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Back at the Track

It was great to spend the weekend with my high school buddies in Saratoga. One of them has a summer home on the shores of Saratoga Lake, less than a 10-minute drive to town and the legendary Saratoga Race Track. There’s no better place to watch horse racing in America. Buy a copy of the Schenectady Gazette and a tip sheet or two on the way in, grab a seat, and start placing your bets. You’ll no doubt be standing with the rest of the crowd, cheering on your horse to cross the finish line first. Afterwards, many people head to Siro’s and Horseshoe to listen to live music. On Saturday night, we checked out the downtown Saratoga bar scene, which on a weekend in August feels like the French Quarter in New Orleans. All five floors, including the roof was packed at Saratoga City Tavern on popular Caroline Street. Druthers on Broadway Street also has live music and a good crowd on their outdoor patio. The next morning, work off your hangover with blueberry or lemon ricotta pancakes at Sweet Mimi’s, served with real maple syrup. It’s been voted the best breakfast joint in town the past 2 years, since it opened. It’s also owned by the wife of another high school buddy so I have to give it a plug.  

 

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Climb Mount Craig, North Carolina

The Black Mountains encompass North Carolina’s highest peaks, including Mt. Mitchell (6,684 feet) and Mt. Craig (6,645 feet), the two tallest summits east of the Mississippi River. On the 12-mile (one-way) Black Mountain Crest Trail (a 2 ½-hour drive from Charlotte), Craig is just one of a half-dozen peaks over 6,000 feet climbers get to bag.  Leave the Mt. Mitchell State Park through a forest of hemlock, spruce, and pine, and within a mile, you’ll be atop Craig. This is the start of a magical ridge walk among ferns, blackberry bushes, moosewood, spruce, and fir as you climb up and down the serrated crest of the Blacks. Small gaps separate the peaks, where surging streams come tumbling down the dense vegetation. It’s best to take this path with a buddy and leave a second car at Bowlen’s Creek, the trail’s end.  
 
I’m off to Costa Rica, back August 9th. Enjoy the heart of the summer and keep climbing!
 
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Seventh Annual Hotel Week in Manhattan January 5-15, 2018

If you want to visit New York at a discount, then head to the city during their Seventh Annual Hotel Week in early January. Gansevoort Meatpacking, the Refinery Hotel, Library Hotel, James New York, Viceroy Central Park, and Archer New York are just a handful of top-tier properties that will cut their rates considerably during this time. For example, the Paul Hotel NYC 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 and see the new David Hockney show at the Met. 

 
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Canoe the Upper Iowa River, Cresco, Iowa

Don’t worry about crowds on this forgotten run in the glacial-carved valley of northeast Iowa. The Upper Iowa can be paddled for 110 miles from Lime Springs to the Mississippi, but a good 31-mile jaunt from Kendalville to Decorah snakes through cliff-lined gorges below 200-foot-high chimney rocks. Bald eagles frequently soar over the limestone outcrops and deer, mink, raccoon and beaver call the area home. Chimney Rock rents canoes, offers trip planning, and provides a free shuttle. 
 

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Camp Sarika to Debut at Amangiri Spring 2020

Those of you who like your adventure lathered in luxury most likely know about Amangiri, the 34-suite lodge unveiled by exclusive Singapore-based hotelier Amanresorts. Amangiri is located near Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument in Utah’s canyon country, surrounded by stunning mesas and remote desert. Now you can get a little closer to nature thanks to ten luxury all-weather tents that are set to debut next spring. Evenly divided between one and two-bedrooms, the 10 units are equipped with a living area, dining area, as well as private bathrooms with a bathtub, and indoor and outdoor showers. The one-bedroom tents are approximately 1,900 square feet, while the two-bedroom tents offer over 2,800 square feet of canvas-covered comfort. Wake up with morning yoga, then spend the day hiking in the canyons with a naturalist, boating on Lake Powell, or staring in awe at the Vermillion Cliffs. Afterwards, reward yourself with an outdoor spa treatment. 

 
 
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Big Island Off the Beaten Track, Part One

Guest Post by Amy Perry Basseches 

Traveling in Hawaii has long been on my bucket list of adventures. Finally, last month, I spent a week with my 20-year old daughter on the Big Island. Ahead of time, we rerouted our itinerary to avoid the small area in the southeast affected by the Kilauea volcano. And the journey was truly memorable. I’ll be sharing three separate aspects of our trip. Rent a 4WD vehicle, explore the full range of possibility, and enjoy. 
 
After landing at Kona Airport on the Island’s west side, we began our trip with several days in Holualoa. Holualoa is a small artist and coffee community in the hills above Kailua-Kona. Mamalohoa Highway winds through the heart of the town, past the wonderful Holuakoa Gardens and Cafe, where we relished several meals, including one with fresh "opah" fish and our first taste of Kona Brewing Company’s Longboard Island Lager. Most of the ingredients are locally sourced (organic fruits, vegetables, herbs, meats, and fish), and eaten under twinkling lights woven into the wood framing. 
 
Satisfied after eating, we wandered into a dozen or more art galleries, bought jewelry, and chatted with folks who have chosen to live and create in this historic island town. We also visited Hula Daddy Coffee Farm, which, like many other coffee producers on the upland slopes of Kona, use the high elevation, constant cloud coverage, and rich volcanic soil to create quality coffee. In fact, one of their coffees (Hula Daddy Kona Coffee, 100% Kona SL-28, Roast: Medium-Light) was selected as the No. 2 coffee on Coffee Review’s list of the Top 30 Coffees of 2017.
 
Our destination on yet another outing was to pay homage to Holualoa’s past as a small Japanese village. We stopped at several sites including a Japanese cemetery, many old buildings from the early 1900s, and Doris’ Place grocery. Japanese immigrants came to Hawaii primarily as sugar laborers in the late 1800s and then worked the coffee country. The cemetery was full of coral and lava rock headstones inscribed with kanji. The markers on buildings included "Dr. Hayashi’s Office and Home, 1897." Lastly, Doris’ Place, staffed since 1948 by Doris herself. We walked in on the store’s 70th anniversary celebration, quite a treat. 
 
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Ecuador, So Much More Than the Galapagos! A Stop at Cotopaxi

Guest Post and Photos by Amy Perry Basseches

On a Saturday morning in late February, my daughter and I set off for a weekend of outdoor fun in Parque Nacional Cotopaxi, home to Ecuador’s second-highest peak, about two hours southeast from Quito. This park’s namesake, the enormous 19,000-foot stratovolcano Cotopaxi, has, since 1738, erupted more than 50 times, resulting in the creation of numerous valleys. The last eruption lasted from August 2015 to January 2016.
 
Our base for 2 days was the Chilcabamba Mountain Lodge, a recommended rustic hotel described as "cozy, unpretentious and charming." We loved it! Bear in mind, no one at the lodge spoke English, they are all from Cotopaxi and the surrounding area, so Sophie’s presence as Spanish translator was vital. The food and views were good, and we really liked our room, equipped with a warming stove, wool ponchos and thick duvets. We didn’t get to make S’mores at the outdoor firepit, but we did enjoy the complimentary Canelazo (a warm Ecuadorian drink concocted from sugar cane alcohol, boiled water, cinnamon, sugar, and local citrus fruit or blackberry). Chilcabamba is at 3480 metres (11,400 feet), and I suggest taking altitude sickness-prevention medicine if you visit (you can get from a travel medicine doctor ahead of time). 
 
From Chilcabamba, we enjoyed two main activities, and wished we had had time for two others:
  • Inside the Park, near the Tambopaxi Lodge, we got our horses and rode for a few hours across grassy and rocky terrain, with our guide. Unforgettable!
  • Also inside the Park, we walked around the Laguna Limpiopungo, watching a herd of wild horses, and newborn colt, graze nearby. 
  • Stargazing in Ecuador is purported to be amazing — not only are you away from light pollution in many of these natural areas, but you are at a high altitude, and, the closer you are to the equator, you can see both Northern and Southern Hemisphere constellations, perfect for the growing field of Astrotourism. It was too cloudy for us.
  • Unfortunately, we did not get to trek to the base camp on Cotopaxi, an outlook at an elevation of 4,864 metres (almost 16,000 feet). Our guide had worked for 7 years at the base camp, the José F. Ribas Refuge, which is a 40 to 80 minute uphill hike from the car park. Here, climbers can spend the night and begin their summit bid. Mountain biking is also available from the Refuge. 
Tomorrow, the Mindo Cloud Forest, a premier destination for birdwatching, hiking, butterflies, chocolate, and adventure activities (tubing, ziplining, rafting, waterfall rappelling), just two hours from Quito. 
 

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