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Favorite Travel Days in 2013, A Special Shout-Out to Boston!

While a subway ride to downtown Boston doesn’t really qualify as travel, I can’t hide the joy I felt watching the Red Sox parade with good friends the first Saturday in November. Seeing Big Papi rap, hearing the Dropkick Murphy’s sing “I’m Shipping Up to Boston,” watching our surprise hero, Koji Uehara, blow kisses to the crowd, it was exhilarating. The stunning worst to first turn-around for the Red Sox was exactly what this city needed after a hellish Marathon day. I was at the Marathon, taking my usual space with my family cheering on the runners near the infamous Heartbreak Hill on Mile 19. It was a perfect day for running, sunny and brisk. Then I went home to watch the Red Sox win with a walk-off hit in the 9th inning. Everything was perfect until it wasn’t. The next thing you know my hometown is in lockdown during our precious April school break while the police are in a shootout in nearby Watertown with the brothers who bomb innocent people. 

 
Sad as it is, tragedy has a way of bringing out the best of people’s humanity. I was suddenly talking to reclusive neighbors and everyone was heading into the city to support the bars and restaurants most affected from the senseless act. The Red Sox simply rode the wave of adulation and support, as if the World Series win was predestined. And Boston continues to grow and evolve, especially the area around the Seaport and Fort Point. I was just in the Fort Point neighborhood over the weekend, enjoying oysters, lobster rolls, and an excellent local microbrew (Trillium) at Row 34, the latest offering from the team that brought you Island Creek. If you haven’t been to Boston in a while, 2014 is a great time to return and see all the changes. Best if you come during Patriots Day (April 21st) to cheer on the runners. 
 

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Try Geocaching

Geocachers savor the opportunity to get lost in the woods, but never get too disoriented because they always carry a Garmin GPS system that will direct them to the exact spot they need to find. The sport is a modern-day treasure hunt where you locate objects in a film canister, coffee can, or other containers hidden by geocachers. After carefully camouflaging the prize under a tree or squeezed into a rock, the person hiding the cache sends the coordinates to the website, geocaching.com, and folks start their search. The sport originated outside of Portland, Oregon, in 2000 when a man posted that first cache on a website, but it has its roots in orienteering and letterboxing. For families, geocaching is a great way to go on a hike and find treasure. Inside every cache is some sort of trinket, from a marble to a toy car to a sticker. The best part about the sport is not merely checking off another cache, but finding sites that no guide book has ever described, spots locals have cherished for decades and are now happy to introduce to strangers. They include hidden waterfalls, caves with hieroglyphics, and lonely mountain peaks with no other people.

I’m off researching a story on beaches in New England. I’ll be back next Wednesday. Have a great weekend and keep active!
 

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Visit a National Park for Free on MLK Day

To celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday, all entrance fees to national parks in the US are waived today. And if you’re considering visiting Zion, Bryce, Capitol Reef, Canyonlands, and Arches, the five national parks in southern Utah, you might want to head there in late April. This year’s National Park Week is April 21-29, when all national parks in the United States are free. September 22nd and November 11, Veteran’s Day, are the other dates in 2018 when you’ll find no entrance fees to the national parks. Take advantage of this opportunity to be active amidst the majestic beauty of America. 

 
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Paddling and Pinot Noir in Oregon

I love the pinot noirs coming out of Oregon, especially my favorite, Cristom, which I raved about in The Boston Globe. I also love whitewater rafting. So when I heard that Rogue Wilderness Adventures was offering a new trip for nature-loving wine enthusiasts, I had to spread the word. Raft 34 miles through the Wild & Scenic Rogue River corridor, then spend the nights in historic lodges where, at dinner, you’ll be treated to a pairing of some of Oregon’s finest wines with gourmet, locally inspired cuisine. The 3 days/2 nights jaunt costs $989 per person and departs on September 5th, 2011.
 

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Now’s the Time to Go Apple Picking

Wow, talk about a gem of a Columbus Day Weekend in the Northeast. It hit 87 degrees Fahrenheit yesterday in Boston, breaking a 69 year-old record. Today, the temps are also supposed to be above normal. I’m hoping to get most of my writing out of the way this morning and go apple picking with the kids this afternoon. There’s no better fall activity than hitting an orchard, trying the variety of apples, buying homemade cider, and tasting the warm, just made doughnuts. We have photographs of the kids picking apples every year, and like the trees, they seem to sprout up far too quickly. I’m a fan of cortlands and macs, which are probably gone by now, but I don’t care. It will be great to get out there and climb those trees, even when I’m not supposed to be climbing those trees!
 

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Ski Red, British Columbia

Due to its remote locale and the fact that Whistler overshadows all the other exceptional mountains in BC, you might not have heard of Red. But take my word for it, you will. A new quad chairlift will start running this winter off Grey Mountain, adding 22 new runs and a whopping 1,000 acres of skiing placing Red at pretty much the same scale as Breckenridge and Jackson Hole. But size doesn’t necessarily matter when it comes to skiing this beaut. Close to 7,000 feet high and rarely another skier in view, you’re certain you were planted on Red by helicopter or cat. You can ski the entire mountain, front and back, with exceptional intermediate and advanced terrain off the Motherlode Chair. Red’s claim to fame, however, is all the backcountry trails that weave through the trees on neighboring Mount Roberts and Grey. And those 360-degree views from the top. Sweet! 
 
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Ski Red, British Columbia

Due to its remote locale and the fact that the Whistler overshadows all the other exceptional mountains in BC, you might not have heard of Red. But take my word for it, you will. In 2013, they added a chairlift up Grey Mountain, adding 22 new runs and a whopping 1,000 acres of skiing, placing Red at pretty much the same scale as Breckenridge and Jackson Hole. A year later they added cat skiing off Mount Kirkup. But size doesn’t necessarily matter when it comes to skiing this beaut. Close to 7,000 feet high and rarely another skier in view, you’re certain you were planted on Red by helicopter. You can ski the entire mountain, front and back, with exceptional intermediate and advanced terrain off the Motherlode Chair. Red’s claim to fame, however, is all the backcountry trails that weave through the trees on neighboring Mount Roberts. And those 360-degree views from the top. Sweet! Ski Red just once and you’ll understand why it’s worth flying to Spokane and driving 2 1/2 hours north to Rossland. 

 

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