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Lexus Gran Fondo Coming to the Chatham Bars Inn

After months of preparation, the Chatham Bars Inn has just announced that it will be holding a 3-day weekend of biking and fine dining over Memorial Day Weekend. Partnering with Lexus, the three-day event includes the Lexus Gran Fondo, a 100-mile race along with professional cyclists George Hincapie and Christian Vande Velde from Boston to Chatham, and 25-mile and 50-mile routes around Cape Cod for us mere mortals. Your biking efforts will be rewarded with a slew of culinary events like a barbecue hosted by one of my favorite chefs in Texas, Dean Fearing, paired with the latest releases of saison from the Blackberry Farm Brewery. A celebratory dinner Saturday night will feature the talents of Chatham Bars chefs Anthony Cole and Justin Urso, chef Carlo Mirarchi (Roberta’s and Blanca, NYC) and sommelier Carlton McCoy (The Little Nell, Aspen, CO). The event will end Sunday with a clambake on the shore at the Chatham Bars Beach House. Expect to dine on freshly shucked oysters, littlenecks, a whole Chatham lobster, shrimp, mussels and more. On Monday, Lexus will provide courtesy transportation for all cyclists and up to two guests back to Boston. Several packages are available for guests looking to stay at Chatham Bars Inn and participate in the festivities. 

 

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Staycations Still Popular the Summer of 2010

Staycations, the stay close to home trend of last year continues into this summer as travelers are still trying to save money in this wretched economy. The Fairmont Battery Wharf is doing its part, offering a 10% discount on the best available rate, plus a free upgrade to all New Englanders. Open a little over a year ago, the hotel is located on Battery Wharf, once owned in its entirety by Paul Revere’s son. The 150-room property has good views of Boston Harbor and the Coast Guard carrier on the neighboring dock. It’s a great locale for families, within easy walking distance to the New England Aquarium, Quincy Market, the Freedom Trail, and the Italian restaurants of the North End.
 

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Ko Olina Resort Week—Food, Glorious Food

All it took was one dish at  Roy’s Ko Olina and we knew we were in good hands. The blue crab maki, made with Japanese hamachi, sweet chile mango salsa, and firecracker aioli, was consumed by my family of four in a matter of seconds. The Ko Olina Resort might be best known for its properties, including the JW Marriott Ihilani Resort and Disney’s Aulani Resort, but it’s the restaurants outside the resorts that truly shine. Grab a seat at Roy’s Ko Olina overlooking the golf course and you’ll soon realize that this sister restaurant to the legendary Roy’s in Honolulu is a memorable meal. All the signature dishes are here, including heavenly blackened ahi tuna and the misoyaki marinated butterfish, both so tender that you know it was caught that morning. Save room for the decadent macadamia nut tart. 
 
Roy Yamaguchi is not the only Hawaiian celebrity chef with a restaurant in Ko Olina. Peter Merriman of Merriman’s fame on the Big Island has opened the casual Monkeypod Kitchen directly across the street from the resorts. Start with a blueberry mojito or one of the 36 microbrews on tap including Longboard Lager from Kona. Then dive into an appetizer of ahi poke, so addictive that I guarantee you’ll order it twice once the first threesome is devoured. The pumpkin patch ravioli, created from roasted squash, spinach, chevre cheese, and walnut sage pesto is also a winner. Then move on to the macadamia-crusted mahi mahi, or the lobster, coconut, and fresh fish stew made with a nice Thai curry sauce. The kids will like the wood-fired pizza and burger choices. 
 
It’s been a great week at Ko Olina! I’m fortunate to finally have the chance to check out the leeward side of Oahu. I want to thank Sweetie Nelson and Leonie Lam for giving me the inside scoop. I’m off to the Big Island and San Francisco, which I’ll blog about when I return home. Please check back the week of July 21st. In the meantime, enjoy your summer! 
 
(Photo by Jake Jermanok) 
 
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Adventures in New Brunswick Week—Hiking to Barnaby Head

Almost equidistant between Saint John and Saint Andrews, New River Beach is best known as one of the finest stretches of sand on the Bay of Fundy. Yet, just a wee bit to the east of the crescent-shaped beach is one New Brunswick’s most glorious hikes, the nature trail to Barnaby Head. Walk on a boardwalk lined with long planks through a bog that a moose could love. Soon the vistas of the Bay of Fundy open up as you arrive at Chittick’s Beach. The rocky shores are sandwiched between jagged bluffs and boulders carpeted by seaweed. Out to sea, you could never tell that the Bay of Fundy experiences one of the greatest tidal shifts on earth, often more than 30 feet difference between high and low tide. The water looked as flat as an ice skating rink and there were no signs of boat life on this overcast day. There were also no other hikers as we made our way on a narrow, root-littered trail that hugs the shoreline. What a treat! You enter an emerald forest where both rocks and trees are smothered in moss and the soft path feels springy. The sweet smell of pine only enhances the experience. We enter another lonely beach, Deep Cove, where we hear the distinct yodeling call of the loon and see the white tops of eider ducks. Soon we’re at the tip of the peninsula, Barnaby Head, hearing the clanging of a buoy bell on the water. The crisp sea air is therapeutic, washing away any worries. It’s good to be back in New Brunswick. 

 
Photo by Jeff Katz
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A Necessary Stop at Longwood Gardens on a College Road Trip

A word of advice. When going on a college road trip in February, focus on schools in the South. We spent last week with our daughter, Melanie, visiting six colleges in the Mid-Atlantic States and New York. At Penn State, the temperature was 8 degrees with a wind chill of -15. I thought my face was going to get frostbite at one point. But we made the most of the week, stopping at wonderful sights along the way like Longwood Gardens, a 30-minute drive north of the University of Delaware. After dealing with brutal temperatures and a far too snowy winter in Boston, you can imagine the delight we felt walking into a massive conservatorium filled to the brim with palms, ferns, colorful orchids, even a blooming indoor rose garden. We lingered happily in one section of South Pacific palms where the temperature indoors topped 80 degrees. The gardens provided the perfect blend of humidity and color, something we desperately needed during this far too painful winter. I could have easily spent the entire week here. 
 
 
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Boston Pizza Festival Headed to City Hall Plaza July 8th and 9th

If you’re headed to Boston for the 4th of July to see the fireworks and listen to Hamilton alum Leslie Odom sing with the Boston Pops, you might want to stick around town. On July 8th and 9th from noon to 10 pm, the inaugural Boston Pizza Festival will be held at City Hall Plaza. 30 handcrafted pizza ovens will spread across the Plaza as Boston’s best pizza makers, including Regina, Antico Forno, Mast, and Oath, will give you a taste of their wares. Also expect live music, beer, wine, and pizza demos. The Mayor of Naples, Luigi De Magistris, will be here along with Boston’s Mayor Marty Walsh to kick off the festivities. Tickets are priced at $15 and kids under 5 are free. Limited-availability VIP tickets ($50) include 1-hour early admission (11am), access to the VIP lounge with private bar, free sample for the first hour, and a VIP gift bag. Tickets can be purchased here. 

 
In order to dine on as much pizza as I’d like, I’m going to keep active next week biking, hiking, and sea kayaking along the Bay of Fundy in New Brunswick. Please follow along! 
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Affordable European Flights Out Of Boston’s Logan Airport

This might be the summer to return to Europe, especially with the announcement last week that a number of low-cost airlines will soon start to offer flights from Boston’s Logan Airport. Thomas Cook Airlines will fly to Manchester, England, for as low as $312 one-way. AirBerlin will also begin offering flights to Dusseldorf, Germany. They join no-frills carriers like Norwegian Air and WOW, which started offering cheaper flights to Europe last summer. Adding to the fun is news that WestJet, the low-cost Canadian airline will soon offer flights to Halifax and Toronto. Time to take advantage of that favorable Canadian exchange rate?

 

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