Tag Archives: Review

Spooky Sunday

Spooky Sunday: Prison Camp Rd.

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Hello dear readers. This is the first in a new series of reviews about investigating abandoned places. Today I visited Prison Camp Rd. in Rutland, Massachusetts. Prison Camp Rd. is located on the grounds of Rutland State Park. During the warmer seasons, you can drive the 2 miles to the site. I chose to walk the road. Upon arriving, one can see some cement structures where some of the old buildings used to be.

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The largest structure appears to have been used for storage. Graffiti is pervasive at the site. Inside is always nice and cool. Not far from here is a free standing building that one can climb (carefully) up onto the roof. Back toward the road is an old tunnel one can walk down. Be careful as the pathway to the entrance has large holes where one could accidentally fall down into the tunnel. I met some fellow adventurers and showed them how to access the tunnel in the safest manner possible. I have been to this location multiple times, but have not experienced anything otherworldly. It is just a cool place to visit if you have some time and the curiosity to explore. If you go, be careful and have fun.

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This Gear In Review

Multi-device USB Charger

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After traveling for 100+ days with something, I feel like I have a good sense of how good it really is. In particular, there is one item I never want to go without again. And lucky for you, it is on sale on Amazon right now!

The item is a multi-port USB charger. I shopped around before I chose this particular item, so let me explain why I like this better than many of the other options out there:

    1. I wanted a device that had a cable between the hub and the socket. Having a cable gives me more flexibility in how I set up my room, like leaving my charging phone on the bedside table so I can get to my alarm quickly without disturbing others. I also worried that a design where the hug plugged into the wall would add too much weight to the socket (I have experienced this socket problem with lighter things!), and also be limiting in tight places where furniture is close to the socket.
    2. Accepts 100-240 Volt input. There is more to travel and your electronics than just the socket being different shapes. It is important to know that your devices (especially those precious ones like your cell phone) will not be damaged while charging them in different power environments.
    3. Had enough ports to charge all the items I was bringing with me. There are versions of this charger with different number of USB ports to suit your needs. I promise I won’t judge you if you need more than 5….
    4. Promised to charge my devices quickly. This wasn’t a deal breaker for me, but I was very happy with the performance of the charger.
    5. Physical size. I was pleased with how small the box is on this device. The cables take up more room than it does!

I have even appreciated having this device during the non-travel moments of my life. It can just be nice to charge all my USB powered things in one spot.

Here’s an Amazon link to the specific device I have: Anker® 40W 5-Port High Speed Desktop USB Charger with PowerIQ Technology. I’m not making money off this, just sharing my experiences. http://amzn.com/B00GTGETFG

Tasty Thursday

Gado-Gado, my new favorite Indonesian food!

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While on our road trip around the island of Java, our guide Heri encouraged me to try Gado-Gado. I was able to try it twice, and I am addicted. If making it at home, you could easily make it for a number of different diets (gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan, chicken-lovers, just to name a few).

The dish is served cold, and consists of coarsely diced pre-cooked foods topped with a peanut sauce like a dressing. Between the two versions I tried, there were potatoes, green beans, water spinach, tomatoes, carrots, tempeh, tofu, shredded chicken, mung bean sprouts, boiled eggs, and shredded cabbage. One version was also topped with pieces of crisp rice crackers, which soaked up the sauce really well.

The peanut sauce was simple yet delicious. It is made from roasted peanuts, palm sugar, chilis, and lemon leaf. (Some versions also contain tamarind) Then all the ingredients are ground together (mortar and pestle style) into a thick, paste-like sauce that is a slap of pure joy to the palate.

Tasty Thursday

Ivy’s Kitchen (Taipei, Taiwan)

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On January 8th, we had the opportunity to take a cooking class with Ivy Chen. She has been teaching cooking classes in Taipei for over 15 years. We met up with Ivy at Shidong market, where she gave us a fun and informative tour of what the local vendors had to offer. After the market tour, we walked to her home. We chose 3 dishes to cook ahead of time: steamed buns with red bean paste, eggplant with spicy sesame dressing, and vegetarian wontons in red oil sauce. We cooked, chatted, and ate well into the afternoon. The dishes were delicious and not too difficult to make. If you visit Taipei and have a day to spend, please contact Ivy.
http://kitchenivy.com

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Tasty Thursday

Best Potato Chip Flavor Ever (Happiness Butter)

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Early on in our adventure to Japan, we encountered a mysterious yet enticing bag of potato chips.
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Made by Calbee, the flavor is called “Happiness Butter.” It is a combination of sour cream, honey, butter, and parsley. “Happiness” is the best way to describe these chips. Sweet and crunchy – a snack food lover’s dream. We looked all over for another bag, but weeks later, were only able to find one – at a reduced price, because they were discontinuing the flavor. Cruel victims of a limited edition flavor? Or had that dastardly pigeon struck again.

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Lunch box from Tia

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For today’s lunch (in Nagasaki) we stopped into Tia to try their freshly prepared lunch box. The meal cost 700 yen (approximately $5.87) and included hot tea, miso soup, rice, desert, coffee, and a 5 dish main coarse. My favorite was the pork cutlet. The coating was crispy and the glaze was delicious. Chandra really enjoyed the miso soup. The brown rice was fluffy and perfectly seasoned. The smoked daikon was interesting to say the least. Most likely it is an acquired taste. The cheesecake was soft and moist. I wished there was more of it. The lunch box from Tia was yummy and affordable*.  Try it if you are in the neighborhood. In addition to the lunch box, they also do a lunch or dinner buffet and breakfast.

*Chandra Notes that they also focus on local, organic ingredients – they have photos of where they get everything from greens to teacups in a book on their tables!

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Singapore Airlines

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We departed Los Angeles on Singapore Airlines headed for Tokyo on December 3rd. The staff was exceptionally kind and friendly. The female flight attendants wore dresses with beautiful patterns on them and the men wore suits. The seats were spacious for being 10 across in the economy class. Each had their own footrest and TV screen. The international selection of shows, music, and movies was vast and recent. We each watched 4 movies. The meals served were large and delicious. I have never eaten so much on a plane in my life. We ate two meals and numerous drinks and snacks were offered. I really enjoyed flying with Singapore Airlines and would highly recommend using them next time you plan on traveling to any of the countries they visit.

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Eagle Creek Specter Compression Bags

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I think this review will have to be updated after I get way more use out of my gear, but so far, I really appreciate these compression bags. They pack like packing cubes, which works pretty tidily if you roll your clothes, but you can also get a decent amount of compression out of them with the integrated zipper. I have been able to fit all my clothes into a larger one and compress it a significant amount, and use the medium size one for socks, underwear, etc. The inside of my backpack is now super segmented, and nothing gets disarrayed if all I want to do is change into my sandals. I have been using a ziplock inside the packing cube for dirty or damp items, which has been working so far.

Note: we also have a set of non-compression cubes in three sizes. We are using one for shoes, one for prescription medicines, and one for a miscellaneous bag. While these are acceptably functional, I would recommend buying the compression style instead. Even if you have all noncompressible items in the bag on one trip, if you don’t need the full space of the compartment, the compression feature allows you to use the same packing cube in a range of thicknesses.

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Drylite XL towel

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I am in love with one of the items I’ve packed for our long trip – it’s the drylite XL towel, and it feels like a luxury! Since we are flying carry-on only for most of our trips, space is crucial. This towel packs down super small, is even lighter than Matt’s travel towel, and is big enough to be modest or to use as a beach towel. The tradeoff is the texture- it feels like a chamois. I’m ok with the texture, especially because it comes with superabsorbent powers. I could use it to dry off after a shower and then be able to pull the moisture out of some sink washed laundry with absorbency to spare. I have been using it for a couple weeks now and am starting to think it may be my full time towel even when I’m not traveling….