Archive for March, 2017

48 hours in new orleans

catahotel2

we tried our best to do a 48 hours in new orleans this past weekend.  actually, it was more like 36 hours in new orleans.  we left early on saturday morning and flew home late on sunday.  we fit in as much as we could.  i’ll do my best to keep this semi-bulleted as there is a lot of information to unload.

our goal was to use the hotel tonight app to book our hotel room at the last minute.   the premise behind the app is great.  you can only book 7 days out, so your hope is that the prices come down the day of and you can find a deal.  i ended up finding a deal earlier in the week at the catahoula boutique hotel for $69.  the pictures looked fine and the reviews were decent, so i booked.  more on that in a second.

the airport ride was 20 minutes to the hotel and a flat rate of $33 via uber.  that’s pretty pricey for 11 miles if you ask me.  we got the skinny on the rate from our driver on sunday.  the airport is in kenner and they charge an $8 tax on uber to pick up and drop off at the airport which explains why it’s so damn expensive.  lyft isn’t even allowed to go there.  crazy.   Continue reading

need: blundstone boots

blundstonesi’ve been traveling a ton lately – not that i’m complaining because i love to travel.  when we’re in a new city, we tend to walk somewhere around 8-10 miles per day which means you gotta have the right footwear on to make that happen.  most trips you can find me in my red wing iron rangers, but lately they’ve become a bit heavy and uncomfortable.  oh, and you have to take them off in airport security even if you’re pre-check because of the metal.  it’s annoying.

i’ve been doing a little research for some new travel boots.  my main criteria are as follows: light, comfortable, and an easy transition from day to night.  enter the blundstone 500 series.  these are the classic australian work boots that can take a beating during the day and not get you kicked out of a nice restaurant at night (well, maybe not super nice but they’re not nikes ok).

i’ll confess, i bought a pair several years ago, but returned them do to sizing issues.  i ended up never buying the bigger size.  it might be time to try again.  i’ve heard only good things about them.  anybody have any experience with these?  if you’re debating between the 500 and 550, this dude made a really great video regarding the subtle differences.  really great job, youtube reviewer.

48 hours in new england

48hoursinnewenglad

my lady and i took a trip to new england last september.  it was epic and really the beginning of this whole 48 hours concept.  how did we do it you ask?  well, i’ll tell you.

we landed in boston around 5:30 friday afternoon and rushed our asses to the rental car terminal.

travel tip #1: it was a good 20-30 minute ride on the airport bus to get there and then another 25 minutes to get the car because really old people love that part of the country and they ask a lot of questions at the rental car kiosks.

the reason the time was important was because we had red sox tickets for the 7:05 game.

travel tip #2: if the rental car company offers you the auto-pay toll doohickey, take it.  there are 1 billion toll roads in new england.  one billion!
Continue reading

drake – more life and clarks collab

drakemorelife

drake’s long anticipated more life dropped on saturday night.   i just read it broke the 24 hour streaming record with 89.9 million streams.  wow.  that’s insane.  i’m about 4 full spins through and i really really like it.  on a scale of 1 to take care, it feels like a solid 8 right now, but that rating could go up with each listen.  there’s a lot going on in this record.  it’s going to take some time to truly dissect it.  with that in mind, stand out tracks to me are: “passionfruit”, “portland”, and “ice melts.”  that should give you a nice start for your spring break playlist.

in other drake news (and also on saturday night), he posted an instagram picture of some custom made ovo clarks desert boots.  hmm.  very interesting.  is there an ovo / clarks collaboration on the way?  i’m not a hypebeast by any means, but i do love me some clarks.

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look who has a facebook page

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welcome to the 21st century, to take the train.  everyone seems to have a facebook page these days, so why not me.  i realize that if i’m going to post blog updates on facebook that i don’t need to be doing it from my own account.  (this was an excellent suggestion from my girlfriend who said i didn’t need to blow up peoples timelines with my bulls**t.  i don’t disagree.)  if you want to receive updates on the reg via the fb, then please like or follow my page.  here’s a deal: if i get over 1000 likes or follows by the end of april, i’ll get a tattoo or something to commemorate this achievement.  how about about that.  you can’t lose.  here’s the link one more time: facebook.com/totakethetrain.

masters “patron” t-shirt

patronshirt

no one really needs a new t-shirt, but this is one you can’t miss.  we’re 14 days away from masters week 2017 and to celebrate classic georgia has made their very own “patron” t-shirt.  they nailed the colors.  it’s perfect.  i ordered one immediately.  do yourself a favor and do the same, so that it will arrive in time for the greatest week in sports.  i’m already dreaming about cheap beer and pimento cheese sandwiches.  it can’t get here soon enough.

once again the baracuta g9

baracutanavy

i hope you know this jacket.  if you don’t know it, get to know it.  behold the baracuta g9.  it’s a classic.  i’ve blogged about it at least 3 times now.  yeah, it’s expensive as hell.  and yeah, it’s pretty basic, but it’s a jacket you need to own.  while everyone else is out there in last year’s bomber, you can carve your own path in the g9.

here’s the skinny on sizing: it’s slim fit.  here’s the other skinny on sizing: the size measurements are uk sizing.  what does that mean?  it means a 38 is not an american 38.  it fits more like an american 34-36.  size up.  if your jacket size is a 38, you’re going to need a 40 or 42.  want more proof?  i stole the graphic below straight from their website.  don’t say i didn’t warn you.

baracuta_sizeconversion

how to build a following

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how awesome is this photo?  i have a strange obsession with stock photos.  who thought this would be a good idea?  who is going to see a cheesy ass picture like this one and trust someone with their business?  shit cracks me up.  thumbs up everyone.  thumbs up.

last week you may remember that i set out to increase my instagram presence.  it was a good experiment.  i gained 50+ new followers.  that’s great, right?  i think so.  i’ll call it a success.  i’m nowhere near where i would like to be follower-wise, but that’s ok.  it’s a start.  overnight success is not in cards for me at the moment.  not saying it couldn’t happen, but it’s a slow build this internet stuff.

so how do you increase your social media presence?  what’s the secret?  after a little research i’ve come up with a few tips to increasing your social media footprint.   Continue reading

new(ish) instagram and (re)branding

totakeinsta

yesterday i read an article on getting more followers on instagram.  i wish i would have liked it on twitter or remembered who wrote it, but i can’t seem to find it anywhere.  the gist of the article was to be a leader rather than a follower.  what i took it to mean is being proactive with finding people to connect with.  one idea the writer mentioned was letting people in your social network know you have an account and asking them to follow.  i tried that on twitter last night and 3 more people added me on instagram.  i’m going to call that a success.  i may do the same on facebook tonight.  i will keep you posted on the results.

p.s. if you want to follow, you can find me here: www.instagram.com/totakethetrain

you may be wondering why this is important?  well, let me explain.  i’m in the middle of a branding process, so to speak.  i’ve had this blog for 6 years now and it really hasn’t progressed.  it’s mostly my fault.  actually, it’s all my fault.  i’m the only writer on here.  internet 101 says you have to create content on a regular basis to be successful.  i haven’t done a good job with that lately and that’s ok.  i’m not mad about it.     Continue reading