Fairmont San Francisco, A Classic Property with Modern Comforts
It was 1907 when the first Fairmont hotel, Fairmont San Francisco, made its debut atop Nob Hill. Today, the Fairmont boasts more than 60 resorts and I’ve had the good fortune to stay in many of these world-class lodgings, including the Fairmont Masai Mara in Kenya, the Fairmont Jasper in the Canadian Rockies, and recently, the Fairmont Orchid on the Big Island of Hawaii. All are excellent, but some of their more historic properties like the Chateau Frontenac in Quebec City and the Fairmont Empress in Victoria, BC, tend to have smaller rooms. So I was surprised and delighted to step into our spacious room at the Fairmont San Francisco, which offered more than enough breathing space for our family of four.
After a recent $21 million renovation, the place never looked better! The grand lobby and adjacent Laurel Court Restaurant is a wonderful welcome mat to the city of San Francisco. I also enjoyed roaming the long hallway off the lobby that has photographs of all the presidents who stayed here and documents the drafting of the UN Charter in the hotel’s Garden Room in 1945. Nearby in the Venetian Room, Tony Bennett first sang, “I Left my Heart in San Francisco.” Pets are welcome and there’s a small rooftop garden off the meeting rooms where you can roam outside. We loved jumping into taxis and riding down the steep hill, with views of the bay every which way. I’d definitely recommend the hotel to our clientele.
JetBlue’s version of Business Class, 
As an outdoor writer based in New England, I’ve spent a good deal of time following in Henry David Thoreau’s footsteps, from climbing Monadnock and Katahdin to walking the shoreline of the upper Cape to swimming in Walden Pond. In 1864, the great naturalist and philosopher published his book “The Maine Woods” that chronicles his exploration of the remote Maine waterways. In October 2009, I had the good fortune to paddle down the West Branch of the Penobscot River following his route. Our guide was Kevin Slater, a legendary Maine paddler who learned these rivers and the skill to carve his own canoes and paddles from his mentor who he simply called, “the Old Timer.” We spent four glorious days on the water, with few other paddlers, spotting moose, bear, loons, and osprey. In the backdrop was mighty Katahdin, the end point of the Appalachian Trail. The 
In desperate need of an iced coffee, I made the wise choice to stop at the Island Arts Café. Not only was the coffee good and strong, but within moments I was meeting an intriguing mix of locals. There was Wayne who spent the morning on the bay designing a herring weir, a fish trap that lures the herring inside a pen. The McCulleys, who fled Portland and moved here after a mere 4 days on the island. They now