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A Great Deal on Captiva Island Condo in December

Guest Post and Photo by Amy Perry Basseches 

Since I was a teenager, I’ve been spending a week every December on Captiva Island, Florida, at South Seas Island Resort. It all started when my parents made a sailing stop for the night at the South Seas Marina, thereupon setting into motion an annual multi-generational week. This year, 15 family members (ranging in age from my 20-year-old daughter to my 90-year-old mother) will gather.  
 
Captiva and nearby Sanibel Islands have a lot to offer. They are easy to get to (from Fort Myers / RSW airport), and from the Islands’ website: "Enjoy 15 miles of unspoiled beaches, 25 miles of bike paths, 50 types of fish, 230 types of birds, 250 kinds of shells and 0 stop lights." It’s true. The miles of white sand beaches, and activities like beach yoga, biking, kayaking, water sports, and shelling lead to activity-filled days, gorgeous sunsets, and starry nights. 
 
South Seas features regular hotel rooms and condos with kitchens to stock with groceries from nearby Bailey’s. Off property, you can venture to Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge to see the alligators and egrets, visit a farmers’ markets, buy lots of fresh seafood, and head to the Bubble Room or Sunshine Seafood Cafe for dinner. 
 
ActiveTravels has a lead on a low-cost condo rental at South Seas for December 7-14 (Friday morning-Friday morning). That’s coming right up! Enjoy breathtaking views of Pine Island Sound in a remodeled 2 bedroom/2 bath unit (King bed, 2 twin beds, sofa bed in LR). There is a full kitchen and a screened porch, overlooking the pool and waterfront. If interested, let us know soon ($1600 for the week). As I write this, it’s 42 degrees and overcast in Toronto. On Captiva, it’s 81 degrees and sunny. Need I say more?
 

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When I tell people that I find Lake George more exquisite than Lake Tahoe, Lake Powell, or even that wondrous lake to the north, Champlain, they often look at me bewildered.  They equate the lake with the honky-tonk village on the southern tip, packed with T-shirt and fudge shops, video arcades, hokey haunted houses, a requisite water park, and my personal favorite, Goony Golf, a miniature golf course crowded with huge fairy tale characters. All folks have to do is drive about ten miles north on Route 9N to find the far more charming town of Bolton Landing. This section of the 31-mile long lake is more like a river, narrow and hemmed in by the peaks, offering vintage Adirondack beauty that once inspired Hudson River School painters to grab their canvases and head north, followed by Georgia O’Keeffe and her camera-toting husband Alfred Stieglitz.

Growing up in Schenectady, New York, we would make the hour-drive to Bolton Landing on a regular basis to reach our sailboat docked just out of town. Now I return on an annual basis with my family to visit my father and his wife who summer here, and treat my kids to a good dose of natural adventure. One of my favorite things to do is rent sea kayaks on Green Island and paddle around the classic Adirondack resort, the Sagamore, a large wedding cake of a hotel that’s been the lake’s premier address for over a century. This past weekend, I persuaded my dad and his wife, Ginny, to join me. I put my father in the front of a double kayak that I steered while Ginny paddled alongside us in a single kayak. The wind was strong and the waves choppy as we approached the sloping grounds of the Sagamore, but soon we were around the island singing sea shanties. Whether you sail, sea kayak, or prefer a motor boat, get out on this lake and make some memories.
 

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In the 1850s, Rockport, Massachusetts businessman William Norwood turned his popular tavern into The Pigeon Cove Inn. One of the inn’s most celebrated guests was none other than the “Sage of Concord,” poet, essayist, and philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson. So it’s no surprise that the property is now called the Emerson Inn. Acquired last year by the family-run Migis Hotel Group, best known as owners of Migis Lodge on Sebago Lake, Maine, the Emerson Inn will reopen after a significant renovation. An hour’s drive north of Boston, the oceanfront inn offers 36 rooms with private balconies and sweeping views of the Atlantic—all within walking distance to the restaurants, shops, and galleries of the charming town of Rockport. As a nod to its past, the inn’s restaurant will now be called the Pigeon Cove Tavern and will feature locally caught seafood, produce and meats from nearby farms. 

 
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Trustees Sites Not To Be Missed, The Guest House at Field Farm, Williamstown

Two of the finest art exhibitions in New England will take place in the Berkshires this summer. “Splendor, Myth, and Vision: Nudes From the Prado” will be on display at the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown from June 11th through October 10th. Twenty-eight Old Master paintings, including works by Titian, Velasquez, Rubens, and Tintoretto will be on display. Just down the road in North Adams, Mass MoCA will feature “Explode Every Day: An Inquiry Into the Phenomena of Wonder.” Opening on May 28th, the ambitious show will exhibit works designed to explore wonder through the eyes of 20 contemporary artists. 

 
Once you’ve had your fill of art, relax at the Guest House at Field Farm in Williamstown, a 5-bedroom inn run by the Trustees. The Bauhaus-era home is also an art piece, a perfect example of American modernism. Walking into the living room is like walking into a post-modern early 60s museum set where Don Draper is your host. Unlike the rectilinear architecture, all furniture seems to have curves, from the Isamu Noguchi glass coffee table to the swan-backed couch by Vladimir Kagan. Large glass windows take in the stunning views of Mount Greylock. Grab a glass of wine, sit outside on the patio, and take it all in. 
 

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