Part Time Vagabond

2 Days Left to Win Hi-Tec V-Lite Hornets! Comment to enter!

// June 2nd, 2010 // 3 Comments » // News

With only two days left, I thought I’d have more people entering to win. I guess the video thing scared a few people off. So, to win, you can either make the video OR leave a comment in the post to enter the contest! Now you have two ways to win! No excuses not to enter!

Leave a quick comment telling us why you should win the Hi-Tec V-Lite Hornet HPi shoes. Make it a good story, but any legitimate story will enter to win! Hurry and do it today!

Friday Snapshot: Ocean City, New Jersey

// May 28th, 2010 // 1 Comment » // SNAPSHOT

I have another guest post today, this time from my friend PurpleCar (a.k.a., Christine). Christine lives in Philadelphia, PA. I asked her to send me a photo of some of her travels, and she sent me about 15! This one stood out though. Read on.

Ocean City, NJ Summer 2008

I should live at the beach. Fewer allergies, more sunshine, peaceful sounds of waves crashing. Alas, we live and work in Philadelphia, so our shore exposure is limited. We take the standard week-long beach vacation everyone (and I mean EVERYONE) from Philly takes, and we have the occasional hey-why-don’t-we-drive-down-the-shore-today insane jaunts that the kids love (before kids it was the crazy hey-why-don’t-we-drive-down-to-Atlantic-City-tonight jaunts… *sigh*). But in the summer, who can get enough of big ol’ beach chairs, fresh ocean breezes and feeling the soft sand between your toes? Certainly not me.

Can travel make you smarter?

// May 27th, 2010 // 2 Comments » // Feature

I realized something just now. It just hit me. I was reading this article on the Twenty-Something Travel blog, about travel making us smarter, and realized how dumb I’ve been. I was complaining on Twitter that I just didn’t have anything to write about here, that I had lost my inspiration and motivation.

And then I figured out why.

I haven’t traveled in a really long time. This is the Part Time Vagabond blog, meaning that yeah, part of my time is spent at home and at work, while part of it is spent traveling. But I haven’t really traveled in a long time, just for the pleasure of traveling. I haven’t been anywhere new. I flew to Arizona a few weeks ago for my brother’s wedding, but I’ve been there before. I took an impromptu road trip a few hours north here in Maine, but it was short and we didn’t get to do too much.

When the siren song of the open road calls you, and you don’t answer, do you get dumber?

I think the more important question is, how does travel make you feel? Do you feel smarter (or dumber)? Are you more creative? More interesting? Funnier? The life of the party? Are you just a better person because you travel?

What it really boils down to is that people who travel on a regular basis are generally more open to new people and new situations. Travelers deal with situations that most “normal” people aren’t prone to, so their reasoning, deductive, and survival skills are all enhanced. Plus, feeding the natural desire to travel allows travelers to more effectively solve problems. Jonah Lehrer delves deeper into this topic in this article, but suffice it to say, travelers better themselves through the simple act of traveling.

Travel itself obviously does not make you smarter. Similarly, lack of travel does not make you dumber. It’s the lack of a change — in scenery, in pace, in lifestyle, in exercise — that leads to a stagnation of the mind. And it’s that stagnation that effectively makes you dumber; or at the least, less able to effectively deal with life.

What this tells me is that it’s time to get out of my routine and into my hiking boots. It’s time to get smarter.

Friday Snapshot: Grand Teton National Park

// May 21st, 2010 // No Comments » // SNAPSHOT

This week, my neighbor & fellow beer lover Matt, a.k.a. Hokie, submitted a great snapshot from his trip back to Maine from Colorado.

While moving back to Maine from Steamboat Springs, Colorado, we decided to take a detour. My mother and I chose to head north and go through both Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone National Park. The picture above was taken at one of the many stops in GTNP. While on a quick hike around Jenny Lake, the trees parted enough for me to take this snapshot. I’d highly recommend a visit to the Tetons to anyone, both in the summer and the winter.

Part Time Vagabond & Hi-Tec Giveaway!

// May 14th, 2010 // 11 Comments » // News

I’m so excited about this announcement, I’ve been trying to hold it in for weeks! If you signed up for the email newsletter, you already know, but for the rest of you, here’s the awesome news! But since it’s Friday, I figured I’d give you something to do this weekend…
Click past the jump to see!

Continue Reading

American Pickers: One man’s junk is another man’s treasure

// May 12th, 2010 // 3 Comments » // ROADSIDE

There’s a new TV show on the History Channel called American Pickers, where two scruffy, Laurel and Hardy looking guys travel around America looking for treasure among our junk. I love this show, mostly because I’d love to be doing their jobs. You know, if I had the audacity, determination, and sheer will to do what they do every day. Part treasure hunter, part schmoozer, and all lunatic, being a picker looks like a difficult, sometimes dangerous, but always fun way to make a living.

As a reader of the Part Time Vagabond blog, I assume that you, like me, have obligations that keep you from pursuing a life of junking like the gents on American Pickers, but there’s no reason why we can’t dream about it and then live out our fantasies on the weekends. In New England, flea markets, garage sales, and weekend scavenging are a way of life usually reserved for wealthy folks with too much time on their hands. But there are treasures lying in wait in someone’s basement, ready for you to find them. Continue Reading

Friday Snapshot: Sedona, Arizona

// May 7th, 2010 // 2 Comments » // SNAPSHOT

I know, I know, I keep posting Arizona pictures. But seeing as I just returned from the area, I thought it’d be nice have a new image to show you. This was taken on a hike a few miles outside downtown Sedona (the trailhead was right behind my hotel, in fact).

Friday Snapshot: Bristol, Maine

// April 23rd, 2010 // No Comments » // SNAPSHOT

Sometimes, you have to take a macro shot, close up, to see the big picture. I don’t imagine there’s a big story here: a crab walking at low tide, a gull snatches it up, drops it on the rocks below, and has a nice lunch. But how did this claw get here, at least thirty yards from the water? Where is the rest of him? Why here? You could ask yourself all these questions, or you could just snap a picture and move on.

BREWS: Sam Adams Noble Pils; Dogfish Head Indian Brown Ale

// April 19th, 2010 // 1 Comment » // BREWS

A double-decker today. It never hurts to start the work week with a tasty beer, so I thought I’d review two brews I recently tasted, because it is that good of a Monday: Samuel Adams Noble Pils and Dogfish Head Indian Brown Ale. These two beers are very different in their own rights, but they both keep me coming back for more.

Samuel Adams Noble Pils (5.2%ABV)

When people say a beer is crisp and clean, it elicits an image of a warm, sunny, summer afternoon. Birds chirping, the orange glow of the setting sun, a warm breeze gently rustling the trees. When I take a sip of Samuel Adams Noble Pils, a relatively new seasonal from the Boston Beer Company, I’m immediately transported to summer evenings spent on a porch with friends. Seems strange for a beer that’s only released January through March, but those are the images I get from this traditional Bohemian Pilsner that’s brewed with all five Noble hops.

On the nose, Noble Pils is light and crisp, with some citrus notes floating around in the bouquet. Its golden color denotes something a bit richer and fuller, but Noble Pils surprises with a nice, complex bite from all five Noble Hops, balanced by the sweet honey taste of the Bohemian malts. At 5.2% ABV, there isn’t much of an alcohol burn as a pleasant warming in the throat enhanced by the hops. The description on the Samuel Adams website says there’s a “piney” taste to the beer, but I didn’t get that. It does however elicit a strong feeling of sunny days, fun barbecues, and warm breezes.

Dogfish Head Indian Brown Ale (7.2% ABV)

If you’re looking for a heartier beer than the Noble Pils, the Dogfish Head Indian Brown Ale is like a thick juicy steak on the grill. In fact, it might actually pair nicely with one. A deep brown color characterizes this triple threat combo of American Brown, Scotch Ale, and India Pale Ale.

Starting on the nose, it emits an awesome sweetness, caramel wafting out of the creamy head. The Indian Brown Ale (IBA) has a nicely rounded mouthfeel, and a sweet, warm, toasty taste on the tongue. The Dogfish Head website describes it as having the characteristics of a Scotch Ale, which is apt. Dry hopped like an IPA (it’s rated at 50 IBU) but malted like a Scotch Ale, and flavored with brown sugar, this beer has the best of all worlds, which is great for someone who is generally not a fan of super hopped beers. Available year round, the Indian Brown Ale has quickly become a favorite of mine, with a fantastic balance of sweet and bitter.

Part Time Vagabond Email Newsletter

// April 15th, 2010 // No Comments » // News

If you haven’t been following Part Time Vagabond on Twitter, you’ve been missing out, especially on signing up for the PTV newsletter. Make sure you sign up soon, because you’ll be first in line for a special giveaway coming to Part Time Vagabond in the next few weeks! Sign up at the link below or in the sidebar of PTV to get a head start…and pass the word!

http://eepurl.com/iCQY