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Paddling an Outrigger Surrounded by a Pod of Wild Dolphins

On our last morning at the Four Seasons Hualalai, we had to be in the lobby at 7:30 am for a guided paddle on a Polynesian-style outrigger canoe. The kids weren’t thrilled to get up so early on vacation, especially since our son, Jake, had to register for classes at Cornell at 9 am EST or 3 AM Big Island time that night. So I was seriously considering blowing it off. That would have been a huge mistake!  We saw at least a dozen sea turtles feeding on the reef as we pushed off from shore. Within five minutes, heading to a sheltered bay, we spotted dolphins jumping out of the water. “They never usually come this close to shore,” said our guide, a local who seemed just as amazed as we were. He handed us snorkeling gear and the next thing you know, we were swimming next to rows of six and seven dolphins. One zipped right by my daughter, Mel, and me. When we lifted our heads, the dolphins were flying above the water, doing flips in the air. Ridiculous! Needless to say, we didn’t get much paddling in, but yes, it was worthy of getting the kids out of bed. 

 

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Boston Ski and Sports Club Announces Winter 2017/2018 Lineup

If you missed the ski trip to Jay Peak this past Thanksgiving weekend, don’t sweat it. BSSC has many day trips coming up, including stops at Killington, Sunday River, Loon, Bretton Woods, Sugarbush, and Cannon this winter. After a day of carving that perfect turn on the slopes, leave the driving to someone else and meet new friends who share your passion. The BSSC will make stops in Boston, Newton, and Woburn before hitting the peaks. Cost includes lift ticket and the bus ride. Have a look! 

 
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Celebrate the Year of the Horse in England

With the Chinese New Year quickly approaching, England is promoting the Year of the Horse by focusing on locales where horseback riding is available. Bath’s Relais & Chateaux property, Lucknam Park, is one of the many excellent riding hotels in England. With trained horses and staff on hand to help beginners and assist experienced riders, Lucknam Park’s Equestrian Centre offers classes that cater to every level. Out of the saddle, the property also has a highly prestigious cookery school and a first class spa. Horses are also allowed on a number of beaches in the country. With permits available from The National Trust, you can gallop, trot or canter to your heart’s content across the four-mile stretch of golden sand at Dorset’s Studland Beach. Studland Stables will even bring the bubbly, so you can pop the cork over views of Old Harry Rocks and make this trip even more special. 

 

Big Island Off the Beaten Track, Part Three

Guest Post and Photo by Amy Perry Basseches
 
This is the last post about my May 2018 week in Hawaii. For this one, I’m going to focus on a few unusual and not-to-be missed sites we visited other than the ones already described in Holualoa and Hawi. So much fun!
 
One day, driving along, my daughter and I saw a small sign on the side of the road for the Paleaku Gardens Peace Sanctuary. We both love to be outdoors so we gave the botanical garden a try. We were not disappointed in the hours we spent wandering the paths through unique plant and rock arrangements, orchards, and groves, including the world’s first galaxy garden, a 100-foot diameter outdoor scale model of the Milky Way, mapped in living plants and flowers. Who knew?
 
PuÊ»uhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park is a US National Historic Park on the site where, up until the early 19th century, Hawaiians who broke a kapu (ancient law) could avoid certain death by fleeing to this place of refuge, or puÊ»uhonua. The offender would be absolved by a priest and freed to leave. While it has a slightly reconstructed hokey feel, I was glad to understand more about historic Hawaiian communities from long ago through an archeological site tour including: the authentic 400-year-old "Great Wall," temple platforms, thatched structures, and royal fishponds. 
 
Many people recommended "snorkeling with Manta Rays experience" which was cool but crowded (so be prepared). Due to bright lights shining from hotels on land, plankton and the manta rays which feed on them have concentrated in certain areas on the Big Island. We went out with Fair Wind Charters on their evening Manta Snorkel, leaving from Keauhou Bay, and were surrounded by other boats and lots of excited tourists. Mantas are very gentle – no teeth, stingers or barbs — and, while we were holding onto a floating frame looking down, they swam all around us in a graceful show, taking in large quantities of plankton through open mouths. This outing requires a comfort with wearing a wetsuit, being in the water for a long time, and using a snorkel, but no special "skill". Definitely something you won’t see or do ever again! 
 
In the Hawaiian language, lomi means "to knead, to rub, or soothe," and lomilomi massage practitioners use their palms, forearms, fingers, knuckles, elbows, knees, feet, and even sticks and stones. Historically, future practitioners were selected in childhood, around age 5, based on birth signs such as weather events, birthmarks (especially on the head), and kind behavior, and they required a decade or more of study. Lomilomi today, like so many ancient art forms, has been corrupted. Beware if you are trying to get a lomilomi massage; seek someone specially trained, like Teresa at Ka Lima Hana Kukui. Her massage is still a modernized version of lomilomi, but she grew up watching her grandparents performing lomilomi massage using Kukui nut oil, and her massage was wonderful. 
 
Please contact ActiveTravels if you are interested in any aspect of Hawaii and ask Amy for Big Island recommendations. We’d be glad to help. Don’t worry too much about heading to the Big Island with the unpredictability of the Kilauea volcano; it is 100+ miles away from the Kona airport!
 
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Eighth Annual Hotel Week in Manhattan January 4-14, 2019

If you want to visit New York at a discount, then head to the city during their Eighth Annual Hotel Week in early January. The Refinery Hotel, Library Hotel, High Line Hotel, and Archer New York are just a handful of top-tier properties that will cut their rates considerably during this time. For example, Hotel Edison in Times Square will only be $100 a night, more than 50% off their usual rate. Hotel Week NYC™ was created by PR maven Nancy J. Friedman in 2010 to address the occupancy dip most hotels experience after the holiday season. It’s a perfect time to visit Manhattan without the crowds, see the Andy Warhol exhibition at the Whitney and Network, featuring Bryan Cranston, on Broadway. 
 
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Use the ActiveTravels Blog as a Resource for Your Travels

It’s been a decade since I began blogging at ActiveTravels. In 2008, I lost more than half my editors as magazines closed down and newspapers cut back severely on their travel pages. But a writer needs to write. Instead of begging for crumbs from editors, I started posting blogs the next year and haven’t stopped since. A decade of content is a lot of material to play with and I always steer clients toward the blog when researching an upcoming trip. Simply type in “Vermont” in the advanced search column to the right of the blog and then type in “Vermont” a second time in Search by Keyword, and you’ll have 155 blog entries on Vermont to choose from. That should keep you busy. Interested in going on a safari? I’ve written 68 blogs that relate to safaris. How about heading to my beloved Nova Scotia on a last-minute summer driving trip? You’ll find 40 entries on Nova Scotia. If you have trouble accessing the content, please let me know and I’ll help you find it. 

 
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This is the Spring to Raft the Penobscot River in Maine

The whole eastern half of the US is getting walloped this winter with snow. Come spring, the melt-off will produce some of the best whitewater we’ve had in years. This week, I’m going to delve into my 5 favorite whitewater rafting locales in the East. You’d be wise to book one of these trips in May and June, when water levels will be highest, making these rivers especially fast. First up is the Penobscot River in Maine. The 14-mile stretch of the West Branch of the Penobscot River from Ripogenus Gorge to Baxter State Park is a turbulent waterway that drops over 70 feet per mile through a narrow, granite-walled canyon. Within moments of leaving the put-in, you’ll cruise over your first set of rapids, the Exterminator, with Baxter Mountain looming in the background. Next up is Troublemaker and then Cribworks, the most ferocious rapid of them all. Your day will swiftly become an exhilarating blur of running over these steep falls, screaming with your friends and family, as the raft bends, twists, and turns backwards with every succeeding drop. Go with a reputable outfitter like Northern Outdoors, who have been cruising down the Maine rivers since 1976. 

 

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