Posts Tagged ‘ travel ’

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 →

2017
03/28
CATEGORY
travel
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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.

2017
03/27
CATEGORY
boots
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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 →

2017
03/23
CATEGORY
travel
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look who has a facebook page

ttttfbpage

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.

2017
03/20
CATEGORY
life
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48 hours in nashville

nashville1

full disclosure: i’ve lived in nashville my whole life, so this 48 hours is not necessarily how i would do a weekend in nashville, but i’m happy with it.  maybe there will be a part 2 in the future.  i like that idea.

we had a guest in town this past weekend and we did our best to cover as much ground as humanly possible in 2 days.  many drinks were consumed and many ubers were taken.  i’m still tired…and full.

somewhere over the last 4 years nashville became the “it”city which means every single person in the entire world wants to be here on the weekends.  it’s insane.  the airport on friday afternoons looks like a la guardia or lax except it’s full of bachelorette parties and bros in flat brimmed hats looking to get absolutely obliterated on broadway.  honestly, if i didn’t live here and visited for a weekend, i wouldn’t want to leave.  it’s an amazing city.   Continue reading →

2017
02/22
CATEGORY
travel
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48 hours in las vegas

vivaslasvegas

i think this 48 hours in fill-in-the-blank city could become a thing.  i’m really really enjoying it.  it gives me an excuse to travel more and to try a bunch of new places.  i used to go to cities with no plan.  now i’ve got all kinds of plans.

one of my biggest travel complaints is that it’s hard to find the best stuff to do in cities.  you can google, but most of the stuff you find is written for the masses and we are not the masses.

this weekend i took on vegas for the super bowl.  i’ve been to las vegas a lot.  in fact, i’ve been so much that i don’t feel like throwing out a number.  i have a love / hate relationship with that city.  i used to joke that i’ll just send them a check once a year for $1000 and skip the hangovers and long plane flight.  with that said, each year i go i feel like i get better at it and with this last trip now in the books, i can safely say i’ve finally got it down.

since there were three of us this past weekend, we stayed at the venetian.  hat tip to the venetian for being awesome – not super expensive for 3; easy check in; huge room with 2 queen size beds and a pullout sofa; convenient to most of the other casinos; and easy checkout.  boom!  what more could you want. Continue reading →

2017
02/09
CATEGORY
travel
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48 hours in charleston

what do you do when you have 48 hours in charleston?  you eat and you drink.

restaurants

we made the most of charleston this past weekend – as you can see above.  i’m honestly glad to be home with as much money as we spent eating and drinking.  my body and wallet both needed the rest.

if you plan on making a weekend trip to charleston sometime soon, this is a nice little rundown on some places you should try.  i love lists, so i will do my best not to go into any sort of great details regarding the above restaurants.

first and foremost, stay downtown on king or meeting street.  we stayed at the king charles inn which is an incredible location, but our room was old, small, and stinky.  (i think it used to be a smoking room.)  i wouldn’t recommend it to anyone.  the grand bohemian was next store.  if you have the cash, stay there.

quick note on shopping…shopping in charleston is not great except for one exception: indigo & cotton.  that place was a very pleasant surprise.  it’s a couple of blocks from king st and carries gitman bros vintage, engineered garments and several other hard to find menswear staples.  the dude working there couldn’t have been any nicer as well.  i also really enjoyed a candle store called candlefish which needs to be in nashville.  (yeah i fucks with candles.)

here’s where you should and shouldn’t eat:  Continue reading →

2017
01/30
CATEGORY
travel
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the packable jacket

penfieldchevak

it’s rain season and travel season and that means you need a rain jacket to take on all of your trips.  but you don’t need a big bulky number that’s gonna weigh you down and make you sweat.  you need something light and portable.  behold the penfield chevak packable jacket.  it’s lightweight, nylon and fits in its own pocket.  not evening kidding.  is your mind blown?  i thought so.  it will fit nicely in your suitcase, backseat car pocket or even your golf bag.  and you can eat it too if you run out of food while camping.  i’m just kidding.  i thought i sounded way too much like an infomercial.  for real though, this is a solid rain jacket for spring and summer.

2015
05/18
CATEGORY
jacket
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airport casual

photo

i went to the beach this past weekend with my old man.  i’ve got to hand it to him, he was the best dressed guy at the airport.  i snapped this photo right after we went through security.  he was rocking polo khakis, bean bluchers, a fjallraven greenland jacket, and carrying a filson briefcase.  bonus points for the scotty cameron scotty dog hat which he informed me was really hard to get.  excellent work, dad.

2013
01/22
CATEGORY
travel
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the breakdown: dopp kits

summer is almost here and as we begin to prepare for our vacations, it’s important to point out one thing every man needs: a good dopp kit.  in my opinion, the best ones are made of nylon or canvas and have some sort of waterproof liner that will prevent spills from touching the rest of your suitcase.  remember that no matter how careful you are, something will inevitably spill in your dopp kit.  here are five of my favorites to get you through this summer and next:

l.l. bean

filson

jack spade

j. crew

matt singer

2011
05/25
CATEGORY
essential
travel
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