Surf Wear

There's an interesting fact about coastal anywhere. A lot of guys that don't surf appreciate comfortable surf wear too when it's warm out. Consider a Hawaiian shirt, a nice comfortable pair of baggy shorts, or a high end pair of sandals. The more expensive sandals in the $30 + range really look sharp around town and are easier on the feet...... 'Suggest black or tan but prefer black because the tan inevitable starts to look a little grimy after awhile. Please help keep the guys clean, cool, and comfortable.

Many thanks/kudos to the teams at 2ndlight.com and cflsurf.com for the great pics and letting me know when it's time to go.

Ship's Bell Hand Engraving - A Lost Art?

No......it's not a lost art, but searching for a certified hand engraver can be a time consuming endeavour. I'm not talking about some bowling trophy plaque created with a machine. I'm talking about a pro like Catherine Fletcher at Hand Engraving.net . If you've found a gift that needs that extra special touch or need something created, call Catherine or Doty at 386-322-3525.

The Gift of Flight

If you or the guy your buying for has the slightest interest in flying, there may be a small airport or airpark near you that offers introductory flying in experimental aircraft. I checked out a local ultra-light air show which featured an experimental sea plane manufacturer at Rockledge Air Park, FL (call Sandy Boswell 321-635-8005) a couple of weeks ago and found that the demo flight was a superb deal for $65 which included the pilot Bob Boswell in a sporty little 2-seater. Check out the Aventura II amphibian at Sea-Plane.com My 45 minute flight included two landings on Lake Poinsett and instruction that counts towards logging time for certification. The best part was getting coached through the landings on the lake. What a hoot! I even got Cindy to try the demo flight the next week. Calling around may reveal flying opportunities in your area. The memory of an inexpensive flight like this will last a lifetime. Attending a local air show makes a great date too! Catch the next Sun-N-Fun @ www.sun-n-fun.org/content/ .

Russian Flasks

GFG has a quantity of high quality stainless Russian Flasks that are made in a submarine factory. They're not making a whole lot of submarines right now and the crew wants to stay employed so they make flasks. There are several different styles representing the insignia of Russian government service with the descriptive names being: KGB, Russian Guard, Paratroopers, Red Star, Air Force, Tank Troops, and Submariners. The KGB emblem is the most popular. The cap has a knurled grip with a raised bust of Lenin's head on it. The bottom has an interesting CCCP Hammer & Sickle manufacturing stamp on it.

Just the right size to store the left over hooch in the freezer. Birthday tested with Raspberry Stoli!

GPS Fall Gifts 2006

Ahoy Mates,
September 11th 2006. The big 5 year anniversary. What a time to start writing a blog. Life comes at you fast don't it?

Cindy and I got married on July 19th, 2003 and gave the guy wedding party garmin gps gifts. Hobbies among the men were varied; such as hunting, fishing, tracking, navigating and going for long drives in the country. One day, my brother in law John (wedding guy) was on a day long excursion into a national forest (with our GPS gift) with his family - complete with in-laws. His father in law wanted to turn around because he was convinced John was lost. John plugged in their destination point, pressed the button (boink as I call it), and they were 15 minutes (not two hours) from a main road. You know... a main road with bathrooms, food, and marital harmony.... One of those main roads.

...........Mapping GPS prices have leveled out with excellent entry level units. The Garmin E-Trex Legend gets the best bang for the buck award. We're talking Survivor Man stuff.


GPS's are always hot. They have gotten specialized for hiking, cars, motorcycles, boats, and aeroplanes.

'Recommend a Garmin mapping/talking unit for the car. Never again have to silently pray that he'll pull over and ask for directions. Instead, let him impress you with his new toy. This is what is known as a win-win!
The same toy (I mean tool) can be used on a motorcycle with some rather cool mounting schemas available. 'Recommend an integrated mapping GPS/color sounder/fish finder for the boat. Check to see what kind of transducer needed for the boat and where the gps antenna will mount. Let the pilot figure out which GPS goes in the airplane!

We used the described boat/GPS on the 1972 34' Morgan sailboat Sea Otter (now Queen Doc) on a trip to the Abacos. 'Combined it with a Simrad wheel-auto-pilot and it made ALL the difference in fun, interest, and safely navigating. Remember: "Adjust your bearing to waypoint" and it does the rest. A joy to use.