According to Twitter, today is #NationalSunglassesDay. Which is why I thought I'd take a moment to make an important public service announcement: 

I only wear polarized lenses. For best results, you should, too.

​Here's why:

Play expert and game inventor Andrea Cuadra shares her favorite board games.
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My "thing" is playfulness -- which, according to dozens of young adults who participated in my research, often involves being silly. Makes sense. I love being silly! But sometimes, it's hard, right? Because it's easy to worry what people think?

I've written about three proven ways to stop caring what others think. Here's a fourth: find a legit excuse to be silly. Like... the entire month of October. Which ends in one of my favorite holidays: Halloween!

To that end, here are some perfectly silly and amazing Halloween shoes. 

Oh. My. Goodness. 

​Amazon's got this great little page called Interesting Finds, where they show you cute urban home and clothing items. They claim it's "updated daily," though I feel like I mostly see the exact same stuff every time I visit...

Until today, when I discovered Hot Chocolate Design, a Venezuelan shoe brand created by Carolina Aguerrevere and Pablo Martinez.

This summer has been one of the worst in history for security lines at the airport. The TSA, apparently, doesn't have the resources to meet the demand of travelers.

​It's so bad that people are missing their flights.

#ViajoSola (I travel alone) is trending on Twitter – and I happen to be traveling alone right now!
 
Except, as I wrote in The Best Advice EVER for People Who Fear Getting Lonely While Traveling Alone… when you travel alone, you are rarely actually alone.
 
Take yesterday, for example. I stopped into a Dominical surf shop to rent a board, and ended up catching a ride to the beach with one of the coolest couples ever.

Back in the States, they are professional sports photographers (they take photos for NASCAR and the US Women’s Soccer team)… and when they travel, their camera of choice is the Nikon COOLPIX S9900 Digital Camera with 30x Optical Zoom and Built-In WiFi. (And, because they’ve since released a newer model, it’s only $269 on Amazon!)

I recently published Pearce Ferry Rapid: Then and Now, in which I discussed some awesome nonessential gear for your Grand Canyon (or, really, any) trip. I thought some of these items deserved their own post, because they are that incredibly awesome. 

Without further ado: 

1. Water Sports Lighted Bocce Ball Set, $49.99. Probably more suitable for rafters than kayakers, due to size constraints. But perfect for nighttime entertainment.