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A New Hostel on Cape Cod

Sand and sea are the images that appear when we think of Cape Cod. Undulating dunes and long stretches of fine white beach serve as a soft welcome mat for the surf that rolls ashore. Yet, you’re going to have to pay a hefty price to grab accommodations near one of those Cape Cod beaches this time of year. Thankfully, Hostelling International has just opened its third hostel on the Cape, the Angeline Crocker Hinckley Hostel. With 40 beds, a full kitchen, and free continental breakfast starting at $29 a night, going to those dunes on Cape Cod National Seashore has never been this affordable. The hostel is located on Ocean Street, across from the ferry docks in Hyannis.
 

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Save 20% at the New LIFE Hotel in New York’s NoMad Neighborhood

Opening its doors on April 10th, the LIFE Hotel is located in the historic building that once housed LIFE Magazine. If you like boutique hotels with great design, lots of amenities, a restaurant, and basement speakeasy serving classic cocktails, this is the place for you. Rates start at $249 if you book by April 25th. The circa-1893 hotel will echo the place where renowned writers and artists worked, lived, and played. When the new owners were researching the building, they discovered that the upper floors served as apartments for the celebrated writers and artists of the time. During prohibition, the building even housed a secret bar in the basement. All of these areas are being revitalized with plans to bring back the spirit of the 1920s with modern amenities and comfort.

The hotel offers 98 rooms and will place an emphasis on great service and affordability. Guestrooms will feature oversized beds, large flat screen TVs, vintage desks and contemplative poetry inscribed throughout. Pets are welcome. If interested, please contact ActiveTravels and we’re happy to book the hotel and give you our NYC travel tips.
 
Guest Post by Lisa Leavitt 
 
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Spring Comes to Narragansett Bay

The parking lot at the Blithewold estate in Bristol is overflowing on this chilly day in late April. I walk around the pink blooms of the Japanese star-magnolia tree and under the signature Japanese cedar that stands guard in front of the massive stone mansion. That’s when I get my first glimpse of the soft yellow hues glowing from a vast garden, stemming from row after row of daffodils. Young girls dressed as fairies run down the aisles, butterfly wings attached to their backs and colorful ribbons in their hair flowing in the wind. I follow their cue and enter a pasture coated with morning dew to find countless families happily ensconced within the centuries-old stone walls. A harpist plays as kids create papier-mâché flowers, blow bubbles, and dance around a Maypole. I half-expect to see nymphs lounging in a nearby pond of water lilies.

 
This is exactly the vision of spring awakening I’ve been yearning for after our polar-vortex winter. I need to stir my soul with spring blooms, buds, and community spirit as we all collectively end our days of hibernation. I’ve come to where spring arrives first in New England, the temperate zone along the shores of Narragansett Bay.
 
To read the rest of my story for Yankee Magazine on Spring Comes to Narragansett Bay, please click here. 
 
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Hiking in Banff

Guest Post and Photo by Amy Perry Basseches

I just returned from a fantastic week in the Canadian Rockies with my husband Josh. At ActiveTravels, we often have members wanting the inside scoop for planning an itinerary to Banff, Lake Louise, and Jasper. Josh and I are hikers who like a comfortable bed and excellent food after a day of mountains, so that’s what I’ll be focusing on. 
 
In Banff, we stayed at The Moose Hotel & Suites, Banff Lodging Company’s new 4-star hotel property featuring 174 air-conditioned guests rooms (AC is not common here, but it’s a nice add-on) and a rooftop pool and hot tub. Early in your stay, stroll over to the Banff Visitor Centre (224 Banff Avenue, which is on the super busy and crowded main drag). It’s open 9 am-5 pm year-round, with extended hours in the summer. We picked up trail maps for both the Banff and the Lake Louise areas, and received great recommendations for hikes to suit our preference by talking to the knowledgeable Parks Canada staff. 
 
To get energized for those Banff hikes, head to Tooloulou’s for breakfast. It’s a local hotspot, and there’s often a well-deserved wait. If you give up, next door, Coyote’s, offers a good breakfast as well. We sampled both! After your hikes, reward yourself with a brew and a view at these fun bars: The Maclab Bistro at the Banff Center for Arts and Creativity and the Rundle Lounge at the Banff Springs Hotel. The hotel is a Rocky Mountain Classic built by the Canadian railroads in the 1880s. Definitely worth seeing! 
 
In terms of hikes, I highly recommend the two we did. Visit the Cave and Basin National Historic Site, where the 1883 discovery of a cave full of hot mineral spring waters helped create Canada’s first national park (the site also features an interesting exhibit on internment of Canadian residents during World War I, who then built the Park’s infrastructure). From here, hike up to Sundance Canyon (3 hours round-trip). It was not too crowded, and we had stellar views. The climb starts with a paved trail and soon opens up to a mountain panorama across the Bow River. The next day, for a longer venture, we braved the hordes at Johnston Canyon just outside of town (toward Lake Louise) because we wanted to hike up to the Ink Pots (4 hours round-trip), which requires going past Lower Falls and Upper Falls. You eventually reach an open meadow where warm water bubbles up from deep below the Earth’s surface. 
 
Please contact ActiveTravels for assistance with Banff. We’re happy to help! On to Lake Louise tomorrow. 
 
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Six Nights in Beijing Including Air from America and 4-Star Lodging, $799

Now and then I get deals that come across my desk that are absurdly low. If I didn’t have the responsibility of being a father of a 15 and 13 year-old, I’d probably be on the next flight. China Spree is offering an 8-day trip to Beijing this winter that costs a mere $799, including nonstop flight on Air China from San Fran, 6 nights lodging at the Huabin International, six breakfast buffets, three lunches, and three guided tours of the city. The price increases to $849 if you’re flying out of LAX, $1129 if you’re flying out of JFK. Add another 100 bucks if you want to split your time between Beijing and Shanghai. Add another $500 for additional meals, transport, and government taxes and you’re spending a total of $1300 to see the Great Wall of China, Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, and the alleys and courtyard houses of Old Beijing. That’s less than the amount one pays to spend a week at a hotel in Dominican Republic in winter, including flight.
 

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Stormproof Waterproof Matches are Ideal for Camping

We’ve all been there before. You pack your matches in a nice dry plastic Ziploc bag, only to tip the canoe or spill the canteen and realize that even plastic bags can get damp. You reach for those matches that night to start a fire and the wet stick falls to pieces in your hand. That’s why I was excited to try Stormproof Matches, which the company states work when wet. So I bought a kit, kept the matches outdoors all last week in Boston where it pretty much rained every day. Then took out one of the long matchsticks and lit it easily. The flame also lasts a good ten seconds, about the time it takes me to light my 20-year-old Coleman Burner. The kit comes with a waterproof case and three strikers and can be purchased on Amazon for about $6.
 

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The Best Beach on Cape Cod

I like to arrive at Longnook Beach in Truro in the early morning when the fog still casts a hazy glaze over the water. I walk down the sand path to the soft white beach, joined by surfers and dog walkers. Then I take my first glance back at the towering tan and red-colored dunes, realizing instantly why JFK wanted this landscape to be preserved as a National Seashore. Looking to the left as the beach curves toward Provincetown, the dunes meld with sand, sea, and sky, as if the land is going to plummet into the water. Listen to the waves, watch the surfers glide atop the ocean, walk the beach to find an errant lobster trap run ashore, and savor the scene before families start to pour in around 11 am.
 

 

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