Travel and the Great Outdoors Archives

Category Archives: Travel and the Great Outdoors

First Road Trip With the Tucson and a Visit at the Doberman Ranch

By 5teve-0 | September 15, 2019 | Category 2019 Hyundai Tucson Limited, Road Trips

In exactly a month, we put in over 1,300 miles in our new 2019 Hyundai Tucson Limited.

Simple Fishing Rod Rooftop Basket Travel Mod

By 5teve-0 | May 15, 2019 | Category Travel and the Great Outdoors

How I transformed the Yakima TopGrip OG accessory to carry fishing rods on road trip.

Rotomolded Coolers by Blue Coolers, Review and First Impressions

By 5teve-0 | September 25, 2018 | Category Travel and the Great Outdoors

I’ve been seeing sponsored posts on Facebook promoting an affordable roto-molded Ice Vault 50 Cooler by Blue Coolers. Sure enough, it caught my attention and piqued my interest. I searched high and low for Blue Coolers reviews but could not find any, so this may be the first.

One Month iKAMAND Update and Report

By 5teve-0 | July 19, 2018 | Category Cooking on the Kamado Joe

By now, I’ve had the iKAMAND for roughly a month and since then, I’ve completed over 20 cooks with it. This is my one month iKAMAND update and report.

iKAMAND by Kamado Joe First Impressions; Thoughts and Review

By 5teve-0 | June 25, 2018 | Category Cooking on the Kamado Joe

Did the Kamado Joe iKAMAND smart BBQ temperature controller live up to expectations and hype? Read my first impressions and review if you are considering one.

Classic Pulled Pork – First Overnight Low ‘n Slow with the iKAMAND

By 5teve-0 | June 24, 2018 | Category Cooking on the Kamado Joe

For our iKAMAND’s overnight maiden voyage, we decided we want classic pulled pork sandwiches on our lunch and dinner menu. We followed the classic pulled pork recipe by Chef Tom of All Things Barbecue.

Smoking Spare Ribs on My Lunch Break Using iKAMAND

By 5teve-0 | June 22, 2018 | Category Cooking on the Kamado Joe

With the iKAMAND, BBQ ribs for dinner on a weeknight is now possible and the ribs will be ready by the time I return home from work. In this article, I write about my experiencing using the iKAMAND remotely from my work to control pit temperature and prepare dinner a few miles away.

iKAMAND by Kamado Joe – How to Update the Firmware

By 5teve-0 | June 20, 2018 | Category Cooking on the Kamado Joe

Keeping your devices updated not only enhances its performance and open up new features. It also fixes known issue(s) and plug security holes. This article guides you through the steps involved in updating the iKAMAND’s firmware.

Smart BBQ Controller iKAMAND – Unboxing and Setup Guide

By 5teve-0 | June 18, 2018 | Category Cooking on the Kamado Joe

So what is an iKAMAND? The iKAMAND is a smart temperature controller and monitoring accessory developed by Kamado Joe in conjunction with Desora amidst a growing market of barbecue grill temperature controller and monitoring devices. This is a short unboxing, installation and set up guide.

Yakima SkyBox Carbonite 16 on 3rd gen Prius

Yakima SkyBox 16 Carbonite on a 3rd gen Prius

By 5teve-0 | March 27, 2017 | Category 2012 ZVW30 Toyota Prius Four, Road Trips

With the addition of a baby, we need to expand the Prius’ cargo space to accommodate for the new little member of the family when we hit the road for road trips. Since I was not able to discuss the Yakima SkyBox 16 Carbonite in as much detail as I would like to in a […]

First “Real” Road Trip With Our Infant in Our 3rd Gen Prius

By 5teve-0 | January 4, 2017 | Category Road Trips

Many parents we’ve conversed with said that once our newborn enters the world, our favorite pastimes and routines will all go out the window. Instead, sleepless nights and nonstop exhaustion will take their place. While I do not 100% dispute that statement at all, I don’t agree with it completely either. Sure, our daily routines will […]

Winter Road Trip to Vancouver, B.C. With Stops

By 5teve-0 | October 23, 2014 | Category Road Trips

Every year, we try to embark on one road trip. I’m not talking about a regular 400+ mile round trip road trip to the Central Coast (i.e. San Luis Obispo), I’m referring to a road trip that would last over 1,500 miles. For 2013, we drove from Los Angeles to Palm Desert, to Monterey, to Sonoma […]

Our account of Coron 7 weeks after Typhoon Haiyan, Yolanda

By 5teve-0 | February 21, 2014 | Category Outside of California

When one searches for “Coron Palawan Philippines” through popular search engines, the search result yields a vast media coverage of the typhoon and its immediate aftermath. Many of the resulting articles are dated mid November 2013 or earlier. My post will concentrate on our personal accounts in and around Coron, Palawan, Philippines 7-weeks after Typhoon Haiyan (also known […]

Fourth of July road trip and plans for the Prius

By 5teve-0 | July 22, 2013 | Category Road Trips

Another road trip completed! Well, this road trip ended two weeks ago and I just gotten around to write about it. This road trip coincided with the July 4th holiday weekend, affording us extra days. We both got Thursday and Friday paid holiday off and used three paid vacation days to take advantage of taking […]

A well needed break!

By 5teve-0 | May 29, 2013 | Category Road Trips

After smashing through a record number of Prius projects this month, working long hours and finalizing all oversea trade show arrangements at my work (we’re exhibiting in Canada, Mexico and Brazil in addition to domestic shows), it’s finally time to slow down and take a well deserved break with the lady! Between designing a multitude […]