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Fitness Rooms Available at the TRYP New York City Hotel

Ever get up at the crack of dawn and head to the hotel gym, only to find out that the two elliptical machines are already taken at 6:30 am? That really pisses me off. Which is why I was delighted to hear about the Fitness Rooms being offered at the new TRYP Hotel, set to open on February 1st, near Herald Square. Choose between an elliptical machine, stationary bike, or treadmill and it will be waiting for you in your room. The hotel is on 35th between 8th and 9th Avenues, near Penn Station and a 7-block walk to Times Square. 

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My Top 5 Places to Scuba Dive, Taveuni, Fiji

To get my mind off the cold in Boston and another snowstorm headed our way on Wednesday, I’m going to discuss my favorite places to scuba dive this week. I first dove off Taveuni, Fiji, on the way to the Great Barrier Reef after recently being certified in the Cook Islands. It would end up being far more memorable than any of my dives on the Great Barrier Reef. It’s not just the multi-colored coral they dub the Rainbow Reef or the myriad of neon-colored fish that provide divers with a kaleidoscopic view of the sea. No, it’s the big boys like white-tip sharks, sea turtles, and manta rays that make you feel like Jacques Cousteau. No wonder Jacques’ son, Jean-Michel, has his own resort in nearby Savusavu. He’s no fool. 

 
Northwest of Taveuni, Matangi is one of the many small offshore islands with a limited amount of bures (thatched huts), perfect for romance, not so great for writers traveling solo. I was hired by Bride’s Magazine to write a story on the resort and ended up on Matagi with four other couples, all celebrating their honeymoon! At dinner, I remember trying to act comfortable while everyone around me was kissing, wrapped arm-in-arm, feeding each other. I begged them to please get me off the island within 24 hours or I’d be dangling from a noose from that Treehouse Suite. 
 
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Austin Adventures Offers Mother/Daughter Hiking Trip to Zion and Bryce

Austin Adventures recently announced the wise decision of making Kasey Austin president of the company. I had the pleasure of traveling with Kasey and her dad, Dan, founder of Austin Adventures on a fantastic trip to the peaks surrounding Colorado Springs in 2015. I’m happy to announce that one of Kasey’s first moves as president is creating more multisport trips for women, including a 6-day mother/daughter group trip to Zion and Bryce August 23-28, 2020. Cost is $2898 per person, double occupancy. Other women-only trips include hiking in the Canadian Rockies September 6-11 and a multisport adventure to Peru and Machu Picchu September 12-20. ActiveTravels is happy to check availability and help with airfare and lodging/route before or after your adventure.

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World Class Toboggan Run in Camden, Maine

Try to name another sport where you can win a National Championship without any prior experience? Just ask the two-man team from Tennessee who came in 2nd place at the U.S. National Toboggan Championships in 2005 without ever seeing snow before their arrival at the Camden Snow Bowl on the mid-Maine coast. This year marks the 21st anniversary of the event, which will be held February 11-13. Even if you’re not one of the 400-plus entrants, by all means try the thrilling chute, open throughout the winter. Originally built in 1936 and reopened in 1990, this two-foot wide track will have the whole family whooping it up as they drop off the side of the mountain at 30-plus miles per hour. Cost of the ride is a mere dollar if you rent a toboggan, half that price if you bring your own.

Camden Snow Bowl is the oldest ski area in the state and the only one still owned and operated by the town recreation department. Ride the double chair to the top of 1300-foot Ragged Mountain and you’ll soon understand the allure. The smell of early morning powder is overpowered by a blast of salty mist from the sea. Yes, this Maine ski area is the only spot in America where you can carve your turn and look at an expanse of ocean. Below is the rock-strewn harbor of Camden, a favorite anchorage of yachters come summer, but now only visited by fishermen hauling in their winter catch of shrimp. Close proximity to the Atlantic also means that the weather can be dicey. An early morning fog rolls in and the snow turns to cornmeal. That 440-foot-long ice coated toboggan chute is the only reason the Snow Bowl continues to thrive.
 

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Dogsled Umbagog Lake on the Maine-New Hampshire Border

Polly Mahoney and Kevin Slater, owners of Mahoosuc Guide Service have chosen a good base for their dogsledding operations. They live on the outskirts of Grafton Notch State Park in the heart of the Maine woods. Almost every weekend in winter, the couple, with 15 of their dogs, drive some 30 miles to the remote shores of Umbagog Lake. Here, guests learn the basics of the sport: standing on the back of the sled and shouting the magic words “Let’s go!” to see the dogs romp through the snow or yelling “Whoa!” to slow them down. You’ll take turns dogsledding and cross-country skiing on iced-over lakes, fringed by mountains of pines. At night, you’ll sleep in heated tents on a floor of cushiony fir needles, only to awaken to the sounds of the dogs howling in the predawn hours.

 
Mahoney breeds her own type of dog, which she calls a Yukon husky. A native Mainer, she spent a decade learning her trade in the Yukon bush. She returned home and met Slater at a nearby Outward Bound center when he was in dire need of a skilled dogsledder. Two and three-day outings start at $575 and include food, tents, sleeping bags, even cozy parkas, mukluks, and leg gaiters. If winter camping sounds too ambitious, ask about their cabin-to-cabin option in late January, where you stay at three classic Maine sporting camps now run by the Appalachian Mountain Club.
 
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Top 5 Wine Regions for Bicyclists, Bordeaux, France

Other biking outfitters can try to emulate Butterfield & Robinson, but none can approach George Butterfield’s innate sense of style. Trips can cost upwards of $1,000 a day but are worth every penny when you consider some of the amenities—nights at 14th century estates, seven-course feasts at private French vineyards, a van always by your side when you tire of biking. He’ll customize any Bordeaux trip you want or simply sign up for his 6-day jaunt from Bordeaux to Dordogne that runs from mid-May through early October. You’ll bike on relatively flat terrain through these two famous wine regions, but it won’t be easy when your lunch consists of a private wine tasting at such famous vineyards as Mouton-Rothschild. At night, you’ll be staying at a former 16th century monastery, now a Relais and Chateaux property, and a 17th century chartreuse perched atop a hill surrounded by vineyards, orchards, streams, and ponds. Dinner is a gluttonous feast, accompanied by, what else, more excellent wine.  

 
I’m headed to Dallas, Maine, and New Orleans over the next two weeks. I’ll be back with stories about my travels on March 31st. In the meantime, stay active! 
 
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Exciting Changes in the Newton Food Scene

It’s not everyday that I write about my hometown, Newton, Massachusetts, but I’m excited to tell you about the latest batch of restaurant openings. For once a week this past decade, Lisa and I have been having lunch at Coffee Corner in Newton Highlands, home to the best tuna melt, iced coffee, and salads in the area. Owner Danielle sold Coffee Corner in the spring and has now opened Newton’s Nectar (87 Union Street) in a great space across from the T in Newton Center. Nearby, the owners of the consistently tasty fare at Sycamore will soon be opening Little Big Diner, an East Asian-style diner featuring ramen, rice bowls, buns, and more. In Newton Highlands, Boston’s favorite burrito, Anna’s Taqueria will be opening in mid-November at the former Baker’s Best site. Last but certainly not least, New Haven’s Frank Pepe’s, home to one of my top 10 pies in New England, the white clam pizza, is finally making its debut in Massachusetts on December 1st at the former Paparazzi’s in Chestnut Hill Mall. Never thought I’d be saying this, but the Newton food scene is happening. 
 

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