Backpacking, hiking, and camping offer excellent opportunities for adventure and getting closer to nature. They also provide some great travel alternatives that do not involve gas stations, baggage rules for airlines, and emptying your wallet. While tents are still the standard for outdoor sleeping solutions, camping hammocks offer a comfortable, useful, money-saving alternative if you want to get really adventurous. 

Think of Japan, and you’re likely to imagine fast trains, sumptuous sushi, amazing technology and society and culture like no other. Welcome to the land of convenience where everything just seems to work, but there is more to experience than these for visitors on a trip to Japan. 

One of our favorite Italian restaurants, Bravo! Cucina Italiana, is celebrating its 25th birthday, and we were invited up to our closest Bravo! location, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, to celebrate. 

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Florida Culture for the Week of August 20, 2017 By Josh Garrick 

So, you’re planning your first backpacking trip? How exciting! There is a lot to consider, and it can be difficult to plan for since you haven’t gone on a trip like this before. Preparation is very different from planning a trip where you get on a plane, stay with a friend, or spend your whole time in one place. Fear not - here are 6 things to consider before you set off on your first trip. 

August 21 from 1 pm to 4 pm – Where Will YOU Be for the 2017 Solar Eclipse? Optimal Viewing in Central Florida By Josh Garrick 

This is the first total solar eclipse that will be viewable from the west coast to the east coast of the United States in 99 years. Florida residents will be able to view the solar eclipse at 85% totality, which means the moon will almost completely cover the sun.  Those seeking the “complete experience” will be at one of these very special and unique locations. 

Florida Culture for the Week of August 13, 2017 By Josh Garrick 

Jordan Johnson is a recent graduate from the University of Pittsburgh, where she majored in Linguistics, and Communication and Rhetoric while studying Spanish and Arabic. She completed a six-week study abroad in San Jose, Costa Rica with the Center for Latin American Studies [CLAS], an internship with the Arts and Sciences Advising Center, and did research with the Linguistics department at Pitt.