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Family Adventure at AMC Lodges Over February Vacation Week

Hey New Englanders and New Yorkers! Still need something affordable to do with the kids over February Week. The AMC still has openings at two of their lodges, Highland Center at scenic Crawford Notch, New Hampshire, and the Joe Dodge Lodge in Pinkham Notch, at the base of New England’s tallest peak. The activities during this 3-day getaway include snowshoeing, winter hiking, cross-country skiing, snow shelter building, animal tracking, and more. Kids games and kid-friendly meals will be offered each day, as well as social hour for the adults. Rates start at $267 for adult members, $107 for child members and include lodging, meals, guided activities, and a trail pass to Bretton Woods and Great Glen for cross-country skiing. Add an extra two nights in nearby Portland and Freeport, Maine, for art, shopping, and dining and you have yourself a budget-oriented break. 

 

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Stay and Ski Deals in the Berkshires

Three of the Berkshires’ top hotels have teamed up with local ski areas to offer ski packages as low as $205 per room, including lodging, two lift tickets, and complimentary breakfast. Stockbridge’s historic Red Lion Inn has teamed up with Butternut Ski Resort, while the new Hotel on the North in Pittsfield and the Porches Inn in North Adams have partnered with Jiminy Peak Ski Resort. Porches is across the street from Mass MoCA, which is staging a yearlong exhibition on artist Nick Cave. The massive installation consists of thousands of found objects and millions of beads, definitely worth checking out on your day off from skiing. 

 
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The Lowdown on Extra Virgin Olive Oil

With concerns over mislabeling and outright fraud, extra virgin olive oil isn’t looking so virginal these days. Even New York Times is getting in on the joke with a recent slide show suggesting that “Made in Italy” EVOO is actually made from Spanish, Portuguese, and Tunisian olives. So when I heard that Italian wine and olive oil expert, Bill Marsano, was going to be in Boston to talk about the controversy, I jumped at the opportunity to question him. Last Thursday, Marsano spoke at the Seaport Hotel’s spanking new Action Kitchen as part of the Flavor Your Life Campaign, which seeks to promote the benefits of cooking with EVOO. 

 
Yes, Marsano, said there are many blended extra virgin olive oils on the market that are not nearly as healthy as a singular farm or village hand pressing its own olives. He mentioned a fortified village in Tuscany, Volpaia, whose olive oil is high on his list, along with most olive oil coming out of the region of Puglia on the Italian boot. But he noted you don’t have to pay an exorbitant amount for genuine Italian EVOO. Marsano showed me a bottle of Belluci Premium, found at Costco, where on the back of the bottle is a QR code. Scan the code with a smart phone and you can trace each bottle back to its origin and the Italian olive grove it came from.
 
Marsano also gave us several important tips. Never buy pomace extra virgin olive oil, produced with the help of a large amount of chemicals. Also your olive oil has a shelf life of about 4 months once opened and always store in a shaded spot away from heat. You cannot detect rancid oil from smell. Rancid oil has a nutty taste. Good olive oil has a silky smooth texture with a bit of spice at the end. Hope this helps the next time you hit the grocery store. 
 
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Enjoy Nature in Your Own Backyard

I’m a travel writer, so it’s my job to turn you on to places around the globe I think you should definitely check out. But after spending a glorious day in the Boston area, I’m just as happy to see you venture outdoors in your own neighborhood. I just visited my longtime oasis, Broadmoor, a Mass Audubon retreat, staring at numerous turtles sunbathing on upturned logs in the Charles River, watching a heron take flight, even spotting a rare merganser swimming in a pond. Spring is finally here, so take advantage of the warmer weather and keep active!

I’ll be taking a brief hiatus as I’m off to Rhode Island, San Antonio, speaking at the New Hampshire Governor’s Tourism Conference, and chatting with a group of Nova Scotia chefs and restaurateurs headed to Boston. I’ll be back on May 7th. 

(Photo by Lisa Leavitt)

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Excellent Meal at The Whip in Stowe

Unlike many New England ski areas, where all amenities are found on a road leading to the mountain resulting in the look of a strip mall, Stowe grew up around a 240-year-old Vermont village. The charm of skiing Stowe is that you can leave the mountain behind and stroll down Main Street (Route 100) past the requisite white steeple atop Stowe Community Church or go inside Shaw’s General Store, open since 1895, to purchase a flannel shirt. Then there’s the Green Mountain Inn, a former stagecoach stop that’s been in operation since 1833. Thankfully, the chef at their restaurant, The Whip, is relatively new and straight outta Texas. Man, can he cook meat! I ordered the veal cheeks, braised like brisket, and so tender and moist it cut like butter. Jake ordered a gorgonzola-topped filet mignon, also tender and tasty. We topped it off with their signature dessert, sac d’ bon bon, a tower of chocolate mousse that we devoured almost instantaneously. One of the best meals I’ve had in Stowe in a long time. 
 
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Seastreak Ferry Announces New Bus/Ferry Service from Boston in 2014

I just received word that Seastreak, the company that offers ferry service from New Bedford to Martha’s Vineyard, will bus clientele from Boston’s South Station to the ferry in New Bedford starting next April. This is wonderful news for people traveling into the Boston area who don’t want to rent a car, only to leave it at the ferry terminal parking lot. It’s also much cheaper than flying into the Vineyard. You’re shuttled one hour by bus from Boston’s South Station to the ferry terminal in New Bedford, where you board the high-speed ferry for the short crossing on Buzzards Bay to the Vineyard. Cost is $68 round-trip for adults including both bus and ferry. 
 
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Best Cyber Monday Deals in New England

I’m always a little wary of promoting Cyber Monday deals, because often they’re non-refundable and usually trying to sell products at low season, like heading to Vermont during the mud season in April/May. But now and then I find something that looks enticing. On November 26, Hotel Vermont in Burlington is offering one of its lowest rates of the year, $139 per night for stays from January 2–April 30, 2019. *Advance Purchase, must be paid at the time of booking. Non-cancellable, non-refundable, non-transferable. Not available 1/18 – 1/20; 2/15-17 and 2/22-23 ;+$40 for 2/8 & 9. Limited number of rooms at this rate, limit of 2 rooms per person per date. Also on Cyber Monday, you can save up to 40 percent off bookings at the Red Lion Inn in the Berkshires. Rates for winter and spring travel start at $99 per night; summer dates start at $179 per night. At the Woodstock Inn, guestrooms start at $179, with a Bed & Breakfast package starting at $199, 50% off standard rates. Rates are valid for stays from November 27, 2018 through June 27, 2019, not including holidays, holiday weeks, and weekends. Other blackout dates will apply. All rates are subject to the applicable 10% rooms tax and a $33 per day resort fee. 

 

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