Couple Paddles the Northern Forest Canoe Trail and Hikes the Appalachian Trail…in the Same Sum
In August, I had an assignment to write about an inn-to-inn bike trip in Vermont. After biking up and down short steep hills for a good 40 miles, I arrived at the first inn exhausted but proud of my accomplishment. That was until the owner of the B&B told me that she had another biker who just came through last week, one who was biking the entire country from Seattle to Boston! That’s what I thought about when I first read about Catherine and Ryan Thompson, from Old Forge, New York. On April 15th, they began paddling the 740-mile Northern Forest Canoe Trail and arrived at the northern terminus of Fort Kent on May 10th. An incredible feat for most humans, but that was just the beginning for the Thompsons. After completing their paddle, they walked 100 miles to Baxter State Park and started the Appalachian Trail. They completed the 2,179-mile trail last Thursday! As they said in their final blog entry, “We made quite a scene at the summit. Poles were flying in the air, as well as Toofpick’s pack. It came down with a thud – a satisfying thud that signaled our end. It was a burst of celebration, and then suddenly we were standing there in silence. We were there…” Congratulations! You deserve a Couples Massage!
With most regions in the country getting snow this week, MLK Weekend is turning out to be a great time to carve those perfect turns. Don’t be foolish and wait until the last minute to purchase your lift tickets. Check out 
Last August, I was saddened to hear that one of my favorite covered bridges in New England, the one that sits over the Ottauquechee River in Quechee, was swept away by the surging water of Tropical Storm Irene. The bridge and the rushing water of the river are best seen while dining at the Simon Pearce restaurant. Pearce and his glassblowing facility were also hit hard last year. But as I noted in 
n 1974, a team of Mexican government computer analysts picked a long sliver of land on the Atlantic shoreline as the country’s next Acapulco. The powdery white sands and turquoise waters, separated from the mainland by a lagoon were ripe for development. Sheraton, Hilton, and Marriott swiftly built their hotels, soon joined by upscale Ritz-Carlton and the flashy Le Meridien, and Americans took the bait wholeheartedly. Today, Cancun is the number one tourist destination in Mexico. Sadly, however, the Mexicans catered far too much to their northern neighbors. With a Hard Rock Café, Planet Hollywood, Rainforest Café, Outback Steak House, and a McDonald’s or shopping mall on every other block, the 14-mile-long Zona Hotelera (Hotel Zone) looks much more like Miami Beach than any Mexican village. In fact, the Cancun version of the Miami Herald arrives at your hotel doorstep each morning. Roads are often flooded and prices for dinner are exorbitant in a country known for its affordability. 
Last time I visited that street art museum they coined Wynwood Walls in Miami, I had lunch at the newly opened restaurant, 
To celebrate my wife’s birthday, we just spent a blissful night at Portland, Maine’s 
In 1891, Boston landscape architect Charles Eliot received the go-ahead from the Legislature to establish The Trustees of Reservations “for the purposes of acquiring, holding, maintaining and opening to the public . . . beautiful and historic places . . . within the Commonwealth.” Today, the