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Spend St. Patrick’s Day In Ireland and Receive a 10% Discount

Spring is a great time of year to visit the Emerald Isle. The bluebells and daffodils are out, the summer crowds have yet to arrive and transatlantic airfares are low. Vagabond Adventure Tours of Ireland is doing their part to make the destination even more enticing by offering a 10% discount for travelers who book a tour for travel during March and April 2015. Book the 8-day Wild Irish Rover Tour, for example, to the west of Ireland and you’ll celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in Killarney in County Kerry. The trip was chosen as one of the “50 Tours of a Lifetime” by National Geographic Traveler magazine and includes sea kayaking, horseback riding, a day trip to the Aran Islands and a castle stay. Price starts at $1,620 per person (with the discount), including all lodging, guides, transport in custom-designed Land Rovers, and breakfasts.

 

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Disney Opens First Resort in Hawaii

While we’re on the subject of theme parks, Disney just opened their first resort not affiliated with a theme park. Called Aulani, the resort is located on the Hawaiian island of Oahu and features Mickey, Goofy, and all your other favorite Disney characters hanging out next to the large water park. My friend and fellow travel writer, Lissa Poirot, has been blogging about the experience of staying at the Aulani all week from Oahu. Check it out at FamilyVacationCritic.
 

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Ski Revelstoke

Those same summer guides that took my family rock climbing and white water rafting in the Canadian Rockies this summer are hardcore skiers once the first snow falls. And which ski area were those guides raving about? Revelstoke. Located about two hours northeast of the Kelowna Airport in eastern BC, Revelstoke has the most vertical in North America, attracting the expert skier who wants a taste of the Selkirk powder, via traditional ski trails, heli-skiing, or cat skiing. The only knock against the ski area was its lack of terrain and infrastructure for young families. That’s all about to change. New for the 2011/2012 ski season is a new beginner’s slope with snowmaking, a tubing park, a kid’s outdoor center, and new child care facilities. Watch out Whistler, because Revelstoke is starting to make a big push for international clientele.
 

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No Impact from BP Oil Spill on Sanibel and Captiva Island Beaches

If you’re thinking of heading to the beaches of Sanibel and Fort Myers this year, but are worried that your kids will be playing with tar balls in the sand, you can relax. Recent projections by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) report the probability of the BP oil spill impacting the destination is less than 1 percent. That echoes the opinion of Kristie Anders, education director for the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation. She says the Loop Current in the Gulf of Mexico follows the edge of the continental shelf, which runs parallel to the state’s coast and extends 150 miles offshore. Barring a major storm, it will steer the Loop Current away from the area and well offshore of Southwest Florida. So this could be the year Southwest Florida becomes a real bargain for people in the know.
 

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Snowshoe to an AMC High Hut in the White Mountains

The Appalachian Mountain Club keeps three of its huts in the Whites in New Hampshire open in winter. For snowshoers who relish a good climb, try the 3.8-mile (one-way) hike from Pinkham Notch to the Carter Notch hut. The 19-mile Brook Trail will bring you to this unique accommodation, situated between the dramatic ridges of Carter Dome and Wildcat “A.” Here, you can spend the night at the AMC’s oldest standing hut, a stone building constructed in 1914, perched just above two glacial lakes. The trail splits at the 1.8-mile mark, veering left to the top of Carter Dome or straight to Carter Notch. As you cross a bridge and continue the ascent to the notch, the northern hardwood forest is soon replaced by a boreal forest of sweet-smelling spruces and firs. The last section of the trail snakes between the ridges and the majestic glacial lakes to the old hut. Inside the cozy walls, you’ve earned your dinner and a night’s sleep on a mattress.

 
An easier hike is the 1.75-mile trail from the campground at Franconia Notch State Park to Lonesome Lake Hut. The trail leads through a sheltered birch, pine, and spruce forest to the shores of this bowl-shaped lake. Savor Franconia’s carved granite and the surrounding 5,000-foot mountains in all their splendor, with rarely a peep heard. All three huts, including the Zealand Falls Hut, are self-serve, so bring winter sleeping bags and food. Rates start at $25 a night for members, $30 for nonmembers.
 
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Free National Park App

This one comes from my wife, Lisa Leavitt, from her Tuesday Travel Tidbits column. If you’re not receiving the Tuesday Travel Tidbits or our monthly newsletters, send us your email and we’ll put you on the list. Until May 12, Chimani, a Yarmouth, Maine based company, will be offering free apps for Apple and Android users, who want guidance in the National Parks. Usually $4.99 to $9.99, the apps provide trail maps, ranger-led events, biking guides, and even the ever-important directions to find the restrooms in the parks! We have been very busy booking many of our clients on trips to the National Parks this summer, so this will come in handy. Some of the parks that Chimani covers are: Acadia National Park, Cape Cod National Seashore, Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Yosemite and Zion National Parks. 

 

Adventures in Las Cruces Week—Hiking at Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument

After peering up at the 9,000-foot high Organ Mountains all week, it was great to finally see it up close. Brenda Gallegos from the Friends of Organ Mountains was my guide for the morning as we first made our way to the trailhead for the 3-mile (round-trip) Bar Canyon trail that leads to the junction of two canyons, Bar and Soledad. Brenda just finished her master’s thesis on the southwestern quail, spending 3 years in west Texas doing research. We climbed a rocky path past numerous sotol plants—yucca-like with a large stem shooting out of the center almost as tall as a saguaro. A peaceful stillness enveloped us as we looked up at the jagged peaks. Soon we were inside a canyon passing prickly pear and cholla cacti. We stopped to see a waterfall trickle down the wall of rock next to level ground that was probably used for sacred ceremonies at one point in time. On our return trip, a red-tailed hawk flew overhead as we looked down at Las Cruces in the valley below. As an encore, Brenda took me on the Dripping Springs Trail to visit La Cuevo, a cave where a hermit once lived in the mid-1800s. About to leave the park, a covey of silver blue scaled quail flew overhead, much to the delight of Brenda. “That made my day,” she said. 

It’s been a wonderful week in Las Cruces, and to be perfectly honest, I hate to leave. I want to thank Chris Faivre at Visit Las Cruces and Peggy Bendel for designing the perfect itinerary. I’ll be back on Monday with my favorite restaurant picks in Las Cruces. In the meantime, I have a high school reunion to attend in Schenectady, New York. Have a great weekend! 
 

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