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L.L. Bean Celebrating its 100th Anniversary in 2012

If you live in New York City and noticed that big Bootmobile in Times Square on Wednesday, the vehicle came direct from Freeport, Maine, to celebrate L.L. Bean’s 100th anniversary. Feeling nostalgic? Then order a special-edition boot this year that’s similar to the first pair of boots designed by Leon Leonwood Bean. Better yet, blog, tweet, or simply tell a story about using L.L. Bean gear and the company will donate up to $1 million to the National Park Foundation in a yearlong promotion called “The Million Moment Mission.” The company also hopes to get more folks outdoors this year by promoting its Outdoor Discovery Schools. Go Bean!

 

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Notchview Ski Area Now Offers Rentals, Food from Old Creamery

My favorite place to cross-country ski in Massachusetts, the Notchview Ski Area in the Berkshires, is now offering ski rentals and lunch. Run by the Trustees of Reservations, Notchview is the largest Nordic ski area in the state, with 40 km of trails covering 3,200 acres. Grab your skies and go counter-clockwise on the Circuit Trail, passing meadows and skiing under a tunnel of snowed-under pines. The web of branches keeps you snug within the forest, protecting you from wind. After passing a small shelter, turn onto the Whitestone Trail and enter a winter wonderland of uprooted trees and branches arching over the serpentine path. A downhill run brings you back to the main lodge, invigorated by the fresh smell of pine and the exercise. To top it off, the place I usually head for lunch after visiting Notchview, the Old Creamery in Cummington, is now supplying sandwiches, soups, and hot and cold drinks at the new café. The perfect ending to a perfect outing. 

 
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Five Favorite Spring Break Adventures for Families, Horseback Riding in Puerto Vallarta

This day trip started with a fast zodiac boat ride with the family across glorious Banderas Bay. Led by the outfitter Vallarta Adventures, we landed on the docks of the seaside village of Quimixto. We walked on cobblestone streets past the sleeping chihuahas and soon made our way to a pack of horses that were waiting to take us up the mountainous hillside. We got out of the saddle, only to find a hidden waterfall where we swam in the cool waters. After horseback riding, we snorkeled with a slew of angelfish and then had a delicious lunch on a quiet beach farther south in Pizotita. Our guide, Poncho, made a helluva margarita for the adults, while the kids were served coconut juice. Life was bliss and we laughed when Poncho said “Where are all the bandits in their big sombreros and guns blazing?” It was so peaceful here that my daughter wandered over to hammock and took a nap. 

 
I’ll be in Miami all next week, back the week of March 6 with fresh content. Stay active, my friend. 
 
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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.
 

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Free Transportation Within 200 Miles of The Balsams in New Hampshire




Eyes widen and mouths gape as soon as you spot Dixville Notch, New Hampshire, and catch your first glimpse of The Balsams Hotel. The excitement builds on the long driveway up to this immense white edifice, created in an era when grand hotels were as common as one-room schoolhouses in the White Mountains. It’s a multi-tiered wedding cake topped with scarlet frosting and ringed by granite peaks. Turning 145 in 2011, the Balsams prides itself as one of the last beacons of civility in a world that spins far too fast on its axis. Come winter, the resort offers 95 km of cross-country trails and 15 downhill trails with a vertical of 1,000 feet. Expect a small ski area that’s ideal for young families or those who clamor for ego-boosting intermediate terrain.

To get new visitors to experience the Balsams, the hotel is offering to pick you up at your house if you’re within 200 miles of the resort. The offer is only available for first-time guests who stay at least five nights. For $149 per person, per night, guests receive free transportation, skiing each day, a ski lesson, equipment rental, lodging, breakfast and dinner.


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Height of Fall Foliage in Vermont Could Be a Week Later in 2018

We had a very warm summer in New England, one of the warmest on record. And it’s still continuing to be warm this weekend, with highs expected to reach the mid-80s on Sunday. So meteorologists in the region are already starting to predict a later fall foliage, similar to last year. The typical peak in central Vermont, from Stowe to Woodstock, is usually around Columbus Day. But I would expect peak to be closer to the week of October 15th. To view the foliage without the crowds, please check out my story for Yankee Magazine last October. 

 
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A Toast to High West Distillery

The Park City ski area has had a lot of changes over this past year, with the opening of the new Montage resort in Deer Valley and the unveiling of both the Waldorf Astoria Park City and Hyatt Escala Lodge at Canyons ski area. But my favorite debut is the first distillery to open in Utah since Prohibition, High West Distillery and Saloon. One snifter of the small-batch rye whiskey and you might suddenly have that extra edge you need to attempt that black diamond trail. Remember it’s the whiskey talking, son, so don’t do anything rash.
 

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