Take a hike. No, really.

I'm an active guy, which is one of the many reasons I love living in Bermuda. A few weeks ago I told you about SCUBA diving alongside some of the island's submerged shipwrecks and if a good friend is in town, I almost always rent a small boat so we can go snorkeling at our own leisure. One of my favorite island activities? Hiking along the stunning south shore, ducking into secluded pink sand beaches and climbing over challenging rock formations along the way (see above). In fact, I go hiking pretty much wherever I travel, which is why I was so shocked to hear the story of American teacher Sarah Shourd, who was recently released from an Iranian prison after allegedly crossing the border while hiking with friends Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal. The story's been all over the news lately, so I thought I'd take a crack at advancing Sarah's cause with a short piece about hiking safety on my Outside Television blog, The Life Outside. If you're interested in staying safe while on your next outdoor excursion, read all about it here. And if you'd like to help Sarah get her friends home, sign the petition to release Shane and Josh over at FreeTheHikers.org. In the meantime, I'll be back tomorrow with your regularly scheduled Bermuda Shorts programming.

The weather's nice here. That's it.

For some reason Monday tends to be a slow news day—unless of course a major hurricane blows through the previous weekend or ten couples get married on an iconic day of the year. Wait, what? Ten couples got married on Bermuda yesterday? On 10/10/10? So much for the lack of newsworthy events, but the good news is the couples who won the Department of Tourism's Perfect 10 contest had a beautiful day to tie the knot: 79 degrees and sunny, as we like to say here on the island, a Bermudaful day. Thinking about getting married in Bermuda? Then check out bermuda.com's new Weddings page. In the meantime I'm gonna enjoy another blissful day in paradise.

And Don't Forget The Rice

Visiting Bermuda this weekend? Staying at one of the island’s big hotels? Guests hoping to relax poolside, beachside or harborside at their favorite Bermuda resort this weekend might have to make new plans: This Sunday is the culmination of the Bermuda Department of Tourism’s much-touted Perfect 10 contest, when ten brides-and-grooms-to-be will walk down the aisle at one of ten all expenses paid destination weddings on October 10, 2010 (ten couples on 10/10/10, get it?). For the ten lucky couples it’s one heckuva deal since the BDOT teamed up with The Knot and JetBlue to give each pair a five-night stay at one of ten participating hotels, airfare from the U.S. for ten people and a dream wedding based on one of ten island-inspired themes. Back in June I was pulling for Garison & Danielle, a couple who originally pledged to named their first child “Somer’s Island” if they won the contest. Unfortunately the young pair didn’t win one of the weddings, even after Garison’s mother told Bermuda Shorts that her son was baptized with Bermuda water, her daughter was named for an island parish and that she and her husband gave blood at King Edward Hospital the last time they vacationed here. Seriously, talk about island love. But the good news is they’ll be tying the knot in Connecticut next August. Best of luck you two! In the meantime, here’s hoping for sunny skies on Sunday.

Public Service Announcement

Remember when I told you about Hurricane Igor? How the storm ripped through the island leaving thousands of customers without power, some for about 20 hours (ahem) and some for more than a week? Well, we're officially still feeling the storm surge since BELCO—Bermuda's electric company—has been fixing downed lines islandwide long after the storm's departure. Case in point: This report from Bernews, which says they'll be no power in the Church Road area of Southampton on Saturday including St. Anne's Church, Turtle Bay Lane, Welcome Place, Port Royal Lane, Admiral Lane and the related portion of South Road. Which also means that yours truly will again be without power all day on Saturday. Southampton residents, fill up the coolers and get out the generators—and make sure to drink all the beer before it gets warm.

The Life Outside In London!

Considering I have nothing to report on from days two and three of the Bermuda Music Festival—all I really needed was a little Ziggy in my life—I'll make today's post short and sweet. As many of you know, Tuesday has long been reserved for my Outside Television blog, The Life Outside, which in past weeks has covered golf in Scotland, hiking in Aspen and diving right here in Bermuda. Today's post is all about what you should do if you've got 24 Hours in London. As you'll see, I spent the majority of my time wandering the city by foot, touring free museums and eating in jammed Chinatown restaurants. All in all a successful day spent in the British capital. If you're interested head on over to The Life Outside to read all about it. In the meantime, I'll be back tomorrow with your regularly scheduled Bermuda Shorts programming.