Announcing the Launch of the Revised ActiveTravels Website and Blog

Celebrating the Launch of the New ActiveTravels WebsiteHard to believe it was 2009 when I first started this ActiveTravels blog. It was in the wake of the 2008 recession and I had lost more than half the editors I worked with due to cuts and the end of publications like National Geographic Adventure. A writer needs to write, so I created this blog and three years later, Lisa and I would create our travel agency, using the same name, ActiveTravels. However, the old platform for the blog, ExpressionEngine, had become clunky and obsolete. It was time to change to the far more contemporary WordPress. Thanks to the diligent work and inspiration of our beloved website developer, iBec Creative, I’m excited to launch the new and improved ActiveTravels blog! I’m diving in this week, playing around with new fonts, images, and the sense of style, but already it feels far more user-friendly than my old blog platform.

We didn’t just redo the ActiveTravels blog. We’ve updated our entire ActiveTravels website. We’ve revised the Explore New England page to include the specific types of customized itineraries we offer. We’ve added a Resources page where you can sign up for Day Tours, purchase Travel Insurance, organize your luggage to be shipped rather than lug it on the plane, and order Visas and Passports and more. Other pages we’ve updated are our FAQ page, our Travel Questionnaire and our About Us page. Please have a look!

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First Descents

I’m in the midst of writing a feature story on Colorado Adventure for Air Tran’s inflight magazine, covering mountain biking, hiking, and white water kayaking. I just got off the phone with Boulder-based Brad Ludden, a world champion freestyle kayaker who had the chutzpah to kayak down more than 100 rivers that have never been paddled on before. This includes a recent a four-day first descent down a river in Madagascar, where he came very close to losing his best friend in a huge rapid. Now 29, when Brad was 18, he started a charity organization named First Descents that helps empower 18 to 39-year olds who are battling cancer. So far, more than 600 people have done the program which, like Outward Bound, helps folks gain confidence through outdoor adventure like white water kayaking, mountain biking, and rock climbing. The program has succeeded far better than Brad ever imagined, with more than 400 people now on the waiting list. As he mentioned to me, “Mother Nature doesn’t really care if you have cancer or not. We’re all on an even playing field.” All of the adventures are offered for free, thanks to the support of donations by the public at First Descents.

 

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A Great Time to Be in Boston!

Call it justice for a city still healing from the loathsome murder and mayhem committed on one of our celebrated days of the year, the annual running of the Boston Marathon. Or simply pay heed to the remarkable job Red Sox GM Ben Cherington did by dumping the salaries of big name ballplayers like Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez and picking up the unheralded Shane Victorino, Mike Napoli, Jonny Gomes, and a journeyman 38-year old pitcher named Koji Uehara. After last year’s laughable season, where we ended up in last place, all we wanted was a chance to have fun at the old ballpark again. But when you’re led by a man named Big Papi, the Babe Ruth of our time, anything is possible. As a travel writer, I’m constantly on the road. Fortunately, I had no trips booked these past two weeks so I could enjoy every game of the World Series with my family. This weekend, there’s no place I’d rather be than home watching the duck boats drive by in a well-deserved parade. 

 
Enjoy the weekend and stay active!
 
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Introducing the Dream Day Itinerary

Some of our clientele already have first hand knowledge of what we like to call the Dream Day Itinerary. Ideally suited for the independent traveler, these fleshed-out itineraries detail each day of your vacation, from activities to restaurants to hotels. We try to incorporate as much local flavor as possible, hiring local guides to take you to sites based on your particular love of art, architecture, the outdoors, and history. If we have not visited the restaurants first-hand, we ask locals we know and trust in the area for recommendations. In fact, many of the suggested activities, hotels, and restaurants on the Dream Day Itinerary stem from my own articles as a travel writer or come highly recommended from my travel writing buddies who have a specialty, like dining in Spain or skiing the Alps. So rest assured that these itineraries are personally curated by trustworthy sources. Just another perk of joining ActiveTravels.com!
 
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Travel to the G-Spot, by Steve Cohen

I always equate Steve Cohen with his namesake, Sasha Baron Cohen. His irreverent musings as a travel writer have appeared in countless publications, including Outside, the Islands of yore (my favorite travel publication in the 90s), and The Washington Post. His mishaps as ordinary Joe caught up in some ridiculous travel circumstance always lead to uproarious results. That’s why I’m giddy with excitement to read his first novel, Travel to the G-Spot. Not surprisingly, it’s a fictional memoir of one Danny Gladstone, a 50-year-old travel writer who learns he’s dying and looks back through some of his travel stories to figure out why things have turned out the way they have. One reviewer said “it blows the lid off the sordid and secretive world of travel writing.” Oh yeah, I am so there. I’m taking it with me on my trip to Buffalo today to drop my son off at music camp. I’ll be back next Tuesday. In the meantime, keep laughing. 

 
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Providence Features Children’s Film Festival

No need to wait for the next WaterFire to return to Providence. Over February break (February 13-22), the city is hosting its fifth annual Children’s Film Festival. Close to 20 films will be shown at three different venues around town. The impressive line-up includes the French Academy Award nominee, “Ernest and Celestine,” Harold Lloyd’s classic silent film, “Safety Last,” and a movie Roger Ebert called one of the five best films ever made for children, the Japanese animated flick, “My Neighbor Totoro.” March 20 brings the return of Gallery Night. From 5 to 9 pm, buses and curators will bring you to the city’s 26 galleries to talk about the latest art. Tours leave every 20 minutes. While in town, check out North, which Boston Globe food critic, Devra First, called one of her favorite restaurants in 2013. The innovative Southeast Asian fare includes mussels, drunken and stirred, and flounder with golden oyster mushrooms. We recommend spending the night at our favorite property in town, Hotel Providence, an 80-room boutique hotel smack dab in the center of town. 

 
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Join the Festivities this Summer in Switzerland

Yesterday I talked about the slate of trips now being offered by Run the Alps. While we’re discussing that part of the world, I want to fill you in on what’s happening this summer in Switzerland from a recent luncheon I had in Boston with old friends from Swiss Tourism. The big news is that Fête des Vignerons or the Winegrower’s Festival returns to the glorious Lake Geneva seaside town of Vevey from July 26 to August 11, 2019. This event only occurs once every 20 years! Join singers, dancers, wine experts, and loads of other performers for the extravaganza. Elton John, Sting, Quincy Jones, Slash, and Chick Corea are a just a handful of renowned performers appearing at the Montreux Jazz Festival June 28 to July 13. And from September 20-22, Roger Federer will get to compete in front of the home crowd along with Rafael Nadal, when the Laver Cup comes to Geneva. The Swiss know how to have a good time! 
 

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