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Ogunquit Still My No. 1 Beach Town in New England

To celebrate a big birthday for my mother-in-law, 14 members of the family made their way to Ogunquit, Maine in mid-July for 3 nights. I haven’t been back to Ogunquit since I wrote my cover story for Yankee Magazine on the Top 25 Beach Towns in New England, naming Ogunquit over Provincetown as the best beach town in New England. I was happy to see the article from the July/August 2012 issue framed on the wall of The Beachmere Inn, where we stayed. After a memorable weekend, I can honestly say that I made the right choice naming Ogunquit my number one beach town. I ditched the car in the parking lot and didn’t see it again until I left. The view of the Atlantic and the 3 ½-mile stretch of beachfront from the Beachmere was just as glorious as I remembered. We would stroll down the sloping lawn to the Marginal Way, and either take a left to hit the beach or veer right to walk along the rugged shoreline to the restaurants in Perkins Cove. The big birthday dinner was held in a private room at MC Perkins Cove, a restaurant I first discovered when it debuted, reporting for Boston Globe Magazine’s Best of the New issue. The meal and service were both exceptional. So was our first night’s dinner at Oarweed at an outdoor table overlooking the Atlantic, digging into the freshest lobster I’ve had in a long time, washed down with a Blueberry Ale. 

Yes, both P’town and Nantucket have excellent restaurants and beaches. But where Ogunquit excels is theater and other cultural offerings. Gershwins’ An American in Paris, staged at the historic Ogunquit Playhouse, was a fantastic rendition of this complex play, featuring tap dance, ballet, and songs (see it before it closes on August 4th).  We visited the Ogunquit Museum of American Art to see the Lois Dodd show, only to be serenaded by the poetry of Richard Blanco, who just happened to be there that day. Blanco is best known as being the poet who spoke at President Obama’s second inauguration and his words, which were paired with photography on exhibit, are incredibly moving. Ogunquit, I have a feeling I’ll be returning far more frequently in the future. 
 

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Bikers and Farmers Unite at the Farm to Fork Fondo

When former professional cyclist Tyler Wren wanted to create an event that combines his love of biking with farming and exquisite scenery, he was inspired by the Italian “fondos,” celebratory rides where locals and farmers bike first, feast afterwards. He pulled it off last year in Vermont to great success. In the summer of 2017, Wren is offering a full slate of Farm to Fork Fondos, including stops in the Hudson River Valley, Vermont, Finger Lakes, the Berkshires, Pennsylvania Dutch Country, and the Maine coast. These one-day rambles are geared to the public, not professional bikers. Wren creates loops of 8-10, 25-35, 45-50, and 75-100 miles based on your abilities, escorted and with police presence to cut off road traffic. Simply choose your ride and get ready to stop at local farms along the way for a feast of fresh produce. Most of the proceeds go to local charities. You can even sign up for dinners the night before where farmers talk about the satisfaction and challenges of their livelihood. But you better sign up soon because Outside Magazine just wrote about the Farm to Fork Fondo in the April issue. So I expect these rides to sell out quickly. 

 
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ActiveTravels January Newsletter, Best of The New Travel in 2019

We look forward to bringing you the ActiveTravels January Newsletter each year because it gives us a chance to discover what’s new in the world of travel. If it wows us, then it passes the test and we’re excited to share it with you. Please have a look to see our roundup of the latest and greatest hotels, resorts, cruises, adventures and restaurants to debut in 2019. 

We’re off to Hong Kong and Bangkok tonight for the next two weeks. We had to leave two days early to avoid the winter storm and snow headed to Boston. We’ll be back on February 4th with the highlights from Amy’s recent trip to Thailand and Laos. Thanks, as always, for checking in! 
 
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Isiolo International Airport Set to Open Soon in Samburu Region of Kenya

On the northern frontier of Kenya, the parched desert landscape is home to one of the most cherished stops on an African safari tour, the Samburu National Reserve. Mention Samburu to any avid African traveler, like I recently did at dinner with Rob Barbour, Director of East African Travels for Epic Private Journeys, and their eyes light up. Here, the wilderness experience is savored by a select few, enhanced by the chance to meet the indigenous cattle-herding Nilotes and Turkana clans. It’s also home to one of our favorite properties in the country, Sasaab, owned by the same group who run the Giraffe Manor in Nairobi. The problem with Samburu was accessibility, a good 4-hour drive from the Lewa Wilderness or prohibitively expensive flights to a nearby airport. That will change when the new Isiolo International Airport opens by the end of the year. I’m hoping the new airport doesn’t make it too easy to visit Samburu, but I would get here sooner rather than later. 
 
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Spending a Night at the Shaw Festival

Long before people headed to Niagara on the Lake to sample the world-class chardonnays and rieslings, and prior to outfitters like Butterfield & Robinson arriving on the scene to design exceptional day rides, there was the renowned Shaw Festival. Held from the beginning of April to early November, the theatre festival celebrates the works of George Bernard Shaw and his contemporaries. More than a dozen productions are performed each year at four stages from works created by Noel Coward, Arthur Miller, Oscar Wilde, Lillian Hellman, and a slew of other noteworthy playwrights. This year, expect to find Frank Loesser’s Guys and Dolls, Wilde’s Lady Windermere’s Fan, and Bernard Shaw’s Major Barbara. Last night at Royal George Theater, I took in Our Betters, a rarely performed play by one of my favorite writers, Somerset Maugham. Set in 1920s London, the play is based on a familiar story line from the popular television show, Downton Abbey, where a down on his luck British aristocrat marries a well-to-do American gal for her money. Yet that’s where the similarity ends. Our Betters is much more of a satire, a predictable romp that gets big laughs. Though it’s not Maugham at his finest, it’s still a delight to watch due to the exemplary acting, absorbing sets, and the art deco costumes that take you back to the Roaring 20s. Kudos to the Shaw Festival for continuing to produce plays where biting wit and rapid-fire repartee entertain. 

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Italian Travel Expert Reid Bramblett to Lead Trip to Italy in 2015

I’ve had the pleasure of knowing the work of travel writer Reid Bramblett since we were both contributing editors at Arthur Frommer’s Budget Travel magazine some 15 years ago. He’s the foremost expert on Italy, where he spent his adolescence and then proceeded to pen ten guidebooks (including Frommer’s and DK titles) and far too many articles to count. He has since launched ReidsItaly.com, a travel planning website that I often use to design itineraries for clients heading to Italy. So I was excited to hear that Reid will be guiding a weeklong tour to Tuscany July 2015 in conjunction with Bliss Travel. A dozen lucky people will have Reid as their tour guide as he heads to Florence and then the cherished Tuscan hill town of Montepulciano. You’ll sample Vino Nobile wine from barrels aged in Etruscan-dug tunnels, take private cooking classes, and tour the spectacular towns and vine-draped hills of the surrounding Sienese countryside. Cost is $3500 per person. 

 
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Look Out for the Vessel Later This Year in Manhattan

When it opens in the fall of 2018, Vessel will be a spectacular climbable installation in the middle of the new Hudson Yards development, which is set to regenerate the city’s Far West Side (previously an industrial zone). The glinting copper structure will be the centerpiece of the Public Square and Gardens and will comprise 154 interconnecting flights of stairs in a geometric pattern. Visitors can ascend the 148-feet high structure via the mile-long network of pathways, with each staircase providing a slightly different perspective on the revitalized neighborhood below.

 

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