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College Tip Sheet from Boston Globe Magazine

Dropping Jake off at Cornell University this past weekend reminded me of the story I co-wrote for Boston Globe Sunday Magazine on 20 college campuses in the northeast. It’s a pretty good tip sheet on where to stay and eat and what to do when you’re in each one of these college towns, including Boston. If you plan to drop your son or daughter off this week or are going on the college tour this fall, have a look. 
 
Also, Lisa and I have designed routes in New England, the Midwest, and Southern California for ActiveTravels.com clientele heading out on the road to visit colleges with their high school sophomore, junior or senior. Our detailed Dream Day Itineraries include highlighted routes, recommended lodging, favorite restaurants, and sights not to be missed along the way that are definitely worth the slight detour. Having authored Lonely Planet, Frommer’s, and Outside Magazine travel guides to New England, and at least 800 travel stories on the northeast (including my boyhood stomping grounds of upstate New York), few know the region’s most picturesque routes better than me. 
 

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Saving the Sharks of Palau

Palau is one of those locales, like Fiji and the Red Sea, discussed only in clandestine conversations between avid scuba divers. To reach it, you have to travel five 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 Jacques Cousteau called the best scuba diving site in the world. From your home base on the capital isle of Koror, head to the Big Drop-Off, considered the best wall dive 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-tip sharks and 3-foot-tall giant clams (where’s the melted butter when you need it?). Those white-tip sharks are protected, along with hammerheads, leopard sharks, and more than 130 other species fighting extinction in the Pacific Ocean now that Palau has created the world’s first shark sanctuary. The country has banned shark fishing on more than 237,000 square miles of ocean, so divers can expect more up close views of those pearly whites. 
 
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Trustees Sites Not To Be Missed, Tully Lake Campground

This coming Saturday, May 21st, the Trustees of Reservations will kick off their 125th anniversary celebration with a “Home Sweet Home” Historic Open House Day. The Great House on the Crane Estate in Ipswich, the Old Manse in Concord, and seven other historic homes will be open to the public for free. To get the festivities rolling, all this week I’m going to divulge 5 unheralded Trustees sites that might not be on your radar. The non-profit conservation organization maintains over 100 sites in Massachusetts including their crown jewel, Crane Beach. Others, like Tully Lake Campground in Royalston, should be on your list. 

 
Come to this tranquil Tully Lake where there is little or no motorized boat traffic and tents-only campsites and you’ll understand why campers return year after year. Many bring their own kayaks to paddle to the sandy isles and within sinuous Tully River. The Trustees offers kayak rentals and stand-up paddleboarding lessons on Sundays in season. Hiking trails lead to stunning Doane’s Falls, where Lawrence Brook tumbles over a series of ledges before it reaches Tully Lake. Rangers lead paddlers to see beavers and teach kids how to fish. You may want to bring your mountain bike, since there’s a 7-mile loop around nearby Long Pond. 
 
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Aman New York to Open in 2020

Fans of the ultra-sybaritic Aman brand will be happy to know about its latest undertaking, the refurbishment of the iconic Crown Building overlooking Central Park in Manhattan. Set to debut in 2020, the property will feature 83 guest rooms and 20 residences in the circa-1921 Beaux-Arts building, once the original home of the Museum of Modern Art. This will be Aman’s third hotel in the US and only the second in a major city, after Tokyo. Located on 5th Avenue and 57th Street, Aman New York will feature an Aman Spa that will span 22,000 square feet on the 7th, 8th, and 9th floors and include an 80-foot indoor swimming pool surrounded by daybeds. The wraparound Garden Terrace, located on the 10th floor, will offer guests a panoramic view of Central Park, a restaurant, and a cigar bar. The hotel also plans to open a piano bar in the Sky Lobby, Wine Library for tastings and events, and a subterranean Jazz Club. 

 
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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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Back at the Track

It was great to spend the weekend with my high school buddies in Saratoga. One of them has a summer home on the shores of Saratoga Lake, less than a 10-minute drive to town and the legendary Saratoga Race Track. There’s no better place to watch horse racing in America. Buy a copy of the Schenectady Gazette and a tip sheet or two on the way in, grab a seat, and start placing your bets. You’ll no doubt be standing with the rest of the crowd, cheering on your horse to cross the finish line first. Afterwards, many people head to Siro’s and Horseshoe to listen to live music. On Saturday night, we checked out the downtown Saratoga bar scene, which on a weekend in August feels like the French Quarter in New Orleans. All five floors, including the roof was packed at Saratoga City Tavern on popular Caroline Street. Druthers on Broadway Street also has live music and a good crowd on their outdoor patio. The next morning, work off your hangover with blueberry or lemon ricotta pancakes at Sweet Mimi’s, served with real maple syrup. It’s been voted the best breakfast joint in town the past 2 years, since it opened. It’s also owned by the wife of another high school buddy so I have to give it a plug.  

 
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Windsurf Cape Hatteras, North Carolina

Lining the North Carolina coast, the Outer Banks are barriers of sand 150 miles long and never more than a few miles wide. These islands serve as welcome mats to the Atlantic and her many changing moods. Hurricanes, northeasters, and low pressure disturbances along the jet stream are quite common here. This might create havoc for the fisherman or sailor, but unleashes a steady stream of wind for the windsurfer. Most of the sailing is on a 50-mile stretch of the Pamlico Sound off of Hatteras Island. Shallow water, sandy bottoms, and prevailing winds are cherished by both novices and experts alike. If you want to be with the crowds, catch the waves at Canadian Hole. Otherwise, choose from hundreds of more secluded launch sites along the coast. Wind-NC in Avon rents boards and offers lessons.
 

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