Part III of My Week in the Canadian Rockies: Jasper


Located near Sacramento, Davis, California, is a city of just over 65,000 people that’s perhaps best known as the first city in the country to create bike lines on their streets. Well, yesterday, they just upped the ante by announcing their intent to cut the community’s carbon emissions by up to 50 percent by 2013. Using the tenets of David Gershon’s book, “Low Carbon Diet: A 30-day Program to Lose 5,000 Pounds,” Davis is creating EcoTeams, peer-support groups to help households reduce their emissions. Cool Portland (Oregon), Gershon’s first pilot program, helped reduce carbon emissions of each household by 22 percent or 6,700 pounds. 50 percent seems ambitious, but kudos to Davis and Gershon for giving it a shot!
Similar to the Fontainebleau and Eden Roc in Miami Beach, Hotel Valley Ho in Scottsdale, Arizona was a favorite hideaway to Hollywood stars like Robert Wagner and Natalie Wood when it opened in the 50s. Then, like those Miami Beach icons, it fell on rough times until reopening in 2005 after an $80 million refurbishment. Now the seven-story stylish hotel, home to the legendary Trader Vic’s, is back to its former self and is ready to host baseball lovers for spring training. Hotel Valley Ho is less than a mile from Scottsdale Stadium, the venue for the World Champion San Francisco Giants. The property is also close to Phoenix Municipal Stadium, the spring training home to the Oakland A’s. For a great overview of spring training facilities, see my story in FamilyVacationCritic.com.
As part of Hotel Commonwealth’s $50 million expansion to double its size, they included another one of their signature theme rooms, one that’s destined to be adored by Red Sox Nation. The new Fenway Park Suite overlooks the iconic park and features original ballpark seats on its spacious terrace along with a mitt where you can catch one of Big Papi’s last home runs. Fenway Faithful will also relish all the memorabilia indoors, including the #6 from The Green Monster scoreboard, originally given to Johnny Pesky when his number was retired in 2008; signed baseball and vintage baseball cards from Ted Williams, Bobby Doerr, Dom DiMaggio, and Johnny Pesky; actual tickets from 1946, 1967 and 1975 World Series games; a coffee table signed by numerous Red Sox legends; and mixed-media artwork of Carlton Fisk created by Massachusetts artist Stephen Sheffield to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of Fenway Park. And forget that mint on the pillow. Guests staying in the Fenway Park Suite receive a bag of Fenway dirt as a special turndown amenity.
Rhode Island’s most popular trail is perched on the rocky shores above the Atlantic, ocean on one side, the backyards of the massive Bellevue Avenue mansions on the other. In the summer months, this 3 ½-mile route is crowded with hundreds of folks yearning to see the sloping lawns and backside of those summer “cottages” the Vanderbilts, Whitneys, and Astors built at the turn of the century. Come fall, you’ll pass the occasional dog walker as you take in the expanse of the sea all by your lonesome. Park your car on Narragansett Avenue near the walk and proceed to the right. You’ll soon spot The Breakers, the Italian-style villa commissioned by Cornelius Vanderbilt in 1895. Another highlight is the red and gold lacquered Chinese-style pagoda at the Marble House. If you were wise, you booked a room at The Chanler at Cliff Walk, the only property on the Cliff Walk. Celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2013, the 20-room inn is best known for its acclaimed restaurant, Spiced Pear, a favorite foodie outpost in town.
San Antonio might be best known for its River Walk, but one of my favorite outings in the city is the opportunity to bike to the Spanish colonial Missions. My personal favorite of the five is Concepción, built in 1731. The crumbling lime stone exterior, which leads to a still operable church, is incredibly photogenic, especially with the early morning sunshine pouring down. Afterwards, I bike down Mission Road 3 miles to reach the largest mission, San José, known for its popular Mariachi Mass each Sunday. At its height, the missions would hold close to 300 people, working as a church, farm, and ranch. Franciscan friars gathered the native population, converted them to Catholicism, and taught them to live like Spaniards. At Mission San José, you can still see the small living quarters that surround the square layout. Inside the stone walls, overlooking the green and the church, the setting is serene. Now the world will get to know these majestic structures, thanks to the news on Sunday that the San Antonio missions were chosen as one of the latest UNESCO World Heritage sites. It’s a perfect time to view the largest collection of Spanish colonial architecture in America.