Lilleboe Leads Tournament of Champions At Boyne Highlands Eric Lilleboe of Okemos Leads Heading to ... Read more.
The post Lilleboe Leads Tournament of Champions At Boyne Highlands appeared first on GolfBlogger Golf Blog.
Women’s British Open Winners and History The Women’s British Open was established in 1976 ... Read more.
The post Ricoh Women’s British Open Winners And History appeared first on GolfBlogger Golf Blog.
I always have preconceptions about the destinations I visit, and St. Croix was no different.
I visited the Florida Keys because of Bloodline and Fire Island because of Baby-Sitters Club #76: Stacey’s Lie. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil brought Savannah to life for me. Hell, I went to Budapest to see the white chocolate statue of Michael Jackson.
St. Croix, though? Well, that’s a bit of a different story…
I always knew St. Croix was a Caribbean island, but I didn’t really think about it until 2002. I was 18 years old, sitting in my dorm hallway, painting a doorstop with nail polish. College had started one week ago and this was our floor’s first bonding activity.
A few of the girls were chatting and one mentioned St. Croix. “Oh, you go to St. Croix?” another girl asked. “We go to St. Croix every Christmas.”
“We go every Christmas, too!” another girl chimed in.
“No way!” a third girl said. “My family goes to St. Croix every February. Where do you stay?”
My cheeks burned as I painted my doorstop. How rich are these people? I go camping. In New Hampshire. I imagined the girls sitting on yachts in designer bikinis, sipping champagne and laughing at me.
Looking back, I feel compassion for my 18-year-old self. Of course you were feeling insecure, Kate — it was your first week of college and you were terrified of not fitting in. At the same time, I knew nothing about the Caribbean at age 18 — I just assumed it was a destination for the wealthiest people in the world. I projected my feelings onto the entire region, and St. Croix in particular.
The Caribbean is far more than yachts and the uber-rich; I know that today. Each island has its own personality. Some are more about the jungles than the beaches; some are excellent for diving; some have a music tradition or culinary scene. Some pride themselves on their exclusivity; others are low-key and friendly. And St. Croix is definitely a down-to-earth and welcoming island.
This spring I got invited to visit St. Croix with Spirit Airlines. It’s Spirit’s newest destination. I thought of 18-year-old Kate sitting in the dorm hallway and thought, Yes, let’s do this. It’s time to see it for yourself.
St. Croix is one of the US Virgin Islands, along with St. John and St. Thomas. Visiting from the US is like visiting Puerto Rico: it’s considered a domestic flight, you don’t need your passport, US dollars are the currency, and your US-based phone plan should work. (Though for what it’s worth, we found that those of us with AT&T had better coverage than Verizon.)
At 82 square miles, St. Croix is the largest of the US Virgin Islands. It’s similar to the size of Grand Cayman (76 miles), Antigua (108 miles), or St. Kitts (65 miles), but to put things in perspective, St. Croix is four times the size of St. John, nearly three times the size of St. Thomas, but only 1/41st the size of Puerto Rico!
So what do you do on St. Croix, other than lie on the beach?
Go snorkeling at Buck Island National Monument! This island off the northeast coast of St. Croix is home to clear, bright waters. Our group did a half-day sail off the dock from our hotel.
First up was the island, which is home to white sand beaches…and poisonous trees! Seriously, when it rains, the poison drips down down the trunks. The captain encouraged us to stay on the sand and keep away from the trees, even though someone had inexplicably built picnic tables beneath them…
Next up was our guided snorkel tour. Amazingly, as you snorkel there are signs on the ground of the ocean that tell you about the animals you’re seeing. I’ve never seen that anywhere else.
Frederiksted is where you go for the history. Hamilton fans likely know that this is where Alexander Hamilton spent most of his youth and where his neighbors collected money to send him to Kings College in New York. There are Hamilton-themed tours in Frederiksted, which I would have loved to do, and they also have regular historic tours.
Christiansted is where you go to eat and party. I loved hanging out here — you get much more of a local atmosphere and meet some characters. Check out the boardwalk for some great bars. We spent a lot of our time at a bar called Shupe’s.
(Shupe’s has a drink called the St. Croix Masshole that includes tequila, raspberry liqueur, lime juice, OJ, ginger beer, and a splash of lemon. And it comes served as a shot and chaser. How do I know this? Well, Clint and I are from Massachusetts…)
For dinner, we had an outstanding meal at Zion Modern Kitchen, which I highly recommend. On the more casual end, you can get some creative pizzas at The Mill, right on the boardwalk.
Our trip took place in the last days of June, which is shoulder season in the Caribbean. Shoulder season is a gamble — you could have all blue skies, all stormy skies, or a mix. For us, it was a mix. We only had one brief cloudless period — the rest of the time was either partly cloudy, mostly cloudy, or completely overcast.
Unfortunately our beach and snorkeling trip to Buck Island took place under the heaviest gray sky — it looked like you could pierce it with an arrow. And our historic trip to Frederikstad was gorgeous and sunny. I wish it had been the other way around, but that’s life! Sometimes you get the opposite weather you want.
That said, this time of year can often be a cheap time to visit the Caribbean, both in terms of flights and accommodation. And you’re not in the heart of hurricane season yet, so you don’t have to be as vigilant.
My opinion? If gorgeous photos are your priority, complete with perfect blue skies and clear turquoise water, pony up the cash to travel during high season (December to March). You might still be okay in April or May (I had perfect weather in Belize in May a few years ago), but June starts to be rainier and cloudier, and then it goes into hurricane season until November.
If you can deal with some less-than-ideal weather, visiting St. Croix in the shoulder season might be better for you. If you’re coming to the Caribbean to relax and chill out without much of an agenda, this might actually be the best time for you.
Would I travel to St. Croix in the shoulder season again? Maybe if I were there for longer, like a week or more, and I were likely to have at least a few good weather days.
Truth? I had never flown Spirit Airlines in my life until this trip. I was familiar with them, though, because most people on my Central America tours flew in on Spirit. They were by far the cheapest option.
Spirit is an ultra low-cost carrier (ULCC) focusing on the United States, the Caribbean, and Latin America. You can get flights as far away as Lima, Peru, and Guayaquil, Ecuador; their main hub is Fort Lauderdale. I flew in from LaGuardia.
I’ll be honest: I didn’t expect much from an ultra low-cost airline, but Spirit impressed the hell out of me.
If you see Spirit pop up on a flight search engine, they very well may be the cheapest option. This is because Spirit does à la carte pricing (they call it à la smart) and only charge you for a bare-bones flight. For everything else, you only pay for what you want — whether it’s food or drink, a carry-on or checked bag, or roomier seats. If you don’t need much, you can fly for dirt cheap and spend your money on something more fun.
And this has paid off. Not only are Spirit’s prices so cheap, but they actually brought down the prices of OTHER airlines just so they could compete!
A lot of people have a bad experience on an airline and say, “I’m never flying that airline again.” Frankly, I can’t stand when people say that. In the vast majority of cases, they’re complaining about something that happens on literally every airline: delays, lost luggage, flight attendants in a bad mood. And people on ultra low-cost carriers are often shocked to learn that food and entertainment are not included.
But Spirit has improved its product exponentially. If you last flew Spirit in, like, 2006, and have been holding a grudge since, give them another try.
Here’s what I liked the most about flying with Spirit:
Charging for carry-on luggage is actually smart. Case in point: when we were getting ready to fly back to the mainland, a different airline made an announcement: they needed 20 volunteers to check their carry-on bags. TWENTY VOLUNTEERS. What’s the point of even offering carry-on if you’re going to force 20 passengers to check it?
Compare that to Spirit: because checked bags are cheaper than carry-on bags, more people check their bags and there was ample space for those of us who did pay for carry-on.
They’re on time more often than the major airlines. That’s something that Spirit has massively improved in the past year. It’s especially notable when you consider that Spirit operates so many flights in the Caribbean, which can be stormy.
Their big seats are cheap. The big seats up front are an add-on, but it only cost $38 for each leg. Most major airlines charge more than that for a premium economy seat, and Spirit’s seats are much bigger and wider.
They’re getting internet and it’s SO cheap. Spirit will be adding wifi to their flights starting this fall, completed by mid-summer 2019. Regular internet is going to cost around $6 per flight and streaming internet is going to cost around $9 per flight. That is REALLY cheap — and most airlines don’t allow you to stream at all. And because it’s satellite wifi, there won’t be dead areas! I’m excited for this to be implemented.
They invest in a woman-owned booze company. On the way back Cailin and I ordered some Buzzballz, little balls filled with cocktails. They were fun and tasty, and I so appreciate when a big company invests in a woman-owned company in a male-dominated field.
The staff were excellent when we had an emergency. On the LGA-FLL flight, not one but two passengers had medical emergencies and the staff handled everything calmly and professionally. If that’s a reflection of Spirit, I feel safe in their hands.
Now — here’s what I didn’t like. I don’t think that Spirit should be charging for both carry-on and checked luggage; while technically you could pack a few pieces of clothing into your “small item” beneath the seat, I think they should cover at least one. And I don’t love that their hub is Fort Lauderdale — it’s my least favorite airport in the US, devoid of decent food options except one Chili’s that’s usually full, and there are no lounges in the terminals where Spirit flights depart.
Would I fly Spirit again? Absolutely — especially once their cheap wifi kicks in. But if I were on a longer flight (5+ hours), I would pay extra for one of the big seats up front.
If you’re a fan of The Bachelor, you might recognize The Buccaneer — Sean Lowe’s season took place here! There was a rose ceremony in the sugar mill near the front.
I loved our water-view rooms. There were three beaches. Breakfast was pretty good (I ate their Caribbean spiced oatmeal every day). I also appreciated that we were so close to Christiansted for going out at night — a taxi from the hotel cost $5 per person. And most importantly, the staff were wonderful.
That said, it’s not a top-tier luxury property, and the suites could stand to be renovated (especially the bathrooms). Our group was disappointed that the pool bar closed at 5:00 PM and the hotel bar closed at 11:00 PM, both of which seemed incredibly early.
Would I stay there again? Under most circumstances, sure. I had a great time! But it’s a very family-friendly resort and kids are everywhere, so I wouldn’t stay there if I wanted to have more of an adult-oriented trip…or drink after 11:00 PM.
I had a great time on St. Croix! And I would absolutely go back. Anywhere the water is that blue against your new favorite underboob bikini is fine with me! But in all seriousness, I found St. Croix to be an excellent spot for a chilled out Caribbean trip, especially if you base yourself at a hotel with nice beaches near Christiansted.
And yes — I was very impressed with what I learned about Spirit and I look forward to my next flight with them. I won’t lie, I’m looking at countries they fly to that I haven’t visited yet — Jamaica, Ecuador, Peru, Panama…where do you think I should go next?
And one other thing…if you followed along on social media in real time, you probably could tell that there was a lot of JOY on this trip. I laughed harder and more often in St. Croix than I have in a long time. Part of that was that the Spirit team assembled a fantastic group of people for this trip. That’s actually rare, and it really makes a difference. I’m going to be looking back at this trip and smiling for a long time.
Essential Info: On this trip we stayed at the Buccaneer Resort. Rates from $299. Check out rates on hotels in St. Croix here.
Our snorkeling trip to Buck Island National Monument was with Big Beards Adventure Tours. Half day sails from $75, full day sails from $105.
Please bring reef safe sunscreen to St. Croix. Even if you’re not planning to snorkel, St. Croix is surrounded by reefs, and this keeps them protected from harmful chemicals. Before this trip I only used reef safe sunscreen when snorkeling, but now I’m going to use it whenever I’m close to a reef.
I use travel insurance for all of my trips to protect myself (and my finances) from ruin. For this trip and all my US trips, I use World Nomads, which I recommend.
This campaign is brought to you by Spirit Airlines and Visit USVI, who paid for all expenses and incidentals, excluding my transport to and from the airport. All opinions, as always, are my own.
The post A Weekend Getaway to St. Croix with Spirit Airlines appeared first on Adventurous Kate.
An Overview of Bandon Trails At Bandon Dunes Golf Resort Bandon Trails at Bandon Dunes ... Read more.
The post An Overview of Bandon Trails At Bandon Dunes Golf Resort appeared first on GolfBlogger Golf Blog.
Srixon Soft Feel Golf Balls Srixon Soft Feel balls are a two piece design with ... Read more.
The post Srixon Soft Feel Golf Balls appeared first on GolfBlogger Golf Blog.
Haslett’s Chris Mory Leads Tournament of Champions at Boyne Mountain Resort BOYNE FALLS – Haslett ... Read more.
The post Mory Leads Tournament of Champions At Boyne Mountain Resort appeared first on GolfBlogger Golf Blog.
Barracuda Championship Winners and History The Barracuda Championship has for seventeen years been the alternate ... Read more.
The post Barracuda Championship Winners and History appeared first on GolfBlogger Golf Blog.
The WGC Bridgestone Invitational began life in 1962 as a four-man invitational tournament held at ... Read more.
The post WGC Bridgestone Winners and History appeared first on GolfBlogger Golf Blog.
Brian Davis is a residential landlord and the Director of Education for Spark Rental.
Brian has contributed a number of blog posts to the REtipster arsenal over the past several months, and after noticing his clear expertise in the …
The post 021: Timeless Lessons on Rental Property Ownership – Interview with Brian Davis of Spark Rental appeared first on REtipster.
Bandon Dunes Old MacDonald Photo Gallery The Old MacDonald Course at Bandon Dunes is the ... Read more.
The post Bandon Dunes Old MacDonald Photo Gallery appeared first on GolfBlogger Golf Blog.
Stellar Field in Tournament of Champions at Boyne Mountain BOYNE FALLS – A field of ... Read more.
The post Stellar Field in Tournament of Champions at Boyne Mountain appeared first on GolfBlogger Golf Blog.
Playing golf can extend your life — if you walk. A study of 140,000 people ... Read more.
The post Playing Golf Can Extend Your Life appeared first on GolfBlogger Golf Blog.
Golf Ball Bathroom Accessories Ridiculous Golf Item Of The Week
The post Golf Ball Bathroom Accessories appeared first on GolfBlogger Golf Blog.
I’m very fortunate to love my work, and one particularly enjoyable aspect is the opportunity to direct piano courses and workshops. I’m writing this post whilst relaxing in my accommodation in Shropshire (just a few miles from the Welsh border), where I’m working for two weeks at PIANO WEEK, an international piano festival and Summer school (more about this wonderful venture in another post). It’s a demanding and packed schedule working with pianists of all ages, but already I have made some firm friends and we have had a lot of fun.
This work is most rewarding and I was delighted to be invited to direct several piano courses at Finchcocks. For those who have yet to discover this innovative selection of courses, you can find out much more about them by clicking here.
Finchcocks is a stately manor house (pictured above) in Kent (UK) offering regular piano weekends for pianists of all levels, ages and abilities. The manor house, which has been recently renovated, has been hosting weekend courses throughout the past year (featuring popular tutors such as Graham Fitch, David Hall, and Dr. Mark Polishook). Designed as bespoke weekends, they feature luxurious accommodation, superb cuisine, plenty of friendly, encouraging piano tuition, and excellent practice facilities; in short, a marvellous ‘first piano course’ for those slightly intrepid pianists who fancy taking the plunge but are perhaps a little apprehensive.
My course will be held from December 7th – 9th 2018. It is intended for Intermediate pianists, or those of around Grade 4 – 7 level (ABRSM level). The course commences on Friday evening at 7.00pm, with some helpful tips for improving piano technique. Simple exercises for honing flexibility will be implemented and each course member will have the chance to try them out both at and away from the piano! This class will be followed by dinner.
Saturday will begin with a sight-reading workshop, offering some useful practice ideas, with lots of hands on participation. A master class will provide the opportunity to play your pieces and receive beneficial practice suggestions, and after lunch there will be time for private practice with some individual tuition with me. Before dinner, the group will reconvene for a listening seminar, which might provide food for thought and, hopefully, some interesting dinner conversation!
On Sunday, we will begin with a memorisation workshop, followed by a duet session (a highlight, for sure). The weekend will close with casual duet, trio and solo performances from course members. This could be the perfect course for those who want a gentle nudge back into the world of piano playing, but it may also be a useful, instructive performance platform for the more serious student preparing for a piano exam.
You can find out more about the course and book your place, here. Three further courses have been planned for 2019, for those unable to attend in December.
My Publications:
For much more information about how to practice piano repertoire, take a look at my two-book piano course, Play it again: PIANO (Schott). Covering a huge array of styles and genres, 49 progressive pieces from approximately Grade 1 – 8 level are featured, with at least two pages of practice tips for every piece. A convenient and beneficial course for students of any age, with or without a teacher, and it can also be used alongside piano examination syllabuses too.
You can find out more about my other piano publications and compositions here.
Grosse Pointe’s Patrick Sullivan Wins 40th Michigan Junior Amateur SOUTHFIELD – Patrick Sullivan made his ... Read more.
The post Sullivan Wins 40th Michigan Junior Amateur appeared first on GolfBlogger Golf Blog.
I know how upset I am when people fail to recognize me as the World's Greatest Bike Blogger and lavish me with praise and discounts, so I can only imagine the indignity of winning the Tour de France five times and then getting tackled like some Fondo-riding plebe.Froome was very angry: “Fuck you!” @BorjaCuadrado @ProCyclingStats @DiarioMarca_ @diarioas @CiclismoInter @teledeporte @esport3 @pedrodelgadoweb @Eurosport @antoalix pic.twitter.com/2JEFpjCneM— Albert Secall (@albertsecall) July 25, 2018
Gotta condition the next generation of victim-blamers.https://t.co/q2AzVzuDze pic.twitter.com/fE4y5Pf07C— Bike Snob NYC (@bikesnobnyc) July 18, 2018
"The day before the fatal crash, Somerset police spotted the boy bike riding with his father and gave him a gift certificate to a local ice cream shop because he was wearing a helmet. 'I guess it's kind of ironic in a very sad way,'"https://t.co/DIrZaKqDed— Peter Flax (@Pflax1) July 26, 2018
The post Is Your Property In A Flood Zone? Find Out In 2 Minutes Or Less! appeared first on REtipster.
Tommy Armour TA1 Irons Review Tommy Armour TA1 Irons from DICK’S Sporting Goods. Grade: A ... Read more.
The post Tommy Armour TA1 Irons Review appeared first on GolfBlogger Golf Blog.
Fossil Hybrid Smart Watch A recent study of 140,000 people found that those who walk ... Read more.
The post Fossil Hybrid Smart Watch appeared first on GolfBlogger Golf Blog.
Why Sustainable Coffee Really Matters
This post is sponsored by Chameleon Cold Brew – thank you for supporting the brands that help make this blog possible
If you’ve read my blog or followed along on Instagram for a hot second, you know I love coffee. As a coffee lover and former barista, my expertise is definitely more in creating drinks with the finished roasted coffee bean. However, there’s so much that goes into coffee before it gets to the store. I want to share part of that story today. I find that the more we know about what we consume, the more respect, appreciation, and mindfulness we can bring into our consumption and impact.
Today I’ve partnered with Chameleon Cold Cold-Brew to talk about the vital importance of sustainable coffee. Chameleon Cold-Brew has just launched a micro-lot of Whiskey Barrel Aged Myanmar Coffee Beans, where 100% of the proceeds benefit their Myanmar Organic Initiative to help farmers in Myanmar become Certified Organic.
The more I learn about our food system, the more humbled I am. We roll up at the grocery store expecting everything to be fresh, ripe, perfect, and cheap. I know I do. And so often that’s what it is. We get the privilege of buying exactly what we want and need, leaving the store and never seeing the impact or story of how the food was created or delivered right to us.
When we lift up the hood just for a second, we realize that to get a tomato on your salad outside of the summer is an Olympic feat that often has a negative impact on our planet and the people growing it. Every item in the store has a story a journey and an impact.
Coffee is the same. It’s easy to freak out when you realize a morning cup is almost $5. Or to wonder why a bag of sustainably sourced coffee could cost $18 per lb. However, when you peek under the hood again and see just how complex of a system had to work to get that hot delicious cup of caffeinated goodness in your hands, you’ll wonder how it got so cheap.
Sustainability feels like an ambiguous buzzword. Like “eco,” “green,” “environmentally friendly,” “fair trade” and more. They sound like nice-to-haves, but when the entire process feels so far away it’s hard to know how or why to care.
Before I share the WHY let’s get into the WHAT. Generally, sustainable coffee refers to coffee that is grown, processed and sold in a way that supports the environment it’s grown in and supports the livelihood of the people who produce it.
Aka don’t destroy the planet and make sure to pay the people who produce the coffee… fair right?!
The coffee supply chain is incredibly complex and I couldn’t do it justice if I tried. However, I do want to share a (very) simplified version of what goes into turning the coffee crop into the drink we love.
Again, this basic supply chain can look different for different farms, distributors and coffee brands.
Sustainability matters because with each step of the process, there is an impact on our planet and the people who are part of it. Farmers and mill workers deserve to be fairly compensated for their work. So often the people who work to produce valuable crops cannot afford the very thing that they grow. How tragic to work around coffee all day, every day and not be able to afford it yourself.
Because coffee is so valuable, it’s not accessible to the people whose land makes the coffee crop possible. Sustainable practices are important because it ensures workers are fairly compensated. Coffee is a commodity crop and is traded by people with power. Usually, the farmers are the first to suffer when the market drops.
It’s also vital to pay attention to HOW the coffee is grown, both for coffee quality and for taking care of the land that makes it all possible. The higher the demand for coffee, the greater in size farms will grow. With more demand comes more deforestation, which in turn has more negative ripple effects on the environment (and, of course, everyone who lives in it).
Without caring about sustainability, more and more precious rainforests and species will be destroyed forever.
Long story short, sustainable coffee matters if you care about coffee, people or the planet. I have a hunch you care about all three…. a lot.
So glad you asked. Chameleon Cold-Brew has a robust sustainability program that helps encourage sustainable practices throughout the coffee supply chain in different coffee growing regions around the world.
Chameleon is working directly with farming communities in Peru, Myanmar, Guatemala, and Colombia to develop long-term economic, environmental, and social sustainability throughout the coffee supply chain. sAll of these projects will positively impact the quality of coffee, the people who produce it, the environment it’s grown in and ultimately you, drinking your coffee. That’s what we call a “quad win” folks.
It’s such a powerful reminder that every decision we make has ripple effects. Your choice to support the companies who care and value the long-term impact they make matters. It seems little at first, but everything does, doesn’t it?
What if no one started anything because we were afraid of how little an impact we’d make?
But what if we took the opposite approach? What if we all valued the impact our choices make? I know it’s dramatic, but I start to choke up a little when I think of how powerful the ripple effect can be.
1.) Support coffee brands, like Chameleon Cold-Brew, who care about their impact – this can actually apply in the coffee world and beyond. Your dollar is a really powerful way to show what you care about.
When you’re buying coffee, look for things like Certified USDA and check out the brand’s website to see where they source their coffee. Brands who practice sustainability will definitely be talking about it, so look in the About section for more information.
2.) Try Chameleon Cold-Brew’s limited-edition coffee beans from Myanmar, aged in FEW Whiskey barrels. 100% of proceeds go to their Myanmar Organic Initiative …. aka buy coffee and make the coffee industry better… ummm if you love coffee this one is kind of a no-brainer, right?
Link to purchase here: https://www.chameleoncoldbrew.com/product/myanmar-whole-bean-coffee/
I know this topic can get heavy but THANK YOU for caring. It’s so powerful. It’s so important. And simply buying good coffee makes a huge difference.
Learn about all of Chameleon Cold Brew’s initiatives here: https://www.chameleoncoldbrew.com/sustainability/
The post Why Sustainable Coffee Really Matters appeared first on In it for the Long Run.
