 NIKKOR Wide-Angle Optical Zoom Lens and Full HD 1080p Video (Black)

The Nikon Coolpix P300 point and shoot looks like a good option, although its not water and dust proof as is the Fujifilm FinePix XP10 12 MP, which, for an adventure traveler, is a must.

Fujifilm FinePix XP10 12 MP Waterproof Digital Camera with 5x Optical Zoom and 2.7-Inch LCD (Green)