Travel Aps

I've been a loyal Mac guy for almost ten years now, and I've owned an iPhone since 2008.  I don't have a lot of cool aps for my iPhone, but there are a handful of aps that I take on the road with me when I travel.  I'm sure there are plenty of other good programs for all the road warriors out there, but these are some of my favorites.

1.  Tide GraphTide Graph

This is a handy ap that gives you the tides of any location in the United States.  You can track the tides and look ahead to see what they will be in the future.  The graphics are very intuitive, and well laid out.  Whenever I'm on Saint Simons Island, I use this ap quite often to let me know when it's paddleboard or fishing time.  ($1.99)

2. Kindle

If you're a Kindle person and you have an iPhone, you really need to get the Kindle ap.  Kindle is a great way to read all your ebooks, and what's especially cool is that it automatically synchs between your other devices.  For instance, if I read ahead on my iPad, when I open the same book on my iPhone it scrolls ahead to where I left off on the iPad-- very handy if you have more than one device. (Free)

3. White Noise

This ap is an awesome travel aid.  I've been using this ap for the past year and have turned it on to help me sleep during the day after night shift, and also to listen to through headphones when I'm trying to focus in a noisy location (like trying to read in a public area).  This ap generates a variety of background noises that are steady and soothing. My wife and I also use it to help the kids go to sleep when when in unfamiliar environments (like a new hotel room, etc...).  Below is a video demonstrating this ap ($1.99):

4. Urbanspoon

I like Urbanspoon, and while I don't use the website or ap often, when I'm in a new city I've found both to be very useful.  The ap is very easy to navigate and provides a lot of information very quickly.  One of the best features is that this ap can use your location to find nearby restaurants and estimate the distance to each.  Very useful for someone with limited time to grab a bite in an unfamiliar city. (Free)

These are the few aps I use routinely when I travel.  If you have others, feel free to make suggestions.

Great Restaurants in the Southeast U.S.

Hot and Hot Southern BouillabaisseOne of the things I love about travel is trying out new restaurants, and when I find a good one, I tend to stick with it.

Over the course of the past few years I've spent a lot of time in the southeast United States, so I thought it might be a good idea to highlight a few of my favorite places in a handful of cities I frequent.  Of course, there are other eateries that I enjoy-- BBQ joints deserve their own separate post-- but these are the ones that really come to mind when I think of great food.  

Here's my short list, in no particular order:

1. Hot and Hot Fish Club, Birmingham, Alabama

Of the restaurants mentioned in this post, Hot and Hot is the one I most recently found. I took my wife there on a date recently and it didn't disappoint.

Hot and Hot's gotten rave reviews from a variety of sources, and I first heard about this place when it was featured in a magazine I was reading (though I can't remember which magazine off the top of my head).  It specializes in fresh, southern food, and it's frequently changing menu is loaded with interesting dishes.  When my wife and I went, she got the Simple Grilled Tuna and I tried the Hot and Hot Southern Bouillabaisse.  Both were excellent.

Chris and Idie Hastings run the Hot and Hot and Chef Chris came out from the kitchen to greet some guests near our table.  Seemed like a nice guy.  The restaurant was cozy and busy, just like you'd imagine a hip, southern restaurant being.  My wife and I will be back sometime soon and consider the Hot and Hot a nice addition to our restaurant rotation.  The Hastings can be followed on Twitter at @HotnHotFishClub . 

2. McCrady's, Charleston, South Carolina

I must begin with a confession: I love Charleston.  It's a super-cool town with great food, amazing history, and lots of Southern charm.  Of all the excellent restaurants in Charleston, though, my absolute favorite is McCrady's.

McCrady's is named after Edward McCrady, the guy who in 1788 built the original structure that now houses the restaurant.  The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and Landmarks and is one of the draws of dining in this establishment.

The Executive Chef of McCrady's is Sean Brock, whose award-winning cuisine has been featured on numerous television shows and in many periodicals.  Chef Sean maintains a blog that you can check out here , and his personal website is here .  He can be followed on Twitter at @hseanbrock .

Whenever I am in Charleston, I try to hit this spot.  It has incredible food in a very cool location.  Be sure to check it out if you're ever in the area.

3. Halyards, Saint Simons Island, Georgia

 My family and I call Saint Simons Island home when we're not traveling hither and yon for work or pleasure.  It's a great community located just off the southern Georgia coast, and it's also home to some great places to eat.View of Jekyl Island from Neptune Park on Saint Simons Island

Whenever my wife and I want to join friends for a great meal, we head over to one of our favorite restaurant haunts: Halyards.  Everything I've had at this place has been excellent.  

Halyards is run by Chef Dave Snyder, who also owns and operates the popular restaurant Tramici .

Since I am a creature of habit, I get the same thing every time I visit Halyards-- the Grilled New York Strip with sweet potato fries, sauteed Shiitakes, and soy lime butter.  This is also a favorite meal of my buddy, PGA Tour pro Zach Johnson, who Zach Johnson's New York Stripwas so happy to be eating there one recent evening that he actually texted me a photo of his own New York strip.  I've posted Zach's steak photo for all you golf fans out there.

4. Kinkead's, Washington, DC

Okay, so this really isn't the southeast per se, but Washington, DC, is really its own little territory so I'm still going to count it.

Every year we have the Expedition Medicine National Conference in DC and my wife and I always try to swing over for one meal at Kinkead's.  

Described as an "American Brasserie," this restaurant has some of the best seafood I've ever eaten.  Plus, since this is DC, it is an interesting place to do some people watching and check out the other tables filled with foreign diplomats and recognizable politicians.

Kinkead's was founded and is run by Chef Bob Kinkead and, as would be expected, has won many prestigious awards for culinary excellence.

So there you have it-- four of my favorite restaurants in the southeast United States.  Stop by these fantastic locations sometime and tell them you read about them on the ExpedMed blog.

The Art of Flight

I mentioned the guys at Brain Farm in a prior post, so I thought I'd give a quick plug for their latest amazing project, The Art of Flight .

This video is incredible.  I downloaded it a few weeks ago and was amazed by the cinematography and incredible snowboarding skills of the pros on this film-- and I don't even snowboard.

If you get a chance, check out the video and if you want a quick peek, here's the trailer:

Ship passing through Saint Simons Island Sound

Ok, this is a little bit frivolous and not specifically about WIlderness Medicine, but every time I stand on this beach and look across to Jekyll Island I feel good.  It's one of my favorite places in the world and this blog will be discussing other beautiful places in the future.  

In this video a ship passes through the sound between Saint Simons Island and Jekyll Island.  I love it.