One of the neighboring towns, Callicoon, resides along the Delaware River. It’s a quaint town with some interesting antique and thrift shops. We walked in and out of the shops on Saturday and I found a great 100% wool beret in one of them for $3.00! What a find. But, my favorite find was the sign over the local bar/restaurant, Mathews on Main. Who could ask for anything more?

Food • Bar • Happiness: What else could you ask for?

A visit to a crafts festival at the Bethel Woods Arts Center was on our itinerary for Sunday afternoon. It was a beautiful day for an outing. I might not have gotten to Woodstock in 1969 but I finally made it in 2009. We walked to where they have a plaque commemorating the 1969 concert and had a great view of where the original stage was as well as the hill above it where all the thousands of people listened and partied for three amazing days.

At the site of Woodstock

We didn’t have the time to go into the museum, which I hear is a must so I now have a reason to return.

My version of the Anniversary T-Shirt

Pirate Diver design on a sweatshirt

Ladies Pirate Diver dark t-shirt

Captain Jack's Scuba Shack

The light version of Captain Jack's Scuba Shack design.

You might also like to check out the official site for Talk Like A Pirate Day.

Life is Balance Tennis T-Shirt went to the US Open

Tennis is one of the few spectator sports that I actually enjoy going to. I usually would rather be out there playing a sport than sitting on the sidelines watching. However when it comes to the US Open I really enjoy the whole experience of being at the Tennis Center, walking around the grounds and watching the the fans and, of course, watching the matches.

Last night I first saw Serena Williams beat Flavia Pennetta in the Women’s Quarterfinals and then watched as Nadal won his match against Monfils in the men’s Quarterfinals at the US Open. What a great night for tennis! I even wore my Life is Balance tennis t-shirt for the occasion! I got my photo taken in front of a giant tennis ball, courtesy of Lexus.

Getting ready to watch some great tennis

The Nadal/Monfils match was poetry in motion. It was one of the most athletic, exciting matches that I’ve seen in a long time. They both played incredibly well, but I think Rafael Nadal just out lasted Monfils in stamina.

Practicing yoga at Club Getaway wearing the Life is Balance Yoga Tee.

One great way to balance out your life is with exercise. Another is to get away from your daily grind, even if it’s just for a nice long weekend. This past Labor Day Weekend I managed to do both! I spent three glorious days in the Berkshire Mountains of Kent, CT at Club Getaway, a weekend sports resort for adults. It’s like going back to camp! During the course of three days I managed to take a yoga class (wearing my Life is Balance yoga t-shirt of course), play lots of tennis, swim across the lake and hike alongside a waterfall, kayak around the lake and even strap on a regulator and scuba tank and go face to face with an inquisitive fish! All the stress of my daily life disappeared the moment I stepped off the bus from NYC and into the fresh country air!

At Club Getaway you can practice your favorite sport or learn something new. There is something for everyone: tennis and mountain biking, hiking and rock climbing, kayaking, trapeze, yoga and fitness classes and much more. The food is terrific and there is never a lack of things to do. There are still a couple of weekends left before they close for the season. So go check it out!

If you like this t-shirt, check out the rest of the designs here.

It’s hard to believe that the 40th anniversary of Woodstock is this summer. I was 14 during the summer of 1969, spending the summer at Pineacres Camp in the town of Wallkill, NY. A little known fact is that back then, Wallkill was supposed to be the site of the Woodstock Festival. I remember that me and my bunkmates were all excited to think that right in our backyard there would be this wonderful happening concert! Oh the plans we had… to camp out and listen to all the great bands! Much to our disappointment the venue was changed to Max Yasgur’s 600 acre farm in the town of Bethel. It seems the folks of Wallkill just didn’t want a huge rock concert taking over the town.

And so Woodstock happened at what is now called Bethel Woods and I remained in Wallkill dreaming about what it would have been like. I don’t know if I would have lasted all three days of rain, mud and rock and roll but it sure would have been a great story to have been able to tell.

My Woodstock Anniversary design is at the top of this post. Click here to view this design on t-shirts, mugs, hats, tote bags, buttons and many other cool gift items. Peace, Love and Flower Power!

The Japanese word Osu is made up of two kanji, “o” meaning to “push” which symbolizes one hundred percent effort and “su” means to “endure”. Combined, “osu” is a pledge to do one’s best and endure. This symbol, which represents the discipline and self-respect of martial arts is also said to signify patience, respect and appreciation.
In order to develop a strong body and strong spirit it is necessary to undergo rigorous training. You must push yourself to what you believe to be your limit, when you want to stop and give up. When you reach this point you must fight yourself and your weakness and you must win. To do this you must learn to persevere, but above all you must learn to be patient. Just as students of martial arts take the personal responsibility and push themselves to do their very best in order to win, we all can “push and endure” through any of life’s challenges in order to gain personal success.

This osu kanji design is available on t-shirts for children and t-shirts for adults and teens. Also see it on other great gift ideas such as mugs, greeting cards, tile coasters, pillows, greeting cards, journals and more.

Aside from her lack of knowledge of national and international affairs, her stand on environmental issues is less about protecting the environment than protecting her own interests. Here are just a couple of her positions:

• She filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne’s decision to list the polar bear as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

• She issued a statement of opposition to a ballot measure that would have provided added protections for salmon from potential contamination from mining, an action seen as crucial to its defeat.

• She wants to prevent Beluga Whales from being listed as endangered.

• Global Warming: She apparently does not believe that the shrinking of the summer sea ice in the Arctic is human-induced or any cause for alarm

• She approved and expanded Alaka’s aerial predator control program which shoots wolves from the air and hunts bears from the air and kills them upon landing.

• Palin aggressively opposed the “clean water initiative” on the August ballot in Alaska (which then failed), favoring instead foreign mining company desires for fewer government regulations controlling their toxic effluent into salmon streams.

• She refuses to push Exxon to pay the goverment for the unanticipated environmental injuries from the 1989 oil spill. 20 years later the case is still unresolved while Exxon gets record profits from Alaska.

• Her admiistration has not approved any money to improve shipping safety through the Aleutian Islands.

The future of our world, our environment depends on NOT electing McCain & Palin this November. Please support Barak Obama and Joe Biden for the sake of the planet.

I’ve added some pro-Obama t-shirts to my shop, one specifically for scuba divers. Please take a look and show your support.
These images can be found at Wear My Dive Art!

Here are a couple of shirts that might get you in the mood to go diving. You can find them at the Dive Humor section of my shop Wear My Dive Art!