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February Vacation Deal at Boston’s Hotel Commonwealth
With February vacation week just around the corner, Boston’s Hotel Commonwealth is offering a special staycation "Sale" in honor of the new Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale (#41). From 2/18 through 2/26, families staying at the hotel will receive the first night at a discounted rate of $199 and the second night (or second room) at an extra special "Sale" price of $41. It’s the perfect time to get out of the house and spend a few days exploring everything Boston has to offer, from the MFA’s new "Make Way for Ducklings" exhibition to ice skating at Frog Pond. Also included in the promotion is valet parking for one vehicle ($53 value), a special welcome gift for each child, and for those that stay 2/24 & 2/25, a double-feature movie night in the hotel’s new ballroom.
Seeing Bald Eagles at Umbagog Lake, New Hampshire
Spring is here and the birds are starting to chirp outside my bedroom window. Soon I’ll be grabbing my binoculars as the yellow warblers make their April and May pilgrimage back north. To celebrate the reawakening of nature, I’m going to devote this week to my favorite bird watching sites in New England.
Nothing quite prepared my wife and me for the extraordinary pair of bald eagles we found nesting on a dead oak tree on Umbagog Lake one spring day. Loons were lounging on the glass waters, their call (the sound of laughter) echoed atop the spruce and fir trees, as we paddled in the calm waters. This vast 7,850-acre lake, whose shores lie half in New Hampshire and half in Maine, is a National Wildlife Area, primarily due to the sight we were about to see. We glided to our right where we found a large nest perched atop the highest branch of a leafless tree. As we drew closer, we spotted the mother guarding her home, her pointed beak sticking out through the maze of twigs. The sight of her mate standing on the branch below was mesmerizing. His white head was cocked in a royal pose, his eyes aware of everything around him, hence the nickname “eagle eye.” We skirted the island for a long time, fascinated by the awesome spectacle, before canoeing back to the put-in.
September 2015 Newsletter: Cuba, Puerto Rico and Southern US
In this month’s newsletter at ActiveTravels, we talk about Puerto Rico, easy to access on direct flights and no passports required for Americans. It’s also a great month to head down South, so we divulge four hotels we like in Charleston, New Orleans, Tennessee, and Natchez, Mississippi. For our Quick Escape, I recently returned from a spectacular week of adventure in Acadia National Park. We also talk about an outfitter who specializes in custom-made trips to Cuba and introduce our Journey to Global Citizenship Travel Plan.
A Relaxing Stay at Lake George’s Silver Bay YMCA
North of Bolton Landing, Lake George feels more lake a river, narrow and hemmed in by the peaks, offering vintage Adirondack beauty. You peer out at ridge after anonymous ridge and a carpet of trees, with few signs of civilization. When I tell people that I find Lake George more exquisite than Lake Tahoe, Lake Powell, or even that wondrous lake to the north, Champlain, they often look at me bewildered. They equate the lake with the honky-tonk village on the southern tip, packed with T-shirt and fudge shops, video arcades, hokey haunted houses, a requisite water park, and my personal favorite, Goony Golf, a miniature golf course crowded with huge fairy tale characters. All they have to do is drive about ten miles north on Route 9N to Bolton Landing and the lake becomes far more serene. Growing up in Schenectady, New York, we would make the hour-drive to Bolton Landing on a regular basis to reach our sailboat docked just out of town. Now I return on an annual basis with my family to treat my kids to a good dose of natural adventure.
A Big Thank You for Your Continued Support of ActiveTravels!
Every year, ActiveTravels evaluates our goals as a company as we strive to be the best at what we do: customizing authentic vacations to locations across the globe for our diverse group of members. In 2014, our goal was to have 100 members. We crossed that threshold in September and we are extremely grateful! So many of our members have spread the word about what we do making advertising unnecessary and enabling us to help create memorable travel experiences for our wonderful clients. Even if you are not a member, but subscribe to this blog, thank you for your time!
Sail Maine and Stay at the 102 Year-Old Linekin Bay Resort
Maine’s 2,500-mile stretch of granite coast is custom-made for sailing. No other sport gives you the freedom to anchor in a pristine cove, hike on an anonymous island, and sleep with seals by your window. Some 2,000-plus pine-studded islands, more than in the Caribbean or Polynesian archipelago, welcome sailors from around the globe. If you’re feeling a wee bit intimidated to tackle the sport in these salty waters, take a refresher course at Boothbay Harbor’s Linekin Bay Resort. The 20-acre oceanfront property has been a family retreat for over a century. Known for their all-inclusive rates in the summer months, Linekin Bay also features a full fleet of Rhodes 19 sailboats and a staff of sailing instructors. Other activities include tennis, walking trails, Kids Camp programs, and swimming in a heated saltwater pool.
Have a great Memorial Day Weekend! I’ll be back on Tuesday.