|

April Newsletter Now Available at ActiveTravels.com

Safari in Kenya, 5 recommended hotels in my wife’s hometown of Chicago, a tour operator we love in New Zealand, and a quick getaway to Inn by the Sea in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, just outside of Portland, are the handful of subjects we discuss in our latest newsletter. Have a look! I’m off to Ann Arbor, Michigan, to show my kids the campus where their mom and dad met. Think I’m putting pressure on my son to go to a certain school? I’ll be back on Monday. Enjoy the hyacinths, daffodils, and tulips in bloom and stay active.

 

Similar Posts

|

Happy Father’s Day from ActiveTravels

I often joke with my kids that they grew up in the pages of The Boston Globe (the photos on the left are Melanie from a story on mid-coast Maine and Jake from a story on Costa Rica). Lately, I’ve been writing about our family trips for Virtuoso Traveler, like the stellar time we had in Switzerland with Backroads last summer. This is what I live for, creating Dream Day experiences with my family. And it’s probably the number one reason we started ActiveTravels, to hopefully form lasting memories for other families. Thankfully, you don’t have to always travel the world to savor a moment with your children. On Monday, we threw the bikes on the back of the car and drove to Arlington, Massachusetts, to bike along the Minuteman Bike Trail to Davis Square and the latest trail extension into Somerville. It was a leisurely spin, stopping for cold brews, and watching a family of newborn swans, and it was glorious. On Father’s Day, we’re heading to Chinatown for dim sum and then strolling to SoWa Open Market to listen to music, see the art, and grab a beer. Have a Fantastic Father’s Day and get out there with the kids to create an unforgettable experience! 

I want to thank Amy for her wonderful job showing us around the Big Island of Hawaii and the Muskoka Lakes region of Ontario. I’ll be back next with blogs on my recent trip to Medellin and Cartagena. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
|

Swim at Silver Sands State Park, Milford, Connecticut

Dyed-in-the wool New Englanders will call any nearby ocean or lake dip refreshing.  Depending how far north you venture, however, you could be in for one of those bone-chilling experiences where you run in for three seconds, scream, watch your ankles turn blue, and run out. To truly find warmth, head south to the shallow slopes of the Long Island Sound. The beach at Silver Sands State Park is small compared to other Connecticut state parks like Hammonasset or Sherwood Island, but alas more remote.  It’s also far more affordable than many of the private town beaches in this part of Connecticut. A long boardwalk leads from the parking lot across a marsh (good for bird watching, but not great if you’re carrying food, sand toys, and Junior). Take Exit 34 off I-95 to Route 1 east and turn right on Pumpkin Delight to the coast.
 

|

Top 5 Dream Days of 2018, A Rejuvenating Stay at Gorman Chairback Lodge

My cabin at AMC’s Gorman Chairback Lodge overlooked Long Pond, a serene 4-mile-long body of water surrounded by the ridges of the nearby Appalachian Trail. As soon as we plopped down our luggage, we heard the first of many loon calls, that unmistakable yodel echoing across the lake. All was bliss from this point onward. Smelling the sweet pine and peering at mountains with few, if any signs of civilization. It’s no surprise that this locale in Maine’s North Woods has been hosting guests since 1867. We jumped in an Old Town canoe and followed families of loons and mergansers, before spotting a bald eagle atop a dead hemlock tree. The waters of Long Pond were like glass, reflecting the surrounding mountains atop the surface. All you could hear was that mesmerizing call of the loon and there was no other traffic on the pond. No boats, no canoes, nothing. Nothing but serenity.

|

Another Hotel Deal in New York

Last December, I wrote about staying at the Hotel @ Times Square, a new hotel that just opened up in Midtown Manhattan, on 46th Street between 5th and 6th Avenues. Since the place was spanking new, the beds were comfortable, the baths had large shower heads, and the room was equipped with Wi-Fi, Ipod docking station, and flat screen television. Included in the $150 a night price was a free continental breakfast of bagels, donuts, hot and cold cereal, coffee and juice. Word spreads quickly, because the hotel was already packed with European families when I arrived. New this month in Midtown Manhattan is the Distrikt Hotel, 155-room property located on West 40th Street between 8th and 9th Avenues. Through April, the Distrikt is offering an introductory rate of $159 a night. Each floor of the hotel is decorated in the style of New York’s many neighborhoods, from “SoHo” on the 12th floor to “Chelsea” on the 20th floor. The hotel is also home to Collage restaurant, celebrating New York foodie favorites paired with local microbrews.
 

|

The Talented, Multi-Tasking Croo at the AMC Huts

 

 
"You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
For a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body 
love what it loves."
 
At 6:30 am at the Galehead Hut, I awoke to Kimball reading this poem, Wild Geese, by Mary Oliver. At 6:30 am at Zealand Falls, I rose to the sounds of banjo being played by Levi. Then there was guitar and sweet song at Mizpah Springs and the lovely sounds of Emily playing the violin in the hallway at Lakes of the Clouds. This is the way you wake up at the AMC Huts. No alarm, no Reveille, just music or verse. 
 
Oh, by the way, Kimball, Levi, Emily and the rest of the amazing Croo team at the AMC Huts also pack in over 60 pounds of food and pack out over 60 pounds of garbage twice a week to trailheads that can be a long as 4.6 miles away if you happen to be working at Galehead. They make a scrumptious dinner of fresh baked bread, soup, salad, entrees like lasagna and stuffed shells, and heavenly desserts such as blondie brownies for up to 90 people if you happen to be staying at Lakes of the Clouds, the largest hut. Then they do it all over again at breakfast, when served oatmeal, pancakes, eggs, and bacon. They clean the bathrooms and ensure that all rooms are tidy. After dinner, they introduce themselves and answer questions like what’s for dessert? After breakfast, they perform zany antics in costume like the Saturday Night Live skit Hans and Frans (“We want to pump you up”) to ensure that you pack out all your garbage, fold your blankets properly on the bunk bed, and tip. You best tip the Croo after all the work they’ve done! 
 
Want more? After breakfast at Zealand Falls, Levi presented young AJ with his Junior Naturalist badge for completing his workbook. But first he had to wear a faux-raccoon cap a la Daniel Boone, recite about 20 lines out loud on how he would be a steward of the land, and then throw that raccoon cap in the air like graduation day. After dinner at Lakes of the Clouds, naturalist Sarah took us on a 45-minute walk to see the diapensia, bog laurel, and bunchberry, alpine wildlflowers in bloom. Every morning, the Croo told us the weather and advised us on the best trails to make your ascent or descent based on the forecast. 
 
More than 120 college students applied for the 12 available spots at the Croo this summer. They come to be part of a proud tradition, one that’s recorded in photographs and numerous books found in each hut’s library. If you have any misgivings about the next generation being slackers, lazy, staring at a screen all day, then hightail it to one of the huts to see these energetic and enthusiastic college kids in action. You’ll leave with a heady dose of optimism and a genuine appreciation for what the Croo does all summer. At Zealand Falls Hut, I met a man, Willie, who worked at that same hut in 1964, returning from his home of Fort Worth, Texas. Once part of the AMC Croo, it never leaves you. 
 

 

|

The Best of Connecticut Birding

Migrating shorebirds are prevalent along the Connecticut shoreline in late spring and fall. Green backed herons, yellow warblers, snowy egrets, swallows, ospreys, doves, and Canadian geese are just some of the birds sighted at the Connecticut Audubon Coastal Center at Milford Point. Of the 399 species known in Connecticut, over 300 have been recorded at this 840-acre nature preserve. There’s also nesting piping plovers, least terns, American oystercatchers (rare in Connecticut), and both types of night herons. Ask about their naturalist-guided canoe trips to the Charles E. Wheeler State Wildlife Management Area, one of the few remaining wilderness areas on the Connecticut coast.
 

Leave a Reply