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Biking with Wayne Curtis in New Orleans

Wayne Curtis is best known as author of “And a Bottle of Rum: A History of the New World in Ten Cocktails” (Crown, 2006) and as cocktail columnist for Atlantic Monthly. But my friendship with Wayne goes back at least a decade prior when we were both moaning about the egregious book contracts Frommer’s publisher forced upon us. Thankfully, the travel guidebook days are far behind us. I caught up with Wayne in 2008, when he had just moved to New Orleans. He brought my brother Jim and me to his favorite bars and bartenders and it resulted in this story for The Boston Globe. But I know that Wayne has a passion beyond cocktails, including architecture, urban renewal, jazz, and biking. All figured prominently in a 5-hour tour he designed for my family on our trip to Nola earlier this month.

 
We rented bikes at Michael’s on Frenchman Street and off we went to our first stop, Crescent Park, a brand new green space that hugs the Mississippi River for over a mile. Then we biked the streets of Bywater, one of the hottest neighborhoods in the city especially for young hipsters, where Wayne pointed out a massive church that will soon open as a hotel. We pedaled through Louis Armstrong Park in the Tremé neighborhood and soon we were on the latest bike trail in town, the 2.6-mile Lafitte Greenway. We stopped at Parkway for the requisite roast beef and shrimp poor boys before biking through the Tulane campus, glorious Audubon Park and its exquisite moss-covered Spainish oak trees, and past the homes of Sandra Bullock, John Goodman, and Archie Manning in the Garden District. A quick ride through the crowds in the French Quarter and we arrived back at our bike rental store 15 miles later. A perfect ride, especially since we ended with a set of live music and a beer across the street at The Spotted Cat. 
 
The ride was such a worthy introduction to Nola that I persuaded Wayne to offer the exact loop to clients of ActiveTravels. If you’re feeling a little less ambitious, he will also do the same nightly bar round-up as described in the Boston Globe piece and include his favorite jazz joints. Don’t miss out on seeing the authentic New Orleans on these jaunts with Wayne. 
 

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Top 5 Dream Days in 2016, Biking with Wayne Curtis in New Orleans

Wayne Curtis is best known as author of “And a Bottle of Rum: A History of the New World in Ten Cocktails” (Crown, 2006) and as cocktail columnist for Atlantic Monthly. But my friendship with Wayne goes back at least a decade prior when we were both moaning about the egregious book contracts Frommer’s publisher forced upon us. Thankfully, those days are far behind us. I caught up with Wayne in 2008, when he had just moved to New Orleans. He brought my brother Jim and me to his favorite bars and bartenders and it resulted in this story for The Boston Globe. But I know that Wayne has a passion beyond cocktails, including architecture, urban renewal, jazz, and biking. All figured prominently in a 5-hour tour he designed for my family on our trip to Nola this past April.

We rented bikes at Michael’s on Frenchman Street and off we went to our first stop, Crescent Park, a brand new green space that hugs the Mississippi River for over a mile. Then we biked the streets of Bywater, one of the hottest neighborhoods in the city especially for young hipsters, where Wayne pointed out a massive church and convent that will soon open as a hotel. We pedaled through Louis Armstrong Park in the Tremé neighborhood and then ventured on the latest bike trail in town, the 2.6-mile Lafitte Greenway. We stopped at Parkway for the requisite roast beef and shrimp po’boys (please see my story on New Orleans dining in Virtuoso Traveler) before biking through the Tulane campus, glorious Audubon Park and its exquisite moss-covered Spanish oak trees, and past the homes of Sandra Bullock, John Goodman, and Archie Manning in the Garden District. A quick ride through the crowds in the French Quarter and we arrived back at our bike rental store 15 miles later. A perfect ride, especially since we ended with a set of live music and a beer across the street at The Spotted Cat. 
 
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Thoreau’s Maine Woods, A New Exhibition at the Harvard Museum of Natural History

To commemorate the 150th anniversary of the publication of Henry David Thoreau’s “The Maine Woods,” the Harvard Museum of Natural History is showcasing the works of photographer Scot Miller. Miller has traversed the state of Maine for seven years retracing Thoreau’s epic exploration. The exhibition, on view through September 1, 2014, will also feature a snowshoe made for Thoreau by the Penobscot Indians and a beautiful new illustrated edition of Thoreau’s book. As an outdoors writer based in New England, I’ve also spent a good deal of time following in Thoreau’s footsteps. You can see my story in Sierra Magazine on paddling a similar route Thoreau used while writing “The Maine Woods.”

(Photograph by Scot Miller, courtesy of the Harvard Museum of Natural History) 

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The Debut of the Nantucket Hotel

If you’re fortunate to have spent a night or two at the Winnetu Resort on Martha’s Vineyard, you quickly realize that owners Mark and Gwenn Snider have a passion for entertaining, especially the little ones. The parents of three go overboard to keep kids happy, whether it’s a drive aboard a 1947 fire truck Mark found on EBay or free lemonade and fresh baked cookies every afternoon at 3 pm. Expect the same genuine welcome at their new property, the Nantucket Hotel on the neighboring island of Nantucket. One of the last grand dames still standing on the island, the Nantucket (previously the Point Breeze) was built in 1894 in a sprawling neo-classical style. Smack dab in the heart of Nantucket town, the resort will undergo a major refurbishment, retaining the classic façade while vastly improving the interior, making its debut on June 29, 2012 with 60 guest rooms and suites. 

 
With a high-speed ferry that connects Martha’s Vineyard with Nantucket in a little over an hour, the Sniders have the unique opportunity to offer their guests the first ever two-island resort package. Spend the first part of your vacation at the ultra-sybaritic Winnetu, waking up to morning yoga on the resplendent front lawn, walking to that long stretch of fine white sand at South Beach, swimming in the pool, playing tennis on one of the many courts, and savoring an authentic New England clambake. Then simply shuttle over to The Nantucket to stroll on the cobblestone streets, under gas lamps and gaze at more than 800 buildings that were built before the Civil War. The historic setting is so remarkably preserved that you’ll feel like young Herman Melville himself, doing research on the book that made him famous, “Moby Dick.” 
 
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Free Entrance Days at National Parks for 2013

If you’re thinking of visiting Zion, Bryce, Capitol Reef, Canyonlands, and Arches, all five national parks in Utah, you might want to head there in late April. This year’s National Park Week is April 22-26, when all national parks in the United States are free. Click here for a complete list of free days at the national parks, including August 25th and September 28th. 

 
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Enjoying Winter, Whatever Weather Comes My Way

Ole Punxsutawney Phil crawled out of his Gobbler’s Knob hole and delivered his annual Groundhog Day weather forecast yesterday. He saw his shadow and thus we’ll have six more weeks of winter. With skunk cabbages and dandelions already sprouting in Boston during 60-degree days this week, I’m wondering what type of winter is that groundhog talking about. Certainly not the winter weather the Farmers’ Almanac predicted back in August, “a season of unusually cold and stormy weather.” I happen to like the occasional snowfall in winter, the reason why I live in New England. Still the warm climes won’t deter me from skiing at Stowe this weekend, which received over 15 inches of snow this past week. Have a great weekend, and whether you hike, walk, ski, snowshoe or jog, get outdoors and keep active!

 
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Boothbay Harbor’s Linekin Bay Under New Ownership

For the first time in its 106-year history, Linekin Bay Resort will have new owners. I first visited the resort in 2012 with my family, penning a story for The Boston Globe after a memorable weekend. Located on one of the many inlets that form the landscape of midcoast Maine, Linekin Bay has one of the finest locales in New England to sail and sea kayak. Spend your day with the family boating, hiking with a naturalist, and swimming. Then dine communal style on Maine specialties like a lobster clambake and blueberry pie in the main lodge. The new owners, both local Mainers, have already begun to rehab the aging buildings, creating 14 new rooms in the new Linwood Lodge. They still aim to retain the rustic charm of this classic retreat, the only all-inclusive sailing resort in the Northeast. 

 

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