R&R in the Adirondacks
Even during my honeymoon 20 years ago, I was writing notes, researching for travel stories. Since the tape in my trusty microcassette recorder melted during an assignment backpacking through the Mojave Desert over a decade ago, I’ve always carried notebooks around during my travels. But there’s one trip each year that I don’t bring any notebooks or pens and can truly relax on vacation. That’s my annual jaunt to Bolton Landing on Lake George to see my family over Labor Day Weekend. We each grab a room at the Bonnie View, with exceptional views of the mountains on the opposite shores. Then I head down to the Adirondack chairs on the dock and chill with a copy of my boyhood paper, the Schenectady Gazette, in hand. I’ve written numerous stories on the Adirondacks, but not lately, resulting in much needed down time.
Have a great Labor Day Weekend! I’ll be back next week with my favorite Vermont picks in autumn.
As part of Hotel Commonwealth’s $50 million expansion to double its size, they included another one of their 
Let’s be serious. You’ve just traveled at least six hours from the West Coast to Hawaii, another seven hours to Guam and yet another 90 minutes to this cluster of 200 sparsely populated islands, which Cousteau called the best scuba diving site in the world. You’re going to have to get motivated to do much else but dive on Palau. From your home base on the capital isle of Koror, head to the Big Drop-Off, considered the best dive wall on Earth. It starts in knee-deep water and then abruptly plummets almost 1,500 feet into an abyss. Nearly as mind-boggling is Blue Corner, a large coral cavity where three ocean currents meet. Hunker down and watch schools of tuna, white-tipped sharks and 3-foot-tall giant clams (where’s the melted butter when you need it?). While you’ll have a tough time immersing yourself in traditional island culture here (read: no jerk chicken or Bo Derek-style hair braiding), Palau’s real attraction is its remote beauty. Rent a sea kayak and check out a few of the Rock Islands, which stretch for 20 miles south of Koror. Then dry off at the 
If you want to visit New York at a discount, then head to the city during their