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Canadian Rockies/Alaska Combo

Vacations by Rail, the Chicago-based travel company, has just announced a phenomenal 16-day vacation that combines train travel on arguably the best train in North America, Canada’s Rocky Mountaineer, with an Alaskan cruise on Holland America, ending with an Alaskan railroad jaunt from Anchorage to Denali National Park. Coined the Rocky Mountaineer and Alaska by Sea and Land package, board the Rocky Mountaineer and get ready for a soul-stirring train ride through the snowcapped peaks and cobalt blue glacial waters of the Canadian Rockies. You have two days in Vancouver before you board the ms Zaandam for a weeklong cruse on Alaska’s Inside Passage, stopping at Juneau, Skagway, and Glacier Bay before arriving in Anchorage. Spend a day and night in town, before taking your last train on to Denali, home to 20,157-foot Mount McKinley, and your final destination of Fairbanks. 2013 departures are available May 21, June 18, July 16, and August 13 and 27 and prices start at $3,579 per person based on double occupancy.
 

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Vermont Week, Mountain Biking the Kingdom Trails

Just thinking about the Kingdom Trails in autumn, whipping through the red and yellow leaves on the maples behind the Inn at Mountain View Farm, and I want to jump in my car immediately. This 150-mile circuit, linking former farming roads with slender singletracks, offers the best of Vermont riding. One moment, you’re banking narrow turns on Coronary Bypass, the next you’re zooming through the tall barren pines in Webs. In fact, it’s such a glorious network that you’ll want to keep biking even when your legs are cramping and your Camelbak runs dry. Check out the article I wrote for The Boston Globe on biking the Kingdom Trails with my son, Jake. 
 
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Stand-Up Paddleboarding on Oregon’s Deschutes River

Back in the 60s, surfing instructors in Waikiki Beach used to give mainlanders a taste of their sport by placing them on longboards and handing them paddles to help with their balance. It was more of a gimmick, used as a ruse to take photographs. Then surfing giant Laird Hamilton picked up a paddle to help him master the monster waves, and voila, welcome to stand-up paddleboarding or SUP. Balancing is easier on the longboards, which average 12 feet in length compared to the standard 8 ½-foot surfboard. SUP has evolved quickly, crossing the ocean and landing in flatwater environs like rivers and lakes that are normally reserved for canoes and kayaks. Along with aerial adventure parks and kitesurfing, SUP is one of the many recent sports to finds its way into Oregon. One of the best places to sample stand-up paddleboarding is on the Deschutes River. Sun Country Outfitters in Bend offer 2-hour lessons and rentals.
 

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Tastings Menus to Try in Bangkok

We were hungry as soon as we arrived at our room at the Anantara Siam in Bangkok after our flight from Hong Kong. We scouted out the choices and found that there was a Michelin-starred restaurant called Paste within easy walking distance. It was early Sunday afternoon and we were hoping we could grab one of their tables. Initially, the hostess said no, but as we were leaving, she said they had a cancellation. It turned out to be one of the most memorable meals of the trip, a 7-course tasting menu created by Bee Satongun, who was called the finest female chef in Asia. Each dish was prepared like a work of art on the plate and was the proper size for sharing. But it was the unusual spices that excited the palate. Favorite appetizers included roasted duck, nutmeg, and sawtooth coriander on rice crackers, and tapioca pudding of smoked trout, toasted peanuts, Thai mustard leaf, and wild sesame. Then came a hot and sour soup of crisp pork leg, roast tomatoes and fried garlic in a smoky chicken broth before the sublime entrees arrived. Laos Duck Curry was a highlight. The next dish was equally tasty but I had no idea what it was. Here’s what it said on the menu: "Southern Thai-Muslim origin. Kimmedai, saffron, in-house made curry powder and nutmeg. Fried off in ghee, served with pickles and cured catfish eggs." Say what? It’s actually a type of fish. 

The last night in town, friends had recommended Issaya Siamese Club to celebrate Lisa’s birthday. Set in a Colonial-style plantation house, you dine in separate rooms on couches, like being in a relative’s house. We were sitting in front of an RCA television, circa 1960s. Once again we ordered the Tasting Menu and, while it wasn’t nearly as innovative as Paste, it still was very tasty. We started with mojitos in tall chilled glasses and dined on a palm salad before diving into entrees like a full lamb shank, tender off the bone, served in a tangy curry sauce. We were told to order the "Broken Bucket" for dessert and that’s what I’ll remember years to come. A woman arrived with dry ice to create an abstract concoction of goodness, replete with smoke, white chocolate, and coconut sorbet. What a festive way to end our trip! 
 
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Happy to Announce the Launch of a New ActiveTravels.com

I’m excited to announce the launch of our new membership-based travel consulting and booking agency, ActiveTravels.com. As many of you know, I’ve been working as a professional travel writer since 1990, visiting more than 80 countries and writing over 1200 stories. Whenever one of these stories is published, I receive numerous follow-up emails and calls from people asking for more specifics about that particular travel locale. Even with the glut of travel information out there on the web, expert travel advice is at a minimum. So, prospective travelers contact me to get in-depth knowledge from a trusted source. 

 
This is exactly why I created ActiveTravels.com! Just like you rely upon a financial advisor to give you advice about your investments, it’s a good idea to trust a travel consultant and advisor to help plan your valuable vacation time with friends and family.  According to a New York Times article last Sunday, the need for a reliable travel agent has never been greater. Together with my wife, Lisa, we are delighted to be able to offer that service to anyone who joins ActiveTravels.com.
 
Lisa is now an accredited travel agent with two pillars of the travel industry, the Virtuoso Network and CWT Vacations, the leisure arm of Carlson Wagonlit Travel. Through her contacts, she can often get discounted room rates, complimentary upgrades and breakfasts, and on-site spa or food and beverage credits. Just this week, she saved friends $750 on discounted room rates at the same hotels they booked online. In addition, I have developed great relationships with hotels, outfitters, and restaurateurs over the years, so you can expect VIP service whenever you trust us to book your next escape. 
 
As a husband and wife team, you can look forward to dealing with a “mom and pop” atmosphere where each member will be appreciated. This is not your corporate agency where you are just another face in the crowd. We look forward to getting to know you and your travel preferences and to giving you exceptional personalized service. 
 
Happy Travels!
 
 
Steve and Lisa
P.S. I’m taking the week off from blogging to tend to the new business. I’ll be back next Monday with guest blogger, Emily Bradbury, talking about her recent trip to Costa Rica. 
 
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The Trustees of Reservations Week, Sampling Southeast Massachusetts Properties

Turkey Hill Lane is an apt name for the road that leads to Weir River Farm in Hingham. On the drive there yesterday morning, I spotted at least a half-dozen wild turkeys. It would prove to be an auspicious start to a glorious day of seeing a small sample of TTOR’s reserves and farms in the southeastern part of the state. Hingham is best known as home to one of the Trustees’ most popular sites, World’s End, a drumlin that juts out onto a peninsula rewarding walkers and bikers with wonderful views of Boston Harbor. Weir River Farm is best known by local school kids for its community farm and 4-H programs. Everyone else will want to take the Thayer Trail, a narrow path on fallen pine needles that leads far away from the South Shore traffic into a tranquil forest full of flowering bushes. 

 
Continuing south, within 5 miles of the Sagamore Bridge to Cape Cod is the Lyman Reserve in Bourne. Like Weir River Farm, it would be wise to download the Google Map to get here or you’ll never find the place. From the parking lot, you have the choice of two trails—one that leads to the shores of Buttermilk Bay and the Cape Cod Canal, the second meanders near a marsh through a thicket of pine to Red Brook. I took the latter trail and was rewarded with views of yellow warblers, great blue herons, and green winged teals.
 
Heading to Westport Town Farm on one of the most bucolic stretches of road in the state, I passed kayakers and stand-up paddleboarders cruising down the Westport River. The wooden clapboard 1824 house at Westport Town Farm is a welcoming introduction to this pastoral property perched on a hill overlooking the river. Still a working farm, the Trustees donate produce to area hunger relief agencies and hold a weekly Farmers Market on Saturdays in summer. I took a grassy trail past the barnyard onto pasture that slopes down to the edge of the water. All I could hear was the cacophony of birdsong.
 
My final stop of the day, Slocum’s River Reserve in Dartmouth, was formerly known as Island View Farm. Tall silos stand across Horseneck Road from the parking lot and you still walk through a farmer’s backyard along centuries-old stone walls to get to the pasture and woods that lead to Slocum’s River. As I made my way close to the shores, I could smell the salty air and see the canoe launch. Next time, I’ll make a note to return with a kayak. 
 
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Biking the 15-mile Shark Valley Loop, Everglades National Park, Florida

If you happen to be in Miami and crave an authentic outdoor experience away from the trendy restaurants and clubs in South Beach, take an hour-long drive on the Tamiami Trail (Route 41) to Shark Valley Visitor Center in Everglades National Park. Try to get here on the early side (before 11 am), because the parking lot fills up quick, and bring water and sandwiches for lunch. Then rent a bike and head out on the 15-mile paved Shark Valley Loop. Far from the deafening noise of a propeller boat, a tourist magnet in these parts, you get to bike at your own pace along canals teeming with alligators, turtles, and an extraordinary amount of large birds. It took my family of four almost an hour to bike one mile because we had to stop every 50 yards to get a photo of that gator basking in the sun next to the bike trail. Don’t worry. They could care less about you and no one’s ever been attacked on the route. Usually near the alligator was an anhinga drying its wings on a branch and wood storks and white whooping cranes standing tall in the shallow water. There was every type of heron imaginable, from the stocky black-crowned night heron to the long-legged great blue heron. Another highlight were the pink roseate spoonbills resting in the dense sagebrush along the canal. Stop midway at the observation deck to get a good overview of the Everglades topography, a mix of sinuous waterways and tall swaying grass. This is also a good spot to have that sandwich or snack you brought before heading back.
 

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