Guest Post and Photo by Amy Perry Basseches
One of my dream days of travel in 2018 was spent on the Big Island of Hawaii, in May. Although we needed to re-route in the week before our trip to avoid the small area in the southeast affected by the Kilauea volcano, we had a fantastic time!
On this particular dream day, my daughter Sophie and I began in Holualoa, an artist and coffee community in the hills above Kailua-Kona. Mamalohoa Highway winds through the heart of the town, past the wonderful
Holuakoa Gardens and Café where we had brunch. Then we headed to Hawi, on the northwestern coast. Located on the slopes of the Kohala mountain, Hawi has become a popular tourist destination in recent years due to its artists’ shops, delicious restaurants, and beautiful scenery. After checking into our accommodation on a small lush farm just outside of town, we drove the Kohala Mountain Road from Hawi to Waimea, for horseback riding on the
Dahana Ranch and hiking in the Pololu Valley.
As you drive north to Hawi from Kailua-Kona, you see mostly black lava fields along the road, then you enter an incredibly green area, full of ranches which date back to 1840s, older than the oldest ranches in the continental United States by more than 30 years! Kohala Mountain Road is stunning. At Dahana Ranch, we grew to understand the paniolo (cowboy) world better: there they breed, raise, and train a variety of horses and ponies, and also manage a 140 head cow/calf operation for beef and rodeo bucking stock.
After riding, we wanted to stretch our own legs. From Waimea to Honokaa, our destination was the
Pololu Valley, on the way back to Hawi. Down a steep trail for about ½ hour, we soaked in the dramatic northeastern Big Island coastline. At the bottom, we were rewarded by a fairly isolated black sand beach, a lone woman practicing yoga, and a few brave souls camping overnight. Spectacular!
While I was in San Antonio last week, Lisa and I were approached by Conde Nast Traveler to design a detailed itinerary along the New England coast for families. The finished column will appear in the summer issue and will include 3 of our favorite upscale lodgings, Castle Hill Inn in Newport, Chatham Bars Inn on Cape Cod, and Inn by the Sea in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. Another piece of good news, Men’s Journal asked me to be their resident travel expert. I will be writing a column a week for their website and magazine. I’ll be sure to link many of the stories to my blog here, in addition to all the content I already write for The Boston Globe, FamilyVacationCritic, Yankee, Everett Potter’s Travel Report, and others. So be sure to check back! 
Vermont has been blessed with a deluge of late fall snow, creating excellent early ski season conditions. For example, Jay Peak already has a depth of 44 inches with all of their ski trails open already. And at Killington, Stowe, and Sugarbush, more than half of the trails are already open, so don’t hesitate to hit the trails now. The big news out of Vermont this off-season was Tim and Diane Mueller’s sale of 
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
Woot, woot, Conde Nast and Men’s Journal congratulations Steve, way to go! I’ve tried for months to break into Men’s Journal, nada. That’s quite a feather in your cap.
Fran
Thanks Fran!
Awesome news! Good for you! I have some story ideas for you. 😉 Seriously, congratulations!
Thank you, Charlene!
Hey Steve, You sure have a good looking wife
Phil
I know, Phil. These Leavitt girls also have good brains on their shoulders, so you get full package!