Product Review: Ladies Leather Cord by Dakota Watches

Review by Steven Skelley and Thomas Routzong

Product Info:

Minimalism is a trend that we have seen grow in popularity. Clean simplistic designs and accents add a crisp finish to finish to any outfit. Dakota Watches offers trendy time piece accessories which are high style at an affordable price. The Ladies Leather Cord by Dakota Watches has dual genuine leather cords encircling the side of the case for an interesting minimalistic fashion look.
* Comfortable Leather Cord Band
* IP Silver
* Black Dial
* Analog Function
* $49.95

Our Thoughts:

The Dakota Watch Company has been producing quality timepieces for over 70 years. Their goal is to offer retail customers the best of affordable, innovative wrist wear along with expert watch services.

The Ladies Leather Cord model 20391 by Dakota Watches is an attractive, quality timepiece at a very reasonable price.

For more information, visit https://www.dakotawatch.com/index.php/ladies-leather-cord-black.html

Product review by Steven Skelley and Thomas Routzong. Copyright 2016 Sunny Harbor Publishing. Contact Us: Sunny Harbor Publishing, PO Box 560318, Rockledge, FL 32956. Phone: 321-446-7552. Email: SunnyHarborPublishing@yahoo.com

Keywords: dakotawatch.com, Dakota Watch, Dakota Watch Company, Dakota Watch review, Ladies Leather Cord, Steven Skelley, Thomas Routzong, 

PRODUCT REVIEW: STM Drifter Energy Laptop Backpack with Joey Smart Power Supply

By Steven Skelley and Thomas Routzong

Product Info:

The drifter is easy to wear, pockets in all the right places and comfortable to boot.   A hint of retro design yet space for all the daily tech needs.  Room for work docs, gym gear, lunch, umbrella, waterbottle, etc.  It’s a thoughtful pack - lightweight despite its size and capacity.  The drifter is the perfect carry for a 15” laptop, tablet, phone and all necessities of everyday life or world travel.

The STM Drifter Energy is the best backpack for traveling because not only can you plug in your smartphone and other electronic gadgets to charge on the go while they are stashed in your bag, the backpack also features a floating electronics pocket. If you drop the Drifter Energy or it falls off a table or chair you had it resting on, the laptop or tablet you had inside will not be able to hit the floor. The specially sewn electronics pocket will keep these fragile devices suspended off the bottom of the bag sparing them from dents and cracks. Fleece lined pockets save cameras, sunglasses and phone screens from scratches and a unique top loading design makes it easy to locate what you packed without exposing the entire contents of your bag to everyone around you.

* Smart Charging Dashboard with LED battery life indicators
* Easy access to USB ports for charging
* Concealed lithium battery
* Three zippered front panel pockets: Top soft lined pocket for sunglasses or phone, Middle for keys, wallet or other sundries, Bottom for pens, biz cards, travel docs 
* Top load main compartment reveals 15" padded laptop cell (will hold most 13-16" laptops) 
* Slip tablet pocket with cord and battery storage
* See-through zippered pocket to hold all the doo-dads that tend to get lost otherwise 
* Plenty of main compartment capacity for books, shoes, clothing, etc.
* Reflective light loop for better night safety 
* Side water bottle pockets with compression straps 
* Padded and contoured shoulder straps with sternum strap for a comfortable carry 
* Quick grab haul loop 
* 3D foam mesh back panel with air-flow channel for comfort on hotter days 
* Integrated luggage pass through secures the bag to the handle of your wheeled luggage 
* Bottom zip pocket holds detachable rain cover in case of a sudden downpour
* Durable yet super light aluminium zipper pulls with large, #10 self-repairing YKK® zippers
* Water resistant 320D brushed poly main fabric with 640D reinforced bottom fabric
* Main material(s): Cottna 320D/640D Water Resistant Poly
* Lining: 200g Polyester with Brushed Nylex
* Device space: 10.04 x 14.76 x 1.18 in / 25.5 x 37.5 x 3 cm
* Outer dimensions: 18.50 x 12.20 x 7.48 in / 47 x 31 x 19 cm
* Capacity: 1094.4 cu in / 18 L
* Weight: 2.29 lbs / 1.04 kg

STM was founded in 1998 just outside Sydney, Australia in the famous suburb of Bondi Beach, our mission was, and still remains; to come up with a more comfortable, secure and stylish means of transporting your digital gear. Today, STM makes a variety of laptop bags, packs, fitted tablet and phone cases. All are designed to make life a bit more worry free.

Our thoughts:

Our STM Drifter Energy was equipped with a Joey Smart Power Supply that can be easily plugged into a wall to charge the lithium battery. Then, when you are on the go, just plug your phone, tablet or laptop into the Joey for a quick recharge any place, any time and receive an extra 15-20 hours of talk time for your phone and extra power for your tablet.

The STM Drifter Energy with a Joey Smart Power Supply is an attractive and comfortable backpack that provides easy access to your devices and the power to keep them running while on the go.

For more information, visit http://www.stmbags.com/catalog/laptop-backpacks/drifter-15-powered-laptop-backpack

Watch a STM Drifter Energy Laptop Backpack video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kqZzCt8ax0

Product review by Steven Skelley and Thomas Routzong. Copyright 2016 Sunny Harbor Publishing. Contact Us: Sunny Harbor Publishing, PO Box 560318, Rockledge, FL 32956. Phone: 321-446-7552. Email: SunnyHarborPublishing@yahoo.com

Keywords: STM Drifter Energy Laptop Backpack, STM, Joey, STM Drifter, laptop backback, powered laptop backpack, stmbags.com, Steven Skelley, Thomas Routzong, Family Travelers Magazine, 

BOOK REVIEW: Forever Island by Patrick D. Smith

The history of beautiful Naples, FL is a major ingredient in the delightfully emotionally-moving recipe of Patrick D. Smith’s acclaimed novel Forever Island.

Two dear friends recommended the book to me recently and, as I began to read, I was immediately transported back in time to a land of both a forgotten kind of integrity and yet also a seemingly insatiable greed to remove nature from our beautiful state and replace it with development after development and golf course after golf course.

Forever Island is the story of Charlie Jumper, a native American who lives in the Everglades not far from Naples. His wife, Lillie Tiger, makes clothes that are often sold to the white people in Naples. They try to live a simple life in tune with nature, only taking what they need and always trying to give back to their environment as they understand that life and nature work together in the big plan of planet earth.

Each year of Charlie Jumper’s 86 years on earth have seen Florida’s natural beauty reduced and lost forever. For over 60 years, Charlie has hand fed his best friend, Little George, a nearly 20 foot long alligator Charlie saved when it was a baby from being blinded and tortured just for fun by a white tourist.Charlie Jumper and Lillie Tiger try to pass on their love and unity with Florida’s natural beauty and variety to their son and young grandson even as they watch the Florida they know disappear.

At one point a Baptist preacher asks Charlie Jumper if he is a religious man. Charlie’s reply is one we should all consider carefully."I was once a Baptist like you....and the white missionary came to me and told me that the Indian way was all wrong and that if I ever wanted to see the Great Spirit, I would have to become the Baptist and do it the white man’s way. So I became the Baptist. And then another missionary came and he was the Methodist....he told me that the Baptist way was not the right way and if I wanted to see the Great Spirit, I would have to become the Methodist. And then another white missionary came and he was the Presbyterian... he told me that the Methodist way was not the right way and if I wanted to see the Great Spirit, I would have to become the Presbyterian. I said to him that if the white man cannot decide among themselves which is the right way I will become the Indian again and seek the Great Spirit in my own way....and that is what I have done, and I will see the Great Spirit when the time comes."

Later in the book, developers begin to poison the land with arsenic in an effort to rid it of nature’s encyclopedia of wildlife. Charlie Jumper watches friends, both animal and human, suffer and die along with the Florida he has known his entire life.

Forever Island is a classic novel by a Pulitzer Prize nominated Florida author that remembers the Naples and Florida that once was, the kind of integrity that has become so rare, and the kind of child-like simple faith that we all need.

For more information, visit http://www.patricksmithonline.com/foreverisland.html

Book Review by Steven Skelley

Keywords: Patrick D. Smith, Forever Island, Steven Skelley, 

BOOK REVIEW: Walking St. Augustine by Elsbeth "Buff" Gordon

Walking St. Augustine: An Illustrated Guide and Pocket History to America's Oldest Cityby Elsbeth "Buff" Gordon is one of the most complete and enjoyable travel guides that we have ever read.

Many people do not realize that St. Augustine was already 224 years old when George Washington became President of the United States. Gordon's inclusion of facts like this and others in an conversational rather than tutorial manner make Walking St. Augustineboth informative and entertaining.

For more than 200 pages, Gordon "retells landmark events, delves into the geneologies of the families who lives in St. Augustine for centuries, and highlights key points to visit within close driving distance."

If you are a Smartphone user, you'll be pleased to find that the book contains a QR Code you can scan that will allow you to enjoy Audio Tours of several St. Augustine sites from the book.

Chapters include: 

• Busting the Myth
  
• The Spanish Landing
  
• Discovering St. Augustine in Ancient Maps
  
• Time Line
  
• Plaza Walls
  
• South of the Plaza Tours
  
• North of the Plaza Tour
  
• Timekeepers
  
• Heritage Recipes
  

The Walking Tours alone are enough reason to purchase this informative book.

Walking St. Augustine: An Illustrated Guide and Pocket History to America's Oldest City by Elsbeth "Buff" Gordon is published by University Press of Florida. For more information, visit www.upf.com

By Steven Skelley & Thomas Routzong. Copyright 2015 Sunny Harbor Publishing. PO Box 560318, Rockledge, FL 32956. Phone: 321-446-7552. Email: SunnyHarborPublishing@yahoo.com