Spot Satellite GPS

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of SPOT. All opinions are 100% mine.

 

Spot Satellite GPS

The DeLorme Pn-60W with Spot Communicator.

For those of you who hike, ski or spend time in the woods where your cell phone is not working, this can be a lifesaver. It is lightweight, small, powerful and allows you to stay connected. You can send messages via satellite to friends or heaven forbid for a remote rescue. Hikers, boaters, backpackers, fisherman, kayakers, hunters and snowmobilers can benefit from this service. Using 100% satellite technology, Spot works nearly every where in the world, even when cell phones won't, all you do is push the button. They have three yearly service plans to chose from, ranging from $99.99 to $199.99 per year.  This is a very affordable option for peace of mind. SPOT Satellite GPS messenger. You can buy online at local retailers like Best Buy or Bass Pro Shops to name a few.

 

For the year 2010, PN-60W with SPOT Satellite Communicator was chosen as on the the Top 10 Breakthrough Products, by Popular Mechanics. Also, National Geographic chose the DeLorme Earthmate PN-60W with SPOT Satellite Communicator as one of its MUST HAVES for the year 2010. Click here to learn more, if you are interested in staying in touch in remote locations and for your safety. For your holiday gift giving, they are offering a bonus adventure kit worth $50. The kit includes a 15% off coupon on their basic service, plus more. See their website for all the details.

The Moon Under Water - St. Petersburg

The Moon Under Water is a British Colonial Tavern located in downtown St. Petersburg, overlooking the bay. The history of the name came from British Recruiting Sergeants visiting taverns to recruit people for the British Army. The Sergeants would walk into a bar and find some drunk, drop a Queen's Shilling in his beer and when he drank from the tankard, he was considered a recruit and hauled off. Their methods were very shady. The tankards were redesigned to see through, so the target could look through the bottom and see the shilling, hence the name Moon Under Water. This establishment is very European with its inside bar, and outside dining tables. The view of the bay is great as well as the food.

Executive Chef Michael Crippin moved to Tampa 15 years ago from his native England. He has a great culinary education as well as working for celebrities including Madonna, Prince Charles, and Bruce Willis. He has been at The Moon Under Water for six years bringing British and Indian cuisine to St. Petersburg. I had a seafood salad, consisting of shrimp and crab meat with raspberry vinaigrette. It was excellent and a lovely presentation. The menu is varied with several styles of curry. This restaurant is located close to the Chihuly Museum, the Pier, Baywalk, the Yacht Club and Central Avenue.

www.bornfreetravel.com

Pier W in Cleveland

http://www.bornfreetravel.com/2010/09/14/pier-w.html

Medal of Honor Awarded to Staff Sgt. Salvatore Giunta (First Living Recipient since Vietnam)

246 Medals were granted to those who fought in VietNam, 133 for those in the Korean War and 464 for World War II. During the Iraq/Afghanistan war, six have been awarded post-humously. The lack of medals from these wars has contributed to the lack of public appreciation for our brave troops over these last nine years. Army Spc. Salvatore Guinta, 22 years old (now Staff Sgt.) was among the eight U.S. paratroopers walking along a ridge in the Korengal Valley, in Afghanistan.  Suddenly, they had walked into a an explosion of grenades and bullets. They had stumbled into a Taliban trap. Army Spc. Guinta was knocked flat when the armored chest plate protected him from a bullet and he rolled into a washed-out rut. As the squad tried to head for cover, Guinta's instincts kicked in and he ran straight into the ambush to aid three wounded soldiers, who had been separated from the others. This attack occurred October 25th, 2007, resulting in two paratroopers dying and the others sustaining serious wounds. If not for the bravery of Guinta, the squad said the toll would have been much greater. Medic Spc. Hugo Mendoza, was hit in the leg and bled to death. Staff Sgt. Erick Gallardo was struck by a round in the helmet and knocked down, but survived. Ahead was Spc. Franklin Eckrode, seriously wounded with a jammed machine gun. Guinta and two others ran to help Eckrode, but Guinta kept going. He had seen two Taliban fighters dragging Sgt. Joshua Brennan (who as the leader, had taken the worst of the attack- shot in the jaw, the back and several other places) over the ridgeline and he ran after them. Guinta tossed his last grenade and emptyed his magazine, killing one of the men and chasing off the other.He stayed with his mortally wounded Sgt. until help arrived. Staff Sgt. Giunta entered the Army at 18 and is now based with Battle Company, 2nd Battalion, 503 Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team in Vicenza, Italy. The following are words from Guinta.

"It was one of the worst days of my life, and when I revisit it, it kind of guts me a little bit more every time."

"Everything slowed down and I did everything I thought I could do, nothing more and nothing less." 

""I did what I did because that's what I was trained to do."

"I entered the Army when I was 18, and I'm 25 now. I became a man in the Army."

"That night I learned a lot - and after that night I learned even more. This respect that people are giving me? This was one moment. In my battalion, I am mediocre at best. This shows how great the rest of them are."

President Obama said, "His courage and leadership while under extreme enemy fire were integral to his platoon's ability (to) defeat an enemy ambush and recover a fellow American paratrooper from enemy hands,"  and will award Staff Sgt. Guinta the Medal of Honor. Author Sebastian Junger detailed the 2007 ambush in his book, War.

We sleep safe because of soldiers like Staff Sgt. Salvatore Giunta. I praise God for all our troops and thank them for their service.

HOOAH

http://www.bornfreetravel.com/2010/09/13/medal-of-honor-awarded-to-staff-sgt-salvatore-giunta-first-living-recipient-since-vietnam.html

Terminal Tower - Cleveland, Ohio

http://www.bornfreetravel.com/2010/09/01/the-terminal-tower-cleveland-.html

Press Release on Born Free Travel

http://www.streetinsider.com/Press+Releases/BornFreeTravel+–+Launches+New+Series+of+Pages/5913133.html

The American with George Clooney

The film critic Clint O'Connor recently wrote a review on this action packed thriller. Of course, I am partial to George and was interested in what Clint had to say. His take is that this suspenseful ride just keeps getting better and better, and suggests you not come late. There is a tone and mix of styles. It is a throwback of the 70's thrillers with the likes of Clint Eastwood and Steve McQueen, that delve into the intrigue of espionage. There is the expected, guns, beautiful women, gorgeous settings, all wrapped in mystery. "The American" is the character of Jack, as he runs from the trouble in Sweden to a small Italian village to hide out as a photographer. We know nothing of his background other than he is a pretty good assassin. He works for one group, while the opposing group sends someone after Jack. So, instead of the hunter, he becomes the hunted. He then gets an assignment to help a female counterpart, falls under the charms of a call girl and has conversations with a local priest. The "American" is directed by the great Anton Corbijn, who takes great care in his characters as well as the landscape. He shows the contrast from the stark cold and whiteness of Sweden to the warm, rich colors and coziness of Castel del Monte. Clint O'Connor completes his review with this quote, "It's such a pleasure to be in the capable hands of pros like Corbijn and Clooney, The style and cleverness they bring to "The American" are rarely glimpsed these days."       www.bornfreetravel.com 

Travel Agent At Home

Top Agents offer their advice on how to succeed from home. 

Chris Silman went from Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan to running a home-based niche  business selling affordable cruises to teachers. He left the Air Force in 2005 and entered a contest, becoming the winner of a $10,000 franchise. After 3 months of Cruise Planners' training, he went into business. Cruise Planners franchises are encouraged to team up with service minded groups. After marketing through House Party's, and co-op car wraps with Royal Caribbean and Cruise Planners, he developed a strong client base. The roving car billboard is very effective. 

Nancy Weinstein left her public relations job with Marriott Hotels. She and her husband traveled Alaska for six weeks, which whetted her appetite to travel. She now targets luxury travel and is building her clientele. She turned to America's Vacation Center, which feeds live leads.

Suzi Nelsen's  travel success took too much time away from her sons. She started a construction cleaning business,, which gave her flexibility. After 9/11 she went through a divorce, then in 2006 her ex-husband died. Nelsen reinvented herself again, returning to travel. She built At Your Service Travel, which is now www.countriessandcrossroads.com. She used the resources like Agent At Home, Performance Media Group's Travel Agent Academy, Virtual Travel Expos and became a regular on Home-Based Agent Travel Community. She has become so successful that both sons want to continue in her steps.

Another affordable home based travel agent program is Your Travel Business.

New Press Release - Born Free Travel

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2010/08/prweb4405694.htm

bornfreetravel.com

Chocolatier's Hand Painted Art

William Dean Brown was an executive with Ceridan in Tampa several years ago, when he was inspired by hand-rolled truffles on the Food Network. He was a novice, never making candy before. At first it was a hobby, then turned into his full-time business in Largo. He went to Kansas City to spend some time in a mentoring program with Chris Elbow and studied other chocolatiers. He learned the chemistry of chocolate, the texture and flavors, molding, dipping as well as decorating. He then tested the market. With his mother, they visited Dean and DeLuca, where chocolates were priced at $60 a pound. She said, no one would pay that. Today, dean and Deluca is his primary customer, selling at $60 a pound. He charges $1.50 each. He recently was invited to make chocolates for Pope Benedict XVI in Washington, D.C. This is a local Tampa Bay success story. He started with an investment of $100,000, and the doors opened in October, 2008. The chocolates have exotic names like Bananas Foster, Macadamia Nut, Port with Fig and Plum, Lavender, Coffee Caramel, Rosemary Caramel, Tropical Caramel, PB&J, and Biscotti. Each piece is hand-painted or air brushed, making them a true work of art.. Often, he will get calls from celebrities wanting his products. The company is named after his father and grandfather and is located in Indian Rocks Beach, Florida. 
For more stories go to : www.bornfreetravel.com

Wine Of The Week

If you are looking for an inexpensive Shiraz, then Mallee Point from Austrailia is the one for you.  Casella Wines are ones you can serve everyday and not go broke. I know, I too was a wine snob, not wanting any wine that came from Australia. The wine salesman dared me to try it. This wine is full bodied and has fresh berry fruit with vanilla-oak aromas. This will go well with any of your favorite dishes. The wine offers spicy undertones and ripe raspberry flavours with soft tannins, leaving no bitter taste.. The founders of Casella Wines immigrated to Australia from Italy. Filippo and Maria Casella, brought their knowledge of three generations of wine growing with them. Casella Wines is Austrailia's largest family owned winery and 15% of the wine leaving Austrialia, comes from their winery. Casella's has a new bottling line that can process 36,000 bottles per hour, which is the fastest bottling line in the world. The Casella's started the Yellow Tail wine brands in 1969 and in May of 2010 they triumphed again. Yellow Tail raked number 4 in the global wine industry and 34 in the top 100 wines globally. Casella has won more than 2,000 awards over the past two years. You might want to try Mallee Point.

A Grand Love Affair

King Edward Vlll , was next in line for the throne of England. He was the 20 year old grandson of Queen Victoria when the war began and he immediately signed up. The government tried to keep him from the front lines, but Edward did his best to get as near to the lines as he could. He was posted with the 1st Battalion of the Grenadier Guards. He became very popular with the British people, because he wanted to be like every other boy. In 1936 his father King George V died and Edward sat on the throne for England and Ireland for less than one year. We have to go back in time  to 1930, when the scandal began. Wallis Simpson was an American socialite married to a British businessman, when she and Edward met. Wallis had already been divorced once. The two became an item, which led to Mrs. Simpson's second divorce. By the time Edward was on the throne, he had already decided to marry the woman he had fallen madly in love with. Rumors started that she was a German spy, with no proof, and the result was, Edward chose Wallis over the throne. On December 11, 1936, King Edward abdicated the throne, for the woman he loved. On June of 1937 he married Wallis at a ceremony in France and assumed the title of The Duke of Windsor. The family was forbade to attend. The newlyweds spent the rest of their lives in exile, mostly in France, but some in America. Edward, afterward known as the Duke of Windsor died May 28, 1972 at age 77, and Wallis died on April 24,1986 at the age of 89. They were buried beside each other in the royal burial grounds of Windsor Castle. Twenty four years after Wallis' death, the exquisite 20 piece jewelry collection that Edward gave her, were auctioned off by Sotheby's. The collection has an estimated value of $4.5 million. The end of a wonderful love affair.

Henry B. Plant Museum

Railroad giant Henry Bradley Plant (10/27/1819 to 6/23/1899) was born in in Branford, Conn. His grandmother, offered him an education at Yale College, hoping he would become a clergyman. Henry had different ideas, he got a job as captain's boy and deck hand on a steamboat. He then became involved in railroads and because of his wife's health, they traveled south. After the Civil War, southern railroads were in ruins. Plant, convinced of the south's economic revival, bought Atlantic and Gulf Railroad. He restored lines to help orange growers to get their crops north faster. Tampa became his home port for a new line of steamships to Havanna, and spent $2,500,000 on a Moorish palace named the Tampa Bay Hotel, for Plant's winter guests, which is now the University of Tampa and houses the Henry Plant Museum on six acres. He also developed 150 acres in a pleasure park, with golf course, stables, racetrack and hunting grounds. Most of that is taken up by the school today, except 4.5 acres that is still parkland. It is on the banks of the Hillsborough River and some estimate it would cost $40 million in today's money. Morton Freeman Plant, his son gave many gifts to hospitals. His former 1905 mansion on Fifth Avenue in New York City is now the home of Cartier.

If your plans are the visit Italy, then Rome is a must see. Prior to your trip, do some research. I find the local library an excellent resource to do homework before I travel. Not only do they have tourist books, history books, maps, but they also have DVD's, that you can check out. When traveling alone to a foreign country, it might be wise to become part of a tour. You can search for artists, writers, photographers, wine tasting, cooking or any interest you are passionate about, and join the vacation group. You will become familiar with Rome with your group, then can stay on a week or more on your own. A travel agent is an excellent source of information, as is AAA, or you can go it alone on the internet. Most people are familiar through movies and TV, of the must see sights in Rome. There is the Trevi Fountain (most famous of 300 fountains), the Roman Forum, The Pantheon, the Colosseum and the Vatican, just to name a few. Watch a great video of Rome on YouTube.

The Italian people are friendly and English is widely spoken, but you might want to learn a few key phrases before your trip. Remember to check on the weather as it may vary greatly from your home.

Ciao

Largest Financial Reform Since Great Depression

President Obama proposed this reform in June, 2009, in order to stop the 2008 global credit crisis from every happening again. The house passed the Financial Regulatory Reform bill, very similar to what the President had proposed on Friday, June 25th. Two republicans and all by two democrats voted to pass the bill.

There are three basic steps:

1. Regulators receive more power to monitor everything from mortgages to securities.

2. Financial firms are forced to reduce the debt they take on and hold more capital in reserves.

3. If a financial firm is collapsing, the government can seize it, similar to now, they are authorized to seize traditional banks.

The bill will put government in charge of Wall St.. There will be a nine person board, led by the Treasury Secretary. It also puts the President of the United States in charge of appointing the President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, not by a board of member bank representatives as done in the past. It also creates a new Consumer Protection Bureau, although the auto dealers won an exemption from this oversight, which will regulate most consumer loans.

After a 20 hour, all night session, which included last minute rapid fire votes from confused lawmakers, last minute deals cut in conference rooms and private discussions between the Obama administration and democratic lawmakers, Friday morning the bill was complete but left people wondering what was and was not in the bill. The bill will go to the senate on Tuesday for a vote, as the President expects to sign it on the July 4th.