Sure, it's the season of giving, but after all that holiday shopping for others aren't you in need of a little R and R for yourself? Whether it is a little foodie indulgence, a spa day or a Christmas treat, make sure you take some time to revitalize yourself before the New Year hits.  After a plethora of holiday parties and family time, exhaustion is sure to set in and good deeds don't shouldn't go unnoticed. :)

Spa Sanctity

Voted the best spa in the US, Canyon Ranch in Tucson, Arizona caters to both the stars and high society. An all-inclusive luxury resort, you can hike or bike desert canyons atop pine-covered mountains, play tennis, refine your golf game, work out in sparkling gyms, enjoy healthy gourmet cuisine and unwind completely with the most lavish spa treatments  anywhere. From the metaphysical to spiritual, get ready for a whole body cleanse.

Dine at one of the Best Restaurants in the Country

With the 2012 Michelin picks just announced, wherever you're located there's hot new eats to try. Next restaurant in Chicago has quickly gained worldwide acclaim selling tickets to its dining experience much like a sporting event. Priced on a sliding scale, the price of your dinner depends not on what you order (it's a pre fixe menu), but on the date and time of your adventure. As if that weren't crazy enough, they completely remodel the decor and change themes every three months so it's continually a new experience. Currently, they are serving the Childhood menu, a nostalgic look that includes Care bear lunch boxes and foie gras frosting that you lick off the beaters.

See a show

There's always Broadway, but a more unique experience is Sleep No More in NYC. A cross between Eyes Wide Shut and MacBeth, this interactive theater is one to remember. Don your mask and enter the 1930's mansion to follow various characters throughout the house as they engage with each other (in ways we can't divulge). Touch, taste and engage with everything as everyone will have a different story and memory. 

Designer luggage

Why not splurge and travel in style? Louis Vuitton is always a popular choice, but recently Coach, Diane Von Furstenburg and Prada also came out with swanky luggage collections. Available in various colors and styles, make sure your arrival looks good. 

For most people living in the United States and other developed nations, water is taken for granted, but a portable water purifier for travel is an absolute must.  The reality is most of the world must walk at least three hours to fetch water and at least 400 million people live in regions with severe water shortages. If you're planning an extensive backpacking trip or hike you must be prepared with a plan of how to obtain one of the earth's most valuable resources.  Here are our tips for choosing the best water purification system to maximize your outdoor adventure.

What to Consider:

Size- You want to pack light if you're carrying a backpack or stuff your suitcase with souvenirs so in either case something bulky is not ideal. Water Purification Pumps are bulky, awkward, and less convenient for those going off the beaten path. As the name would imply, they usually involve some sort of pumping mechanism where you fill a bag with water, pump it by hand or electronically to run through a tube, and come out clean on the other end. SteriPen, on the other hand, is a small, hand-held device, similar to...well, a pen. The base encases a grouping of a few batteries that can range from smaller, photo-type batteries for those concerned about size, to four-double AA's. The tip of the pen is a wand-like UV light bulb that uses UV energy to kill microorganisms compact enough to fit in your pack. 

Taste- Iodine tablets are a good option size-wise, but are known to cause a slightly rusty, metallic taste in your water. Aside from that, iodine tablets are something you have to estimate extremely well or guarantee you can find wherever you go to avoid running out. And you don't want to interrupt your trip by having to ration your water by how much you can purify. With SteriPen your only limit is the lamp-life and one lamp lasts up to 8,000 Liters. Many models use rechargeable batteries as well so you don't have to worry about finding those while traveling, either. Since SteriPen uses a light to kill microorganisms, there are no added chemicals to the water to alter the taste.

To Bottle or to Not Bottle- The other consideration is to not use any sort of water purification and just buy bottles of water along the way. A SteriPen can be purchased for as little as $50, which may not seem cheaper than bottled water on shorter trips, but with a lamp-life of 8,000 Liters, you can use it on every trip you take, no matter how long you're gone. And the less-obvious clincher that also makes you the planet's personal super- hero? Pollution. With a SteriPen, you don't have to contribute to the growing waste on the planet (where more places than not, don't recycle), or better yet, the production of all those plastic bottles in the first place.

As part of my 2009 Antarctic Expedition with Quark Expeditions I received a 3-in-1 hooded parka.  The jacket was designed by New Headings for Quark specifically for Antarctic and Arctic expeditions.  It is fully insulated, water-proof, seam-sealed and bright as the sun.  The last feature is mainly for safety, and for me the one barrier from actually using the outer shell once back from the end of the earth.

Although I have used the inner fleece portion of the jacket, the bright yellow outer shell had remained stowed in the closet since my return. That is until this past weekend, when I discovered another appropriate place to wear the Quark Expeditions Parka - Lambeau Field.  

The NFL's Green Bay Packers call Lambeau Field home and in December and January it is best known as the Frozen Tundra of Lambeau Field.  Typically the stadium is packed with people in colorful snowsuits and camouflage outdoor gear.  The colors of the Packers are Green and Gold so a bright yellow jacket actually fits in providing you are supporting the team. 

This past weekend as the Packers took on their division rival Chicago Bears the temperature was well below freezing for the late afternoon game.  Throughout the game the only part of me bothered by the weather were my toes. The Quark Expeditions jacket kept me cozy throughout the game as it did on my Antarctic Expedition.

There are iPhone apps that blow our minds like Shazam which can tell you the name of nearly any song it hears.  There are also cool apps like the Yelp app that use augmented reality to allow the user to hold their iPhone up and see ratings for nearby restaurants.  Today we came across a travel app that combines the benefits of augmented reality with the wow factor of Shazam.  Word Lens allows users to hold their iPhone up to a sign and translate it to their preferred language. 

The video below shows a best case situation in which everything is translated correctly.  We downloaded the app, which is free, then added the Spanish to English translation dictionary which was $4.99.  As we surfed the web looking for Spanish signs we found that often the translation gave us a better understanding of the meaning but did not provide as strong of a translation as we see in their demo. A co-founder Otavio Good admits "The translation isn't perfect, but it gets the point across."

For a traveler this app could be beneficial in helping you find your way around a foreign city or help you make sense of a menu in a foreign language. 

This app has a ton of potential. As they continue to hone the apps functionality over time this could become one of the most vital travel apps for travelers visiting foreign countries where they are not familiar with the language.  Currently the English to Spanish and Spanish to English sets are available.  According to a TechCrunch interview with Good it sounds like French will be next and Italian and Portuguese are on the horizon.