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Go Camping in June and Receive Discounts

President Obama has proclaimed June to be National Great Outdoors Month. Building on Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” campaign, the idea is to get kids and their families off the couch, away from computer screens and into the Great Outdoors. America’s private campground operators are helping promote this effort with nature oriented family activities. Campgrounds affiliated with GoCampingAmerica.com are offering 20 percent discounts on camping June 1st through 25th. Coleman is also offering 15% off all their merchandise during the month.

If you think campers are sticking solely to RVs and tents, you’d be wrong. All across the country, campgrounds are building cabins to accommodate the growing number of requests. And these aren’t little shacks either. The six cabins at West Glacier KOA in Montana near Glacier National Park feature full bath, kitchens, and an outdoor deck with barbecue. Many campgrounds also feature nightly entertainment, like live music.
 

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Free Admission to Vermont State Parks on June 14 and 15

To celebrate Vermont Days, the state of Vermont is offering free admission to state parks and state historical sites next weekend, June 14 and 15. Sample two of my favorite state parks, Silver Lake and Button Bay. Just north of Woodstock, Silver Lake is open to non-motorized boating only. Thus, this gem of a lake is the perfect place to swim, canoe, or catch perch from the shores. Head here on June 14, the one day of the year when residents and non-residents can go fishing without a license in any Vermont State Park. Another favorite is Button Bay, located on the southern shores of Lake Champlain. Head to their Nature Center to learn about the mergansers, loons, woodchucks, and other animals that call this part of the world home. Then savor the exceptional biking through farmland that borders the lake. 

 
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Spend an Active Weekend in the Finger Lakes

Known for its award-winning Rieslings, New York’s Finger Lakes deserve its reputation as one of the best spots in America to go wine tasting. Yet, its majestic scenery also lends itself well to adventure. At the southern end of Seneca Lake, we hiked alongside a handful of waterfalls in the famous gorge of Watkins Glen. The next morning, Lisa and I kayaked through a cattail-laden marsh and saw countless herons, turtles, and a beaver. Talk about adventure—a 40-pound carp jumped out of the marsh and slammed against my arm as I shrieked. But my favorite part of the weekend was a quiet bike ride along a peninsula that juts into Keuka Lake. Start your ride from Keuka College and follow East and West Bluff Roads as they pass the small waterfront cottages with cute names like Hide N’ Seek. There’s one killer hill on the 20-mile ride that takes you atop a bluff, before cruising downhill back to the college. Afterwards, we rewarded ourselves with a lobster roll and glass of semi-dry Riesling at Heron Hill’s Blue Heron Cafe. We were fortunate to book a room at the Black Sheep Inn in Hammondsport, on the northern tip of Keuka Lake. Owners Debbie Meritsky and Marc Rotman spent over 6 years refurbishing the rare octagonal-shaped house. 

 
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Spring Training Vacations

The Red Sox debuted their new spring training stadium in Fort Myers this week as the baseball season starts up again. Not only does the stadium have its own version of the Green Monster, but the facility can hold up to 11,000 fans. For families who have a passion for our national pastime, spring training is the ideal time to see your favorite players at their pre-season best, willing to sign autographs and meet the fans and not feeling the pressure of a mid-season slump. You can watch players like Derek Jeter take morning batting practice in settings so intimate it feels as if he could just as easily be at your neighborhood ball field. If you’re interested in planning your spring break around spring training, check out my article at FamilyVacationCritic.

 

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Still Possible to Visit Cuba

While cruise ships can no longer visit Cuba and the People to People Educational travel category is being eliminated, we still have clients traveling to Cuba over the next year. Our friend Megumi, who runs the tour operator HabanaLive in Cuba, tells us that clients can either join a People to People trip that has been grandfathered in (they have grandfathered FIT bookings available on multiple dates throughout fall/winter/spring) or travel under a different approved travel category. They have fantastic programing options under the Support for the Cuban People, Professional Research & Meetings, and Religious travel categories. So if you want to visit Cuba, ActiveTravels will get you there! 

 
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Philadelphia Freedom

Washington, DC, garners its fair share of travel press this time of year because of soon-to-bud cherry blossoms. But don’t forget about that other East Coast history hot spot, Philadelphia. Home to one of two U.S. Mint facilities open to the public (Denver is the other; www.usmint.gov/mint_tours), families can take an hour-long self-guided tour of this money manufacturing plant. Unfortunately, they don’t give out freebies. Diagonally across the street is the home of the Liberty Bell, set in a $12.9 million glass pavilion. This tour is also self-guided and free, but guides are on hand to answer all of the children’s questions about that crack. Stay at the Sheraton Philadelphia Society Hill Hotel and you can walk to other Old City attractions like Franklin Fountain, an early 20th-century soda shop that makes the best root beer float I ever had, and Shane Candies, the oldest continuously operating candy story in America. Save room for dinner at City Tavern.  A reconstruction of an 18th-century tavern where Ben Franklin and other Founding Fathers dined, waiters dress up in Colonial garb and serve recipes from that period. 

 
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The Debut of The Boxer in Boston

Several ski writers who came into Boston last week for the Boston Ski Show mentioned that they loved their hotel, The Boxer. Formerly the Bulfinch Hotel, the Boxer is a nine-story, 80- room boutique hotel housed in a triangular 1904 building that’s Boston’s version of the Flatiron Building. Located on Merrimac Street, not far from the Boston Garden and the North End, The Boxer has a vintage feel, with an old-time room key rack behind the front desk and a circa 1860 map of Boston on the lobby ceiling. Their restaurant, Finch, serves regional fare like New England clam chowder and lobster mac n’ cheese. Rates start at $161 a night. 

 

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