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Head to Quebec’s Winter Carnival This Week

Now that Punxsutawney Phil has seen his shadow, it’s time to savor those next 6 weeks of winter. To get the party started right, head to the best winter carnival in North America in Quebec City. Quebec’s Winter Carnival (which runs through February 12) is the largest in the world, attracting more than one million people. I was one of the lucky people to arrive in this fortified city on the first day of the 2015 Winter Carnival. I spent the morning sledding down an ice chute, viewing the impressive ice castle, made from 1600 blocks of ice, eating maple syrup on snow, and playing a human game of foosball. Top DJs from Montreal and Toronto played a mesmerizing mix of hip-hop and electronica, while locals carried cane-like red sticks filled with a potent drink called Caribou, made of whiskey, red wine, and maple syrup, adding to the dancing frenzy. When Bonhomme, the popular snowman and revered host of the festivities started to boogie, the crowd went wild. For those of us who choose to embrace winter in all its snowy charm, there’s no better event than a Winter Carnival.

 

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My Story for Yankee Magazine on New England’s Best Winter Towns

What a difference a year makes. Last winter I was driving around the entirety of New England researching a story on the best winter towns in the region for Yankee Magazine. The deluge of snow created a winter wonderland where I could truly appreciate everything New England has to offer during the cold weather months. This winter, I shoveled twice, saw very little snow, and it’s already March. I was fortunate to be writing about New England’s finest winter towns while they wearing a shiny white dress. That cover story for the Jan/Feb issue of Yankee Magazine is finally out on the web. Please have a look! 

 
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One Visit to the Wilburton Inn and You’ll Be Back

My family loves to tease me about the many ways I describe Vermont’s rural beauty in my stories. Phrases such as “so darn fertile you want to plunge your hands into the soil like Johnny Appleseed,” “green as billiard felt,” “a bucolic slice of pie,” and “like a Currier and Ives painting” have all made it into print. That’s in addition to the slew of adjectives that best sum up the rolling mix of farmland found in this state—sylvan, verdant, pastoral, and fecund come to mind. But as I gaze out the window from my room at the Wilburton Inn, I wanted to add that being nestled in this countryside was like being wrapped in a cozy blanket of serenity. 

Much has been written about the unparalleled hospitality of the Levis family (and all of it is true), including a recent front page story in the travel section of the Boston Globe. It was 30 years ago this summer when Dr. Albert Levis brought his wife, Georgette, to dinner at this circa-1902 estate adjacent to Hildene, the former home of Robert Todd Lincoln on the outskirts of Manchester, Vermont. The good doctor, a psychologist with an expertise in the history of human conflict, convinced his wife, a Wasserstein and the inspiration behind the Madeline Kahn character, Gorgeous Teitelbaum, in sister Wendy’s play, “The Sisters Rosensweig,” to purchase the inn. They would raise their four children in this sublime setting and all four still play a significant role in running the inn. 
 
I wish the sisters Wasserstein were still with us today because the Levis family deserves their own quintessentially Vermont tale. The loving dad, who as a young boy in Greece watched his family ripped apart by the Holocaust, only to devote his life to studying conflict and adversity in all relationships and discussing the steps needed for resolution in his many published writings. His wife, who I unfortunately never had the chance to meet, but obviously a buoyant personality if Madeline Kahn is playing her on Broadway. And the immensely talented children, all entrepreneurs that could only emerge from a childhood in Vermont. Melissa, a children’s songwriter with an infectious personality, ready to break out her guitar at any moment for a sing-along. Her sister, Tajlei, a playwright who helps run the 25-room Wilburton estate in addition to the handful of homes they own in the area, ideally suited for multi-generation getaways. Young brother Max, a Harvard-educated psychologist who will continue to advance his father’s research. And older brother, Oliver, who runs a breadmaking company, Earth Sky Time Farm, in the actual house the family grew up in.  
 
To celebrate their 30th anniversary this summer, the Levis are offering a midweek Farm-to-Table Package. Every Wednesday, you’re invited to Oliver’s homestead for a dinner party, replete with organic food picked fresh from the fields, live music, dancing and dining al fresco. Thursday morning, enjoy a tour of their farm, fields, greenhouses and bakery. You’ll also be introduced to artisans and farmers at the Manchester Farmers Market. Better yet, come celebrate Dr. Albert Levis’ 80th birthday July 12-14, when they’ll be a musical tribute to this wonderful man including Greek dancing. Just go and spend some time with the Levis. You’ll be treated like their extended family, the reason why folks return year after year. 
 
 
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Five Favorite Adventures in National Parks, Biking Acadia’s Carriage Path Trails

The Park Loop around Acadia can be congested in the summer months, so get out of the car and play in the pines. A 43-mile network of carriage path trails, narrow hard-packed gravel pathways best suited for the fat wheels of a mountain bike, line the entire eastern half of Mount Desert Island. Rent bikes at Bar Harbor’s Acadia Bike (48 Cottage Street) and then head to the shores of Eagle Lake, where a relatively level carriage path trail circles this large body of water under towering firs and over century-old stone bridges. At the southern part of the lake, Acadia’s highest peak, Cadillac Mountain, comes into view, before the trail descends on a fun downhill run. Afterwards, treat the kids to warm popovers at the Jordan Pond Gatehouse.

 
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Vermont Update

Ten days ago, Vermont was rocked by Hurricane Irene. As I wrote last week, several covered bridges were washed away, and, as of this morning, 18 bridges are still shut down. But Vermonters are resilient and they could especially use your help now more than ever. The Green Mountain State puts on its finest pastoral dress these next six weeks thanks to fall foliage. If you have a trip planned to the region, by all means go. If you don’t have a trip planned, you should still think about traveling to the area to support the numerous businesses in this state that rely heavily on tourism. The major interstates, I-89 and I-91 are open to all traffic without restrictions. Route 7 is open to all traffic, except in Clarendon, where there is a detour around a closed bridge. Route 4 is open from the New Hampshire border to Woodstock and the New York border to Rutland. There are still problems in the Bridgewater/Killington area, so check daily for updates. Route 100, one of my favorite roads for seeing the foliage, has a slew of closures, especially in the towns of Jamaica, Pittsfield, Ludlow, and Hancock. Hopefully, the route will be open shortly. Remember, peak foliage in northern Vermont is in late September, and around Columbus Day for the southern half of the state. So thankfully, Vermont still has time to dig out before the surge of people comes to the state. Hopefully, that includes you!
 

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Three Mainers Complete the 100-Mile Wilderness Trail in Winter

April is usually the month when Appalachian Trail thru-hikers give themselves a nickname and start the 2,190-mile five to seven-month trek from the southern terminus, Springer Mountain, Georgia. For many, the most grueling 100 miles will be the last, on the notorious 100-Mile Wilderness Trail in Maine. This is an arduous up and down grind where the occasional logging road is the only sign of civilization. That’s why I love this story out of the Bangor Daily News, which reports that 3 Maine hikers completed the 100-Mile Wilderness Trail the beginning of March. Using snowshoes and backcountry skis, and carrying hefty backpacks, they trekked in hip-deep snow, summited 4,000-foot peaks in howling winds, and often had to clamber over downed trees. A remarkable inspiration, which I hope to remember when I next climb a mountain in summer. 

 
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Travel Like a Local on These Guided Day Trips

If you’re planning to visit New England over the next month to see the fall foliage, it might be wise to get away from the crowded roadways and sign up for one of these authentic day trips with local experts. Authenticity is the buzzword in travel these days, the chance to live and feel like a local, not a tourist. Thankfully, there are many opportunities in New England where you have the chance to go beyond the boilerplate tours and get a real feel for the region while being led by an expert on the subject. These dozen day trips, which I reported for Yankee Magazine, strive for genuine authenticity and hopefully reward you with lasting memories. 

 

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