Cleveland Rocks!

Good news! Humpbacks have already been spotted off Stellwagen Bank. Located 7 miles north of Provincetown, Stellwagen Bank is one of the Atlantic coast’s largest feeding grounds for whales. The 18-mile long crescent-shaped bank ranges from 80 to 500 feet below the surface. Currents slam into the bank, bringing nutrient rich cold water to the surface. This attracts fish, which in turn attracts numerous species of whales from April to November—humpbacks, the larger fins, and smaller minkes. One gulp from a hungry humpback whale can take in a ton of fish.
I was very excited to learn last week that Cathay Pacific Airlines will make its debut at Boston’s Logan Airport on May 3, 2015 with a four-times-weekly nonstop service to Hong Kong. Cathay Pacific offers exceptional service and comfort and is easily one of my preferred airlines. This is wonderful news for New England, coming on the heels of Emirates new nonstop to Dubai and Air Turkey’s new nonstop flight to Istanbul. Fly any of these three airlines and you’ll quickly realize why American carriers pale in comparison. To celebrate the launch, Cathay Pacific is offering fares that start from $754 for departures from May 3 to 31, 2015 (travel must be completed by June 30, 2015). This deal is only good through tomorrow.
You could toss a Faberge egg from the new Four Seasons Hotel Moscow to Red Square, that’s how close the property is to the legendary landmark. Starwood Hotels just unveiled W Verbier in Switzerland and will debut W Bogota and a new St. Regis in Kuala Lumpur in the upcoming year. The ultra-modern Hilton Santa Fe Mexico City recently opened in the financial core of the city. New Langham Place properties will dot the Chinese map, from Guangzhou to Xiamen to Haining. And the late, great actor Marlon Brando’s dream of housing a sustainable property on his private French Polynesian isle of Tetiaroa will finally come to fruition this summer.
Don’t make the mistake of overlooking America’s National Parks in the winter. Exquisitely beautiful year-round, Yosemite is home to one of the oldest downhill ski areas in California. Badger Pass was built in the late 20s in a bid to get the 1930 Winter Olympics. The bid failed but the resort, with a vertical drop of only 800 feet, is now one of the best places in the West to learn how to ski. The bargains at Badger include two-hour ski lessons for only $35 a child. But, alas, this is Yosemite, so take advantage of your surroundings. A short snowshoe trek into Mariposa Grove and you’ll be making snow angels at the roots of 200-foot sequoia trees. Cross-country skiers will cherish the ten miles of groomed track that leads to 7,000-foot high Glacier Point. Ice skaters can swirl around the Curry Village rink dwarfed by the majestic cliff walls of Half Dome.
Next week, I’ll be traveling around New England, giving 3-hour workshops with my brother Jim called Beyond the Craft: How to Be Proactive and Take Charge of Your Creative Career. This will take up most of my time, so I’m going to take a week off from ActiveTravels. See you on the 25th!
Tomorrow, I’m heading to Ithaca, New York, to drop Jake off at Cornell University for his first semester of college. To relieve the impending void of not seeing my son everyday, I plan to immerse myself in the landscape of the Finger Lakes. Known for its award-winning Rieslings, the Finger Lakes deserve its reputation as one of the best spots in America to go wine tasting. Yet, its resplendent beauty also lends itself well to adventure. This is a pastoral region of New York State, where farmland rolls to bluffs high above the long lakes and waterfalls plunge down the many gorges. At Watkins Glen, I’ll hike amidst the canyon walls and watch the powerful surge of water. Watkins Glen is at the southern end of 38-mile Seneca Lake, an ideal place to go on a sunset sail aboard a schooner. The next day I’ll head to nearby Keuka Lake and bike the 20-mile Bluff Ride that starts at Keuka College on a quiet peninsula jutting out into the water. For a final taste of the countryside, I’ll paddle the same river that inspired Mark Twain, the Chemung. Vineyards surround all of the lakes, so after my day of adventure, I’ll reap the rewards and yes, drown my sorrows.