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Escape to Alcatraz

It wasn’t until this last trip to San Francisco that I finally made it to Alcatraz. The ferry over to The Rock was always booked and even though I grew up on a steady diet of true crime books, there’s countless other sights in San Francisco to pick from. But I have to say that I loved it, especially the captivating 45-minute audio tour narrated by former Alcatraz prisoners and prison guards. “Move over to the next cell,” says a scruffy voice, “this is where Frankie planned his escape.” It really gives the empty prison cells so many more layers. A word of advice: book your ferry well in advance. 
 
Before heading to Alcatraz, we wisely chose to have lunch at Fog Harbor Fish House. Located on Pier 39, the second floor seafood restaurant overlooks the expanse of San Francisco Bay. Sourdough bread, fresh out of the oven, arrived at the table. Then we downed local oysters, a spicy garlic shrimp dish that was a hit at our table, fried calamari, and a wedge salad. Service was excellent and we easily made it to the Alcatraz ferry on time. 
 

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Think Big! A Tiny House Resort Offers New Activities This Summer in the Catskills

Last summer, Bob Malkin, owner of the SoHo retail store, Think Big!, unveiled a resort in South Cairo, New York, that features 9 Tiny Houses. Inspired by the Prairie-style cottages found at Canoe Bay in northwestern Wisconsin, each Tiny House offers a panorama of windows, queen size bed, full-size appliances and luxury bathrooms, as well as a private patio complete with outdoor dining table and seating, Weber grill and fire pit. Think Big! A Tiny House Resort is situated on 28 acres with over half a mile of water frontage and perched on a cliff overlooking the Catskill Creek, a year-round wonder of waterfalls and pristine swimming holes. Saturday morning yoga and kayaking are offered as well as the services of a personal chef who can prepare meals for guests using produce from the resort garden. New this year is a Wellness Tent, featuring massage services and a private cedar soaking tub; an Arts and Crafts Studio in an Airstream travel trailer, where kids and adults can work with an instructor to create one-of-a-kind vacation souvenirs; and an inground pool, heated to 92 degrees. The resort is also dog-friendly and features a dog park. Think Tiny! 

 
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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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Vienna Celebrates the 150th Birthday of Klimt

Despite the flagging economy and increasing concern over Eurozone debt, Vienna’s tourism industry is booming. Overnight hotel stays in Austria’s capital city in 2011 reached 11.4 million, a 5% increase from 2010, which was already a record-breaking year. Increased traffic from Russia, Spain, and Switzerland spurred on the high numbers, but the US still remains a vital market. The numbers of travelers to Vienna should only increase in 2012, with the city hosting a 150th birthday party for artist Gustav Klimt. Ten Viennese museums are offering special exhibitions in 2012 to display the paintings, drawings, and designs by Klimt. First stop should be the Belvedere, which owns the world’s largest collection of paintings by Klimt, including The Kiss. A show at the Albertina will delve into Klimt’s versatility as an artist, displaying 170 of his drawings.

 
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The Trustees of Reservations Week, Central Massachusetts Highlights

Massachusetts might border the ocean, but it’s not until you drive the interior of this state on backcountry roads that you really appreciate the abundance of water. I woke up at Tully Lake Campground this morning and took the 10-minute trail to Doane’s Falls. Little did I realize I was about to witness one of the most majestic sites in New England. An onslaught of water came gushing down a series of rock ledges under a perfectly sculpted stone bridge, one that was built by the CCC under FDR’s helm. It would set the theme for the day—the rushing water of springtime and the wall of rock that’s continually shaped by these rapids. 
 
Chapel Brook in Ashfield is a popular swimming hole in summer, when this tributary of the South River snakes through a dense hardwood forest before cascading over ledges and forming natural pools. Earn that dip by walking across the street and taking the half-mile trail up Pony Mountain. You’ll be rewarded with a panorama of mountains and valley. 
 
The sound of rushing water also greets me at the next stop, Chesterfield Gorge, a 30-minute drive from Chapel Brook. Here, the East Branch of the Westfield River drops dramatically through rock walls that are close to 70-feet high. Below the gorge, fly-fishermen were seen casting their lines in the riffles in the hopes of hooking a trout. I took deep breaths of sweet pine and walked a ways through the thick forest on the East Branch Trail. This 7-mile long dirt road is open to both hikers and mountain bikers who can cruise through the adjacent Gilbert Bliss State Forest, perfectly suited for a day trip. 
 
Even my last stop of the day, the homestead of William Cullen Bryant, has a water theme. Stroll under the tall and ancient-looking sugar maples and hemlocks his family planted 200 years ago, when the great poet was just a boy, and you’ll reach a rivulet, a trickling stream. The Trustees has posted Bryant’s entire poem from 1823, “The Rivulet,” next to the spring. “The same sweet sounds are in my ear, my early childhood loved to hear,” wrote Bryant. Long after his family had sold off the land and moved to Illinois to farm, the poet and abolitionist would buy the land back in 1865, the same year his good friend Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. Bryant, as he documents so well in his poetry, always preferred country life to city life and he would spend all of his summers here until his death in 1878. Look out at the meadows, forest, and Berkshire foothills and you realize little has changed thanks to conservation efforts. It’s still a sylvan slice of heaven, one that I’ll return to next time with a picnic lunch made by the Old Creamery in Cummington, just down the road. 
 
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Woodstock Inn & Resort Debuts the Red Barns at the Kelly Way Gardens

When we caught up with Woodstock Inn General Manager, Gary Thulander, over dinner last month at the property, he was very excited about the opening this spring of the Red Barns, renovated rustic barns down the road from the property that will showcase the wealth of produce already growing at the surrounding Kelly Way Gardens. Certified organic by the Vermont Organic Farmers Association, the gardens boast more than 200 varieties of produce including 55 varieties of tomatoes, 75 berries and orchard plantings, 50 herbs and edible flowers, a mushroom glen, annual and perennial flowers, honey, and hops. Taking advantage of this bountiful harvest, the Red Barns will combine rustic charm with a state-of-the-art cooking and dining facility to offer the Red Barn Dinner Series this summer. Join Gardener Benjamin Pauly and Executive Chef Rhys Lewis on Sundays in July and August for an evening of dining that features the local artistry of Vermont’s cheesemakers, farmers, beekeepers, and dairymen while celebrating the abundant produce of the Kelly Way Gardens. Dinners will start at 5 pm and cost $55 per person. Reservations are a must. You can also enjoy tea in the gardens, Tuesdays in July, August, and September, free to inn guests, or a sensory stroll through the gardens on Thursdays. 

 
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Winter Offerings from the Appalachian Mountain Club

If history is on our side, New England usually bounces back from a dismal ski season with an overwhelming amount of snow. The AMC is already preparing for this deluge by teaming up with local ski areas in New Hampshire. Stay at Highland Lodge in Crawford Notch or the Joe Dodge Lodge in Pinkham Notch and ski at nearby Bretton Woods, Wildcat, Attitash, and the expansive network of Nordic trails at Jackson XC. The price includes lodging, ski pass, dinner and breakfast. And if you book before December 15th, you could save up to 30 percent off the price. Also check out their long list of programs for adults and families, including weekend courses on winter photography, snowshoeing, tracking winter animals, climbing a 4,000-foot peak, and other winter adventures. Finally, don’t overlook the opportunity to cross-country ski from Maine lodge to lodge on glorious backcountry ski routes nestled alongside the 100-Mile Wilderness Trail. The AMC will shuttle luggage from one historic sporting camp to the next and the price includes lodging and all meals. 

 

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