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A Good Budget Choice for Toronto

I was in Toronto this May on my way to Niagara-on-the-Lake for a little biking, vino, and theater at the Shaw Festival, I was roaming around the city and found an intimate 6-room B&B called the Baldwin Village Inn. Located on Baldwin Street, a block known for its variety of good ethnic restaurants, and only a 2-block walk to the AGO, you’re in a great locale to check out the city. Rates start at $90 CDN a night, including continental breakfast, and reviews on TripAdvisor are excellent. 
 

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Top 5 Beaches in New England to Be Active: Mountain Bike Bluff Point Beach, Connecticut

Feel like mountain biking to the beach? At the 778-acre Bluff Point State Park in Groton, a dirt road lines Poquonock River as you head straight to Bluff Point Beach. If you want to ride by your lonesome, numerous singletracks spread out in every direction from the main trail like spokes on a wheel. Choose one and ramble along the shores or inland to the John Winthrop house, dating from the early 1700s. Take a breather on the rocky bluffs where you can see directly across the Long Island Sound to New York’s Fishers Island and left to Rhode Island’s Watch Hill.
 

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Play Outdoors in the Finger Lakes and You’ve Earned That Glass of Wine

Tomorrow, I’m heading to Ithaca, New York, to drop Jake off at Cornell University for his first semester of college. To relieve the impending void of not seeing my son everyday, I plan to immerse myself in the landscape of the Finger Lakes. Known for its award-winning Rieslings, the Finger Lakes deserve its reputation as one of the best spots in America to go wine tasting. Yet, its resplendent beauty also lends itself well to adventure. This is a pastoral region of New York State, where farmland rolls to bluffs high above the long lakes and waterfalls plunge down the many gorges. At Watkins Glen, I’ll hike amidst the canyon walls and watch the powerful surge of water. Watkins Glen is at the southern end of 38-mile Seneca Lake, an ideal place to go on a sunset sail aboard a schooner. The next day I’ll head to nearby Keuka Lake and bike the 20-mile Bluff Ride that starts at Keuka College on a quiet peninsula jutting out into the water. For a final taste of the countryside, I’ll paddle the same river that inspired Mark Twain, the Chemung. Vineyards surround all of the lakes, so after my day of adventure, I’ll reap the rewards and yes, drown my sorrows. 

 
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Oh Canada

The favorable exchange rate for the American dollar not only extends to Europe. If you haven’t looked lately, $1 US will now fetch $1.33 in Canada. I haven’t seen an exchange rate like that since I was at an Expos game. If the exorbitant flights to Europe limit your options to the continent, especially if you want to travel as a family, head north. I’m already planning to go to New Brunswick in mid-June for more adventures on the Bay and Fundy and possibly a trip to Churchill, Manitoba in winter to spot polar bears. 
 
I’m also heading to the Canada Media Marketplace next week in New York, something I’ve done every other year for at least the past 15 years. I’ll be with old friends in the travel world hearing new and noteworthy story angles about the country as they celebrate their 150th anniversary of the Confederation in 2017. I’ve had the good fortune to travel extensively around Canada, biking around the wine country at Niagara-on-the-Lake, sea kayaking inn-to-inn around Prince Edward Island, hiking with moose in Cape Breton and atop fjords in the striking Gros Morne National Park in Newfoundland, savoring the charming town of St. Andrews in New Brunswick and the farming community of Salt Spring Island in BC, going on such memorable adventures as whitewater rafting down the Klinaklini River in BC, a multi-sport vacation with the family in the Canadian Rockies, or canoeing through Ontario’s remote Wabakimi Wilderness, and loving my time in the cities while vintage shopping in Toronto and eating my way though Vancouver. If you need me to point you in the right direction, I’m happy to help! 
 
I’ll be back on Monday, April 10th, with my 5 favorite travel ideas in Canada from the conference. Have a great week and stay active! 
 
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Stop and Pick the Strawberries

Ever since my wife and I moved to Boston over a decade ago, we made the wise decision to join Lindentree Farm, a community supported agriculture (CSA) farm located in nearby Lincoln. Every week in the summer and fall, we pick up our small share of organic vegetables, fruits, and flowers grown on the farm. We pay a small fee and also have to work some 8 hours each year harvesting or planting for the following summer. Wow, can you taste the difference eating just picked veggies and fruit! But the best part is spending extra time at the farm picking the goodies straight off the bush. Yesterday, we picked strawberries, blueberries, and sugar snap peas, and feasted last night. This is my idea of heaven.
 

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Member’s Video Wins Second Prize from Backroads Photo/Video Contest

We love it when members post photos from their recent trips on the ActiveTravels Facebook page. Even better when it’s an award-winning video. We sent Sara Jones and her family of five on a Backroads trip to Glacier National Park last August. Upon her return she created a video of the many memories from the adventures shared in that exquisite part of the country. She then submitted the video to Backroads for their annual photo and video contest and learned recently that she won Second Prize! That’s a $4,000 credit towards her next trip with Backroads. Congratulations Sara! 

 
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FarewellTravels Now Offers Savings

Before you book your next jaunt, check out the savings on my friend, Susan Farewell’s website, FarewellTravels. You can save $500 on sea kayaking jaunts to Baja, $800 off the cost of a sailing trip along the spectacular Dalmatian Coast in Croatia, starting in Dubrovnik, and discounts at inns and resorts in northern Vermont, Maine, and the Greek Islands. Just trying to save you a few bucks!
 

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