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Top 5 Beaches in New England to Be Active: Windsurf Kalmus Beach, Hyannis, Massachusetts

All a windsurfer needs is a prevailing wind and steady diet of waves to catch some air. On Nantucket Sound, wind speeds exceeding 20 knots are the norm, not the exception, and the shallow water help windsurfers mount waves quickly. Kalmus Beach, south of Hyannis, is the boardsailing mecca, be it spring summer, or fall. If the crowds get to you, try nearby West Dennis Beach or Forest Beach, at the end of Forest Beach Road in Chatham.
 

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A Must-Stop at the Miro Museum in Barcelona

While I found the Picasso Museum to be somewhat of a disappointment (it skips from 1901, the last of his formative years in Barcelona straight to 1917 with barely a word about his breakthrough early Cubism works), I found the Fundacio Joan Miro to be an utter delight. Inside the more than 20 galleries, you’ll find many of his whimsical large-scale paintings, sculptures, even a tapestry. Located in Parc de Montjuïc near the 1992 summer Olympics diving venue, we accessed the museum by first walking down to the beach to take a cable car up over Barcelona’s port. It was a wonderful way to view the sailboats and cruise ships plying the waters of the Mediterranean below. Once we arrived in the park, we walked 10 minutes to find the museum. Inside, you’ll find his colorful dots, lines, and familiar symbols, even some anguish-filled works during the time of the Spanish Civil War, all donated by his family and a top collector from Japan. Then venture outside, atop the museum, to see his works of sculpture and the city below. A real joy. 

 
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New Guided Tour To New England’s Islands

If you want to visit New England this summer but prefer to leave the driving to someone else, consider the latest offering from Northeast Unlimited Tours, a highly recommended tour operator in the region. The weeklong tour starts Saturday, August 26 from Boston before making stops in Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket, Block Island, and Newport. Don’t worry. This is not one of those bus tours where each night is at a different lodging. You’ll spend three nights at the Red Jacket Beach Resort on the Cape, taking ferries daily to the Vineyard and Nantucket. In Rhode Island, you’ll stay in Newport at the Newport Harbor Hotel, taking the ferry over to Block Island for the day. Cost is $1,999 per person, double occupancy, including all lodging, transport, guides, ferries, dinners, and breakfasts. If interested, please contact ActiveTravels. 
 
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Maine’s North Woods National Monument Is Now a Reality

Today marks the official 100th anniversary of the national park system. To coincide with the centennial, President Obama announced yesterday that Roxanne Quimby’s 87,654 acres located just east of Baxter State Park will make the list as the North Woods National Monument. On Tuesday, Quimby’s nonprofit, Elliotsville Plantation Inc., transferred her ownership to the U.S. Department of the Interior. Long a proponent of creating a national park in Maine’s North Woods, Quimby, the co-founder of Burt’s Bees skin care products, has been a contentious figure in the region ever since I’ve been reporting on Maine. In a Boston Globe Magazine story on the AMC entering the Maine woods in 2004, Quimby’s name came up time and time again. Locals were worried that the AMC would restrict land use for snowmobiling, logging, and hunting. That never happened. Instead, the AMC introduced Maine’s glorious interior of vast forest, mile-high mountains, secluded lakes, and long rambling rivers to thousands of people who never heard of it. This summer I had the privilege of joining forces with Northern Outdoors and Maine Huts & Trails to help promote the Maine woods. If creating a national monument helps to promote the region to the world and finally gives the largest chunk of wilderness in the northeast the recognition it deserves, then I’ll happily celebrate with a pint of Baxter Stowaway IPA. 

 
 
 
  
 
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Backroads Unveils New Trips in 2016

Backroads, a perennial favorite outfitter of our clients, just announced their list of trips for 2016. They include 27 new biking trips, 41 new multisport adventures, and 21 new walking & hiking trips. Active river cruising continues to be extremely popular and next year Backroads is rolling out cruises to more locations in Europe. Families can join the fun on new active river cruises designed just for them. In 2016 Backroads will launch new river cruise trips along the Danube, Rhine, Seine and Portugal’s Douro. Additionally, an entire ship just for Backroads guests sets sail on a Danube Full Ship Celebration River Cruise Bike Tour in September 2016. Family Breakaway trips have also proven to be a huge hit for families with older teens and college-age. To meet increasing demand, Backroads is tripling the options for families in the coming year, launching new Family Breakaway Trips to England, the Basque Region of France & Spain, Croatia & Montenegro, Alaska, the Canadian Rockies, Argentina’s Lake District, Peru, Patagonia, and New Zealand, as well as a Rhine River Cruise. These trips join an already-popular roster of Family Breakaway trips in Tuscany, the Dalmatian Coast, Hawaii and Costa Rica.

I’m off to Indiana with my daughter, Melanie. I’ll be back next Monday. In the meantime, get outdoors and keep active! 

 
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Top 5 Fall Foliage Picks in New England, Mountain Biking the Kingdom Trails, Vermont

Just thinking about the Kingdom Trails in autumn, whipping through the red and yellow leaves on the maples behind the Inn at Mountain View Farm, and I want to jump in my car immediately. This 150-mile circuit, linking former farming roads with slender singletracks, offers the best of Vermont riding. One moment, you’re banking narrow turns on Coronary Bypass, the next you’re zooming through the tall barren pines in Webs. In fact, it’s such a glorious network that you’ll want to keep biking even when your legs are cramping and your Camelbak runs dry. Check out the article I wrote last summer for The Boston Globe on biking the Kingdom Trails with my son, Jake.
 

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Time to Revisit Cooperstown

Now that Pedro Martinez is enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame, it might be time to take a side-trip to Cooperstown when I drop my son off at Cornell in the fall. I also want to make a stop at the Farmers’ Museum to view the Cardiff Giant. In 1869, con man George Hull paid someone out West to carve a ten feet long, 3000 pound statue out of gypsum. The Giant was then shipped back East and buried underground in Hull’s backyard. Hull hired a group of workers to build a well in the precise spot the Giant was buried, and, lo and behold, they found the world’s first petrified prehistoric man. Hull made a fortune as the Cardiff Giant traveled around the country tantalizing viewers into paying a hefty ten cents to see this incredible find. Evidently, P.T. Barnum desperately wanted the Cardiff Giant and when Hull refused, Barnum built his own replica and ended up making more money than Hull. Lastly, no one can visit Cooperstown without stopping at Brewery Ommegang for a taste of their heavenly Hop House, a Belgian-style pale ale. 

 

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