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Adventures in Las Cruces Week—Enjoying the Las Cruces Farmers and Crafts Market

The best time to enter Las Cruces is on a Friday night like I did. The next morning when the sun arose atop those jagged peaks known as the Organ Mountains, I headed to Main Street for the Saturday Farmers Market. If you’re yearning for authenticity in the Southwest, all it takes is a 7-block stroll in Las Cruces on a Saturday morning to find it. It was the end of the green chile and tomato harvest and bins were filled with fresh produce from the Dona Ana Valley. Also found were pomegranates, Arkansas Black apples, jugs of horchata and limonata, locally farmed pecans and pistachios, and ristras (long strings) of red chiles hanging in front of many of the stalls. Yet, what really impressed me were the local artisans offering gemstone-laden jewelry, pottery, wooden crafts like adobe-style salt and pepper shaker holders, sculptures, watercolors of the local desert wildflowers, and photographs of the Organ Mountains splashed in red sunlight. All offered at a fraction of the cost one would find these wares 4 hours to the north in Santa Fe. 

After purchasing my bounty of souvenirs, I headed to the large Coas used bookstore on Main Street, then checked out more local art at a juried show at the free Las Cruces Museum of Art. On the way back to my car, I spoke to a jeweler who moved to Las Cruces 11 years ago after retiring as a broker in Montreal. “330 days of sunshine, no humidity, no traffic, this place is a hidden gem,” he told me. Bathed in sunlight and sucking down my horchata on a perfect day with mid-80s temps, it was easy to understand the appeal.
 

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A World of Adventure at the Boston Globe Travel Show Tomorrow

For those of you in the region, I’ll be leading a panel at the Boston Globe Travel Show tomorrow on “The World of Adventure.” A very generic name for what many travelers are really yearning for, an authentic travel experience. A truly authentic vacation refuses to be prepackaged and is hard to emulate. Indeed, it’s the opportunity to live like a local for one hour, one day, or one week. The panel includes Rob Burbank from The Appalachian Mountain Club, Judy Allpress from The Wayfarers Walking Vacations, and Joe Luchison from Ciclismo Classico, as we discuss off-the-beaten-track locales to hike, bike, and paddle across the globe. The talk takes place from 10:15-11 am, Saturday, at the Seaport World Trade Center. Hope to see you there! If not, do something active this weekend.
 

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Favorite Travel Days in 2013, A Special Shout-Out to Boston!

While a subway ride to downtown Boston doesn’t really qualify as travel, I can’t hide the joy I felt watching the Red Sox parade with good friends the first Saturday in November. Seeing Big Papi rap, hearing the Dropkick Murphy’s sing “I’m Shipping Up to Boston,” watching our surprise hero, Koji Uehara, blow kisses to the crowd, it was exhilarating. The stunning worst to first turn-around for the Red Sox was exactly what this city needed after a hellish Marathon day. I was at the Marathon, taking my usual space with my family cheering on the runners near the infamous Heartbreak Hill on Mile 19. It was a perfect day for running, sunny and brisk. Then I went home to watch the Red Sox win with a walk-off hit in the 9th inning. Everything was perfect until it wasn’t. The next thing you know my hometown is in lockdown during our precious April school break while the police are in a shootout in nearby Watertown with the brothers who bomb innocent people. 

 
Sad as it is, tragedy has a way of bringing out the best of people’s humanity. I was suddenly talking to reclusive neighbors and everyone was heading into the city to support the bars and restaurants most affected from the senseless act. The Red Sox simply rode the wave of adulation and support, as if the World Series win was predestined. And Boston continues to grow and evolve, especially the area around the Seaport and Fort Point. I was just in the Fort Point neighborhood over the weekend, enjoying oysters, lobster rolls, and an excellent local microbrew (Trillium) at Row 34, the latest offering from the team that brought you Island Creek. If you haven’t been to Boston in a while, 2014 is a great time to return and see all the changes. Best if you come during Patriots Day (April 21st) to cheer on the runners. 
 
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Top 5 Eco-Resorts in Central America, Lapa Rios, Costa Rica

I’ve been receiving a slew of requests from clients lately about sustainable lodging choices in Central America. Here are the ones I consistently send folks to, time and time again, because they love the experience and the environmentally friendly practices. 

 
At the southernmost tip of Costa Rica, Lapa Rios is a 1000-acre private rain forest perched above the Pacific Ocean. 16 spacious bungalows feature hardwood floors, bamboo walls, and vaulted thatched roof ceilings created from local palm trees. Lie on a hammock on your own private deck or take a shower outdoors in a secluded garden. You might be woken in the morning by the loud cry of the howler monkey. Then rise and shine on a three-hour morning hike with a naturalist through the rainforest to a waterfall and swimming hole, stopping to view spider monkeys, scarlet macaws, toucans, parrots, and many other native birds. In the afternoon, sea kayak in the ocean around Matapalo Point, surf the Golfo Dulce, or saddle up those horses. At sunset, head outdoors to see a family of neon green scarlet macaws sitting on a tree in front of you. 
 
Sure, those outdoor showers are solar-powered and more than 70 percent of the materials used are renewable, but take a look at the big picture. Nearly 1000 acres of valuable rainforest have been saved from deforestation and the wildlife within those borders free from poaching, pollution, and real estate development. More than 45 local families are employed on the property and the resort has been instrumental in providing primary education for children in the area.  
 
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Fall Foliage Deals in New England

New England Inns & Resorts, a collection of more than 250 inns and hotels in New England, has some fall foliage deals up on their website. Harbour Towne Inn in Boothbay Harbor, Maine is offering a leaf and lobster tour, starting at $149 a night, including a bountiful harvest breakfast. If you prefer mountains to the sea, the Bethel Inn Resort in Bethel, Maine, home to Sunday River, is offering rooms as low as $119 a night, including breakfast. At the Daniel Webster Inn in Sandwich, on Cape Cod, rooms are as low $120 a night (including a 25% discount), champagne and chocolates upon arrival, and a $50 meal credit for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Even exclusive Nantucket is getting in on the deal. If you can wait till late October to hit the island, rates at the Jared Coffin House drop to $125 a night, with a $25 dinner credit.
 

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The Emergence of Schenectady’s Mohawk Harbor

I was back in my boyhood stomping grounds this weekend for a high school reunion and was pleasantly surprised at how good the city looked. Much of the change is due to an influx of investment from the new Rivers Casino & Resort. We stayed at the casino’s Landing Hotel, boasting a stylish lounge bar, outdoor tables around fire pits, and a paved walking path along the Mohawk River. I’ve never seen so much action on the river. Peering out at the water from our hotel room, we spotted fishing boats, jet skis, and countless crew teams skimming the water’s surface. I learned at the reunion that the Niskayuna crew team is one of the best in New York, with many alums being awarded D-1 scholarships at some of the finest college crew teams in the country. 
 
Rivers Casino is building up the whole waterfront in a neighborhood called Mohawk Harbor. We strolled down the path to find a spanking new apartment building and Courtyard by Marriott. Soon to make its debut in retail space at the bottom of the apartment building is the Shaker & Vine wine bar. Also opening nearby is a restaurant and microbrewery, Druthers Brewing. Before meeting friends at two bars owned by former classmates, Katie O’Byrnes and Cappocia Wine Lounge, we had to stop at my favorite Italian restaurant in town, Cornells, to dine on a dreamy eggplant parmesan. There’s a scene in the movie, Ratatouille, where the food critic is immediately transported back to his youth thanks to the perfect rendering of the dish. That’s what eggplant parmesan at Cornells does to me. One bite and I’m 11 years old surrounded by my family, my mother in her thick Bronx accent asking if I need more fresh baked bread to swipe up the heavenly red sauce. 
 
Things are looking up in Schenectady. If you’re passing through on a college tour or hitting the track at Saratoga next summer, I wouldn’t hesitate to spend a night or two at Mohawk Harbor. 
 
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Ski Red, British Columbia

Due to its remote locale and the fact that the Whistler overshadows all the other exceptional mountains in BC, you might not have heard of Red. But take my word for it, you will. In 2013, they added a chairlift up Grey Mountain, adding 22 new runs and a whopping 1,000 acres of skiing, placing Red at pretty much the same scale as Breckenridge and Jackson Hole. A year later they added cat skiing off Mount Kirkup. But size doesn’t necessarily matter when it comes to skiing this beaut. Close to 7,000 feet high and rarely another skier in view, you’re certain you were planted on Red by helicopter. You can ski the entire mountain, front and back, with exceptional intermediate and advanced terrain off the Motherlode Chair. Red’s claim to fame, however, is all the backcountry trails that weave through the trees on neighboring Mount Roberts. And those 360-degree views from the top. Sweet! Ski Red just once and you’ll understand why it’s worth flying to Spokane and driving 2 1/2 hours north to Rossland. 

 

2 Comments

  1. One of the best Farmer’s Markets by far, and I’ve been to many around the country. Las Cruces’ Main Street is a treasure trove of attractions and interest, every day, I think!

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