Ski Town U.S.A. (a.k.a. Steamboat Springs, Co.)

Background story detour…

While college graduation approached, I had made up my mind that I was not going to into the full time job realm. Instead, a mutual friend of the bachelor and I composed a list of ski resorts around the country that we’d like to live post-grad. Several weeks of being back home, living with our familes, got us vigorously hunting for jobs. In fairly short order, my friend and I each got solid offers in Steamboat. While we prepared for our departure west, the aforementioned bachelor called us and asked if we had room for a third. Luckily we did, and the three of us packed up my ’92 Ford Explorer and hit the road…

This history made the ‘Boat a natural choice. It also didn’t hurt that, while said bachelor and I had left Steamboat years earlier, our friend still calls it home.

Now the real planning began and all the usual wrinkles had to be ironed out. Who would be invited, where would we get cheap lift tickets and, most importantly, where the hell would we sleep? Our friend kindly offered to let us stay at his house, but as our group’s number climbed to ten, we politely declined. May I note that our refusal was much to his female roommates’ relief.

As I began pricing out hotel rooms, a conversation from earlier that summer popped into my head. The letters V, R, B and O, were all I could really remember from a thick, beer induced fog. A quick search on the Google brought the rest of the discussion back in a snap.

If you haven’t heard of it yet, VRBO is short for Vacation Rentals By Owner. And while most of the properties are still brokered by agents, the rates are way, way cheaper than anything you’d find in a hotel. Plus, you’re in a house or condo!

After a bit more intertube traveling, I found that Steamboat Springs was well represented on VRBO. I did a search with the dates we were going to be in town. From there, I looked for units that could sleep the number of people and had the price ranges we could afford. Within minutes, I had a comprehensive list of our lodging options. I plopped a list of links into an email and sent it to the guys who were attending. In a day or so, we had collectively made up our mind on which place to rent.

From there, I submitted an inquiry through the same website. Within the same day, I got a reply from a rental agent confirming that the unit was still available and explaining how payment would proceed. All I had to do was send two separate checks to their office. One for the full sum of the stay, and another for a security deposit. They would then send the checks to the property’s owner. Once the owner got the checks, and deposited the first check, he or she would send me information on how to get into the townhouse.

Though I was a little apprehensive about the Byzantine path my checks would have to take, all went according to plan. Within a few weeks of mailing my checks, I got an informative email from the owner regarding everything I’d need to know for my stay. The security check was held until we checked out and a cleaning person verified that nothing beyond normal cleaning was needed.

Once the long weekend arrived, everything went off without a hitch. The townhouse was as nice and as close to the mountain as advertised. Ullr graced us with fourteen inches of fresh powder for the first day, and he continued the flurries through to the second. Per usual, the vacation went entirely too fast, but it was really an excellent time.

I would highly recommend utilizing the VRBO service if you’re planning a trip. With the high amount prices of real estate on the market, owners are looking for any way to help pay the mortgage (or taxes for that matter). In the end, it’s infinitely cheaper than staying in a hotel, and you can save a bit more money by cooking in a night or two. If you have any questions, feel free to message me on twitter, @h0ke.

P.S. If you can find New Belgian Brewing’s new-ish beer, Ranger IPA, I HIGHLY recommend it. That is all.

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For anyone who has ever been on a city vacation, the rule is generally that once you leave your hotel/motel/hostel/squat, you’re “out” for the remainder of the day until you’re ready to head back and collapse into unconsciousness. The pleasures of the city are great, but if you’re trying to squeeze all the magic into just a few days, these 10+ hour adventure days can be pretty rough. But If you’re unwilling to sacrifice your jam packed itinerary, you’d better make damn sure you’re ready before you head to the train/bus/taxi/trolley/sidewalk.

Rule #1: Be one with the public transport. There is a thin line between being so cheap and delusional that you convince yourself you can cover an entire metropolitan area on foot (your bloody stumps will likely get you about half way there and then require a box of bandaids and an expensive cab ride to get you back), and being so financially foolhardy that you blow through your entire wad paying cab drivers because you’re afraid you can’t read the subway map or don’t want to accidentally step in pee at the train station. It’s going to be ok. Just get yourself an all day transit pass, download a public transport app (pretty much every major metro area has one from Boston to San Francisco), and…

Rule #2: Leave the germaphobia at home (or at least carry some hand sanitizer). On any given city trip, there will be sticky subway seats, questionable and soapless public restrooms, and oozing street vendor food with inadequate napkin supply. Cities are full of people, and people are full of germs , and dirt, and in some cases bedbugs.  Obviously, don’t go exploring the city with your tongue, but also don’t ruin your trip by being afraid to touch anything. Do however…

Rule #3: Be prepared. It’s time to channel your inner Boy Scout. Be careful not to lade yourself down like a pack mule, but do make a tidy little emergency kit with some basics like: hand sanitizer, tissues or napkins, band aids, pain killers, payphone quarters (your phone could die or get lost), cab fare, a bottle of water, and a snack so you don’t get cranky on long subway rides (or so you don’t have to pay $6 for a street cart pretzel). And if you have a smartphone…

Rule #4: GPS is your friend, and there are a ton of great navigation apps you can download before you hit the streets. If you should wander away from the subway station and get turned around, or end up in a part of town where people are less enthusiastic to give directions to tourists, GPS can help guide you safely back to your base camp.  Also, a good mapping program can memorize your chosen destinations, and help you make your most efficient plan of attack. But what it probably can’t tell you is where to…

Rule #5 Find the bathrooms! Cities are not kind places for those of us with tiny bladders. A long subway ride can end in an emergency situation, and if there isn’t a Barnes & Noble right off the train stop… let’s not go there. Luckily, there is yet another app you can load on you phone (are you sensing a trend here?) that will help you find a public toilet faster than you can sing that “gotta go” jingle from those awful commercials. So unless you have a toddler with you on your city adventure, you can probably skip the extra pants in your emergency kit. What you shouldn’t skip however, is…

Rule #6 Wear (or at least bring) comfortable shoes. Remember that time I talked about bloody stumps? Even when you’re using an appropriate amount of public transport, city trips still involve a lot of walking. This does not mean you need to wear a pair of geriatric grade walking shoes, but you should completely ignore the women getting off the subway in 4 inch spikes (they’re mutants), and strongly consider a pair of sneakers, or at least cushy flats. And for the love of god, do not use your big city trip as an excuse to break in new shoes (I speak from experience! Picture it- Atlantic City, 2002- Cute espadrille wedges, and a blister the SIZE OF A PEPPERONI). And while you’re getting dressed…

Rule #7 Layer! Weather is a fickle fickle mistress, and you don’t want to be deep in the heart of the city when a freak snowstorm or unexpected heat wave descends. And even if there should be no notable weather shifts, stores and restaurants have wildly varying AC/heat conditions. If it’s 95 outside, it could be 60 inside at your chosen dinner locale. Or, it could just get chilly after dark. The point being, make sure you’ve got on flexible attire that will serve you in a variety of temperatures. That said…

Rule #8 Pack light. Being prepared it great, but having a rolling suitcase of costume changes and emergency items is ridiculous and impractical (and a beacon of your tourist status). A couple of flexible layers, and a small backpack or messenger bag should be more than adequate. Coco Chanel once said “When accessorizing, always take off the last thing you put on”. Pack everything that you think you’ll need the night before you go out, and then do some editing in the morning. If you’re planning on shopping, a slightly larger bag could be in order, or some of those reusable totes that pack down really tiny are also cool. Although before you go and fill those totes with snow globes and t-shirts…

Rule #9 Don’t blow your load. The city is seductive, and everything is like 10 times more expensive than it is in your hometown. I wouldn’t be a very good personal finance blogger if I didn’t recommend creating a budget before you even get on the plane. Be realistic, but be firm. Leave your credit card in the hotel room if you cant be trusted, but just make sure that you’re not bringing home a boatload of revolving debt as a souvenir. Give yourself and allowance, and spend your time taking photos of the incredible sites rather than shopping for miniature pewter replicas of them.

So if you’ve followed steps 1-9, at this point you should be comfortably but stylishly attired, with a bunch of helpful apps loaded on your phone, and a tidy and lightweight pack of emergency goods strapped to your back. You should know where you’re going, and how to get there taxi-free. But before I push the little birds out of the nest, I have one last bit of advice…

Rule #10 Be careful! With cities come higher crime rates. I am proud to say that I’ve never had a close call while vacationing, but it can happen. If you have a friend who lives in the area, give them a jingle and ask them which neighborhoods you should avoid. Or at the very least, keep careful track of your stuff and your travel companions, and consider avoiding getting blitzed too far away from your hotel (or at all). And of course,  little mace in your travel bag is also not a terrible idea.

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If you liked this post, try these:

• Postcard From Bali – video by Stephen Kot
• From the West: How to Get Cheap Lodging on Your Next Trip
• My Favorite Blogs

You may have noticed that I recently took up the sport. Starting with the novice title has given me a great perspective on the true art and craft of fly fishing. Unlike what most of us think of when we hear “Fishing” — what’s actually known as spin fishing or spin casting — where you toss bait as hard and far as you can into the water and then reel it back in, fly fishing requires a bit more finesse and skill to master. Getting those huge, graceful loops in the fly line, the kind you see in A River Runs Through It, takes a dexterity most people don’t realize they have. There is no denying that there are myriad things to know to become a master fly fisherman (and let’s not even get into fly tying yet), but the barrier to entry in this graceful and surprisingly addictive sport is relatively thin.

From a novice perspective, here are some things you should consider when you’re first getting into fly fishing.

Buy a book

Books on fly fishing are plentiful, and most are full of fantastic information for the beginner fly fisherman. The internet is a great resource too, but you can have too much of a good thing, so grabbing a book from your local library will help you avoid a brain meltdown. Orvis and L.L. Bean offer some fine resources (disclosure: I am an L.L. Bean employee, but that doesn’t really color my opinion all that much), like the L.L. Bean Fly-Fishing Handbook or The Orvis Guide to Beginning Fly Fishing.

Take a lesson

When it comes to book learning, I’m a dummy. It’s far easier for me to learn from someone who already knows how to do a skill, So, I’ll speak from experience here: L.L. Bean offers some great fly casting “Walk On Adventures” at many of their stores, and several fantastic fly fishing courses through their Outdoor Discovery Schools. Courses at other shops are likely available in your area from experienced fly fishermen, and while a book can get you the basics of knots and mechanics, there’s really no substitute for going outside and actually doing it while a trained instructor watches. They’ll be able to point out flaws, give you tips on how to improve, and show you tricks the best fishermen use to catch fish.

Buy some gear

All you really need to get started are a rod, a reel, backing, fly line, leader, some flies, and a place to fish. When you shop for a rod, reel, and line, you’ll hear about matching rod & reel weights, rod length, and the hundreds of types of flies you can purchase. Talk to the sales reps to learn about what you need, and do some research ahead of time by reading some fly fishing books or visiting some of the more popular fly fishing websites.

Find some water

One of the more fun (and sometimes secretive) parts of fly fishing is finding a good place to fish. The best way to start fly fishing is to practice your cast on a grass lawn with a practice fly made of yarn. But once you’re ready to hit the water, grab a map of your area and your fishing regulations book, and head out to do some fly fishing! Lakes, brooks, rivers, streams, and ponds almost always offer good fishing, depending on the area and time of year.

Fish on!

Spring is a great time to fly fish, as the fish are in the spawning stage, so they’ll be really active and ready to chow down on just about any bug you drop. Summer gets tough because it’s hot and the fish become less active due to lower oxygen levels in the water. In the summer, you’ll want to fish early in the morning or later in the evening when things have cooled down. Fall offers some great fishing in the northern climates too, when the temps have cooled and fish are moving around again.

Fly fishing can be one of the most rewarding and exciting sports around. There’s nothing like the thrill of hooking a fish and reeling him in, landing him in your net and taking that trophy picture before gently releasing him back into his home. It’s amazing: once you’re hooked (pun possibly intended), it turns into an addiction. Remember to not let all the fancy gear get in the way of why you’re truly there. Fly fishing is one of the simplest sports around, and you should enjoy its simplicity.

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Change with the seasons.

Produce is a budget buster for many, but the simplest rule of thumb is to go with whatever is in season. Sure, asparagus and pomegranates seem tempting year round, but when they’re out of season, they could be two or three times more expensive.  The quality of in-season produce tends to be much higher, and because it’s plentiful, infinitely cheaper. The more you pay attention while you’re shopping, the more price sensitive you’ll become. Check your local grocery store fliers before you head out, and build your meals and shopping list around whatever is in season and on sale.

Buy local.

The only thing better than seasonal produce is local seasonal produce. Farmers markets and farm stands abound in Maine and in most other states, and are a great source or super fresh, often organic, and reasonably priced fruits, veggies, herbs, eggs, and other such goodness.  Another great and inexpensive way to get in on the local harvest is to buy a CSA share. Generally a huge amount of fresh food for between $15-$40 a week, you can split the cost and the bounty between family and friends to make things even cheaper.

Bulk up.

Most of us are so preconditioned to buying the name brand and prepackaged foods of the central grocery aisles, that we completely forget that most stores still have that old school section of bulk food bins. From grains to granolas, when stripped of their brand names and shiny packaging, these bulk choices can be two to three times less expensive than their more fancily dressed counterparts. Another bonus is that you are not constrained by commercial pre-portioning. You wanna buy 3 walnuts, buy three walnuts.  When you’re only buying as much as you need, you are much less likely to be wasteful.

Coupon magic.

Despite what you think you know about coupons, there are actually a good deal of coupons out there for whole and natural foods. Websites like Mambo Sprouts offer nothing but printable natural foods coupons, and even Whole foods puts out its own coupon book called “The Whole Deal”. Or, if there are products that you love that don’t offer regular coupons, if you send a little love note via email, they will often send you a bunch of coupons in return.  Keep your coupon stash organized and handy whenever you hit the stores, because when combined with weekly specials, you can often end up scoring your healthy favorites for Little Debbie level prices.

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Part 1: Rock Steady, or how to not make your viewers nauseous.

• Use a tripod. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? But most people forget this most basic of camera techniques. Manufacturers make lightweight tripods these days that you can bring along with you. You can even use a monopod to help stabilize your shots. Joby makes the Gorillapod, a great portable go-anywhere tripod that can support some of the smaller camcorders.
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• Brace yourself. If you’re going to shoot handheld, use your arms as though they’re the legs of a tripod. The third leg is your body. Hold your elbows close, locking them into your torso, and use your free hand (the one not carrying the camera) to hold underneath the camera’s lens. That also gives you access to many of the camera’s controls.
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• Move in, zoom out. The telephoto feature on your camera is great if you can’t reach your subject, but getting physically closer is better. Zoom your lens out to its widest setting and get as close to the subject as you can. You’ll nearly eliminate camera shake this way (the longer your zoom, the shakier your shot), you can see details better, you get better lighting (the more you have to zoom in, the less light can enter the lens), and you get a more intimate shot. Focus is also more forgiving in a wider angle.
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• Use what you have. Don’t have a tripod or monopod, but still want a rock solid shot? Use a backpack or purse to stabilize the camera. Rearrange things inside the bag so it creates a “U” shape that you can nestle the camera into.
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• Lean. Yup, lean. Lean up against a building, light pole, another person, whatever is solid and can take most of your weight. Your body naturally moves to compensate for changing conditions, and your muscles can only hold a position steady for so long. Again, think of yourself as part of a human tripod. Using an immovable object as a support will help you to keep things from rocking and rolling.

These tips may seem like common sense, but you’d be surprised how many people fail to use them. After a little practice, you’ll become a pro at getting rock-solid steady shots that will blow Uncle Harry’s movies out of the water and win you the praise of a grateful — and non-nauseous — family.

In part 2 of Tips for Better Travel Videos, I’ll give you some ideas on getting good sound for your travel movies.

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Erin Dow is chef/owner of Eatswell Farm, a Maine-based catering firm. She is also the Expert Chef for the Guiding Stars Licensing Company and the Consulting Executive Chef for Professional Catering Services, a company that provides backstage production catering to the music industry.

I do two kinds of travel: business travel and mommy travel. For business, my travel generally involves driving large trucks packed with thousands of pounds of catering kitchen equipment long distances, unpacking said trucks, setting up said kitchen equipment, catering an event, tearing the kitchen down, repacking the truck, and driving back home…generally within 24 hours. Mommy travel involves a family of five and a dog, a station wagon, and a long distance. The stress level is about the same.

Given the fact that traveling is a lot of work, diet is often the first priority to go out the window. We eat nasty bits to assuage our nerves, we share them to keep the kids quiet, and we opt for pre-packaged items to facilitate our misguided choices. But with about fifteen minutes of planning, you can reduce the impact your travel diet choices have on your health and still enjoy a treat.

• Skip the Big Gulp and whip up a smoothie and pack it in a thermos before hitting the road. It’ll satisfy your sweet tooth, your hunger, your thirst, and your wallet.
• Pack lots of water. Thirst is often mistaken for hunger. Proper hydration keeps us from misinterpreting the body’s cues.
• Bang out a batch of baked tortilla chips for the trip. This recipe from Gourmet is popular with my catering clients.
• Make homemade snack bars. Trail mix and granola are handy but often messy with kids. Many are dump and run, like this winner, full of nuts and seeds and covered in chocolate.

Finally, remember that even the healthy-looking options at the gas station—like energy bars—are often loaded with calories and are better suited as a meal replacement. Regardless, it’s preferable to have your calories come from homemade whole food choices rather than commercially manufactured items, and with a little forethought, it’s almost as easy.

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Seasonal Affective Disorder

SAD is pretty easy to detect. You’ll feel lethargic and have crashes, especially in the afternoon. You’ll crave carbs, have an increased appetite, and want to sleep more. A lot more. Worst of all, you’ll start to feel depressed, and that can lead to social anxiety and withdrawal. No one wants to feel that way, but unfortunately, SAD feeds off itself, so it can be difficult to pull yourself out of it, especially when you’re stuck inside.

Fortunately, you can treat yourself for SAD. Aside from seeing a doctor who can prescribe medications for the depression, a change in diet, exercise habits, and time spent outdoors can really help to alleviate, if not eliminate, the problem. Sure, you can use a light therapy lamp to get some more daylight, and it will likely help. A better solution is to go outside, no matter how cold (layers, people. Layers), and enjoy what daylight you do have. The extra exercise will get your blood flowing and your body burning extra calories and the “bad fats” that would normally be stored as extra weight. Plus, you’ll stay warm!

Diet is also a key factor in treating SAD. Erin Dow, Expert Chef for Guiding Stars Licensing Company (GuidingStars on Twitter), says  “For me, eating a diet that includes healthy portions of dairy and eggs, fish, lean white meats, avocado, and nuts [is] helpful; it provides me with a boost of Vitamin B-12, Vitamin D, and tryptophan, an amino acid that many believe aids serotonin production in the brain and boosts mood.” Erin knows first hand the effects of SAD. “SAD is a bona-fide medical condition that I believe should be evaluated by a professional. I…believe that with our diet, we can help ourselves through these long winters. Eating a varied and colorful diet reduces…overall stress, keeping [your] body and mind healthier overall. Frankly, eating delicious foods makes me happier anyway, so it’s a win-win situation.”

In addition to a poor diet, if you’re confined by four walls with only a little bit of light streaming through the windows, it’s not enough to just sit by those windows, as your body knows it’s still got the darkness around you.

That leads me to a less severe, but no less irritating, winter problem:

Cabin Fever

We’ve all had this problem: You’re stuck inside because it’s too cold/snowy/dark outside, and you just don’t feel like going out into that. But you’re getting antsy, and you need to move around. Nah, you don’t want to go to the gym. No, you don’t want to go for a walk (didn’t they just hear you? It’s too cold/snowy/dark outside!). But man, you gotta do something! Maybe you’ll clean your room; you end up cleaning the entire house. Ok, that’s done. Hey, look at those old photo albums! You haven’t looked through all 97 of them in years! Well, ok, those weren’t as interesting as you thought. Maybe you’ll just go take a nap (SAD anyone?). But all you can do is toss and turn. Guess you’ll just go watch a movie on tv. Can’t watch a movie without popcorn. Oh, and a soda too. Maybe some candy to cheer me up. Nope. Hey, it’s raining out now! Well, you can still go out in that and be ok. You just need your raincoat. Now where is it?

Sound familiar?

Cabin fever is less serious than SAD, but no less irritating. While cabin fever is not an official medical condition, being stuck indoors for extended periods of time can lead to some of the same symptoms of SAD, on a less debilitating level. Cabin fever is not actually an official diagnosis of anything except needing to get your ass out of the house. It’s a damn fine excuse to strap on your boots, put on an extra layer of clothing, and hit the trails or wander the neighborhood.

I’m telling you: GO OUTSIDE!

Yeah, that’s actually a really good solution to all this. Go outside more. Even if you spend twenty minutes a day outside walking, running, getting the mail, something, that time spent with natural daylight will make you feel that much better. And the more time you spend out there, the better you’ll feel. If you’re at work, take a few minutes during your lunch break to walk around outside. The weekends are a prime time for outdoor activities, and the calories you’ll burn will actually make you feel better. Also, as we learned earlier in this post, eating the right kinds of foods can only help things improve. When it comes to both SAD and cabin fever, you have to take action to make things better. Once you take that very first step, your winter life will improve.

Disclaimer: No one in this article (myself or Erin Dow) are medical professionals. If you feel any of the symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder, I recommend you seek professional medical attention immediately. Seriously, do it. You’ll feel better.

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No one wants to lug around a hundred pounds of extra stuff when you’re just trying to enjoy your trip. Yet we still want to capture those memorable moments and show them off on the family blog. In an effort to lighten the load and still get that amazing shot, here are five items for the nomadic videographer:

1. AVCHD camcorder – These tiny handheld camcorders are made even lighter because of their solid state AVCHD recording media. Without the traditional recording mechanism of tape or hard drive based models, AVCHD camcorders shed those oh-so-important ounces, while giving you stunning High Def images. Try models from Canon or Sony. With all that saved weight, you’ll be able to carry an extra package of GORP.
2. GorillaPod SLR Zoom – Probably the greatest invention for outdoor video and still photography enthusiats, Joby’s Gorillapod is the lightweight go-anywhere tripod with bite. Three nearly infinitely posable, rubber tipped legs allow you to wrap the miniature tripod around a tree branch or grip it securely to a rock face. Joby has also just introduced a ball head for the Gorillapod SLR Zoom version, which allows free-flowing movement in a 360 degree circle. The ball head includes the GorillaPod’s traditional quick-release plate.
3. LED On Camera Light – LED lights are starting to make their way into professional videography, and with good reason. They’re small, lightweight, and bright, but use less battery power than traditional on-camera lights. In the woods or in darkly lit alleys, a good light is essential to seeing what’s on camera. This sub-$200 light from Bescor is small, lightweight, and dimmable.  *Tip: when shooting in the sun with deep shadows, use your camera light to fill in those shadows. Your subject will look much better.
4. Short Shotgun Microphone - Many pros have said it, yet most amateurs ignore it: Audio is an important – if not the most important – part of videography. If you can’t hear, what’s the point? The Azden SGM-X short shotgun microphone sits in your camera’s hot shoe while it’s 1/8″ mini jack plugs right into your camcorder’s microphone jack. Use the mic to not only do on camera “standups,” but also to pick up the amazing sounds you encounter on your journey.
5. Headphones – These lightweight earphones from Klipsch are a great complement to your shotgun microphone. Just as picking up the sound is important, hearing what you’re picking up is important as well. These earphones sit snugly and comfortably in your ears, without taking up a lot of weight or space in your pack. Though they may be pricier than you’re used to, they’re well worth the investment when you can hear the wings of that grey heron flapping from a quarter of a mile away.

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I had to share this video from Backpacker Magazine. What a great idea! I wonder about using different flavors/types of beer to get a different consistency and taste to the pancakes.

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