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Going on Safari in Kenya Will Get Easier Come October

Very excited that Kenya Airways will start daily non-stop service from New York’s JFK Airport to Nairobi on October 28, 2018. A member of the SkyTeam Alliance, the only African carrier in the group, Kenya Airways will offer 30 Premier World lie-flat seats in each Dreamliner aircraft. The 7,360-mile journey is scheduled to take 14.5 hours from New York to Nairobi and 15 hours on the return flight. October is an ideal time to be in the Maasai Mara, when the summer crowds are long gone. Go on a circuit route with The Safari Collection and spend the first two nights at Nairobi’s Giraffe Manor, which I visited when writing this story for The Boston Globe. Then head north for 3 nights to the cultural hub of Samburu and the luxury lodge, Sasaab, before spending the final 3 nights at Sala’s Camp in the Mara. Contact ActiveTravels and we’ll be happy to package together all lodging, guides, and flights with Kenya Airlines. 

 

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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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The Eureka Art Scene

They say Eureka has more artists per capita than any other place in California. A walk around town Sunday introduced me to many of the impressive local wares. My first stop was the Morris Graves Museum of Art housed in the circa 1904 Carnegie Free Library. A jazz quartet was playing to a packed crowd in the atrium as I wandered over to the Humboldt Artists Gallery to see the inviting watercolors of poppies and hydrangeas by Karen Berman, photographs of the seascape by Jim Lowry like Camel Rock, a favorite surf spot in the region. In the upstairs gallery, Corey Drieth creates mesmerizing geometric shapes of gouache on wood. From Morris Graves, I walked down to the historic Old Town waterfront district of Eureka and stopped in at the First Street Gallery. Run by Humboldt State University, the fine arts gallery features the works of students, faculty, alumni, and visiting artists. Inside, Don Gregorio Anton’s 3D Lazergraph produced intriguing faces and mist etched in glass, while Teresa Stanley’s “The Waters No. 6” was an enticing play of color and geometric patterns, all created on yupo paper. 
 
That evening I wisely chose to spend the evening at The Hotel Carter, one of four Victorians that form the Carter House Inns near the shores of Humboldt Bay. The hallways are lined with contemporary art, a sign that owner Mark Carter is a longtime supporter of the local art scene. Carter is perhaps best known as a winemaker in Napa Valley. Paired with a sublime beef tenderloin, I had the pleasure of sampling his 2006 Carter Cellars Cabernet at Retaurant 301. A perfect way to end a perfect day. 
 
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Madeira, a Great Active Winter Getaway

I recently attended an event sponsored by Belmond Resorts in Boston and was intrigued by their property on the island of Madeira, Belmond Reid’s Palace. While we book many vacations to Portugal and the Azores, Madeira is still off the radar for most Americans. Closer to North Africa than Europe, (540 miles from Lisbon, but only 360 miles from Morocco), the average temperatures in January are in the high 60s, ideal for active travelers. Perhaps best known for its wine and as the birthplace of soccer legend Christian Ronaldo, the volcanic island is also home to jagged peaks and lush valleys that are laced with hundreds of miles of hiking and mountain biking trails. Summer is the high season, when many cruise ships visit the island, with their thousands of passengers. But head to Madeira now and you have the place to yourself, much like the Azores this time of year. 

 
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Boston Pizza Festival Headed to City Hall Plaza July 8th and 9th

If you’re headed to Boston for the 4th of July to see the fireworks and listen to Hamilton alum Leslie Odom sing with the Boston Pops, you might want to stick around town. On July 8th and 9th from noon to 10 pm, the inaugural Boston Pizza Festival will be held at City Hall Plaza. 30 handcrafted pizza ovens will spread across the Plaza as Boston’s best pizza makers, including Regina, Antico Forno, Mast, and Oath, will give you a taste of their wares. Also expect live music, beer, wine, and pizza demos. The Mayor of Naples, Luigi De Magistris, will be here along with Boston’s Mayor Marty Walsh to kick off the festivities. Tickets are priced at $15 and kids under 5 are free. Limited-availability VIP tickets ($50) include 1-hour early admission (11am), access to the VIP lounge with private bar, free sample for the first hour, and a VIP gift bag. Tickets can be purchased here. 

 
In order to dine on as much pizza as I’d like, I’m going to keep active next week biking, hiking, and sea kayaking along the Bay of Fundy in New Brunswick. Please follow along! 
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Fantasy Islands Week: Fiji

Picture yourself on a South Pacific island where the hum of cars and TVs is replaced by the sounds of waves tumbling ashore and the sporadic plunk of almonds dropping from trees. Envision a private island resort catering to only 14 couples. This is Matangi Island, built with romantics in mind.  Each of the 11 thatched-roof bures is accented with Fijian tapa cloths, tribal artifacts, and a bed draped with mosquito netting. You’ll have to book months in advance if you want the three popular treehouse bures—30 feet up a la Swiss Family Robinson.  A stone’s throw away from the lodging, the beach sweeps around a bay shaded by chestnut trees and banana ferns. The surrounding waters are home to the renowned Rainbow Reef. Matangi has its own dive operation to take you out to see the kaleidoscopic coral and the abundant sea life. There’s also saltwater fly-fishing and sailing, but most visitors simply lounge on the beach watching the waters of the Tasman Strait float by as the sun passes overhead.
 
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Rangeley, Maine Hosts Moose Calling Championship

For many people, their image of Maine resembles a Winslow Homer canvas—the battering surf of the North Atlantic thrust against a boulder-strewn coastline, spewing foam high into the air. Yet, this massive state is more than mere ocean. The interior is one of the most undeveloped regions in the country, a blanket of forest filled with mile-high mountains traversed by the Appalachian Trail, colossal lakes, sinuous rivers such as the Kennebago and Penobscot, and too many ponds to count. The small village of Rangeley, hub to the Rangeley Lakes Region, is considered by many Mainers as the gateway to this vast tract of land. This is especially true if you drive out of town and spot moose searching for food at dawn or dusk. A personal favorite is Route 16, north of Rangeley to Stratton, where moose seem as prevalent as squirrels in suburbia.  

 
So it should come as no surprise that Rangeley will host the World Invitational Moose Calling Championship the weekend of June 22-24. The competitors will be judged in four categories: Cow Call, Bull Call, Other Attraction Techniques (props allowed) and Presentation/Sportsmanship. The first place winner will receive $1000. Restaurants and bars will be joining in the festivities with moose-themed specials like chocolate mousse, ‘moose’ whoopie pies, moose jewelry, and moose shots. Sounds like a good time for all, including the moose. 
 

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