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Marriott Plans to Open New Hotel in Haiti
Good news out of Haiti last week when Marriott Hotels announced that they will build a new 173-room in Port-au-Prince, set to open 2014. The news was revealed by former President Bill Clinton, whose Clinton Foundation worked diligently to make this happen. The move will not only add a supposed 175 jobs, but could help to bolster a travel trade that has vanished as a result of oppressive regimes and the devastating earthquake of January 2010. Haiti shares the same island with the Dominican Republic, which certainly has its own share of poverty, but has seen incredible growth in the travel trade these past two decades, especially with the emergence of Punta Cana. Let’s hope Haiti can find its own Punta Cana in the upcoming years, one that world travelers would be happy to support.
Five Teen-Worthy Adventures
Lake George Week, A Landscape That Inspired Georgia O’Keeffe
In the mid-90s, I was hired by Art & Antiques Magazine to write a story on the period of time painter Georgia O’Keeffe and her husband, photographer Alfred Stieglitz, lived on the shores of Lake George. This was to coincide with a photography exhibition of Stieglitz’s work at New York’s Museum of Modern Art. I knew renowned abstract sculptor David Smith lived in Bolton Landing, but I honestly had no idea O’Keeffe lived in Lake George, since she’s far better known for her New Mexican motif. From 1918 to 1934, O’Keeffe would spend a good portion of her summer at the lake. She would return to Lake George for the last time in 1946 to spread Stieglitz’s ashes at the foot of a pine tree on the shores of the lake. Today, those ashes lie on the grounds of the Tahoe Motel. Next door, the house they lived in, Oaklawn, is still standing at The Quarters of the Four Seasons Inn. On a wall next to my desk, I have a poster of a dreamy mountain and lake landscape simply titled Lake George (1922). My brother, Jim, purchased this for me at the San Francisco Museum of Art, where the original O’Keeffe oil still hangs.
Blown Away in Chicago
The largest annual skydiving contest in the US, the USPA National Skydiving Championships, will return to Chicago from September 10 to 24. Located southwest of the city along the banks of the Fox River, Skydive Chicago will feature the world’s greatest skydivers competing for gold, silver, and bronze in five disciplines. They include formation diving, where teams of 4, 8, 10, and 16 skydivers create formations in the sky before opening their parachutes, and the freestyle artist event, where a jumper performs a graceful dance in freefall. All the championships are free and open to the public.
Jay Peak’s New Indoor Waterpark a Blast
Cross-Country Ski at Notchview Reservation in the Berkshires, Massachusetts
Last Friday, my wife and I headed to the Berkshires in the western part of Massachusetts to check out the incredibly detailed 500 year-old prints of Albrecht Durer at the Clark Art Museum and the wildly inventive bird and flower sculptures of Petah Coyne at Mass MoCA. The highlight of our trip, however, was cross-country skiing on the grounds of the exquisite Notchview in Windsor. Run by the Trustees of Reservations, Notchview’s trails were groomed with a fresh layer of powder when we arrived. We went counter-clockwise on the Circuit Trail, passing meadows and skiing under a tunnel of snowed-under pines. The web of white branches kept us snug within the forest, protecting us from any wind. After passing a small shelter, we turned onto the Whitestone Trail and entered a winter wonderland of uprooted trees and branches arching over the serpentine path. A downhill run brought us back to the main lodge, invigorated by the fresh smell of pine and the exercise. To top it off, we went to the Old Creamery in Cummington, a favorite local haunt that features homemade soups, grilled panini sandwiches, salads, and pies. The perfect ending to a perfect outing.