The sun is out, and it is hot and muggy already here in Southwest Florida. Which means it is time to hit the white powder sand and the warm tropical waters of the Gulf coast. But if you’re not careful a day at the beach can leave you feeling a little burnt…..out.
Category Archives: Accessories
New & Noteworthy Apps for your Vacation
We all love taking tons of vacation photos and videos from our favorite tropical spots. With the latest camera phones it is so much easier now to do. Add to that recently there has been a rash of new video and photo apps all hoping to be the next Instagram. So with so many choices which ones are worth paying for, you should only download for free and are a disaster even though they look good? We will give you our picks as the best of the best to be released lately. If it’s not on this list it’s likely one of the other categories.
Tiki’s show up everywhere these days
The tropical lifestyle is all about warm weather, palm trees, sand, beaches, sea shells, steel drums, reggae music, Jimmy Buffett music, Aloha shirts, hammocks, cold drinks, beautiful sunsets……..and we could go on. But nothing brings to mind the tropical lifestyle more immediately than the Tiki God! Hawaiian mythology brought about these wooden and stone carvings depicting the four major and various other minor Tiki Gods that some Hawaiians still worship today. Take Pele who is known the world over as the Tiki God who brought the water to Hawaii and caused the lava to flow.To this day many Hawaiians believe it angers Pele and is bad luck to remove Lava rocks from the Islands.
Christmas in the Tropics – How to pack
I love the holidays here in the tropics. South West Florida offers some of the best weather from the months of November to about March every year. Warm dry temperatures bring people from all over to enjoy our “winters” during those months and for good reason. With daytime temperatures averaging in the mid 70′d and nighttime temperatures around the low 60′s it is easy to stay out all day and night and enjoy the Florida beaches and wildlife and nightlife.
Memories of favorite places
We are off on a hunt from time to time. Usually not to find anything in particular, but just to find that “one thing” for all of us or for each of us that will remind us of the vacation we just had, or place we just visited. It may be in a beach shop, it might be something we found on the beach itself. The trick is to keep an open mind and get creative. depending on the trip or area one word, symbol, landmark, or item can sum up a whole vacation.
Break out the Bathing suit it’s National No Panty Day!
Yep, saw this on Facebook so it must be true. Today (June 22)is National No Panty Day which can only mean one thing…….take the day off, break out the bathing suit and head to the beach! That’s what any good Long Weekend Life reader would do right?
Shoes….Or sandals….maybe both?
Every now and again I come across a product that I have to mention here and this is one of those times. A little history first though of how I came to buying this particular product. In the past I was not traditionally a fan of flip flops. With no arch support and an annoying little plastic thing cutting between your toes it was more than I could handle. So I wore shoes everywhere. In a quest to find lighter and cooler shoes, I was always trying different brands and types. I then found a brand offlip flops I loved through trial and error. Olukai’s were breakthrough for me. With arch support, a comfy foot bed and a ribbon of cloth between my toes I could finally wear flip flops comfortably. What could be better? But there are situations that are not conducive to wearing flip flops. Like chasing the kids and trying out their longboards. Getting off of or stopping swings on swing sets is difficult in flip flops too…..so it was back to wearing hot heavy sneakers on those occasions. Was there a product that was the best of both worlds?
Wastin’ Away Again in Margaritaville……online.
Sometimes living the long weekend life and escaping to the islands is as easy as booting up your Mac or PC…..but you already knew that or you wouldn’t be here. When you feel the urge to go fishing or explore an island cave, maybe talk to a hippie or two, build a boat, do the limbo, eat some coconut all you need to do is visit Margaritaville Online.
Explore the Islands
For all you Parrot Heads and Parrot Head wanna be’s there is a way to be wastin away again just by visiting Facebook or firing up your iPad or iPhone. THQ and exploding Barrel games have teamed with Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville brand to create the ultimate island game. With a loose story line based on Jimmy’s famous songs to follow you can unlock new adventures and quests to do everything from build boats to finding scattered pieces of a magical harmonica that has been broken by a evil monkey.
Shots fired in Paradise!
Just when I had dug my toes in the sand and gotten comfortable…..shots were fired in Paradise! Did you hear them? There is a battle going on in Paradise and your wardrobe closet and wallet are the battle grounds! You may think from reading that I have had a few too many Mai Tai’s but it is true and at least for now I am completely sober on this warm, Sunny and beautiful tropical Florida Friday.
Sun and Sand Fun Without Sun burn
As you’re getting ready for the beach one of the things you need to think about is sunblock. You have a couple of options when it comes to making sure your vacation does not get ruined by a sunburn. The traditional way is to apply and re-apply sunscreen through out the day and each time you get in and out of the water. This is fine as long as you make sure you are diligent about and and you may want to consider having someone look to make sure you have covered all the areas that will be exposed to the sun. Even then you risk getting sun burnt.
A new option tha has become more popular is to wear clothing with built in UV protection, sunblock and even rash guard to protect you from the suns rays during those long hours drinking margaritas with our toes in the sand.
