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New Ski Vermont Insider App

Ski Vermont has teamed up with Insider Network to develop a new app that offers skiers and boarders exclusive deals and discounts based on where they like to ski in the state. So far, Killington, Mad River Glen, Mount Snow, Okemo, Smugglers’ Notch, Stowe, Stratton, Sugarbush, and Suicide Six are participating in the Ski Vermont Insider. The latest snowfall and trail openings, lodging and après-ski deals, two-for-one lift tickets, ski rental discounts, even a chance to win a free ski pass for next season are currently being offered. The app launched in January.
 

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New Life Hiking Spa Now Open for its 42nd Summer in Vermont

The weather finally started to warm up this weekend in New England and we took full advantage of it in Boston, biking the Minuteman Trail in Arlington and Cambridge. At last, we can escape the indoor gym and hit the trails. One of the best ways is with New Life Hiking Spa out of Killington, Vermont, in operation since 1978. For $229 to $269 per person, per night, you’ll receive a private room, three meals a day, healthy snacks, daily guided hikes, all fitness and wellness classes, evening activities, and massages. Three levels of professionally guided hikes are offered every day to accommodate your level of fitness. All meals are prepared fresh, on site, and created by a team of professional chefs who specialize in regional healthy cuisine. There’s no better way to start the summer than hit the trails, eat Vermont-grown goods, and perhaps lose a pound or two. 

 
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Explore the Canadian Wilderness with Several of Canada’s Best-Known Explorers

It’s not enough that Canadian Mountain Holidays runs two lodges in some of the most glorious British Columbia mountain ranges, the Bugaboos and Selkirk, where granite peaks and spires pierce the peak over 7,000 feet high. No, it’s not enough that this well-known heli-ski company uses those same helicopters in the summer time to take hikers to trails traversed by far more bear, elk, and caribou than humans. Now you’ll get to explore those same trails in the company of Dr. Joe MacInnis and Dr. Roberta Bondar. MacInnis led the first team of divers under the North Pole and was one of the first to dive the Titanic. Bondar is Canada’s first woman astronaut and a neurologist to boot. Dates are July 24-27 with MacInnis and August 17-20 with Bondar.
 

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Top 5 Favorite Spring Drives, Asheville to Great Smoky Mountains

It actually hit 55 degrees in Boston on Saturday. After the hellish winter of arctic temperatures and far too much snow, that’s a miracle. Even better now that we have one more hour of daylight now that Daylight Savings Time is underway. Needless to say, most of America is ready to say goodbye to Polar Vortex and hello to Spring Fever. The five phenomenal drives I describe this week should get you in the mood.

 
The 80-mile stretch of roadway between Asheville and Great Smoky Mountains National Park on the Blue Ridge Parkway is a joy anytime of year, but it’s hard to top springtime when fragrant mountain laurel and colorful rhododendrons line the route. Get into the spring spirit by roaming the magnificent grounds of the Biltmore estate in Asheville. From beginning to late spring, the gardens come to life with the tulip bloom followed by multi-colored azaleas, rhododendrons, and roses in the resplendent rose garden. Spend the night at the historic Grove Park Inn, which turns 101 in 2014. 
 
Then it’s time to hit the High Country, where the drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway reaches its highest elevation at 6,047 feet, surrounded by row after row of ridges like the flanks of Mount Pisgah and Cold Mountain, the setting for the best-selling novel. There are numerous opportunities to stretch your legs and stroll to lonely mountain streams and waterfalls. Once in the Great Smoky Mountains, realize there are more than 1,600 kinds of flowering plants within the boundaries of the park, forming the best natural greenhouse in America. A good place to stop and smell the flowers is the self-guided Harwood Cove Nature Trail that begins at the Chimneys Picnic Area.
 
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A Rejuvenating Stay at Bar Harbor’s Saltair Inn

One look at that long lawn that slopes down to the sea at the Saltair Inn and I knew we made a wise choice. It only got better when we realized that the location of the inn was located on the quiet side of West Street, within easy walking distance of the restaurants and shops of Bar Harbor, but far away from the crowds. Owners Matt and Kristi are the perfect team. Kristi serves up yummy breakfasts each morning like blueberry pancakes and stuffed french toast, while Matt divulges the insider information on Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park that only a local would know. He designed a great bike loop around the Carriage Path Trails which I described in yesterday’s blog, told us about a small trail near the restrooms at the Bass Harbor Lighthouse that led down the freshly cut stairs to a bed of rocks, where we not only had great views of the lighthouse, but spotted dolphins and seals in the sea. Matt also made my friend, Tim, very happy by sending us over to McKay’s Public House for a cask ale pour of Maine brewed Sebago ale. Tell the bartender, Chris, I said hello. He might be our captain when we sail the Grenadines and St. Vincent next February. It’s hard to top a sailor who can make a mean drink. 
 
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VBT Partners with Emerald Waterways to Cruise the Danube

Ever since Backroads partnered with AmaWaterways to bring families to the Danube River in 2015, the demand has far exceeded number of available berths. The chance to ride along the river on bike paths during the day though small European villages and then catch up with the cruise for cocktails, dinner, and your room for the week (no packing and unpacking) is ideally suited for all age groups. Backroads is now bringing their active travel itineraries to the ocean liners, while other biking companies like VBT have formed partnerships to cruise the rivers. VBT has just announced that one of their new trips in 2019 will be aboard an Emerald Waterways ship cruising the Danube. 24 VBT guests will be part of a larger group on board the 182-passenger river cruise ship. The difference is that your shore excursions will be with a VBT group leader as you bike, on average, 15 to 35 miles per day through the German, Austrian, and Hungarian countryside. VBT can also package together the international air, and pre- and post-visits to Prague and Budapest. Prices start at $4395 per person, not including air. 

 
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Marrakech is the Hot Destination in 2012

Folks always ask me what’s the hot destination out there, Steve. To which I always answer, wherever the sun’s shining. Lately, however, I’ve been receiving a slew of information about all the new upscale properties opening in Marrakech. If that’s your gauge for what’s hot, then Marrakech might be the place for you next spring. This past June, the Four Seasons opened within easy walking distance of the Medina and across the street from the Menara Gardens. This month, the Taj Palace Marrakech will open, with 161 rooms offering panoramic views of the Atlas Mountains and the palm gardens of Marrakech’s Palmeraie district. Opening early in 2012, Assoufid is an all suite property with pools and a golf course, located 15 minutes outside the city. While the rest of North Africa is in a state of political unrest, Morocco seems to be moving along just swell.
 

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