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Bike Manhattan and Stay at The Jane

One of my favorite outings last spring was a ride around the perimeter of Manhattan with my 14-year old son and close friends. There’s no better way to see the city than to slow down and bike along the Hudson, East, and Harlem Rivers under historic bridges with the Statue of Liberty peering down at you in the distance. Most of the island is now lined with bike trails, far away from the honking of taxis. One of the best sections of the ride is amidst Hudson River Park, heading south to Battery Park. Across the street from Hudson River Park in the far West Village is The Jane, an affordable hotel where rooms start at a low $99 a night. This spring, the hotel will offer complimentary bikes to guests, so you can cruise Manhattan on two wheels. Or simply take a stroll on the nearby High Line, once an elevated railway, now a walking corridor nestled with trees and gardens that stands 30-feet above street level. Grab a sandwich at Chelsea Market and you have the perfect picnic spot for lunch.
 

I’m off to Miami to bike Shark Valley, sea kayak at Oleta River State Park, and sail a Hobie Cat in Biscayne Bay. I’ll be back on Wednesday, May 4th. In the meantime, keep active!

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Ogunquit Still My No. 1 Beach Town in New England

To celebrate a big birthday for my mother-in-law, 14 members of the family made their way to Ogunquit, Maine in mid-July for 3 nights. I haven’t been back to Ogunquit since I wrote my cover story for Yankee Magazine on the Top 25 Beach Towns in New England, naming Ogunquit over Provincetown as the best beach town in New England. I was happy to see the article from the July/August 2012 issue framed on the wall of The Beachmere Inn, where we stayed. After a memorable weekend, I can honestly say that I made the right choice naming Ogunquit my number one beach town. I ditched the car in the parking lot and didn’t see it again until I left. The view of the Atlantic and the 3 ½-mile stretch of beachfront from the Beachmere was just as glorious as I remembered. We would stroll down the sloping lawn to the Marginal Way, and either take a left to hit the beach or veer right to walk along the rugged shoreline to the restaurants in Perkins Cove. The big birthday dinner was held in a private room at MC Perkins Cove, a restaurant I first discovered when it debuted, reporting for Boston Globe Magazine’s Best of the New issue. The meal and service were both exceptional. So was our first night’s dinner at Oarweed at an outdoor table overlooking the Atlantic, digging into the freshest lobster I’ve had in a long time, washed down with a Blueberry Ale. 

Yes, both P’town and Nantucket have excellent restaurants and beaches. But where Ogunquit excels is theater and other cultural offerings. Gershwins’ An American in Paris, staged at the historic Ogunquit Playhouse, was a fantastic rendition of this complex play, featuring tap dance, ballet, and songs (see it before it closes on August 4th).  We visited the Ogunquit Museum of American Art to see the Lois Dodd show, only to be serenaded by the poetry of Richard Blanco, who just happened to be there that day. Blanco is best known as being the poet who spoke at President Obama’s second inauguration and his words, which were paired with photography on exhibit, are incredibly moving. Ogunquit, I have a feeling I’ll be returning far more frequently in the future. 
 
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Visiting Newfoundland’s Small, Remote Villages with Adventure Canada

Guest Post and Photos by Amy Perry Basseches

One of the best parts of my Expedition Cruise with Adventure Canada around Newfoundland was the opportunity to visit many small, remote villages and interact with local residents. In 1992, the Canadian government declared a necessary moratorium on the Northern Cod fishery which had shaped Newfoundland’s way of life for 500 years. It was devastating for many communities and impacted Newfoundland profoundly. 35,000 fishermen and plant workers from over 400 coastal communities became unemployed, and thus the province experienced a dramatic restructuring, including considerable emigration. But there are the folks who wanted to stay, no matter what, and who adore their home. 

Here are some of the special places I visited:
 
Elliston: Population 308 in 2016. On the eastern coast of Newfoundland, Elliston is the "Root Cellar Capital of the World," due to having more than 130 documented root cellars. Up until the mid-1900s, it was hard to purchase vegetables here, so most families had a vegetable garden from which they ate all winter, thanks to root cellar storage. 
 
Bonavista: Near Elliston. Built in 1843, the lighthouse at Cape Bonavista is one of the few in the world where you can still climb the stone tower and see the same oil- fueled light that was used in the 1800s.  
 
Little Bay Islands: Population 71 in 2016. On the northeastern coast of Newfoundland, Little Bay Islands was the birthplace of two of Adventure Canada’s on-board Resource Staff, so we got extra inside information about what the town looked like in the 1960s and 1970s when cod still thrived. Now in the process of government resettlement, because the remote location is difficult to provide with services, Little Bay Islands once had 11 stores, three dockyards, three churches, a doctor and a school. 
 
Trout River: Population 552 in 2016. Another small, rural fishing village, Trout River is on the western coast of Newfoundland. It was of great interest to me because a rare blue whale carcass washed ashore there in 2014, which was then preserved by researchers at the museum my husband Josh directs, Toronto’s Royal Ontario Museum. The Trout River blue whale measured 76.5 feet in length and weighed 150 tons. The ROM worked closely with local townspeople to remove and salvage the whale; later, a huge exhibit at the ROM was created. In the harbor at Trout River today, a community display tells the fascinating story of this blue whale. 
 
Francois: Population 89 in 2016. Pronounced Fran-SWAY, located on the southern coast of Newfoundland, this town has no roads, and thus can only be accessed by boat and helicopter. It considered and rejected resettlement in 2013. However, Adventure Canada has a special relationship here: every year, when the ship comes into Francois Bay, the locals cook and bake up a storm, and host Adventure Canada passengers at a "Kitchen Party" in the Community Hall. Much music, dancing, drinking, mingling, and eating ensued — all good-natured and fun. Local Darren Durnford plays the accordion, guitar, and fiddle, all by ear! 
 
My personal advice: get off the beaten path when traveling, and you will be rewarded. 
 
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Take a Walkaround on the ActiveTravels YouTube Channel

Lisa and I call them Walkarounds. If a resort or boutique lodging impresses us, we immediately break out the iPhone and start filming the room upon arrival. I recently downloaded a good 12 videos we created over the past year or two at some of our favorite properties, including Sol Y Luna in Peru’s Sacred Valley; Silky Oaks in Australia’s Daintree Rainforest; the “trulli” magnificent Borgo Canonica in Puglia, Italy; the gem of a hotel, Corral del Rey in Seville, Spain; Mystique in Santorini, Greece; and Croatia’s Villa Dubrovnik. They join other videos I’ve already uploaded on lodging in Botswana, Tanzania, Hong Kong, and St. Lucia. All videos are short, around 2 to 3 minutes, and can be found on the ActiveTravels YouTube Channel. Please have a look! 

 
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Trek Travel Unveils New Moab Mountain Bike Trip

Moab is to mountain biking what Hawaii is to surfing. It’s home to the legendary Slickrock Trail, a 12 mile pedal through a stunning labyrinth of deep narrow canyons that twist and turn sharply, without reason, like the scribbling of a 5 year-old. Trek Travel, the travel arm of the bicycle manufacturer, is taking advantage of this spectacular terrain by offering two mountain bike camps in Moab in October and November 2013, where you’ll get to ride with mountain biking legend, Gary Fisher, and pro couple, Heather Imerger and Jermey Horgan-Kobelski. The five-day, four-night Moab Ride Camp features trips to Porcupine Rim, Amasa Back, and Pipe Dream. The trip culminates with The Whole Enchilada, where you descend 4500 feet from alpine forests to the Colorado River valley. It’s an epic experience of challenging terrain and spectacular panoramas. Cost is $1199, including all meals, lodging at the Gonzo Inn, use of a Trek Remedy 9 or Lush SL full suspension mountain bike, and guided rides with experts who will only enhance your biking skills. 

 
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Swim With Your Ipod

I like my tunes, especially when working out. Throw on my favorite R&B and electronica and I’m ripping through those 40 minutes on the elliptical or my free weight curls. That’s probably the main reason why I stopped doing laps in the pool. I hated listening to the sound of my breath wheezing for air. Well, now I can listen to my Ipod and still crank out the music thanks to H20 Audio’s waterproof cases and headphones that keeps all sizes of Ipods dry. Not surprisingly, Olympic swimming stars Michael Phelps and Natalie Coughlin are partnering with the company to help get the word out and fill up those lanes once again.
 

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Marijuana Tours Start to Bud in America

In the November election, residents of Oregon, Alaska, and Washington, DC, all voted to legalize marijuana. Excited to hear that news were a growing number of travel companies from Colorado and Washington that are already offering tours to cannabis lovers, comparable to visiting wineries or craft breweries. Kush Tourism offers the Colorado Highlife Tours and Washington Evergreen Tours, where clientele visit the local marijuana growers, discuss the varietals, delve into the medicinal qualities of the cannabis, even visit glass blowers that specialize in bongs and glass pipes. Cannabus is a mobile marijuana lounge stationed in Seattle and likely to hit the road to Portland, once pot stores open in Oregon in 2016. TravelTHC compiles a list of pot-friendly homes and apartments where you can spark up no problem. With the Denver Post hiring a marijuana critic to taste all the varietals (recently profiled in this New York Times story), pot is no longer a joke reserved for Cheech and Chong. It’s serious business and I see more active travel companies like Backroads joining the fray, similar to their Napa or Loire Valley trips. A culinary tour would be agreeable to older, high-end travelers who wouldn’t mind getting stoned, then feasting on a four-course Oregon farm-to-table dinner. 

 

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