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Outside Magazine’s Top 6 Spots for Stargazing in North America

Outside just came out with their round-up of top stargazing locales across North America. The locale in Nova Scotia I know well, having stayed with my sister at the Trout Pond Lodge. It’s a wonderful property next to a bubbling brook not far from the high-speed ferry dock in Yarmouth. I’m glad they also mentioned the Acadia Night Sky Festival in early September, which I included in an upcoming story for Yankee Magazine on Perfect Weekend Getaways based on your passion, like staring at the stars. I’ll be staring at the night sky this coming week from Ogunquit, Portsmouth, and Lake George. See you again on Monday, July 30th. Have a fantastic week and keep active! 

 

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The Trustees of Reservations Week, Central Massachusetts Highlights

Massachusetts might border the ocean, but it’s not until you drive the interior of this state on backcountry roads that you really appreciate the abundance of water. I woke up at Tully Lake Campground this morning and took the 10-minute trail to Doane’s Falls. Little did I realize I was about to witness one of the most majestic sites in New England. An onslaught of water came gushing down a series of rock ledges under a perfectly sculpted stone bridge, one that was built by the CCC under FDR’s helm. It would set the theme for the day—the rushing water of springtime and the wall of rock that’s continually shaped by these rapids. 
 
Chapel Brook in Ashfield is a popular swimming hole in summer, when this tributary of the South River snakes through a dense hardwood forest before cascading over ledges and forming natural pools. Earn that dip by walking across the street and taking the half-mile trail up Pony Mountain. You’ll be rewarded with a panorama of mountains and valley. 
 
The sound of rushing water also greets me at the next stop, Chesterfield Gorge, a 30-minute drive from Chapel Brook. Here, the East Branch of the Westfield River drops dramatically through rock walls that are close to 70-feet high. Below the gorge, fly-fishermen were seen casting their lines in the riffles in the hopes of hooking a trout. I took deep breaths of sweet pine and walked a ways through the thick forest on the East Branch Trail. This 7-mile long dirt road is open to both hikers and mountain bikers who can cruise through the adjacent Gilbert Bliss State Forest, perfectly suited for a day trip. 
 
Even my last stop of the day, the homestead of William Cullen Bryant, has a water theme. Stroll under the tall and ancient-looking sugar maples and hemlocks his family planted 200 years ago, when the great poet was just a boy, and you’ll reach a rivulet, a trickling stream. The Trustees has posted Bryant’s entire poem from 1823, “The Rivulet,” next to the spring. “The same sweet sounds are in my ear, my early childhood loved to hear,” wrote Bryant. Long after his family had sold off the land and moved to Illinois to farm, the poet and abolitionist would buy the land back in 1865, the same year his good friend Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. Bryant, as he documents so well in his poetry, always preferred country life to city life and he would spend all of his summers here until his death in 1878. Look out at the meadows, forest, and Berkshire foothills and you realize little has changed thanks to conservation efforts. It’s still a sylvan slice of heaven, one that I’ll return to next time with a picnic lunch made by the Old Creamery in Cummington, just down the road. 
 
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The Adelphi Hotel in Saratoga Is Once Again a Victorian Gem

For my recent road trip article for Chevrolet’s New Roads Magazine on Revolutionary War sites, I spent a night in Saratoga and was fortunate to stay at the recently renovated Adelphi Hotel. Growing up in upstate New York, I spent many weekends in Saratoga dancing at the Rafters, seeing concerts at SPAC, and going to the track. It’s a wonderful spot for a weekend retreat, especially now that the Adelphi Hotel has returned to its circa-1877 roots after a 5-year renovation. Walk into the lobby and you can’t help but be impressed with the Victorian era grandeur. The lobby bar, Morrissey’s, was busy, even on a Monday night and the restaurant, Blue Hen, is housed under a glass conservatory. But it’s the spacious rooms that are really impressive, replete with freestanding tubs, heated floor tiles and towel racks, and sumptuous beds. After a good night’s sleep, wake up in the morning and stroll to Sweet Mimi’s, owned by friends. You can’t go wrong with the lemon ricotta or toasted coconut pancakes.  

 
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Bike Around the Perimeter of Manhattan

I spent last Saturday biking around Manhattan with my son and friends, led by my old college roommate, Alex Cigale. Now living in the Washington Heights section of Manhattan, near the northern tip of the island, Cigale is an avid biker who commutes to work in Midtown on two wheels and has biked atop every bridge out of the city. Today, however, he was taking us around the perimeter of the island on the 32-mile Greenway.  Many riders have biked the 6-mile loop around Central Park, but to really appreciate Manhattan, you have to bike with the skyscrapers at your side around the entire island. Thankfully, most of the loop is on bike trails, with the only detours on city streets from 35th to 59th Street around the United Nations and 130th to 155 Streets, both on the East Side. The West Side is a straight shot down on bike trails from Inwood Hill Park, under the GW Bridge, into Riverside Park, past the condos of Trump City and the USS Intrepid carrier, and then around the World Financial Center, with the Statue of Liberty in view. Grab a Bike NYC map from any bike rental shop or Visitors Center and do this memorable day trip.
 

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Favorite Fall Foliage Walks In and Around Boston, Broadmoor Wildlife Sanctuary

A family favorite, this 600-acre Mass Audubon sanctuary in Natick is a popular birdwatching and walking retreat in the western suburbs. Bordering the Charles River, nine miles of trails weave over marsh and river on boardwalks and into thick forests of tall pines. There’s even a small waterfall to be seen. Rest atop one of the bridges to look for lounging turtles or to spot a great blue heron spreading its vast wings and slowly taking to flight. Other birds include kingfishers, osprey, and wood ducks. Trails are open dawn to dusk and cost $5 for nonmembers. 

 
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Stocking Stuffer No. 1—100 Things to Do in Boston/Rhode Island Before You Die

One of the earliest blogs I wrote, almost a decade ago, was on how to find the best travel guidebook. One of the points I touched on was who is the author and where does he live? If the guy lives in Texas and writes about South Africa, I’ll put that book down in favor of a local writer in Cape Town who knows his country far better than any foreigner. Which brings me to my first Stocking Stuffer of 2019, 100 Things to Do in Boston Before You Die and 100 Things to Do in Rhode Island Before You Die. Not only do I know the authors of these books, Kim Foley MacKinnon and Bob Curley, respectively, but I have no qualms saying that they are the best qualified people to pen these titles. Both MacKinnon and Curley have written countless articles and books on their hometown destinations, so if anyone would know the hidden nooks and crannies of Boston and the state of Rhode Island, it would be these two. This is one of those rare travel guidebooks that’s best suited for locals to know their city and region better. I can’t wait to dig into Curley’s book to savor sunset on the deck of the Coast Guard House in Narragansett and check out Charlestown’s River and Roots Festival over Labor Day Weekend. 

 
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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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