|
Handy travel gifts
One rule for travel gifts: If it's to be used "on the road," it has to be worth the space and weight it consumes. Calendars, books, video, globes and anything else that can be enjoyed at home make
great gifts, but if the gift you're considering is to be packed or carried, make it light and useful or make sure it can
be returned. Otherwise, the world is your shopping center.
The only thing better than travel is thinking about it or remembering it. If it sparks an idea or a familiar memory, they'll
love it. ELEPHANT WHAT??
Price: $10.99 to $24.99; Find it: www.poopoopaper.com
The Elephant Poo-Poo Paper Co. offers something your eco-conscious friends are all but guaranteed not to have already. Rinsed
until all that's left are the fibrous parts of grasses, bamboo and fruits that cycled through the pachyderms, eventually
paper - smell-free, they say - is produced from the poo. Products range from stationery to journals and greeting cards. SQUEEZE IT Air compression travel bags are a godsend
for anyone headed to a cold climate. Those bulky fleece hoodies, sweaters and down jackets squash down and pop back up none
the worse for being shrunk to a third of their sizes. Brookstone sells a set of five reusable bags for $20. POCKET PERFECT
Prices: - Two-pocket cap: $20, Basic 19-pocket jacket: $120, 35-ounce Camelbak Hydration System (fits jackets and vests):
$22. Find it: www.scottevest.com
Whether your traveler goes from home to school or backpacks into the world's wilds, Scottevest, the only
company producing Technology Enabled Clothing, has a great gift idea. Caps, vests, jackets, hoodies all have pocket systems
to balance one's gear and control those wires. There's even a water system. These will be on my wish list. TRAVEL TOTS Price: $14.99 Find it: Amazon.com,
www.intplay.com, Specialty retailers A toddler on a plane or in a
restaurant can be a challenge, but Viking Toys' Mobile Mats should help. Boxes come with 20 place mats, half with a roadway,
half with a park, plus a Chubbies vehicle. Mats have sticky backs so they stay in place on tabletops or tray tables while
your wiggle worm "drives" the little car around. LAST-MINUTE SPECIAL Price: $20 and up, plus $4.99 handling
fee Find it: BnBFinder.com
Order a travel gift certificate. Your traveling friend can choose from more than 1,500 bed & breakfasts in the U.S. (48
in Florida). An e-card can be sent for you or print out a voucher to give in person.
Travel Books
Travel
books come in two varieties, those you sit and read to learn about a country or trek, savoring someone else's experiences,
and those you take along as references on the go. Here are some of the best we've encountered this year.
Take-alongs 'ALONG FLORIDA'S EXPRESSWAYS, 2ND EDITION'
Author: Dave Hunter Data: Mile Oak Publishing, 202 pages, $24.95 Canadian snow birds swear by Hunter's books and Floridians will learn a thing
or three from his "Special Reports" section. The book is divided into two sections, maps for drivers and the reports
with tips on avoiding construction, things to see and where to eat, plus fascinating nuggets of the state's history among
other odds and ends. Having traveled with Hunter, I can attest to this avid historian's inexhaustible passion for research
and accuracy. If we could pack our vehicles with as much stuff as he can pack information into a page, we really could take
it all with us.
'HOMEGROWN HANDMADE: ART ROADS AND FARM TRAILS' Author: North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources and North Carolina
Cooperative Extension Data: John F. Blair Publisher, 387 pages,
$19.95 This handy self-guide does for the eastern, Piedmont
and foothills regions of North Carolina what the Hand Made in America series did for the state's western side. That is,
to describe county by county sites that are open to travelers a minimum of 20 hours a week, restaurants with a local and popular
touch, farms combining agriculture with activities, art galleries that feature the state's artists, retail stores with
North Carolina products and B&Bs and inns with connections to authentic Carolina culture. Colored end pages for each area,
maps, photos galore and even a recipe or two make it practical as well as fun.
'THE
CHEAP BASTARD'S GUIDE TO NEW YORK CITY' Author: Rob
Grader Data: GPP travel, 297 pages, $14.95 Happy hours and wine tastings, free days at museums, free classes and recreation,
free entertainment, kids stuff and cheap eats - more than 1,000 listings have been gathered by this Lowell Thomas Award-winning
writer. More useful for residents than vacationers, it's still handy for the budget-conscious, especially repeat visitors.
Take-along and savor too 'LITERARY
TRAILS OF THE NORTH CAROLINA MOUNTAINS' Author: Georgann
Eubanks; photographs by Donna Campbell Data: University of
North Carolina Press, 426 pages, $18.95 paperback Like a good
friend in the back seat, Eubanks directs literate travelers to and through the Asheville of Thomas Wolfe, Hendersonville where
F. Scott Fitzgerald spent a November writing and Crumpler's River House Inn, where the likes of Garry Trudeau and Annie
Dillard have stayed. You'll learn of famous authors and the areas that drew them as well as lesser-known authors worth
meeting. Perfect for anyone with a vacation home in Jacksonville's summer state.
To savor 'GHOST TRAIN TO THE EASTERN STAR' Author: Paul Theroux
Data: Houghton Mifflin Company, 496 pages, $28 Many of us would
like to travel as Theroux does, by rail with a flexible itinerary and virtually unlimited time. However, few would accept
the unkept, third world quality rolling accommodations he tolerates, so we sit back and read of his experiences instead, knowing
he will learn more about an area than we will. Always observant and insightful, Theroux is enviously well-read, has a deft
touch with description and a Buckleyesque vocabulary at his fingertips to go with firm opinions on what kind of travel is
worth the effort. His latest, an unsentimental return to the itinerary of the journey that cemented his reputation as a travel
writer, will take armchair readers well beyond the tourist paths.
'LOST ON PLANET CHINA' Author: J. Maarten Troost Data: Broadway Books, 382 pages, $22.95
If Troost doesn't get the award for one of the funniest yet most insightful travel books of the year, he's sure to
get it for the longest title. (It's subtitled "The Strange and True Story of One Man's Attempt to Understand
the World's Most Mystifying Nation, or How He Became Comfortable Eating Live Squid".) We also give him the cast iron
stomach medal of honor for his if-it-fits-in-my-mouth-I'll-eat-it approach to local cuisine. The summer Olympics gave
us managed snippets of life in China. Troost, traveling on his own, gives us a much more truthful look inside this fascinating
land.
Other reviews The bacteria battle Evil bugs and regulations
have travelers scrambling for bacteria battlers they can bring onboard. Elsie's Originals were suggested to me as an alternative
before I took a flight recently. The first problem is there
is nothing listed in them to fight bacteria. The small wipes are touted as excellent makeup removers and cleansers for babies
with sensitive skin. They come in a plastic box the size of
a bar of soap, which makes them too bulky for pockets, and I suspect they would quickly dry out if removed. There's a
best-used-by date, as well. They come 35 to a box for $8, but I'll stick with those tiny bottles of Purel. Easier to use and cheaper, too. Still, delicate skin sufferers may want to contact www.elsiesoriginal.com
to give them a try. ALL THE COMFORTS OF . . . COACH
"Your bed in the clouds," the manufacturer of 1st Class Sleeper says of its
product, and then quotes Newsweek, ". . . it's a La-Z-Boy for Coach."
The package claims endorsement by chiropractors and orthopedic surgeons of the large blow-up "pillow" invented by
an airline pilot whose back hurt from trying to sleep on flying commutes home.
Alas, my back hurt after testing it during a recent overnight flight to Santiago, Chile. I thought it was designed for the
male anatomy rather than a female's, but the product Web site contains multiple testimonials from women.
You feel a little silly blowing it up, and it takes some contortions to put it in place given the restrictions of coach seating,
but it isn't that hard to work. Initially it does feel good, and it cradles the head nicely, but it may not work for those
whose backs are more comfortable sitting up straight and demand more support. If you're a man who likes to drive in a
semi-prone position, I bet you'll love it. At a suggested retail price of $29.95, it's worth a try on your next long,
cramped flight. Call (866) 766-6946 or go to www.1stclasssleeper.com for more details.
Enter content here
Enter content here
|
