Recycled Laptop Backpacks

This week, Google announced that it will be offering free WiFi in 47 participating airports this holiday season!

So whether you’re a Mac or a PC, you now have even more reason to make sure that your wireless companion is completely protected as you make your way through rogue airport security and terminals filled with unruly adolescents.  You may not make it through the holidays with your sanity, but that doesn’t mean your laptop should suffer too.

Luckily, Yak Pak makes an assortment of recycled backpacks and sleeves to keep your laptop from taking a beating this holiday season. Yak Pak is offering a 15.6” sleeve and a Laptop Backpack in their Billboard Bag collection made from upcycled billboards that were created to withstand all outside elements so you know that these are made to last!

The Billboard laptop backpack ranges from $34.99- 39.99.

The Billboard items can be found at Best Buy.  Other Yak Pak products can be purchased at such national retailers as Urban Outfitters, Hot Topic and Staples.

Fiji Goes Green!

Sonaisali Resort - Fiji

In an effort to build awareness and to combat the destruction of their rich tropical marine landscape, the island of Fiji is going green!

With country-wide environmental initiatives to preserve their lush landscape, we had to give a shout out to promote travel to this glorious Pacific Island destination.  Many of Fiji’s top resorts, product lines and nature societies have now instated proactive environmentally conscious initiatives. Some of the current, ongoing projects include:

Beqa Adventure Divers Establish Fiji Shark Dive in Eco-Friendly Marine Park
http://www.fiji-sharks.com

Mana Island Resort and Spa Sponsors Coral Planting Project
http://mesfiji.org

Mamanuca Environment Society Sponsors Community Celebration of World Environment Day
http://mesfiji.org

Jean Michel Cousteau Fiji Islands Resort Making A Difference To Restock Clams
http://www.fijiresort.com

FIJI Water Becomes First Bottled Water to Release Product Carbon Footprint
http://www.fijigreen.com

So, since we adore the Fijians, we say… Lako tani!

Personalized Eco-Biking Tours

Imagine the open roads… lush vineyards and verdant mountain ranges just up ahead…

You there? Good. Us too. So get this… combining the love of bicycle touring with social networking, we came across Dream Tours, a personalized cycling experience that allows users to create profiles and design their very own Dream Tour – ie. the cycling route they’ve always wanted to do! Okay, we like this idea because not only is it eco-friendly and personalized (as you know, Eco-Adventurers just love to take the reins), but it’s also great for biking newbies or cycling pros. In the process, you can name the tour, upload photographs of where you’ll be going, describe the focus and highlights of the trip, plot the route on a map and set the cost parameters of the tour by choosing variables such as accommodation, number of riders, food, crew and vehicle support, etc.

Love, love, love it!

If the tour is feasible, the Tour d’Afrique team approves it and the user can start spreading the word via their friends, social network, blog, local media, etc.  Their contacts can visit the site, view the tour, and make comments or suggestions on how to improve upon it, and ultimately click “Count Me In!” to register their intent to join the tour. The process is completely interactive and collaborative – the route can be changed and modified along the way and the Tour d’Afrique staff is there for support. As soon as there are enough people who have expressed interest, Tour d’Afrique office swings into action with the logistics needed to make it happen and here’s the best part… the original organizer gets to go for free!

An example of a Dream Tour that is ready to go is The Amber Route, created by Tour d’Afrique founder Henry Gold.  This particular cycling trip was used as the beta/test example in developing the Dream Tours concept but was so popular with fellow riders that it is now a reality. This  six-week tour through 8 countries follows the Ancient Amber Trade Route used by the Romans. This tour will begin in St. Petersburg winding its way through the Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, then onwards through Poland and Slovakia, continuing on to Hungary cutting through Slovenia and ending in Venice, Italy. To take a look at the process of how this tour was constructed, along with the comments and feedback visit:  http://www.tourdafrique.com/dreamtours/show/5.

Other Dream Tours in the works include a North American Epic (Key West to Anchorage), An Indian Adventure (Kerala to Agra), and the Mediterranean Circuit (loops around the entire Mediterranean Sea).

We think this is just about the coolest thing we’ve heard all week. So let’s get riding. The route won’t come to you, suckers!

www.tourdafrique.com/dreamtours

info@tourdafrique.com

Boot Camp: Baby You Were Born To Ride

My daddy taught me how to ride, but I still need to giddy up a few times a year just to make sure I haven’t lost my seat (as the cowboys say).

I was born and reared in Arizona so if I didn’t know the difference between a Palomino and a Pinto, I’d be a real disgrace to the community. Not to mention the fact that my grandmother was half-Chiricahua Apache.

Cochise, my favorite Chiricahua Apache. —>

So, what better way to feel out your own native roots than a little Cowgirl Boot Camp? This trip is perfect for the Sex & the City Slicker. Whether you’re Samantha or Charlotte, Alisal Ranch & Resort, nestled on 10,000 acres in Santa Barbara wine country lets you rough it alongside expert wranglers at the Cowgirl, Couples, or Mother/Daughter all-inclusive ‘Boot’ Camp getaways.

Do it with your boo, your mom, or the girls, Alisal has three to four day adventures combining the best of wild west with the adventure of working on a real cattle ranch.

You’ll learn how to “saddle up” before heading out for a two-hour morning horseback ride along Alisal’s 50-miles of trails, lead by a resident ranch hand. For the more experienced rider and horse enthusiast, there’s also the chance to try barrel racing in an authentic open-air, western arena. If roping cattle isn’t your thing, you can head to Alisal’s 100-acre spring fed lake for archery lessons, hike in Deer Canyon, bike to Nojoqui Falls, boat on Alisal Lake, or play tennis.

Breakfast rides to the historic Old Adobe camp, campfires with award-winning singing cowboy Dave Stamey, and two-step lessons at the historic Santa Ynez’s Maverick Saloon, all round-out the horsey experience.

Can I get a ‘Yee-Haw?”

Guests can also schedule a private bootcamp, November through March, by booking a minimum of 10 rooms. Bachelorette party anyone? Alisal offers 73 (telephone-and-television-free) guest cottages and suites, two 18-hole championship golf courses, six tennis courts and a 100-acre spring-fed lake with water sports, including fly fishing, canoeing, and kayaking, in addition to the brand new Alisal Fitness Center & Spa.

Cowgirl Bootcamp is offered:

• November 9-12, 2009

The Cowgirl Bootcamp is $2,450.00 based on double occupancy, including tax and service charges. Additional per person and suite rates are available upon request.

The Cowgirl Bootcamp package includes:

• Studio accommodations with wood-burning fireplace for three nights, four days
• Cocktail receptions each evening
• All meals including wine with dinner
• Private winemaker’s presentation
• Gourmet picnic lunch at Alisal Lake
• Daily horseback rides
• Rope and barrel racing lesson at Alisal rodeo arena
• Traditional hat shaping at Alisal Lake
• Line dancing instruction
• Archery lesson
• Nightly live entertainment in Alisal’s Oak Room

And… a gift basket filled with western amenities on arrival (since who doesn’t love a little swag?)

Giddy Up Girlz. These boots were meant for riding.

http://www.alisal.com