Your Winter Travel Kit: Dakine

Ranching is a whole lifestyle with its own culture, fashion, and quirks, and it’s the kind of life that’s hard to acclimate to if you haven’t grown up with it. That said, the modern cowboy is incredibly fascinating to me, and it was a real treat to meet the greatest cowboy in the world himself, Dale Brisby, to pick his brain on what life is like on the ranch. 

Representatives from Can-Am invited us all out to dinner, and I was immediately struck by how authentic Dale Brisby was. He shared so much about ranch life and rodeo that it felt like drinking from a firehose. Learning from him brought me up to speed, just in time for the PBR Rattler Days event. 

Entering the Ritz-Carlton, Aruba feels like stepping through a portal where time simply stops. I was immediately drawn to the turquoise sea, which cast a spell of calm. Driftwood and industrial lighting hang overhead, and even the elevators reinforce the serenity: fast and whisper-quiet, you barely feel them move. But I was particularly impressed with the staff and their attention to detail, so much so that I wasn’t surprised at all when I learned that the resort has just earned a coveted fourth star from Forbes Travel Guide for 2027. 

We visited in early October, which turned out to be the perfect time to dodge the crowds. Aruba’s near-constant sunshine and position outside the main hurricane belt make it a strong destination year-round, but the best time to visit depends on what you’re after. Peak season from mid-December through mid-April brings ideal dry weather and higher crowds, while shoulder months like May and June or the quieter stretch into early fall deliver the same balmy conditions with softer rates and a more unhurried pace. The hotel wasn’t crowded at all, so we were able to enjoy all the amenities in relative privacy. Here was my overall impression of all the activities and amenities at the hotel. 

Call me Marlow. Much like the weary, half-insane mariner-turned-narrator in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, I have returned to hearth and home with a harrowing tale of adventure in distant climes. Detractors might say that a cosseted press trip through modern Japan is not quite the same as sailing up the 19th-century Congo. But I would counter that a week spent sampling sake and whisky, dining at luxury restaurants, and soaking in onsens represents its own kind of heroic journey.

Part One took us through Fukushima and Yamagata Prefectures. This section moves farther north, through boreal forests roamed by Asian black bears, past fishing villages hugging the frigid coast, all the way to the gateway to Hokkaido. Along the way, we’ll feast in fish markets, hike through the mountains, and learn about Japan’s answer to Mardi Gras.