Eddie Bauer Friday Harbor Jacket: Test 1

Last night we were treated to a storm that was just incredible; possible hail, 70 mph+ winds, feet per hour rain amounts and monstrous thunder booms! It was great.

As we sat in the apartment I decided that this would be a great opportunity to test out the weatherproofing capabilities of my new Eddie Bauer Friday Harbor Jacket. The jacket is advertised as being waterproof, windproof and breathable. The website says that it offers, "ultimate protection in bad weather."

The severe thunderstorm of last night was definitely "bad weather." So in the midst of the storm I decided to don the jacket and run out into the malestrom.

Zipped up, hood on, flaps buttoned, and wrists tightened down I went out.

(As you can see we were prepared for power outages, and I was excited)

The jacket was very comfortable, even in the thick humid air of the storm. As soon as I stepped outside I was very happy to have it on. The rain was coming down by the bucket and when the weatherman said 70 mph winds he was not joking.

The detachable hood of the Friday Harbor provided great shelter from all that mother nature was throwing at us.

As you can see the rain just beads up and slips off the garment. I am very impressed at the breath-ability of the jacket as well. Though it is sold as a three season jacket (fall, winter, spring) I think that under the right conditions it could be the go to jacket even in a heavy summer rain. I have other shells, one from Eddie Bauer as well, for warmer weather, but if you just wanted one jacket to do the duty this might be your best bet. I remained dry the entire time I was outside dancing and running around.

The interior of the jacket is roomy enough to add a layer or too, but fitted enough to look great with just a t-shirt. I plan on continuing to test this jacket in a series to really give a good review of its claim to provide three season protection.

Let me know if you would like to see any specific options tested on it.

So far I give the Friday Harbor Jacket:

A big ole thumbs up.

Give one a shot by purchasing at:

Until next time.

J.

Thunderstorms amongus!

Just wanted to let you know that the Ann Arbor area is getting pummeled with thunderstorms! I am talking hammer-smash faced! Pics of the storm and the aftermath soon... if we make it!

My break into the world of jogging and a review of Champion C9 running shorts!

Admittedly I am rather new to the running world, so I am still trying to decide if it is a sport that I could get behind. Being new I did not want to make a large investment, past shoes that is. I looked at all of the gear that runners use, water bottles, fanny packs, hats, wristbands, jerseys and shorts and decided that to start I would just use my initial investment of the shoes and a regular pair of shorts.

After a few runs I decided that the gym shorts were sufficient, but not the best to jog in. I thought that in order to give jogging a real shot I should see what the whole "support inside the shorts" was all about. I priced a few pairs out and was astonished at the prices, generally $30-75 for guys, after a little while of searching and shopping I stumbled on the C9 line by Champion at target, at $14.99 they are a steal for running shorts. I figured them another rather cheap investment in the decision making process of running

After my initial run this these shorts I realized that there is a true difference. The C9 running shorts eliminate any uncomfortable feelings encountered by gym shorts, and due to the light material that the actual shorts are made of they do not stick to the skin, even during the warmest of runs.

I fully recommend these shorts for anyone who is looking into running and does not want to make a large investment, or anyone looking for a new pair of running shorts.. They run a little small, but other than that they wear well and are a great bargain.


You can pick a pair up at:



In other news, last night I bought a Friday Harbor jacket from Eddie Bauer, I look forward to testing it against all that Northern Michigan can throw at it this fall and winter and letting you all know how it holds up! Take care, GET OUTDOORS NOW!

Life at a snail's pace

On a trip looking for some morels I happened upon this miniature alien creature. Thought it was pretty cool:

Around the corner I stumbled upon one of his comrades, lurking...

Even the littlest of things can be remarkable, take time to look around and notice them.

Fun in the hometown

PART ONE: BEAR CREEK

One of the best things to do is to find a place that is out of the ordinary and right in your backyard. Fortunately for us we are in a rare area that has many of these gems a few miles away.

First off we took advantage of a little hiking trail down the road from home at the Spirit of the Woods Club. It was a dreary day with the sky unable to make a decision between spitting and downpouring. However we took to the woods anyway. Thank goodness that we did too.

As soon as we got onto the trail we started to look for morel mushrooms, as the conditions were favorable, but stumbled upon a small field of the plant pictured above. They are Jack in the pulpits, a Michigan orchid, and very rare at that. I was so delighted to see them in the wild as it shows that we have not totally destroyed nature.

As the rain became steadier we kept under the canopy of the large hardwoods and examined the oddities that grow in the damp area of the bog between river bends.

The next few pics are a bit of a miny-study that I call Avatar:

 

Don't you just feel like you are running around with those blue things?

Anyway, as the rain let up we made our way out of the hardwoods and onto the banks of Bear Creek.

Fortunate does not even begin to describe how I feel about areas like this. Though the main hiking trail is not very long it sure does provide a nice area to take a small hike. The river is also a great place to catch various species of trout.

PART TWO: A FEW SHOTS OF PORTAGE POINT


To the East we have many trout streams and inland lakes, but it is to the West where you find my favorite attraction to this area: Lake Michigan. Its almond colored beaches and clear blue waters are constant reminders of why we need to protect what we have been given.

 On this day the sky was an unusually dark shade of blue, but beautiful nonetheless.

I do not really have too much to say about this beach that cannot be better summed up by pictures.

 

Please visit this remarkable place if you get an occasion, better yet, make it a priority to go see this place, or any place along the Lake Michigan shore.

First Camping Trip '10

Now that New Mexico and Graduation are behind us we can now relax, and what better way to do that than to replace the confines of walls and a roof for nylon and mesh.

We packed up the Grand Am and headed north.

Stop one was at Wilderness State Campground near Mackinaw.

I was successful in my first attempt to start fire with only tinder and flint. Within minutes we had a roaring blaze.

(Hint: if you ever need to make a fire on the beach the dried grass and reeds that wash up on the shore make excellent tinder as they go up in seconds.)

First things first, after starting the fire you must throw as much meat on it as possible. Salt and pepper heavily.

Honestly, meat is best when cooked like a barbarian, over an open fire.

While walking along the Lake Michigan coast at Wilderness I came upon a most peculiar specimen...

The water level is down just enough to see some very cool things including this rock >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
that appears to have been the anchor for the roots of the tree that still surround it. This is a great example of how nature just adapts to its surroundings, if you can't grow your roots through something, grow around it.

The next day we abandoned camp and headed to the Mackinaw City area where we traded our silly currency to the locals for their wares. Among my trades was a Rocky Balboa-esque TapOut sweatshirt from Jacques. A rare find indeed.

We spent the majority of the day searching for a suitable camping site to the south in Petoskey. Once one was  found we quickly made our way to the nearest all you can eat buffet.

Needless to say we crammed a lot of hiking and sightseeing into a day and a half and on the trip home Chelsea was whooped!

Until next time!

Summer is here, let's get this thing rolling!

Nation, Nation the summer is here and that means that the adventure is here!

Summer kicked off with our graduation from college. As you can see Chelsea embraced her outdoor roots even in the city by attempting to pet a mumma duck.

I was so proud of her, and it was an added bonus to get to see the President speak at her graduation.

A week after my graduation we made an impromptu trip to New Mexico to take some photos for the National Indian Health Board. The landscape was beautiful, but mostly very far off. Mountains appeared to be mirages in the distances. We took a walk from the hotel one day in an attempt to get to the base of one of the surrounding mountains, but fell short as they appeared to continually be ebbing away from us. However they were beautiful.

The trip was quick, but a much needed break. While the mountains above were appealing it was on the plane ride home where I snapped a few of my favorite pics.
This is the beautiful Lake Michigan with storm clouds above and flat seas below. Seeing the lake in such a picturesque setting reminded me how lucky we are to have been given this great source of life.

On our short flight from Chicago to Traverse City we flew over our hometown, and the most perfect inland lake ever, Portage.

While the quality of this photo is not the best it was fun too see the lake from above.

Safely on the ground, where humans clearly belong according to Chelsea's ears, we quickly moved on to our next adventure!