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When a Bore is Not a Bore, Tidal Bore Rafting in Nova Scotia

I just spent the morning writing about a tidal bore rafting adventure I took this past September in Nova Scotia. What’s tidal bore rafting, you ask? When the Bay of Fundy, home to the highest recorded tides in the world, floods one of the rivers that feeds the mighty bay with billions of tons of seawater, it creates a massive wave. Yet, on the Shubenacadie River, where I sampled the sport with Rafing Canada, the tidal bore is merely the start of the adventure. The surge of water causes the flow of the river to reverse directions and create standing waves. The motorized raft slams into a succession of waves, often in excess of 8 feet, as you’re trying hard to hang on to a rope in this waterlogged version of a rodeo. Completely drenched, you can’t help but laugh at the absurdity of it all. If you do get tossed, you simply land on soft mud, a cushiony welcome mat for the brackish water. It’s great fun for the whole family. Minimum age is 12.
 

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Ko Olina Resort Week—Family-Friendly Activities

Less than 30 minutes into a snorkeling cruise with Ocean Joy Cruises out of Ko Olina Marina, we were surrounded by a pod of spinner dolphins. They were gracefully swimming next to the boat, their fins gliding in and out of the water. At least five dolphins jumped dramatically out of the water and spun in the air. The best part about the experience is that we were the only boat out there, not the usual half-dozen boats chasing the same dolphins. Backed by the arid, jagged peaks that rise along the quiet western shores, the backdrop was magical. It only got better when we were dumped into the 78-degree ocean water atop a reef that was teeming with neon-colored fish. The visibility was excellent and as soon I made the plunge, I was mesmerized by the yellow eyes of the aptly named Picasso Triggerfish and the silky Black Triggerfish. 
 
Venturing out on a snorkeling cruise is merely one of the numerous activities offered at the Ko Olina Resort. Frankly, you never have to leave your property whether you’re staying at the JW Marriott Ihilani Resort, the Disney Aulani Resort, or the Marriott Vacation Club villas. There are four beachfront lagoons that lead to the shallow waters, ideally suited for swimming, paddleboarding, kayaking or spotting fish. This is in addition to the numerous pools, lazy rivers, and hot tubs scattered across the properties, most with waiter service. And the Ko Olina Golf Club was recently chosen by Golf Digest as one of the top 75 resort courses in America.
 
Last night, the moon was glowing and stars glittered across the sky, the perfect opportunity to stargaze, an activity led by the knowledgeable astronomer, Greg, at Aulani. Through his high-powered telescopes, we lined up to view the ring around Saturn, see the craters of the brilliantly lit moon, spot disc-like Mars, a hazy distant galaxy, even a Black Hole. I’d say that’s a pretty good day when you can view a Picasso Triggerfish and the ring around Saturn. 
 
 
 
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Lake George Week, Adventures on Land

Most parents gauge the growth of their children by their height. I gauge the growth of my two kids by how far they can go on a treetop obstacle course called Adirondack Extreme. Located on the hillside outside of Bolton Landing, the course is set 10 to 50 feet off the grounds, amidst the tall pines and maples hidden in the forest. After a brief introductory talk on safety, you hook into harnesses and tackle five different courses, each a bit more challenging than the next. Along the way, you’ll climb rope ladders, walk across suspended bridges, and as a finale, zipline side-by-side. 
 
The waters of Lake George easily seduce, but there’s a slew of activity on the shores of the lake that are also worth checking out. You can climb Prospect, Buck, and Thomas Mountains, and be rewarded with exceptional vistas of the Adirondacks. Yesterday, I took a short hike around the forest and fields at Up Yonda Farm. I strolled past a sugarhouse and small butterfly garden before hiking uphill on a short climb through a mixed forest of birches, maples, and white pine. Eventually, I arrived at a clearing and another glorious view of Lake George.  
 
At night, everyone heads to Lake George Village, packed with T-shirt and fudge shops, video arcades, haunted houses, a requisite water park, and my personal favorite, Goony Golf, a miniature golf course crowded with huge fairy tale characters. My summer is not complete if I don’t get to play one round of Goony Golf. 
 
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Tour The Set of Downton Abbey

If, like me, you’re going through Downton Abbey withdrawal, now that the second season has finished, you’ll be happy to know that there is a temporary cure. Fans can not only tour Highclere Castle, the estate where the series is filmed, but you can join the property’s owners, the Earl and Countess of Carnarvon, for lunch in their formal dining room and/or high tea. The opportunity is only available to private groups of four or less people and is booked through Noteworthy Events. Unfortunately, Dame Maggie Smith won’t be there holding court. Sorry, you can’t have it all. 

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Head to Historic Banning Mills to Try the Tallest Climbing Wall in the World

Hey Georgians, take a break from your holiday shopping this Saturday and head 45 minutes outside of Atlanta to Historic Banning Mills. Representatives from the Guinness Book of World Records will be on hand to verify that the new Banning Mills climbing wall is indeed the tallest in the world. Give the wall your best shot and then try the largest zipline canopy tour in America. More than 40 ziplines span over 7 miles of course. That means you can be out there for eight hours, flying high above the Snake River and its exquisite gorge and not sample the same zipline twice!

I’ll be heading south this next week to kayak, bike, and hike in the Everglades. I’ll be back on December 20th. Have a great week and keep active!

 

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Bermuda Beckons

Soft and cushiony, with a shade of pink to enhance the dramatic effect, the sand on the beaches of Bermuda is better than advertised. Hemmed in by jagged rock formations and backed by cliffs, the southeastern shoreline of the island, where the finest beaches reside, are a mix of horseshoe-shaped coves filled with tanning bodies and small jewel-like pockets of sand with just enough space to contain a couple or two. This sublime stretch of coast serves as the ideal welcome mat for the weary waves that have rolled some 600 miles from the coast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, the closest landmass to the west. September and October are the ideal months to visit this 23-mile speck of land in the Atlantic. The surge of travelers, many venturing here aboard cruises in summer, have come and gone, returning the island back to its natural relaxed state. And, most importantly, late summer is the driest time of the year, bringing warm sunny days. Stay at the Reefs Resort in Southampton. Honeymooners or those in need of a dose of romance should ask about the rooms with private hot tubs on the balcony overlooking the Atlantic. 

 
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Driving New Brunswick’s Acadian Coast—Good Eating in Caraquet

Continuing north from the Acadian Peninsula, the town of Caraquet is best known as the home of Festival acadien de Caraquet, which will celebrate its 50th anniversary this August. The two-week event, one of the most popular festivals in the Atlantic provinces pays tribute to the vibrant Acadian culture through music, cabaret, poetry, and wild parades. Yet, there’s another event happening here the rest of the year that food lovers in particular will cherish. Thanks to chef Karen Mersereau, Caraquet has become a hotbed of gastronomy. 
 
Mersereau was a food marketing rep in Toronto when she met Gerard Paulin, the third-generation hotelier of Hotel Paulin, a Victorian-era gem perched on a hill above the water of Caraquet Bay. A dozen years later, the couple are parents of a boy, Jules, and Karen is firmly entrenched at the helm of the hotel’s kitchen. She has wisely aligned herself with the top food harvesters in the region. 
 
The forests surrounding Caraquet are ripe with morels, chanterelles, oyster mushrooms, and other goodies like the foot of the cattail. Jean Patenaude made a name for himself scouring the countryside for edibles, bringing home laundry baskets full of wild mushrooms on ideal days in summer. Out on the water, Gaetan Dugas’ Caraquet Bay oysters are a prized commodity in high demand from chefs around North America. Especially the petites, small oysters that are both succulent and briny. Dugas’ ancestors include a pirate who commandeered a ship against the British in the 1750s, but it’s his father who taught him how to oyster farm and his grandfather who taught him the traditional ways of the local Mi’kmaq people. 
 
Mersereau takes advantage of both these men’s expertise to create a memorable wild mushroom oyster bisque. To ensure that every spoonful is chockful of meat, she throws in the native palourdes clam, similar to a quahaug. The bevy of local supplies would make most chefs weep with joy. Snow crabs, tuna, Atlantic salmon, shrimp, lobster, and halibut right off the boat, goat cheese and spring-fed lamb found in nearby farms, and blueberries and cloudberries grow wild along the coast, perfect for making a sublime pie. At Hotel Paulin, the locavore movement has reached its crescendo.
 

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