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6 Favorite Lodgings for Family Get-Togethers, Including Basin Harbor, Vergennes, Vermont
The kids are stand-up paddleboarding near the middle of the lake. My wife is sea kayaking with her siblings and their spouses closer to the shoreline. Steady wind blowing through my hair, I’m at the tiller of an 18-foot sailboat accompanied by Granny Franny and her longtime beau, Saul. To celebrate a special birthday for Fran, my wife’s extended family decided to book a week at the classic family retreat on the shores of Lake Champlain, Basin Harbor. One glance at the lake from the Adirondack chairs perched on a bluff just outside the main dining room and you understand the allure. On the opposite shores are the steep rock cliffs called the Palisades and beyond that, the spine of New York’s Adirondack Mountains. The Vermont side is not too shabby either, a bucolic blend of dairy farms, horse pastures, and their own requisite peaks, the Green Mountains. Come summer, this region is a warm embrace of emerald green fields and blue waters.
The beauty of this type of resort is that everyone, including the kids, has their independence. If Fran and my son Jake want to play a game of tennis, off they go. If Lisa’s brother, Jeff, wants to throw a Frisbee with his son, Micah, after a competitive game of shuffleboard, go for it. We see each other at breakfast, sporadically throughout the day and then meet up for dinner. Yet, most afternoons, we find each other at the small beach, swimming over to the dock, and lounging on chaise lounge chairs with a pint of Vermont’s Switchback Ale in one hand, book in the other. I can’t resist the chance to bike every day. Any avid road biker will tell you that Addison Valley, Vermont, where Basin Harbor Club is located, is easily one of the top five biking destinations in North America. The backcountry roads have very little car traffic, great uphill climbs and downhill runs, and around every bend is another dairy farm, massive red barn, white church steeple, and glorious vistas of mountains and lake.
This entry is excerpted from my latest book, New England in a Nutshell. The book/ebook is slated to published on July 2nd and you can pre-order now at Amazon or at the independent bookstore, Northshire, located in Manchester Center, Vermont and Saratoga, New York. The ebook includes all hyperlinks to listings. The paperback includes front and back cover illustrations from Manhattan-based artist, Sarah Schechter, and a small sampling of photos from Lisa, who accompanied me on many of my assignments, resulting in published work for the Boston Globe.
Celebrating Our 4th Anniversary at ActiveTravels Thanks to You!
In 1990, I left my job as an insurance broker in Manhattan, booked an open-ended ticket to the South Pacific, New Zealand, and Australia, and wrote my first travel story, “Dining with the Descendants of Cannibals on a Fijian Island” for the Miami Herald. It would prove to be start of a career where I would write more than 1500 stories (over 300 articles for the Boston Globe alone) and visit over 90 countries. Then the recession hit. I lost more than half my editors in 2008-2009 as magazines folded and newspapers either eliminated or greatly reduced their travel sections. Wanting to utilize my travel expertise, I convinced Lisa to join me in a business venture and become an accredited travel agent.
Happy Father’s Day from ActiveTravels
I often joke with my kids that they grew up in the pages of The Boston Globe (the photos on the left are Melanie from a story on mid-coast Maine and Jake from a story on Costa Rica). Lately, I’ve been writing about our family trips for Virtuoso Traveler, like the stellar time we had in Switzerland with Backroads last summer. This is what I live for, creating Dream Day experiences with my family. And it’s probably the number one reason we started ActiveTravels, to hopefully form lasting memories for other families. Thankfully, you don’t have to always travel the world to savor a moment with your children. On Monday, we threw the bikes on the back of the car and drove to Arlington, Massachusetts, to bike along the Minuteman Bike Trail to Davis Square and the latest trail extension into Somerville. It was a leisurely spin, stopping for cold brews, and watching a family of newborn swans, and it was glorious. On Father’s Day, we’re heading to Chinatown for dim sum and then strolling to SoWa Open Market to listen to music, see the art, and grab a beer. Have a Fantastic Father’s Day and get out there with the kids to create an unforgettable experience!
Diving Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos
On terra firma, Grand Turk is a sleepy former British outpost, where you stroll past the Victorian homes on Front Street in a matter of minutes. Underwater, Grand Turk is home to the Wall, where without warning the reef plummets to a mind-boggling 7,000 feet to mark the edge of the Turks Island Passage. On the rim of this great blue abyss, it’s not uncommon to see humpback whales migrating in winter, hawksbill and loggerhead turtles swimming gracefully and unafraid, and herds of spotted eagle rays, with wing spans upward of eight feet, their thick black tails churning behind. Better yet, the dive sites are all less than a five-minute boat ride away on the leeward side of the island. Here, the reef is protected by strong winds and current, allowing divers of all abilities to access one of the most pristine locales in the Atlantic. Try the Tunnels, where you hit the reef at a depth of 65 feet, go through a tight chute and get your first glimpse of the Wall’s dramatic plunge.
Portland’s Copper Goddess
Guest Post and Photo by Amy Perry Basseches