I’m not exactly sure how to properly set this up. So I’ll just tell you how it all went down. Just keep in mind that when you travel, sometimes you find yourself in situations you wouldn’t expect, doing things you wouldn’t normally do. And this is such a case.

As we mentioned in our previous blog/video, our week aboard the Liberty Clipper was just phenomenal. An absolutely crazy, cool, wonderful kind of time – made especially so by the guys and gals that made up the crew. And one of them, a guy named Derek, happened to be sporting this awesome mohawk that for some reason made me think I’ve gotta get me one of those.

So late one night as we were all sitting on deck, listening to the guitar, chilling out and swapping lies, I spouted off something to Derek about getting a mohawk of my own. I think everybody shrugged it off at first, but I kept insisting that “tomorrow, by God, I’m gonna do it.” Naturally there was – *ahem* – a bit of drinking involved and I’m sure everyone thought that when the next day rolled around and our collective buzz wore off that I’d chicken out. Hell, truth be told I figured the same.

Oddly enough however when morning came I woke up still determined to go through with it.

To this day I couldn’t tell you why. As much as anything I think it was one of those things that I’d never done before and wanted to do, just once at least. Or maybe I’m still going through a phase – a rebellion if you will – from my many years on the local news when I had to be at least somewhat respectable and presentable every day. Probably both.  In any event, I was really “in the moment” because we were having such a killer time on the Clipper… and the forces aligned to make it the perfect time and place to go a bit crazy.

So Derek grabbed the clippers, Nik grabbed the GoPro camera, and I grabbed a cold beer. And this is how it went down:

The good news is, I’m happy to report that (most) everything has grown back completely and in mostly good form. After our trip on the Clipper we had several weeks before our next paying job, so fortunately my noggin had time to recover before any of our clients noticed and starting asking questions. And best of all, I can say I actually did it and I have absolutely no regrets.

So what’s something crazy, funky, totally far out that you’ve done while traveling?

And what’s something crazy, funky, totally far out that we should do next? We’re open for suggestions.

Cheers everybody!

~ Dusty

But out of all of our fantastic adventures, only rarely do we come across the kind of experience that is so good – so impressive – that we can hardly talk about it to anyone because we’ll just excitedly go on and on like blathering idiots. And our experience aboard the tall ship Liberty Clipper is absolutely one of them. So be forewarned: we’ll try to keep this short and to the point, but no guarantees. Here goes…

Adventure Life = Adventure!

Late last year we entered and won an online video contest for Adventure Life, an adventure travel company that specializes in custom and small group tours small-ship cruises around the world. And our big prize? A week-long cruise in the Bahamas aboard the Liberty Clipper. Giddyup.

We actually went on the cruise in late January this year, and after spending a couple of months processing the experience and editing hours and hours of footage, we’re ready to share our thoughts along with the video we put together from the trip.

Just so you know – from a production standpoint it was extremely tough to find a way to incorporate all (or even most) of the highlights of the week-long trip. Extremely tough. So ultimately we decided to structure the video as a “typical day” on board the ship, starting in the morning and continuing through the day until sunset, incorporating the many sights and sounds and experiences that made the trip so memorable.

So take a look! We hope you enjoy. And as usual, read on below for more thoughts and details.

What do you think? Pretty freakin’ awesome, huh?

That said, this video is particularly frustrating for us to watch, simply because there’s so much more to the overall experience than we could possibly include without going on for hours. But hopefully you get the gist.

The Nitty Gritty:

Okay. So. If you’re ever considering sailing on the Clipper, it’s very, very important we think that in order to fully enjoy and appreciate it you first have to realize what an experience on the Clipper is not. Follow us here:

Most importantly, you should know that it’s not a cruise. At least, not in the traditional sense. Obviously you can tell by looking that the ship is quite different from the modern, towering, luxurious ships that come to mind when you think “cruise.” And if you take a trip on the Clipper expecting it to be anything at all like one of those traditional cruises you’ve got a big, big, big surprise coming. The cabins are very small (but comfy), the amenities are wonderfully basic, there’s no pool, no spa, no nightclub, no shopping and absolutely (and blissfully) no air of pretension.  There’s no grand dining hall, just the wooden benches and tables that make up the galley below deck. And the food is by no means haute international cuisine. But it’s delicious, plentiful and prepared lovingly by the ship’s cook (love you Jan!). Think of “comfort food” at sea and you’re in the right vein. So, yeah. The experience on board the Clipper is much more intimate, much more organic and much more “down to earth” than you’d find on a big cruise ship. It perfectly fit our low-maintenance, laid-back personalities, and we absolutely loved it.

There’s no set itinerary. Again, unlike a traditional cruise with rigidly scheduled ports of call, your itinerary on the Clipper is free-flowing and liable to change by the day. The course you take is entirely at the discretion of the captain and highly dependent on the weather conditions. When we first stepped on board we literally had no idea where we’d be going, and that’s actually how we woke up most mornings. Our Captain, Chris, asked all of us where we’d like to go and was absolutely open to our ideas, but there was never a guarantee we’d be able to go to a certain place. That was all fine by us—we felt it just added to the mystery and the adventure of the experience. Sailing the beautiful open waters and islands of the Bahamas with no particular destination in mind? And no set schedule to follow? Giddyup. But again, if you step on board thinking you’re guaranteed to visit one place or another, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment.

Speaking of ports of call, you will more than likely make a stop or two at some small Bahamian town on a stretch of island somewhere, again depending on the conditions. We stopped and spent the night at a little place called Governor’s Harbor and just loved it. It had a great little bar, a collection of colorful shops and homes, locals selling fresh lobsters on the seawalk, and one of the most beautiful beaches you’ll ever lay eyes on. But – and keeping with the theme here – it’s wonderfully basic. No fancy shops, fancy restaurants or high-rise resorts (at least not yet). Just a genuine, low-key Bahamian kind of place. And we’d guess the same would be true of most any of the places you’d visit on your journey.

Okay. So you’re getting the picture. Now with all that said, here’s what we think was hands down the best thing about our experience: the crew.

Sadly in the video you don’t really get a sense of how awesome the crew really is. Clearly they work their butts off, they’re dedicated to the experience and they are absolutely there for you at any time if you need anything. You’d find the same on most any “cruise” we suppose. But the difference here is, we’ve been on a bundle of big cruises and never left a single one of them feeling a personal connection with the crew. And on the Clipper it goes beyond that. By the end of the journey you genuinely feel like part of a big crazy family. When you go out snorkeling for example, it doesn’t feel as though the crew is “taking you out” snorkeling. It simply feels like you’re going out on an adventure with your pals. Same if you want to hang out at the beach. Or hunt lion fish. Or go aloft. Or just hang out on the deck and chill and play guitar after the sun goes down. And even now when we think back on the experience we immediately think of the crew and how cool everybody was. So thanks guys. Y’all were awesome. In fact we’re hoping to upload a separate video with some “crew highlights” but it’s tough trying to decide what all should be seen “publicly.”

Beyond the crew, we loved the adventure of it all. We know we keep using that word again and again, but dammit we just can’t stop.  Watching the crew work together as a unit as they hoisted the sails (and actually helping them out), followed by the feeling of the wind catching the sails and the Clipper flying across the waves… well, that alone was very cool for us, especially since we’d never been sailing before. Then you have the ability to go snorkeling, to swim with stingrays, to take the zodiac over to the beach and chill, to walk among rusting shipwrecks, to explore the ruins of a deserted resort, and so much more. Like we said, there’s just no way we could have fit it all into the video.

Suffice it to say it was sincerely one of those experiences we’ll always remember vividly. And we’d highly, highly recommend everyone do this. At least once in your life. Put any excuses aside and just. Do. It. You’ll have yourself one hell of a time, again provided that you go into the trip with the right attitude and expectations. Us? We’d easily rank this as one of the coolest things we’ve ever done.

Thanks to everybody on the Clipper, passengers and crew. And thanks especially to the awesome folks at Adventure Life who gave us the opportunity. Let’s go on another adventure!

Cheers y’all! Check out the gallery of photos from our Clipper trip below. And safe travels!

~ N +D

P.S. Oh! And then there’s the issue of the mohawk…

This week we finally get to announce details of a project we’ve been involved with for the last couple of months, and we’re so excited we can’t stand it!

Here’s the skinny: earlier this year we were selected by the folks at Tripfilms and USA Today to be one of a handful of video blogging teams assigned to do a series of videos on Las Vegas, to help roll out USA Today Travel Media Group’s brand spankin’ new “Experience Las Vegas” website. So we rushed out to Vegas and over the course of a week in early March we produced a series of eleven very cool videos about some exciting places to see and things to do in and around the city. If you’ve been following us on our Facebook page you might have seen some of the crazy pictures from our Vegas adventures, but we agreed not to tell anybody exactly what we were up to until the Experience Las Vegas website officially launched.

Guess what? The site is now live. And we can finally share our videos and experiences with everybody!

So yeah - the site itself is very, very cool. It’s very progressive and very next-level. It allows you to personalize your very own Vegas experience, by allowing you to build your own trip planner based on your personality and/or desires. For instance, if you’re a luxury traveler, you can build your own luxury Vegas experience. Or if you’re a Vegas newbie. Or a shop-a-holic. Or a party animal. You get the drift. And the site uses expert picks and local recommendations to help you craft your ideal Vegas experience. You can read much more about it all here.

We were actually assigned to produce videos for two categories specifically: “Shopping Diva,” which highlights some of the best shopping to be found in Vegas; and “Surprise Me,” which highlights a variety of very cool places to visit and adventures to take off of the famed Las Vegas Strip. And when you go to the site, look at the “Videos” tab at the bottom and see if you notice anybody familiar.

As we said we produced a total of eleven videos, though not all of them are visible on the site just yet. They’re still making some tweaks to the site as they roll it out. But in the meantime you can certainly go to the site and explore  and see a few of our videos as well as a few others by other travel filmmakers. And if you’d like, you can actually see some of our videos here:

The Mob Museum: http://www.usatoday.com/experience/las-vegas/video/?id=2051215

Dig This: http://www.usatoday.com/experience/las-vegas/video/?id=2051213

Pinball Hall of Fame: http://www.usatoday.com/experience/las-vegas/video/?id=2051207

The Neon Boneyard: http://www.usatoday.com/experience/las-vegas/video/?id=2051137

The Bonanza Gift Shop: http://www.usatoday.com/experience/las-vegas/video/?id=2051131

Let us know what you think! We’ll definitely let you know when they’re all up on the ELV site, and in coming weeks we’ll also be featuring the videos here on our website along with written blogs that further detail our wild and crazy days in Vegas.

Thanks to John and Ashley and the gang at USA Today Travel, and Tony and Kelley and the crew at Tripfilms for the opportunity. We had an absolute BLAST and we know the site will be a huge hit! And what’s really exciting is that the Experience Las Vegas site is just the first of a series of “Experience” sites USA Today Travel will be rolling out over the next many months. Congrats guys! Can’t wait to see what’s next.

Cheers y’all! Lots more on Vegas to come!

~ N + D

Well after having blogged in the past about a really bad day we had on Southwest Airlines (which they ended up handling very well), I thought I’d take a second to tell you about how a nice lady at Southwest saved me from a travel nightmare this past week. Check this out:

AMA? ABIA? WTF?

Clearly we travel a lot. A LOT. And some of y’all might even think we have the luxury of having someone book all of that travel for us. Like our own personal trip-planners. We wish! We arrange and book all of our travel ourselves, which at times can itself feel like a full-time job..

About a week ago, I was at my desk figuring out our calendar. Summer is coming and we’re about to get really busy! So before that busy time hits, we were hoping of course to spend some quality time with our families. Luckily Dusty’s parents live about 5 hours from here, so they drove down a couple of weeks ago and we got to spend a few great days with them (and we treated them to an afternoon at our favorite spot for beautiful bluebonnets). Good times. Love them!

So I was making arrangements to see my parents, which involved me booking a flight from Austin to Odessa, Texas (where my dad lives)  and then a flight for my mom to fly from Amarillo to Austin to come see us the following weekend. It just so happened that at the same time I was booking those trips, I was also in the midst of booking our own flights to several places including Portland, Philadelphia, Kansas City, Puerto Rico, and the British Virgin Islands. So, yeah.  That’s a lot of travel to keep organized. But I got everything arranged (or so I thought) and within days I was packing my bags for my flight to Odessa.

Actually, my dad, stepmom, stepsister, and brother all live in Odessa – and I was super excited about going to see them because I hadn’t been there in so long. We had a fun filled weekend planned and I was really looking forward to it. So when the day of my flight came, Dusty drove me to the Austin airport (he had to stay home and work), I kissed him goodbye and I headed off to security. I didn’t check any bags – I only had a carry on and my boarding pass was already printed. So no need to go to the ticket counter, right? Amazingly enough, the security lines at ABIA were super short that day so I had no trouble getting through security.

But that’s when I began to notice something was a bit… off.

I got to the in-terminal monitors to see what gate I would be leaving out of, and strangely I noticed my flight was not listed.

What? I thought. Did I just not see it? Had I completely lost my mind?

I was supposed to be leaving at 9:40 am. There was a flight at 9:30, but no flight at 9:40. And the flight number was different. Hmmm. Not good.

So I made my way to the gate where the 9:30 flight was departing. But I told the gate attendant I must be losing my mind because I didn’t see my flight number. She looked at my boarding pass and said “That’s because this says you’re leaving out of AMARILLO”.

What? Amarillo?

I looked at the boarding pass, and sure enough. During my ticket-booking frenzy I had actually booked my flight as leaving out of Amarillo to Midland/Odessa that morning. Nice.

As you might imagine I felt like a complete idiot standing there, clearly embarrassed and starting to panic a bit, knowing that I was now at the mercy of the Southwest gate attendant.  I asked if there was any possible way if she could help me re-arrange my ticket and get on that 9:30 am flight, which was leaving very shortly. She said she would certainly check, but the fares would be quite a bit higher obviously since it was now the day of the flight. Crap. I was sweating it!

As I nervously watched her punch the keyboard and look at the screen, I was standing there wondering how I could’ve done something so stupid. I thought back to all of the tickets I booked that day and thought, well maybe it wasn’t that stupid. Just a result of travel overload. But no, it was still stupid.

“It is quite a bit more expensive,” she tells me, “but let’s see what we can do”.

Customer Service WIN!

She typed away at her computer for a minute or so, then she casually handed me brand new boarding passes and a new itinerary for the rest of my trip.  “No worries,” she said. “We won’t charge you any extra. But you might check those other tickets to make sure you’re leaving from the correct city.”

Touche!

I laughed and thanked her over and over again. My little mistake – errr, big mistake – could have cost us a ton of money. But this kind person totally bailed me out.

We fly with Southwest any time we can, and this kind of stuff is one of the reasons why. I’m not sure any other airline would’ve done that for me. She saved my day, and saved my trip! (And saved us at least a couple hundred dollars.)  In all the commotion I forgot to get her name, but I just want to thank her and Southwest Airlines for coming through in a pinch! Customer service to the rescue. How refreshing. Best of all, I went on to Odessa for the weekend and had an amazing time with my family. How cool.

So what do you think? Did I have a good enough excuse for the stupid thing I did? Has something similar happened in your travels? Feel free to share your stories with us. If anything, it’ll make me feel better.

Safe travels guys. Cheers! And be careful making those reservations…

~Nik

We’re getting into one of our favorite times of the year here in Central Texas.

Early Spring and fall are just phenomenal times to be living in, or visiting Austin and the Texas Hill Country. Now don’t get us wrong… winters are by no means miserable down here – especially  by most of the country’s standards – but they’re just a little… we don’t know… blah. And summers? Forget about it. Summers are just flat-out miserable – or at least they have been in recent years thanks to skyrocketing temperatures and the ongoing drought.

But now – right now – everything is just beautiful. And the best thing about this time of year in particular has to be the dramatic emergence of the Texas state flower – the lovely bluebonnet – which begins to appear in late March and covers much of this part of the state in a blanket of dazzling color. And out here in the Hill Country – which is arguably one of the most beautiful parts of the Lone Star State to begin with – the bluebonnets go absolutely wild. And again, whether you live in Texas or you’re just visiting for a few days, it’s definitely worth your while if you have the time to take a scenic drive through here and gander at the bluebonnet phenomenon for yourselves.

You don’t really need to flock to one place in particular to enjoy the bluebonnets… they’re just about everywhere around here this time of year, along roads, covering pastures, even growing side by side among endless acres of prickly pear cactus.  But having lived out here several years now, we thought we’d spill the secret about our favorite place to see them, and it’s a quick and easy drive just to the west of Austin. But before we tell you exactly where this place is, check out some of the photos we grabbed out there this past weekend (March 29, 2013). Dusty’s folks came down from Oklahoma for the weekend and we spent a great day at our “secret spot” enjoying the beautiful weather and the beautiful scenery, and sipping on a few glasses of wine. Here ya go:

Beautiful, huh?

And the very cool part is, these photos represent literally a fraction of the veritable sea of bluebonnets you’ll find out at this place. We’ve never seen so many in one place in our lives. And not only is is close to Austin, once you get out there chances are you may not run into another living soul.

Okay! You’re screaming. Where is this place?

It’s a park called Muleshoe Bend, located on the far west side of Lake Travis where the Colorado River comes into the lake. And the abundance of bluebonnets there is, ironically, a direct result of that nasty ongoing drought we mentioned above. Poor Lake Travis is at historic low levels. It’s pathetic, really, and depressing. The lake is sitting at only about 35% of its capacity and it continues to drop. And that’s got lots and lots of folks worried and wondering about the lake’s future, especially over these next few years, and how it will affect our area’s water supply. But if there’s at least a little silver lining to that, it’s the fact that at places like Muleshoe Bend, the water has receded to the point that it has revealed hundreds of acres of treeless, rolling grasslands where native grasses and wildflowers are thriving despite the dry conditions. And, this time of year especially, it’s absolutely beautiful.

Getting to Muleshoe Bend is really, really simple and only takes about 30-45 minutes from downtown Austin. (The only issues you might run into are those relating to the growing traffic problem in Austin itself. But once you get outside the city, it’s pretty much smooth sailing). There are a couple of ways to get there, but here’s what we recommend:

Coming from Austin: Take Highway 71 west toward Marble Falls. You’ll go past Pace Bend Road and over the Pedernales River Bridge, and after another mile or two you’ll come to a stoplight at Paleface Ranch Road. Take a right. This time of year we like to call Paleface Ranch Road the “bluebonnet highway” because of the incredible blanket of flowers that straddles the road for the next many miles. You’ll come to a stop sign, and a sign pointing to the Stone Creek Vineyard and Barton Creek Golf Course. But don’t turn! Go straight through the intersection and down another couple of miles and you’ll come to another intersection at Muleshoe Bend Drive, where you’ll the signs directing you to turn right toward the park. Follow it another few miles and you’ll actually dead end into the park. You’re there!

The park is run by the Lower Colorado River Authority, which has a small fee collection/information booth set up at the gate. Admission is $5 per car, and is largely on the honor system except in the rare event that they actually have a park host manning the gate. And most of the roads through the park (especially where the flowers are) are dirt roads, but you should be fine driving just about any kind of car unless you decide to hot-dog it and venture off the main roads.

We recommend taking along some snacks, some drinks, maybe even a picnic lunch. You can get snacks and drinks and gas at the Paleface Grocery store just before the Pedernales River Bridge. Or you can find some of the best BBQ anywhere in Texas nearby at a place called Opie’s farther on down Highway 71. Camping is allowed at the park, as is fishing (with a state license) and they also have excellent mountain biking trails. Or you can just roll through and enjoy the sights from the comfort of your car if you like.

In any event, bring your camera! And get there soon. The bluebonnets will only be around another few weeks before they’ll disappear and lay low until next spring. And if you decide to come out this way give us a shout!

Cheers y’all!

~ N + D

In all we spent just shy of 10 days on the island and we were able to experience so many things – but for those of you who are only going to be visiting for a few hours or a few days, we thought we’d distill our list of cool experiences into a “best of” list, featuring our top three experiences in each of three categories: Places to Visit, Things to Do and Places to Eat. We hope you find it helpful! And by all means if you need any help planning your trip, or would just like to get some more thoughts/ideas from us, feel free to drop us a line anytime. We’d love to hear from you!

Places to visit:

- Old San Juan: This one’s a no-brainer, really, for anyone visiting Puerto Rico – but especially if you’ll be coming into  San Juan on a cruise. The cruise terminal is located right there on the south side of old town, making it easy easy easy to simply walk off the ship and spend hours exploring. The whole area is charming, colorful and steeped in Puerto Rico’s history and vibrant culture. You’ll find lots of great shops, galleries, restaurants and bars. And of course there are the old forts – San Cristobal and El Morro (with its incredible cemetery) – which are a must-see while you’re there.

- Guavate: A short 45-minute drive south of San Juan you’ll find this little town, which is known throughout the island (and the world) for its delectable roast pork called lechon. Aside from a few souvenir shops there’s not much to see and do in terms of “tourist stuff,” but that’s all well and good. The lechon itself is the main reason to visit, especially on the weekends when the locals and their families come out to eat. Expect lots of music, dancing, friendly faces and of course phenomenal food. We loved our time at a lechonera called Los Pinos, and recommend it highly. A wonderful way to experience authentic Puerto Rico.

- Camuy Caves: About an hour or so west of San Juan, the Camuy Caves are an incredible natural wonder and a definite must-see if you get the chance. Provided you’re able to escape the crowds (which we hear can be maddening) you’ll be treated to an amazing overall experience. The walking tour through the actual caves is very easy and lasts about 45 minutes or so, during which time you can learn tons on interesting information about the caves and of course take some incredible photos. And there are other attractions nearby – such as the  very cool Arecibo telescope – which planned together would make for an excellent day trip from San Juan.

Things to do:

- Kayaking the Biobay: What? You’re asking. We didn’t see you do any video of this. Sadly, that’s true – we didn’t. But that’s only because when you’re out there kayaking through the mangroves at night it’s pitch dark, and it’s absolutely impossible to capture good photos or video. Which on one hand is an absolute shame because the experience is nothing short of magical. But on the other hand, as they say, “pictures never do it justice.” And that’s certainly true here. There’s no way to capture just what an incredible thing it really is, and you just have to see it for yourself. Essentially you kayak into dark waters that are home to a rare bio-luminescent bacteria, and when the bacteria is disturbed – whether by your kayak paddle, or even your hand – the water glows a magical, Avatar-like blue color that will just blow your mind. We were ready to be vastly disappointed by this experience and instead it turned out to be one of the coolest things we’ve ever seen or done. So, yeah. We recommend it. We went with Island Kayaking Adventures  and had a great time.

- Toroverde Nature Park: Again, this is another one of those things we weren’t excited about at first, but absolutely loved in the end. About 45 or so minutes southwest of San Juan, Toroverde offers rappelling, a hanging bridges tour, and a zipline canopy tour. And if you’re feeling uber-adventurous, Toroverde just happens to be home to the highest and second-longest zipline anywhere in the world, called “La Bestia,” or The Beast. And believe us it’s one hell of a ride. Even if you’re an experienced “zip-liner” Toroverde is sure to please. Plus, its a great way to experience some of the incredible natural beauty that Puerto Rico has to offer.

- Vertical Solutions Helicopter Tour: We love, love, love getting up in the air to get a better perspective on things, no matter where we go. But we were absolutely blown away by all of the surprising scenery and beautiful sights we saw on our tour with Vertical Solutions, that are pretty much impossible to see from the ground. We took what they call the “Mountain Tour,” which begins with a flyover of San Juan (and Old San Juan) and takes you inland to gaze over the lush mountains and canyons and waterfalls of Puerto Rico’s interior. And it was fantastic. Greg (the owner) and the rest of the gang at Vertical Solutions were just awesome, and they’re eager to show off this beautiful island. Best of all, they fly out of an airport that’s just a very short drive from Old San Juan, so you can take a tour and still have plenty of time to enjoy the rest of your day.

Places to eat:

- Mango’s Ocean Park: We had lots and lots of great food during our visit to PR, but none better than the amazing culinnary experience that awaited us at Mango’s. Mango’s is in a great little neighborhood of San Juan called Ocean Park, and it’s all-in-all just a very cool place. The atmosphere is casual and comfy and very laid back (they’re even pet friendly), but don’t let the casual vibe fool you. The food is serious business here. Our friend Adria from condadoinsider.com took us to Mango’s one night and introduced us to the chef Johnathan, who then proceeded to dazzle us with stunning creation after creation, each more delicious than the last. While we’re not “luxury” travelers and we tend to shy away from most of what you’d consider “upscale” dining experiences, Mango’s was upscale without being pretentious. And for us it fit the bill perfectly.

- Guavate: Yep. We know this place is on the list twice, but that just goes to show how much we enjoyed it. The overall experience Guavate offers is just terrific – but the food is absolutely out of this world. You can certainly get lechon just about anywhere you go around Puerto Rico – and we did actually try the lechon in several places – and while it’s mostly all very good, the lechon in Guavate truly is different. Maybe it is the authentic Puerto Rican vibe that helps heighten the culinary experience, and maybe its just the lechon itself, but there’s something special about this place that makes it a must-visit destination. Again, we visited a lechonera called Los Pinos and had an amazing time. So even if you only have a couple of hours to get away for lunch, Guavate is certainly worth checking out.

- El Jibarito: When wondering around Old San Juan you’ll come across a multitude of places where you can grab a good local meal, which is great until you go about trying to settle on one for lunch. As we walked from block to block we looked up a few places online (we’re big Yelpers) and noticed that this place, El Jibarito, was known for its local fare and got particularly good reviews. So we went in to check it out, and were not disappointed. The atmosphere is low-key and welcoming (the menu was even hand-written) and the mofongo here was especially good. It’s a few blocks away from what you might consider the main “tourist” area of old town but certainly worth the walk. And yes, they have ice-cold Medalla there waiting to cool you off.

So there you have it!

Suffice it to say we had an incredible time during our 10-day visit, and we did, saw, and ate more than we ever expected. Thanks again to Tripfilms and Diamond Public Relations for giving us the opportunity, to Adria Estrada from condadoinsider.com for being an amazing guide,  and to all the friendly people of Puerto Rico who helped make this adventure one of our all-time favorites.

Gracias por todo, amigos! Nos vemos muy pronto!

~ N + D

And be sure to check out all of our Puerto Rico blogs and videos:

Exploring Old San Juan

Crazy Cool Condado

A Day at the Cockfights

Conquering The Beast at Toroverde

Into the Camuy Caves

Great Eats in Guavate

An Island Sky Ride

Surf’s Up in Isabela

In all, we’d been in Puerto Rico for almost a week and thus far hadn’t been able to spend more than a single hour just sitting on a beach, soaking up the sun and drinking a few cold ones. And that, friends, is a crying shame.

So considering we still had a couple of days left before we had to get back home, we thought we’d carve out some “us” time and find a place to kick back.

We originally planned to visit a little surf town called Rincon on the west side of the island, because it’s a place well-known for its laid-back vibe, beautiful beaches and of course its excellent surfing. But in talking with several locals in San Juan, we were almost unanimously told to skip Rincon and instead head for a hole-in-the-wall kind of place called Isabela on the northwest corner of the island.

Isabela? Never heard of Isabela.

So we got on the computer to do a bit of research, and the sure enough place looked pretty awesome. Just what we were looking for in fact. So we loaded up our super-bright green rental Jeep and headed that way, cameras in hand of course.

So here it is, the eighth and final installment of our Puerto Rico vlogger series for Tripfilms! Enjoy! And watch as Dusty learns a very important and very expensive lesson while trying to surf.

Yeah. That GoPro thing? We can laugh about it now.

But at the time, as you might imagine, it was pretty awful. We really had shot several interviews and some great b-roll in and around Isabela earlier that day. Lots of good footage that will (very likely) never be seen. But on the bright side? Like we said – lessons learned. Plus it gave us an excuse to go out and buy the newest GoPro model, the Hero3, which has been an excellent camera. So it all works out. We suppose.

Isabela really is a hidden little gem where you can go and get away from it all. And even though it’s your classic hippie-slacker-surfer kind of town there are still a wide variety of places to stay and to eat, from “dirt cheap” all the way to “five star” Personally, we fit better into the “dirt cheap” crowd and we absolutely loved the place.

The Villas del Mar Hau is neither dirt cheap nor very expensive. It’s a great middle-of-the-road option, and considering it’s awesome little cabanas and its location right on the beach, we’d definitely recommend it.In addition to the beachfront balcony, our room came with a flat-screen TV (with more channels than we got anywhere else on the island we think) and a kitchen that we used to make our own meals. The beach in front of the hotel is excellent, and as mentioned in the video they have sort of a natural pool area on the beach that stays calm and is especially great for kids.

We’d like to thank Enrique, Jose and the rest of the team at Aquatica Dive Shop for treating us to the surfing lesson. Which, by the way – aside from the whole losing-the-camera fiasco – was excellent. Seriously. Enrique was a great instructor and everyone at the dive shop was very cool. Next time we hope to do a little scuba diving with them, because we understand the diving in the area is spectacular. We’ll just be sure to keep a better handle on the GoPro.

Lastly, we’d like to thank Iris Rodriguez, who lives in Isabela and agreed to be our guide around town (and is also one of the interviews lost in the GoPro incident). She worked her butt off to make sure we got everything we needed and that we saw as much of Isabela as we could in the course of a couple of days. You could tell she really loves the area and is proud to show it off to new visitors.

As mentioned that wraps up our Puerto Rico video series, but watch in the next couple of days for another blog in which we’ll wrap everything up and spell out our very favorite things to do, places to stay and places to eat on the island.

Cheers y’all! Have a great weekend…

~ N + D

As I write this email, we are holed up in a hotel outside of Atlanta, GA editing our hearts out. We’re here for our “real job” filming marketing videos for four different orthodontists in four different cities and one general dentist in another city. Whoa! Busy, busy, busy! But we love Georgia and are having a ball getting to see so much of the Peach State.

We’ve also been busy finishing up all the editing for our Puerto Rico series for Tripfilms. Almost done! We’ve got one more video that will wrap everything up, and then we’ll be on to our series from our incredible trip to the Bahamas. If you’ve been keeping up you know how much we were able to do and see in beautiful Puerto Rico and what an amazing time we had. So we’re kinda sad to be moving on. But the Bahamas stuff we think will be fantastic!

Next up, specifically, will be the highlights from our Liberty Clipper cruise in the Bahamas. Can’t wait to finish up on that one! That trip was truly one we will never forget. We had an awesome time and met some amazing people! So stay tuned!

Also, if you follow our Facebook page, you no doubt saw we spent a crazy fun week in Las Vegas recently. We were sent there on assignment for a major media outlet to produce a couple of series of videos about the Vegas experience, and we can’t wait to share with you more of the details. They’re kinda top secret right now, so again – stay tuned! It’s really exciting stuff.

Another Epic Road Trip? Unfortunately Not.

And here’s some bittersweet news to report:

Y’all remember our coast-to-coast adventure last summer for Rand McNally, USA Today and the Travel Channel? Well we were, up until today, in the running for another equally epic adventure this summer.

Several weeks ago our friends Jason and Nikki from Gone with The Wynns gave us a heads up about a new video/blogging/road trip adventure being organized by American Free Enterprise. They call it “The Best Summer Job in America.” It’s a super cool, two and a half month cross country trip to 15 towns across America to tell the stories of how local businesses are using the principles of free enterprise to achieve success. And they were accepting video entries, out of which they would select one lucky team of two to take the trip and share their adventures with the world.

One of the very cool things about owning our own production company is that we’re usually able to take much of the summer off.  So, we figured we’d put together our video entry into the contest and see what happened. Here’s our submission:

Well, as it happens we found out a couple of days ago that we were chosen as one of the top 7 finalists! Yay! How cool is that? Great news, right?

Well,  as it also happens we’ve gotten some great news on the business front. Literally right before and after we found out we’d been chosen as finalists, our phones started ringing like crazy. Turns out, unlike years past orthodontists are really wanting videos this summer. We’ve had calls from Kansas City,  Portland, Billings San Francisco, and Sacramento. All wanting videos in June and July. Who knew?

So long story short, we had to bow out of the competition today. As wonderful as the opportunity was, our business is simply more important. We love our company and love our clients! And by large measure it’s our company that affords us the opportunity to travel, meet new people, and also schedule other travel shoots around our schedule as well. We feel so blessed to have the lives we have. Wouldn’t trade it for the world.

So we’d like to wish the remaining 6 teams good luck! We can’t wait to follow their travels and hear their stories as they travel across the good ole US of A. If you’d like to follow along yourselves you can do so on their Facebook page.

So What’s Next Down the Road?

Well, in the next couple of months: a week in Oregon. A week in Philadelphia. And – get this – a week on our own private charter in the British Virgin Islands. For real. Here’s a picture of the boat:

Yep. Like I said, we’re blessed. And like I said, be sure to stay tuned. We have a lot of great stuff coming your way soon!

Cheers!

Nik

There are lots of reasons why. Helicopters are just really freaking cool for starters. They’re amazing machines and a hell of a lot of fun to ride. Secondly, when you want to do any kind of aerial photography or videography, shooting from a helicopter is almost universally the preferred method of flight. You can go low and slow and you can capture some phenomenal material. And thirdly, there’s just no better way to get the overall sense of a place than by going up in the air a few hundred or thousand feet and taking a look around. And many times you’ll see some pretty incredible things – things that you had no idea were there to begin with.

So one of the first things we did when planning our visit to Puerto Rico for Tripfilms was contact the folks at Vertical Solutions, a helicopter service that operates out of San Juan. And the owner there – a very cool guy (and fellow Texan) named Greg… said they’d be happy to give us a lift.

Giddyup.

So here are the highlights from our ride in the sky, thanks to Vertical Solutions. Check it out, and check some of the amazing sights of Puerto Rico that you may never, ever see from the ground. Then stick around and read on after the video for more details and travelly tidbits…

Ready? 3….   2….  1….  Liftoff!

Amazing, uh?

Puerto Rico’s a pretty place to be sure, but we had absolutely no idea there were so many beautiful sights to be seen around the island. Especially those deep canyons and massive waterfalls, which again are pretty much inaccessible by any other means than helicopter. And what we saw on our tour was only a fraction of what’s out there. Very cool.

Again, our thanks to Greg and the gang at Vertical Solutions. All of the aerial footage you’ve seen throughout our Puerto Rico series we captured on our ride with them, and it all came together quite nicely. They were a super bunch to work with, and happy and eager to show off the island’s astounding beauty from the air.

The tour we took was only one of many tours that they offer. One of the coolest we think (and which we hope to go on next time) includes a ride over the spectacular Arecibo radio telescope, the largest of its kind in the world and truly a sight to see.

Our chopper was modern, very comfy and the ride was extremely smooth. Helicopters in our experience are a much easier ride than fixed-wing aircraft and much, much easier to handle if you happen to have a queasy stomach. If you have a tendency to get airsick it’s always a good idea to pop a Dramamine ahead of time anytime you take a sky ride, but it’s our guess that the trip won’t bother you at all.

The tours are quick. Again, you can pick and choose from the several that they offer – but if you’re coming in on a day trip on a cruise you should have plenty of time to include a helicopter ride and still manage to explore the sights like Old San Juan on the ground. Vertical Solutions in fact operates from the airport right across the harbor from where the cruise ships dock (rather than the international airport outside of San Juan), so they’re just a short cab ride away.

So – whether you’ve had experience on helicopters before, or you’d like to try a ride for the first time – we’d really recommend going up with these guys. You’ll totally dig the ride, and again you’ll manage to get some incredible shots from the air.

Next week: our eighth and final installment from our incredible Puerto Rico adventure! See you then.

Cheers!

~ N + D

We love good food, of course, but when we’re on an adventure we tend to focus, well, on the adventure. The activities. The excitement. The stuff to do.

But as had happened so many times during our visit to Puerto Rico, we talked to person after person who downright insisted that we take the time to visit a place south of San Juan called Guavate, which was known throughout the country and beyond for it’s incredible lechon, or pork. In fact, the town lies along what’s called la Ruta de Lechon, or the “Pork Highway”. We’d actually heard of it before, but again didn’t think enough of it to make time for a visit in our busy schedule. It was only after our friend Adria from Condado Insider offered to actually drive us down to Guavate did we agree to check it out. And, yep. Glad we did.

So here are the highlights of our trip, which wound up making for one of our best days on the island. Then read on below for more prime, grade-A, always-beefy TFTR travel tips…

Fun times!

So if you’ll be in Puerto Rico and you find yourself hankering for some good eats, definitely take note of the following:

Getting there: Guavate is an easy drive, 45 minutes to an hour south of San Juan and just off the major highway. So if your time is limited, you can still get from San Juan to Guavate, have a quick lunch, and get back in just a couple of hours (depending on traffic in San Juan). But of course you’re cheating yourself if you don’t take a little extra time to soak up the experience.

We can’t speak for how it works at every lechonera in Guavate, but Los Pinos operates cafeteria style. You move down the line and pick and choose what you want on your plate. And though some of what you can order while at the restaurant is… well… shall we say exotic (as mentioned in the video), you can absolutely stick with the basics if you’re more comfortable with that. In fact, just the plain ol’, straight-up lechon (pork) is flat-out delectable. So pile up your plate, throw some plantains on the side and wash it all down with a cold Medalla beer and you’ll have no regrets.

Food safety: Again, not sure how it works in other places but the pork at Los Pinos all comes from locally raised pigs, and each pig must meet the same stringent USDA standards as those which give us pork in the US. In fact, Don Pedro took us on an impromptu tour of the back areas of the lechonera and showed us each step of the storage, butchering and cooking process. Everything was very clean and very well organized. We even went back into the walk-in cooler where the pigs themselves were hanging on hooks from the ceiling and yes, each was tagged with that familiar and comforting USDA stamp of approval. So no need to worry that your food’s not up to snuff from a safety standpoint.

Weekends are generally the best time to go, although that’s when the lechoneras are most crowded. As we’ve mentioned before we usually do our best to avoid crowds – but when a big part of the experience involves music and dancing and mixing with the locals, it can be a heckuva lot of fun. And that’s the case here. Everyone we met was super friendly and quick with a handshake and a smile. And the food line moved really quick despite the crowd. Good stuff.

The pitorro was certainly a nice finishing touch to our visit, but since it’s technically illegal in Puerto Rico don’t expect anyone to just roll it out and offer you a taste. At least, that is, unless you spend some time getting to know the locals and the subject happens to come up. If it does, and you talk your way into a sample, get ready for a treat. It’s not at all throat-burning harsh like that good ol’ white lightnin’ that your uncle brews up in his garage. It’s got a bite, no doubt, but it’s sweet and smooth and most everyone has their own recipes and flavors. And you can tell they take great pride in it. Good, good stuff indeed.

In the end, we left Guavate with lots of great food in our tummies and great big smiles on our faces. Our thanks to Adria, Don Pedro and everyone at Los Pinos for showing us such a great time!

Next week, we take a sky ride over Puerto Rico’s most amazing sights. Yep. So stay tuned for that.

Cheers!

~ N + D