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Tidal Bore Rafting in Nova Scotia

I had drinks last night with a group of hotel owners, restaurateurs, wine makers, boutique chocolate shop purveyors, maple syrup bottlers, and lobster suppliers in town from Nova Scotia. They were going on a culinary tour from Boston to Portland, led by one of my favorite people in the travel biz, Chris Miranda at Redpoint. They were here to hopefully gain inspiration from their cohorts on this side of the border. Not that they need it. I actually think Nova Scotia already has a lot more to offer than Massachusetts like a great public market and an award-winning wine region. They also served as regional ambassadors to Nova Scotia, now that the ferry is once again cruising from Portland, Maine to Nova Scotia this summer. I was asked by Chris to meet them for a drink and talk about the best ways to get press for their respective businesses. 
 
While talking about Nova Scotia, I remembered one of my favorite outings in the province, tidal bore rafting. At high tide standing on a sandbar, we heard the deafening surge of water before we saw the white crest atop the wave. Then we jumped into a motored zodiac before the sandbar completely disappeared with the onslaught of water. 
 
That’s when the excitement begins. The strength of the tide causes the flow of the river to shift directions and create standing waves. At first the waves were small, in the 5 to 7 foot range. Yet, as the water continued to pour in, the standing waves reached heights of 12 to 14 feet. We motored through as the succession of waves swamped the zodiac with the brownish mix of water. Thankfully the zodiac self-bails, so as soon as the water in the raft spilled back into the river, we would motor through another series of towering waves, getting soaked and laughing our asses off on each run. After about 30 minutes, the water reaches its high point and the waves subside. For an encore, we crawled up the soft muddy banks of the river and slid down on our stomachs. I loved every minute of it and ended up penning a story for Men’s Journal. 
 

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100-Kilometer Horseback Ride for Women in Montana

Calling all cowgirls. Triple Creek Ranch, a Relais and Chateaux property nestled in the towering pines at the base of majestic 10,135-foot Trappers Peak, will feature its first “100 Klicks for Chicks” horseback ride. Held from Thursday, October 28th to November 1st, the event will feature 3 ½ days of riding, fireside roasts, and an awards presentation. But the best part for ladies is that after your day of being in the saddle, you can return to this stellar property for a soak in the hot tub, gourmet meals, and nights under the stars around a crackling fire. Husbands are invited as guests, though they can’t ride with the women. They can go out with a guide horseback riding and hiking or try their luck fly-fishing. Cost is $650 per night, per couple.
 

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San Antonio Is a Great Option for Spring Break

While we dig out of the foot of snow in Boston from yesterday’s nor’easter, my thoughts turn to the warmth of San Antonio, where temperatures reach the low 80s the next 10 days. Lisa and I were actually thinking of renting an apartment in San Antonio this February/March and wished we followed through on our actions. The city offers two world class art museums, San Antonio Museum of Art and the McNay, sublime dining which I’ve written about for The Boston Globe and The Washington Post, great neighborhoods to roam like King William and Pearl Brewery, and, of course, all the restaurants and bars that line the renowned River Walk.  But the reason I really love San Antonio is that it’s one of the best biking cities in America. Grab a bike from the B-cycle station (the city’s bike sharing program) at Blue Star Contemporary Art Center and pedal on the 10-mile long bike trail called the Mission Reach. It’s not uncommon to find herons, egrets, families of ducks, and turtles lounging in the waters, and colorful wildflowers in full bloom. When the trail ends at Mission Road, you can turn right to visit Mission Concepcion or left to visit Mission San Jose. These early 18th-century Spanish colonial missions are now a UNESCO World Heritage Site and part of a national historic park. I always bring my camera to poke around these impressive buildings and get great shots of the light and shadows reflecting off the walls. 

 
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Harvard Museum of Natural History Unveils Permanent Exhibition on New England Forests

While we’re on the subject of trees, the Harvard Museum of Natural History just opened the new Zofnass Family Gallery with its inaugural exhibition, New England Forests. This permanent multi-media display explores the wildlife and ecology of the New England forest. The exhibition will teach people about the trees, lichens, and animals right outside our doors while enjoying a forest walk with air conditioning and without mosquitoes. To further their educational goal, the museum will host a companion lecture series this fall.
 

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Arizona Week—Hiking Phoenix’s Piestewa Peak

I always bring hiking boots when traveling to Phoenix, because it’s arguably the best city in the country for day hikes. There are some 200 miles of trails in the Phoenix park system including short summits like Piestewa that are ideally suited for a 2-hour lunch break. We started our climb around 11 am and we were back at the trailhead at 12:45 pm. That’s not to say it wasn’t a thigh-burner, especially the last part of the trail which steeply ascends the craggy 2,608-foot peak (total elevation gain is 1190 feet). Even on a weekday, the trail was crowded as we made our way up the dirt and rock path past every type of cacti imaginable—tall saguaro, barrel, hedgehog, pincushion, jumping cholla, and prickly pear. Vistas of the Phoenix skyline opened up below us as we passed an ironwood tree. Soon we were up on the summit, eating lunch while enjoying the views of the surrounding ridges and the valley below. I once penned a series of stories for Health Magazine on Urban Adventures, the best workouts outside the gym in cities across America. Climbing Piestewa Peak would be a good option.

 
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Sailing Aboard the Charles W. Morgan

This past May, the historic whaling ship, Charles W. Morgan, left Mystic Seaport for the first time in more than 70 years and sailed to several New England ports of call, giving folks from New London to Provincetown an unprecedented opportunity to explore the ship. Built in New Bedford in 1841, the Morgan is the last remaining wooden whaling ship in the world and the oldest merchant ship in America. In its heyday, the Morgan traveled across the globe in search of whales, the source of oil for illumination and lubrication in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

 
To commemorate the latest sailing, my longtime colleague, Rob Burbank, had the good fortune to spend 24 hours aboard the ship. Rob’s great-uncle served as a crewmember on the 35th voyage of the Morgan in 1918, and this summer’s sail gave him the opportunity to imagine what life was like on the Morgan nearly a century ago. You can read about that once-in-a-lifetime experience in his recent Boston Globe story. The Morgan is now back at Mystic Seaport and open to the public to tour. For more about visiting Mystic in autumn, see my article in the Boston Globe and definitely make a pitstop at B.F. Clyde’s to visit the oldest steam-powered cider mill in America. 
 
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My Favorite Small Outfitters, Ken’s Hinterland Adventure Tours, Dominica

Unlike the rest of the Caribbean, the attraction in Dominica is not the beach, but a lush mountainous interior ripe with every tropical fruit and vegetable imaginable and inundated with so much water that around every bend is another raging waterfall, a serene swimming hole nestled in the thick bush, or a hidden hot spring to rest your weary body after a day in the outdoors. Indeed, this island closest to Martinique has become an affordable haven for the active traveler who yearns to hike through a jungle-like forest. My guide for a week of treks into the interior was Kent Augiste of Ken’s Hinterland Adventure Tours. The highlight was a 7-hour round-trip hike inside Morne Trois Pitons National Park to the crater known as Boiling Lake. We hiked through a dense forest of tall gommier trees, staring at the iridescent purple-throated hummingbirds as they kept us company. Afterwards, we lounged in the natural hot spring at Papillote Wilderness Retreat. Owner Anne Jno Baptiste first came to the island from the States in 1961. Eight years later, she bought a 7-acre chunk of land enveloped by the rainforest that she would cultivate into a flower-rich botanical garden and one of the Caribbean’s first eco-resorts. 

 

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