|

Top 5 Paddling Spots in America, Adirondack State Park, New York

The weather in Boston has been sunny and warm this past, which, believe me, is a rarity in spring. It’s a great time to grab a canoe and paddle one of the rivers or lakes before the mosquitoes start to swarm. This week I’m going to discuss my top 5 places to paddle in America. First up, the Adirondacks in upstate New York.

The countless rivers, lakes, and ponds in the Adirondacks are connected by short trails, resulting in a seemingly endless combination of canoeing options. One of the finest is a 4-day figure eight loop in the St. Regis Canoe Area that includes eight ponds and the Upper and Middle Saranac Lakes. Creeks, inundated with beaver dams and lily pads, connect the placid waters of the ponds. Mountains hovering over 2500 feet surround the lakes. St. Regis Canoe Outfitters will help plan an itinerary and provide all the necessary amenities for a canoe trip including canoe, paddles, maps, tents, backpacks, and sleeping bags. 
 

Similar Posts

|

A Relaxing Stop in the Berkshires at the Red Lion Inn

After dropping our son off at Cornell last week, we stopped in the Berkshires to dine with good friends and spend a night at the Red Lion Inn in Stockbridge. I haven’t stayed at this classic retreat in over a decade and it turned out to be just what the doctor ordered. As soon as we dropped off our bags off in our spacious room in one of the houses on the lot next to the main inn, we went to straight to the pool and hot tub for a plunge. We then washed up just in time to join the sommelier on the Red Lion’s signature wraparound porch for a tasting of roses and white zinfandels. The next morning Lisa woke up early to use the fitness center, located in the O’Brien House, before a typical August in New England breakfast of wild blueberry pancakes and Mass maple syrup in the main dining room. Happy we made the stop instead of rushing home. 

 
|

Anantara, a Serene Oasis in Bangkok

Bangkok is a sprawling, congested city and when you arrive at the Royal Palace, Wat Arun, and the other major sights, even they are overcrowded with tourists. That’s why you need to take it slow, not place too many items on your itinerary, and stay at a great hotel where you will enjoy spending time. We split up our stay in Bangkok with two nights at the Anantara Siam and two nights at their sister property, Anantara Riverside. Both featured a lavish spread at the breakfast buffet, including American, Chinese, and Indian favorites. Anantara Siam also features an excellent Thai Restaurant, Spice Market, where we dined our first night. Afterwards, walk into the indoor courtyard and check out the koi pond. The highlight at Anantara Siam was their signature 90-minute Siam 2482 deep-tissue massage. Using two bamboo sticks, eight herbal compresses, and gold leaf, I walked out of there as loose as a jellyfish and happy as a clam. 

 
Anantara Riverside has more of a resort feel, overlooking a large pool where you simply push a button on your menu and a server appears to take your order. The hotel was crowded with families who would spend the entire day splashing around in the 90-degree heat. The Riverside Dinner Cruise from the resort’s pier is a must, a 2-hour gentle cruise along the Chao Phraya seeing the Royal Palace and Wat Arun lit up at night. On our last day, to celebrate Lisa’s birthday, we took a 5-hour cooking course with one of the hotel’s chefs. At 8 am, we took a tuk tuk with Chef over to a local market and picked up all the necessary ingredients for the three courses we would soon make, including large prawns, chicken, lemongrass, galangal, chicory root, mushrooms, and many spicy peppers. Soon we were back at the hotel’s outdoor cooking center on the 2nd floor, creating Golden Caps, crusted rice crackers filled with a chicken and shrimp filling; a spicy and delicious Thai soup that we hope to recreate at home one day; and a tender barramundi topped with spicy chili, curry powder, and lime. We finished with fresh mango that Chef sliced like bird’s wings, served with sweet sticky rice that was topped with sweet coconut milk. A memorable birthday lunch! 
 
|

After 5: Medellin

Home to vivid street art and a bounty of sculptures and paintings by Botero, Colombia’s only public transit system (including cable cars), and a burgeoning dining scene, Medellin has transformed from Pablo Escobar’s former hangout to one of the safest and most vibrant destinations in South America. It doesn’t hurt that this city of 4 million people sits in a valley surrounded by mountains at an altitude close to a mile high, offering sublime temperatures in the 70s and 80s degree Fahrenheit year-round. This lends itself well to outdoor cafes and bars, the ideal place to start your night out on the town. To see the rest of my story on Medellin in the latest issue of Global Traveler, please click here. 
 
|

Tanzania Plans to Build a Highway Through the Serengeti

Here are some words of wisdom to the current Tanzanian president, Jakaya Kikwete, who just announced plans to build a highway that will slice right through the southern part of the Serengeti. “Build it and they won’t come,” as in the hundreds of thousands of Europeans and American travelers who make the trek to Tanzania each year to go on safari. Slated to be built in 2012, the 260-mile highway will connect Arusha, near Mount Kilimanjaro, with Musoma on Lake Victoria. The idiotic move will not only disrupt one of the world’s great migrations of some 1.2 million wildebeests traveling north into Kenya’s Masai Mara, but will be an easy way in and out for poachers. Make the wise move, President Kikwete, and find an alternative route.
 

|

Three of My Favorite Places to Cross-Country Ski in New England

Since Boston just got walloped with another winter nor’easter, dropping more than 15 inches of snow, I thought I’d devote this week to winter adventure in New England. First up, three wonderful cross-country ski areas:

Grafton Ponds
Grafton Ponds is one of the few cross-country ski centers in New England that provides snowmaking (a 5 km loop). If there’s already decent snow coverage, head from the center’s main lodge up through the dense forest on 30 kilometers of groomed trails. Make it to Big Bear Shelter atop the ridge and your reward is a cup of piping hot chocolate and views of the village of Grafton below.

Blueberry Hill
Lost within the Moosalamoo National Recreation Area, 12 miles down the road from Middlebury, is the classic Vermont inn and cross-country ski center, Blueberry Hill, celebrating its 40th season in 2011. The 50 kilometers of groomed trails include the highest run in the state, at an elevation over 3,000 feet, and gentler routes through the pines.

Jackson Ski Touring Foundation
With over 150 kilometers of trails, Jackson Ski Touring Foundation is the largest cross-country skiing network in the northeast.  Novices can opt for the easy Ellis River Trail, which borders a babbling brook as it heads into the forest, while more experienced skiers should sample the challenging Wildcat Valley Trail, a classic 1930s throwback that slides steeply down the backside of the Wildcat ski area to the town of Jackson. Or take the Groomed Trail Challenge on February 12th, where avid x-c skiers try to do as much of the network as possible in an eleven-hour day.
 

|

A Mountain Doesn’t Discriminate

Vancouver’s Sarah Doherty, 50, has climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, skied competitively, and lit the Olympic torch. All with one leg! At the age of 13, while biking around her neighborhood in eastern Massachusetts, a drunk driver hit her, crushing her right leg. The accident might have altered her life, but it didn’t change her desire to keep active. In fact, she has devoted herself to getting people back on the trail, working as an occupational therapist. Her most recent contribution is SideStix, a shock-absorbent crutch that can withstand any rock-littered, root studded trail. Let’s just call it the mountain bike version of a crutch. Where there’s a will there’s a way, and with Sarah Doherty, there’s a strong desire to picnic on summits.
 

Leave a Reply