The Caribbean is a special place of warm crystal clear water, bright colors, hot sand, delicious food and perhaps most importantly - friendly, hard-working people. Over this summer and fall has seen a series of tragic events across the entire region. From Texas's Gulf Coast communities to Mexico all the way across to the Lesser Antilles and everything in between, the region has been affected by storms in ways that will continue to impact it for years to come. There are far more qualified organizations than us that are already helping the immediate recovery efforts. What comes next though? Once the roads are cleared, the resorts are rebuilt, and the kitchens are open again... will visitors still flock to the same places as before? Or will they chose other areas instead?

This is a different sort of Raptor review. The Ford Raptor is hands down the most fun truck or SUV that I've had the chance to test - ever. While most reviews focus on it's extreme off road abilities as a Baja racing truck that you can buy from a dealer vs building your own. The truth is that the truck goes way beyond that and after spending a few days testing it out with my wife and another couple during a getaway to Borrego Springs, California, I'm even more impressed. This is far more than just "dad's toy"!

While Montana is most popular during the summer months as tourists flock from all over the world to see its natural wonders, there are many awesome things to do in the beautiful state of Montana in fall too! 

New York City is an incredible city to explore as a couple. While it may appear to have a hard exterior the city is one of the best in the world for romance. However, while the classic Yellow Cab is a NYC icon - second only to the subway itself, it is far from a perfect way to explore the city with someone that you love. Don't worry though - with a little planning and a bit of creativity, you can have an incredible time together exploring the city and seeing it from new perspectives.

One of the challenges - and frankly the thrills - of having a 4x4 truck is seeing how capable it really is. The challenge with that though is that sometimes the line between awesome fun and danger is blurred and you never really learn except by making mistakes. That's why I absolutely love the fact that the state of California along with some local off road clubs created this amazing park located just east of San Diego with marked challenges and obstacles ranging from the absolutely insane to beginner. This also gave us the perfect place to test out and compare the TRD Pro trucks that Toyota had given us to play with.

In Star Trek they have holodecks and we've experimented with Virtual Reality for decades now - but it's never been seamless. We're almost there though, and so I was very excited to be invited to be among the first to try out Virtual Reality at Level Up inside of MGM Grand Las Vegas. This is as close as we've come to being able to experience immersive virtual reality environments and it is absolutely one of the best adventure experiences in Las Vegas today. 

While I love technology and I'm a huge fan of urban mancations with all the luxuries that come along with that, sometimes it's good to go off the grid. Planning a rugged wilderness adventure far from technology will allow you and your buddies a chance to test your abilities and relax, without the constant vibration, beeps, and artificial lights of modern technology.

There are many things that go into the process of planning for an awesome guys weekend and unfortunately that typically means a ton of compromises. However, one of my favorite types of lodging for a guys getaway is a vacation rental instead of a typical hotel. Generally I find that there is a direct cost savings here, but other benefits start to come together too - including being able to spend more time together as well as indirect savings since you have a kitchen, common area, and often free parking too. That's exactly what we found when we spent a few days at the Marriott Vacation Club golf resort, Marriott Shadow Ridge in Palm Desert California and it made for an awesome home base for our adventures.

Visiting a favorite stadium, birthplace, or hall of fame is something that most sports fans dream of doing at some point in their lives. For most sports though, there is an inherent challenge with that since everything is so spread out. For instance, while Cooperstown might be a great place for baseball fans - it's nowhere near a major league stadium. With NASCAR in particular, Charlotte is THAT PLACE. Not only is this the home of one of the finest NASCAR tracks that I've ever visited - but they also host the NASCAR Hall of Fame, team garages, parts and technology innovators, and you can even follow in the footsteps of racing legends like Dale Earnhardt by visiting his hometown.

With it's magnificent architecture, fantastic food, and diverse culture, New York city is one of the most iconic backdrops for epic love stories. Now it is your turn to explore the city, create memories, share stories, and try new things that you can only find in New York!

The mountains of North Carolina have a rich tradition of producing whiskey and frankly trying new things to produce a unique product that other distillers may consider unconventional. While it is unlikely that you'll ever be able to hike out in the woods and see how illicit moonshine is made, this is the next best thing... maybe even better!

Summer's almost over, but there's still time for one more getaway before the weather starts to turn cold. The following are a few of my favorite apps that help me travel better and save money.

Traveling to Asia has an almost magical quality to it for most Americans and I think much of that is a combination of being primarily a European-descent country as well as frankly the Pacific Ocean is a lot bigger than the Atlantic. Modern air travel and incredible deals though have made traveling to Asia something that is accessible to most travelers now and that includes the rich cultural adventures awaiting guys who explore Indonesia.

Race is a difficult topic to explore for most Americans and for far too many people, the word is a trigger that raises barriers that put people in a defensive position where they pretend things didn't happen. As someone who travels constantly, I've learned that this isn't just an American reaction - it is a human one. As I travel I must be open to my views challenged as I experience new things. By talking with different people I've been blessed to see, hear, touch, and taste a lot of different perspectives. Combined with my love of history, experiences like this have given me better context to understand complex issues. Even more so though, it has given me the understanding that most things have many sides. I encourage each and every one of you to make an effort to open your minds, visit sites like these and simply take the time to listen, learn, and explore history when you do.

There are a lot of places in the United States where you can go fly fishing, but after dropping my fly in the Missouri River a few hundred times last month I'm convinced that Montana is one of the best. It has a unique combination of beautiful vistas, plentiful fish, diversity of waterways, and the infrastructure to support the industry with equipment, guides, and community. While the mountain streams in the west get the most attention for their abundant trout, don't forget about the prairies in the east since from edge to edge, this state is among best in the nation when it comes to opportunities for an incredible fly fishing experience.

Pinehurst is one of the single best destinations in all of North America for a guys-only getaway. Founded in 1895, the course has played host to many historic events in its nearly 120 years of existence.

Three separate hotels and a bevy of villas and condos await visitors, who have immediate and access to eight top-notch golf courses. The entire area takes up a little over four square miles.

Alaska cruises offer a vast opportunity for guys to explore the last frontier but honestly, the ships that cruise there aren't the newest, fanciest, or most exciting. That's OK though because the adventure is out your window - not just on the ship like you might expect in the Caribbean. Well, that's about to change with the launch of Norwegian Cruise Line's newest ship - Norwegian Bliss, launching in 2018!

Earlier this summer I had the opportunity to explore the western United States on an epic road trip driving a 2017 Explorer Platinum provided by Ford. For nearly three weeks, my wife and I lived out the vehicle and yet I was sad to see the car go at the end of our trip. I've driven a LOT of cars but few of them could have done what the Explorer did for us on the trip.

Earlier this summer, I had the awesome opportunity to embark on a more than 4,000 mile road trip from San Diego to northern Montana and back again. When most people think of visiting Montana, they often focus just on exploring parks like Glacier National Park and Yellowstone. Sadly, everything else is "drive through country" for most visitors. That's the fun of a long road trip though, it gives you the chance to slow down and explore a little bit. You never know what you might find! In our case while we could have simply driven from Gardiner Montana (North Entrance to Yellowstone) to West Glacier in one day, we decided to explore a bit instead.

Alaska is a land of incredible potential and a legacy of brave men seeing fortune and adventure here. Luckily, today we don't need to pack up a years worth of food and walk for thousands of miles through the wilderness to experience this. All we need to do is hop on a cruise ship and relax as we are pampered on board and seek adventure on shore. An Alaska cruisetour though is something that still needs research to make sure you select the right ship, ports, and activities that match what you and your friends are looking to do. Don't worry though, we've got some advice to help make it easy for you!