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Put Naumkeag on Your Berkshires Must-Do List

If you’re heading up to Tanglewood this week to catch the NPR show, “Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me” on Thursday night or Harry Connick, Jr. on Saturday night, make a slight detour and check out what’s happening at nearby Naumkeag in Stockbridge. Formerly owned by the Choate Family of New York before it was bequeathed to The Trustees of Reservations in 1958, Naumkeag is a 44-room Berkshires “Cottage” from the Gilded Age, filled with arts, antiques, and collections around from around the world. But it’s the outdoor gardens that truly inspire, a masterpiece of 30 years of collaborative work by former owner, Mabel Choate, and her dear friend, Fletcher Steele, one of America’s first modern landscape architects. 

 
Described by the Library of American Landscape History as a “playground for the imagination,” The Trustees have just completed Phase 1 of an extensive 5-phase, 3-year, $3 million garden and landscape restoration project designed to rejuvenate the gardens and bring them back to Choate and Steele’s original vision. The transformation includes the renovation of Fletcher Steele’s iconic Blue Steps, one of the most photographed features in 20th-century American landscape design, celebrating its 75th Anniversary this summer.
 

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Top 5 Beaches in New England to Be Active: Sea Kayak Mile Beach, Georgetown, Maine

There are two types of New England beach lover. The first heads to his favorite stretch of sand, squeezes his towel in between the masses, layers on the lotion, and kisses away the day. The second thinks of the beach as a welcome mat to that great expanse of ocean that lies ahead—a starting point to a slew of activities like sea kayaking, surfing, or sailing.  Even if you prefer to stay on terra firma, there are New England beaches that cater to the mountain biker or walker. This week, I’m delving into my favorite beaches in New England to be active.  First up is Mile Beach in Georgetown, Maine.

Shrouded in an early morning mist, the fog recedes and you’re treated to a view of Maine’s coastline few have seen since Winslow Homer captured it on his canvases over a century ago. This is why one heads to Georgetown’s Reid State Park to sea kayak along the shores of Sheepscot Bay. The sand at Mile Beach soon gives way to the boulder strewn coastline where the Northern Atlantic pounds the rocks, spewing foam high into the air. Juniper pines, dwarfed by forceful gales, refuse to budge from the land above.  You’ll no doubt be joined by seals that pop their heads out of the water like periscopes to look around.
 

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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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Introducing the Laguna Beach House

What happens when an avid surfer and World Surf Kayaking champ becomes Senior VP of a growing boutique hotel chain? A surfer sense of style shines through at his properties. Classic Hotels & Resorts John Grossman just launched their third property, the 36-room Laguna Beach House, and you can instantly see John’s imprint on the design. Upon arrival, you’re immediately immersed into the SoCal surf culture with vintage furniture and memorabilia that creates the look and feel of an open, airy beach cottage using a palette of natural, bright colors. Pacific Ocean scenes are depicted in the artwork and surfing accents are spread throughout the property. Formerly the Laguna Cliffs Inn, Classic Hotels poured in over $1.5 million into the renovation of the rooms, lobby, and expanded pool deck. Judging from the rave reviews already found on TripAdvisor, the new décor is working. It also doesn’t hurt that the property is within easy walking distance to the main beach and restaurants and shops in town. Laguna Beach House is the sister hotel to the 70-room Inn at Laguna Beach, another Classic Hotels property.
 
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Eighth Annual Hotel Week in Manhattan January 4-14, 2019

If you want to visit New York at a discount, then head to the city during their Eighth Annual Hotel Week in early January. The Refinery Hotel, Library Hotel, High Line Hotel, and Archer New York are just a handful of top-tier properties that will cut their rates considerably during this time. For example, Hotel Edison in Times Square will only be $100 a night, more than 50% off their usual rate. Hotel Week NYC™ was created by PR maven Nancy J. Friedman in 2010 to address the occupancy dip most hotels experience after the holiday season. It’s a perfect time to visit Manhattan without the crowds, see the Andy Warhol exhibition at the Whitney and Network, featuring Bryan Cranston, on Broadway. 
 
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FarewellTravels Now Offers Savings

Before you book your next jaunt, check out the savings on my friend, Susan Farewell’s website, FarewellTravels. You can save $500 on sea kayaking jaunts to Baja, $800 off the cost of a sailing trip along the spectacular Dalmatian Coast in Croatia, starting in Dubrovnik, and discounts at inns and resorts in northern Vermont, Maine, and the Greek Islands. Just trying to save you a few bucks!
 

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Adirondacks Multisport Trip Just Added to the Backroads Roster

Backroads, the world’s leading active travel company, just announced their 2017 line-up and I was excited to see that my boyhood stomping grounds of the Adirondacks finally made the cut. Their 5-day itinerary includes some of my favorite activities, including biking the Lake Champlain Bikeway, hiking Mt. Jo in the high peaks region, and sailing Lake George aboard the Morgan, the Sagamore’s 72-foot replica of a 19th-century touring vessel. Set on a 70-acre island near the village of Bolton Landing, the Sagamore has been the lake’s top address for over a century. Steps from the patio lead past the manicured lawn to the Sagamore’s shoreline, offering views of Dome Island, a large round uninhabited forest of firs that looks almost tropical, a place that King Kong would find homey. On the opposite shores is an uninterrupted carpet of trees that soon rise to 2,000-foot mountains. 

The Adirondacks itinerary came as a result of guests wanting trips closer to home and a wee bit shorter. Other new trips in this category include a Maui & Lanai Multisport Adventure Tour for families and an Arches & Canyonlands Hiking Trip. Backroads added over 40 new trips to their schedule in 2017. Some of the highlights include hiking in Japan, a family trip to Sedona, Bermuda biking, Basque Country and a Galapagos, Andes & Amazon river cruise. Next year they are running a total of 71 active river cruises, including a Danube full ship buyout (150 Backroads guests take over the ship). ActiveTravels is here to help you pick the itinerary that best suits your level of fitness and dates. 
 

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