Fish It
If you think ice fishing means dangling a line on some remote pond while extremities turn numb and lips go blue, you’re in for a big surprise. These days, winter anglers can sit in a heated shanty and watch Super Bowl while checking their lines for any nibbles. February and the March are the two best months for hooking landlocked salmon, northern pike, lake trout and bass on Lake Champlain. Rent a shanty from Captain Gill Gagner for $90 a day or he’ll guide you all day for $200, including all fishing gear.
Kite It
Head to Cape Cod in summer and you’ll no doubt find kitesurfers catching air and zipping across the ocean. Now with the help of a good wind, you can glide on iced-over lakes and snow-covered meadows. Called snowkiting, the sport has its annual powwow, Kitestorm, on February 26th and 27th on Lake Champlain. Come with skis or snowboard, boots, and a helmet, and instructors will attach you to a kite and get you started. If you can’t make it to Burlington over those dates, contact Rachael Miller, owner of Stormboarding, for lessons and equipment.
Coast It
Take cross-country skiing and merge it with ice skating and you get the new phenomenon sweeping across the wild rivers and lakes of New England, nordic skating. Equipped with boots that are more comfortable than typical figure or hockey skates, and blades that glide atop the ice much like a speed skater, this Scandinavian craze lets skaters travel great distances at a much faster speed than cross-country skiing. Try the sport in the town of North Hero on Lake Champlain February 6th or at the Lake Morey Resort in Fairlee, Vermont, on Sunday mornings in February.
I honestly didn’t spend much time at the Saratoga Race Course growing up in nearby Schenectady. My dad had a sailboat docked north of Bolton Landing on Lake George and that’s where we would spend much of the summer. But since I’ve been getting together with high school buddies annually these past 7 years, a day at the track has always been a day that I really look forward to. This year, I arrived around noon and parked behind the stables (free parking off Exit 14 on the Northway), a good parking area if you’re headed north to Lake George like we were. Then I strolled over to the front gate, purchased a pink sheet, which gives insider info on the horses and jockeys, and grabbed a burger and fries at Shake Shack. The first race is 1 pm and the track is a beauty, the oldest track in America and named by Sports Illustrated as one of the Top 10 Sports Venues of the 20th Century. My friend, Bob, usually finds us a table in the Clubhouse to watch the races, where we have great views of the horses rounding the track. I walk up to place my $2 and $5 bets and usually lose, with or without the pink sheet, but still have a blast rooting for my horses. This year, I left on a winning note, betting on Flowers to Lisa to win the 8th race. It easily cruised to victory at 5:1 odds, no doubt spurred on by my wife, Lisa, my lucky charm. 
If you’re headed to Thailand, Bali, Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, or Myanmar with 
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