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Canadian Rockies/Alaska Combo

Vacations by Rail, the Chicago-based travel company, has just announced a phenomenal 16-day vacation that combines train travel on arguably the best train in North America, Canada’s Rocky Mountaineer, with an Alaskan cruise on Holland America, ending with an Alaskan railroad jaunt from Anchorage to Denali National Park. Coined the Rocky Mountaineer and Alaska by Sea and Land package, board the Rocky Mountaineer and get ready for a soul-stirring train ride through the snowcapped peaks and cobalt blue glacial waters of the Canadian Rockies. You have two days in Vancouver before you board the ms Zaandam for a weeklong cruse on Alaska’s Inside Passage, stopping at Juneau, Skagway, and Glacier Bay before arriving in Anchorage. Spend a day and night in town, before taking your last train on to Denali, home to 20,157-foot Mount McKinley, and your final destination of Fairbanks. 2013 departures are available May 21, June 18, July 16, and August 13 and 27 and prices start at $3,579 per person based on double occupancy.
 
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Free Entrance Days at National Parks for 2013

If you’re thinking of visiting Zion, Bryce, Capitol Reef, Canyonlands, and Arches, all five national parks in Utah, you might want to head there in late April. This year’s National Park Week is April 22-26, when all national parks in the United States are free. Click here for a complete list of free days at the national parks, including August 25th and September 28th. 

 
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The Hills are Alive with the Sound of Dripping Sap

Maria von Trapp, the woman who inspired The Sound of Music, is no longer with us, but Trapp Family Lodge continues to flourish thanks to one of the finest cross-country networks in the northeast, comfy lodging perched on a hillside in Stowe, Vermont, the launch of their microbrewery, and a restaurant that serves a tasty wiener schnitzel. Mid to late March, during the heart of the maple sugaring season, is my favorite time of year to visit Trapps. When it comes to sugaring, the family does it the old fashion way, picking up the sap in buckets with a horse-drawn sleigh or via cross-country skis and delivering it to the sugarhouse to boil off the water and create Vermont’s “liquid gold.” The 1200 taps produce 300 gallons of syrup annually and the season lasts from mid-March until mid-April. Join in on the fun each Saturday, when you can cross-country ski, snowshoe, or grab that horse-drawn sleigh to the sugarhouse for a traditional Sugar-on-Snow party. The hot syrup is tossed on the white snow to create a chewy maple taffy, served with donuts and dill pickles. If you’re in the area tomorrow, March 13, Trapp Family Lodge will be offering a Maple Sugar Snowshoe Tour from 2 to 3:30 pm. Enjoy a 1.5-mile snowshoe through the woods, then learn about the process of making maple syrup at their sugarhouse. 

 
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New Legoland Hotel in Carlsbad and Australian Outback Exhibition at San Diego Zoo

Visitors heading to the San Diego region this spring will find major changes at two of the area’s top family-friendly attractions. On April 5, 2013, Legoland California Resort will open the country’s first Legoland Hotel in Carlsbad. The new hotel, next door to the theme park, will feature 250 LEGO-themed guest rooms. Making its debut in May at the San Diego Zoo is the Australian Outback exhibit. Venture through a eucalyptus grove and discover Down Under species like wombats, wallabies, kookaburras, and cockatoos, ending at the largest koala colony outside of Australia. Also at the San Diego Zoo this spring, people can see the adorable new panda cub, Xiao Liwu ("Little Gift"). Born July 29, 2012, the cub is the sixth panda born at the zoo and is on display from 9 a.m. to noon daily.
 
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March Newsletter Now Available at ActiveTravels.com

Another snowy day in Boston. Sure, looking at the snow-covered pines were charming the first or second time this winter, but now it’s March and I’m ready for spring. In the meantime, I’ll daydream about French Polynesia, the destination that started me on the road to becoming a travel writer. News from the Road: French Polynesia, our first feature in the March newsletter, will give you valuable insight into traveling around this group of South Pacific isles. Other topics we touch on are five hotels we recommend in Venice, why Amsterdam is the hot Europe destination this summer, how to bypass long lines at favorite sites in London and Paris, and to what extent Azamara Club Cruises is shaking up the cruise industry by spending more nights in port.  I’m happy to report that our April newsletter will feature our first drawing, a 2-night stay and dinner at one of my favorite resorts in New England, the Inn by the Sea in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. So stay tuned.

 
In the meantime, enjoy the weekend and stay active! 
 
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Connecticut’s Water’s Edge Resort & Spa Unveils 20 New Villas

Smack dab between New York and Boston on the Connecticut coast, the Water’s Edge Resort first made its debut in 1946. Over the years, the beachfront property has earned a reputation for excellent service and top-notch entertainment, attracting such performers as Barbara Streisand and Woody Allen. Entertainment is still at the forefront of this Long Island Sound getaway, but now you can add spacious comfort to the resume. Twenty two-bedroom villas, ranging in size from 1,100 to 1,300 square feet, have just made their debut. Each of the villas features a fully equipped kitchen with Viking appliances, two full baths, elevator access, gas fireplaces, flat panel LCD televisions, spacious balconies, and private beach access, ideally suited for families or two couples. To celebrate the new villas, Water’s Edge Resort & Spa is offering two deals. Snag a villa between now and May 19, 2013 for two nights and you’ll receive a third night free. In the next offer, guests who reserve a villa for a weeklong summer vacation by March 15, 2013 get 10% off the weekly rental price. 

 
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Kids Stay Free at Iberostar Properties April 8 to December 13

Hey New Englanders! Still want to get away over Patriots Day Week with the kids. Iberostar Resorts just announced that two kids will stay free at their Mexican and Caribbean properties when two adults pay the full price. These include several of my favorites, Iberostar Paraiso Maya in Riviera Maya and Rose Hall Beach, outside of Montego Bay. If you prefer to head to one of their all-inclusive properties over the summer, the offer is good from April 8 to December 13.

 
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A Good Time To Track Gorillas and Chimps in Uganda

Fed a steady diet of bleak wildlife conservation news out of Africa, especially with regard to the increase in poaching elephants in Kenya and Tanzania, I was delighted to hear the latest news out of Uganda. The last census reports a 12% increase in the gorilla population. The survey found that there are now 880 gorillas at Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, up from 786 in 2010. The best way to celebrate that news is to get yourself over to Uganda and see the gorillas firsthand, an unparalleled travel experience. If you visit Bwindi in April and May, the $500 per day permit will be reduced to $350. To make the most of your time, consider Africa Adventure Consultants new 10-day Uganda Flying Safari. Eliminating many of the longer drives, the trip starts in the Kibale forest, where you spend two days viewing the chimps. Then it’s on to Queen Elizabeth National Park, where you can see over 95 recorded mammal species and enjoy a boat excursion that takes you for a close-up look at the largest concentration of hippos in the world (reported to be about 30,000). Finish your safari with 2 days of gorilla trekking at Bwindi. Now that’s a memorable trip! 
 
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My Story on New England Art Finds in the March/April Issue of Yankee Magazine

Blame it on the majestic scenery in New England that lured artists to its shores and mountains, or savvy collectors who had the foresight to purchase the preeminent works of their time. The result is undeniable. The bounty of art found in this region is mind-boggling, from the American art collection at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, to the Hudson River School paintings hanging at Hartford’s Wadsworth Athenaeum to the Impressionist gems located at the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Add university collections like Harvard’s Fogg and the recently reopened Yale University Art Museum that could rival the finest art museum in most mid-range cities, and you understand how spoiled we are. 

 
Even with this gluttony of art, there are some hidden treasures to be found. I was fortunate last summer to be hired by Yankee Magazine to describe six of my favorite art gems in New England, often overlooked: the Cushing, Maine house that inspired Andrew Wyeth’s Christina’s World; Winslow Homer’s studio in Prouts Neck, Maine; Albert Bierstadt’s 10-by-15-foot work, Domes of Yosemite, found in the back of the St. Johnsbury Athenaeum in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont; Jose Clemente Orozco’s 24-panel mural at Dartmouth University’s Baker Library, now seen under new lighting; the WPA murals of a whaling scene created by Thomas LaFarge in 1938 at the New London Post Office; and the only National Park System site dedicated to an American painter, the Weir Farm in Wilton, Connecticut. All are worth checking put. You can find the story the old fashioned way, in the magazine at newsstands. It’s not online. 
 
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Stay at the Grafton Inn for $150 a Night in March

If you want to stay at a quintessential Vermont town, close to cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and downhill skiing, you might want to take advantage of the Grafton Inn’s latest deal. Pay just $150 for any room, any night at the inn, through the month of March. The price includes a full country breakfast and complimentary trail access to Grafton Ponds Outdoor Center. You must call the Grafton Inn to book this special: 800-843-1801. Online reservations will not apply. Never been to Grafton? Amble along Main Street past the Country Store, where I once spotted a sign posted outside asking if anyone’s seen a missing horse, and you swear you just stepped into a Currier and Ives painting. To the right is the red brick town hall, circa 1816, now home to the post office. Further up the road, past the white clapboard houses spewing smoke from their chimneys is the requisite white steeple. Across the street is the Old Tavern (now the Grafton Inn) , opened in 1801, and once the stagecoach stop on the ride from Boston to Montreal. Ulysses S. Grant spent a night here while campaigning for his presidency and Rudyard Kipling liked the locale so much he honeymooned at the hotel in 1892. For more information on Grafton, see the story I wrote for Preservation Magazine.