Gear Review: Tiny Headlamp for Travelers

If you’re not hiking, cycling or Nordic skiing at night, you might think you have no need for a headlamp. But, I often bring along one on my trips that don’t doing involve any of these or other adventurous activities. Whether I’m staying at a rural accommodation or an urban inn, a headlamp comes in handy. Just a few weeks ago, I was staying in Guildford, Connecticut that’s hardly a wilderness retreat. Yet, my inn was a 10-minute walk from the town green, a 10-minute almost completely dark walk at night where the street lamps were mostly nonexistent. I carried my UCO Hundred, a small headlamp that measures barely 2” x 2” x 2” and weighs in at two ounces. The light is ultra bright and has three settings with the high beam producing 100 lumens that was bright enough to light up the sidewalk almost 200 feet ahead of me. This lamp not only allowed me to avoid any sidewalk obstacles but it also made me visible to drivers who crossed my path at intersections.

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Gear Review: Ultra Bright Headlamp for Hands Free Travel

There's something about headlamps that never worked for me. They were too heavy on my head or they'd uncomfortably squeeze so tight that I'd end up with a headache. I was born with horrid night vision but could never find a headlamp that was bright enough. Some travelers have no need for a headlamp. But I love traveling hands free, especially when camping, hiking or cross country skiing after sunset or strolling along a beach late at night. I’ve gotten away without a headlamp, relying, instead, on a small halogen flashlight. That is, until I found the UCO Hundred.This small device is everything I’d been looking for. It’s small -- measuring barely 2” x 2” x 2”, light -- under 2 oz, comfortable, ultra bright and it even looks good! The lamp has three settings; the high produces 100 lumens, enough brightness to light up almost 200 feet ahead of me. (The 3 AAA batteries will last some 6 hours at this settting.) The lowest setting produces 10 lumens that will hold up for 75 hours. The headlamp is well balanced, sitting close to your forehead and is designed with a lovely wood inlay; it’s attached to a colorful headband. Plus, the headlamp easily pivots so you can efficiently direct the light where you need it. This is my new travel accessory that I’ll be bringing even on my non-adventure trips. (Since I’ll soon be traveling to Iceland where there are few hours of sunlight in the winter, this headlamp will come in handy.)

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New York's Fall Extravaganza: Pumpkins + Lights

Unlike most everyone I know, I’m not a fan of the fall. Naked trees, cooling temperatures, darkening days are a bit of a downer.  But then I heard about an event that would put a sparkle (literally) into my weekend. So I jumped on the Metro North train for a one-hour journey to Croton-on-Hudson in the bucolic Hudson Valley, and spent the next couple of hours wandering a wonderland of jack o'lanterns. After experiencing this, you won’t wonder why it’s called “The Blaze.”

For a month each fall -- it’s been going on for 11 years -- the 18th century Van Cortlandt Manor property is transformed into a ghostly and glorious landscape, with more than 7,000 hand-carved jack o’lanterns. But these illuminated pumpkins are not simply grinning and glowering as they sit among among the grassy, rolling hills. Rather, whether they dangle overhead, are positioned near a white picket fence or atop a verandah’s bannister, or are elaborately stacked, the installations -- some with synchronized lighting -- take their inspiration from the history and landscape of the area and, specifically, the stately Van Cortlandt Manor. As I strolled about, I spotted a motley array of creepy and “comical” characters: the iconic Headless Horseman -- this is Sleepy Hollow Country, after all; illuminated elephants and clowns that are all part of the Circus Train; a giant spider web and a sea serpent; flying pumpkin ghosts; even a doomsday grandfather clock.

Not everything is ghostly. A cabinet -- it’s modeled after the house’s 18th cupboard -- of pumpkin art borrows the decorative technique from the lanterns and earthenware found in the mansion. Other pumpkins are carved with Celtic knot designs, pointing to the Irish-American roots of the Jack o’Lantern.

It’s said that the Irish would carve scary faces into root vegetables to scare away Jack, a sinful man who, after being denied entry to heaven, carved a turnip, lit a candle, and wandered the earth in search  of a place of rest. 

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