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Sandy Pines Campground to Debut This Summer in Kennebunkport

Kennebunkport hoteliers, Tim Harrington and Debra Lennon, the duo behind Hidden Pond, The Tides Beach Club, and The Grand Hotel, now have their sights set on a new campground. Sandy Pines will open this summer in a forest approximately ½-mile inland from Goose Rocks Beach. Each of the 320 sites will feature a picnic table, fire pit, electricity, cable, water and sewage. They’ll be offering different site options, ranging from basic tent sites to pull through sites with full utilities for larger RVs. All sites are a short walk to the spanking new bathhouses with restrooms, showers, and oversized sinks for dish washing. Yet, this being Maine, the best part could very well be a lobster pound and a snack bar serving lobster rolls. Also on premises will be a rustic general store, farm stand, ice cream cart, saltwater pool, kid’s craft tent, playground, laundry facilities, and WiFi. 

 

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Luang Prabang: City of the Royal Buddha

The host of Tha Heua Me Guesthouse greets me with a smile on the porch and points to the simple meal prepared on the teak table beside her: sticky rice in a woven bamboo basket. I nod to her in ‘thanks’ – neither of us speaking the others’ language – take the rice, slip on my shoes, and begin my walk towards Sakkaline Road. The first rays of sunlight seep through the thick morning fog as I pass stately brick buildings adorned with plaited bamboo panels and balconies, the architectural vestiges of France’s colonial rule over Laos. Upon arriving at Luang Prabang’s main avenue, I am met by a long procession of barefoot monks in plain orange garb making their way through throngs of locals and tourists, all gathered at the crack of dawn to partake in a tradition that stretches back centuries. I kneel at the curbside with rice in hand waiting for an empty-handed monk to accept my offering. A few moments later, I am locking eyes with a young bareheaded man; his expression is at once one of gratitude and of poise. This will be the only meal he eats all day.
 
Later in the day, my college buddy and I, en route to one of Luang Prabang’s French bistros, stop by Wat Xieng Thong, a glittering monument honoring the twin pillars of ancient Lao society: the King and the Buddha. Upon wresting power from the French in 1945, the victorious communist party moved Laos’ political capitol to Vientiane. Nonetheless, Luang Prabang remains the spiritual beating heart of the nation. Though the princes of Laos languish in exile, the royal family may be consoled that the memory of their ancestors endures in the gilded funeral urns of the stupa inside this splendid monument. It is not just Wat Xieng Thong that dazzles. On each cobblestone corner of town, another enigmatic Wat awaits discovery. No sign of the communist regime. It’s as if this Buddhist kingdom never left its royal capital. 
 
Guest Post by Ted Shabecoff 
 
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Top 5 Fall Foliage Picks in New England, Biking Addison County, Vermont

Nestled between Lake Champlain and the Adirondacks to the west and the spine of the Green Mountains to the east, Addison County is a fertile breadbasket chockfull of dairy farms, vegetable stands, apple orchards, and green fields as far as the eye can see. Bike through the heart of this bucolic slice of pie on backcountry roads that sweep up and down ridges and you’ll be rewarded with vistas in all directions. The spectacular scenery is enhanced in the fall when the maples offer the best of Mother Nature’s light show. If you want a local to design your route based on mileage, go on a self-guided bike tour with Country Inns Along the Trail. They’ll create a detailed map, shuttle luggage from one inn to the next, rent bikes, and help out in case of emergency. This is wonderful news for New Yorkers who can take the Amtrak train from Penn Station and five hours later be at the small Ticonderoga Station, a 6-minute ferry ride across Lake Champlain from Addison County. Country Inns Along the Trail can drop off your bikes, take your luggage, and off you go. Try to include the Shoreham Inn in your itinerary. Built in 1790 as a country inn, this post-and-beam house is now home to a gastropub manned by an excellent Irish chef, Dominic. They also serve Switchback Ale on tap, one of the many reasons why it’s become a favorite stopover for bikers.
 

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Mad River Valley Bed and Brew This Weekend

What do you do in Vermont between fall foliage and the start of ski season? Drink! The state, and especially the Mad River Valley region around Waterbury, is home to some of the finest craft brews in the country. Take, for example, the beloved ultra-hoppy Heady Topper. The Alchemist, the microbrewery that now cans the beer, had to close down their store this week because it was just too popular and overcrowded. You can still sample the Heady Topper at Prohibition Pig, a favorite watering hole in Waterbury. In fact, if you sign up for the Mad River Valley Bed and Brew Weekend (November 15-17, December 6-8, December 13-15), a 14-seat tour bus will pick you up at your lodging for private tours of many of the region’s best microbrews, including Lawson’s Finest in Warren, and Rock Art Brewery in Morrisville. Cost starts at $85 per person and includes 2 nights at a hotel, lodge, or bed & breakfast in the Mad River Valley, the private Saturday tour of 3-4 craft breweries, a snack box with local Vermont goodies to get you through the day of touring, a Mad River Valley tasting glass, and discounts at local restaurants featuring local craft beers and farm to table food. 

 
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Clayoquot Partners with Rosewood Georgia to Present Luxury Gone Wild

Take one of Abercrombie & Kent’s luxurious tented African safaris and plop it down on the northern fringes of Vancouver Island in British Columbia and you start to understand the sumptuous wilderness experience that can be had at Clayoquot Wilderness Resort. On the shores of the Bedwell River under the canopy of a temperate rainforest, you can spot bear, whales, porpoises, moose, and bald eagles as you choose to sea kayak, hike, or go on horseback. Then it’s back to home base for a hot tub or massage at the spa, and a fabulous dinner that features the bounty of British Columbian goods. There’s halibut, tuna, and every type of salmon available, from the pink Coho to the cherry red smoked sockeye salmon, and loads of fresh fruit like figs, blueberries, gooseberries, and yellow golden berries. Now Clayoquot has teamed with Vancouver’s classic Rosewood Hotel Georgia to combine city with country in their Luxury Gone Wild package. Spend at least one night in Vancouver and then fly via floatplane to Clayoquot for a 3 to 4-night adventure. Make sure one of those nights at Clayoquot is atop Cloud Camp, a private retreat overlooking the terrain, replete with private chef and guide. 

 
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My Top 5 Places to Scuba Dive, Rangiroa, French Polynesia

When the words “requin, requin” (French for shark) are shouted in Rangiroa, swimmers here do not run to shore fearing for their lives. On the contrary, most of the snorkelers and divers who come to this oval-shaped coral atoll in the Tuamotus stay in the water to relish a face-to-face encounter with one of these mesmerizing creatures. Grey reef, white- and black-tipped, lemon sharks, and hammerheads peer at divers in the renowned Tiputa Pass, a 60-foot deep channel that connects the island’s lagoon with the open sea. It was here that I dove down 40 feet only to be surrounded by at least 20 hammerheads in a matter of minutes. I guess they didn’t find me tasty. The perfect place to recover after your snorkeling adventure with Jaws is the Kia Ora Village, Rangiroa’s premier hotel. If you’re looking for that Robinson Crusoe experience, retreat to Kia Ora Sauvage, a small island about an hour away by boat from the main hotel. The island has just five basic bungalows and two cooks who prepare all the meals.

 
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Writing Esoterica

I was guest lecturing at Emerson College in Boston last night when a student asked me how I take notes when I’m out there in the wild, backpacking, canoeing, mountain biking, etc..? It’s actually a very good question. I used to carry a microcassette recorder until I went on a backpacking trip through the Mojave Desert for Men’s Journal magazine. On day three of that trek, I reached down for my recorder and saw that the tape had melted in the sweltering heat. I never liked transcribing notes upon my return, so I switched to writing in a CVS-bought notepad that fits easily into the one of the four pockets on my canvas shorts. That also has its problems. It sometimes gets wet from rain, water, or sweat and I can’t read my notes. Other times I simply lose  the notebook. When I returned from a biking trip to Prince Edward Island for Canadian Geographic, I couldn’t find my notebook anywhere. After freaking out, I wrote the story from memory and called the people I interviewed to confirm their quotes were correct. The magazine loved the piece. It just goes to show you that your memory works far better than you can possibly imagine. In fact, I still remember the waves of nausea I felt the first night of that Mojave Desert trek after hiking 15 miles in the heat and carrying a 50-pound pack. Freeze-dried noodles was not exactly my idea of comfort food, but my body craved carbs so I ate every last morsel.
 

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