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Trustees Sites Not To Be Missed, Mytoi and Cape Poge Wildlife Refuge, Martha’s Vineyard

Beach lovers headed to East Beach on Chappaquiddick have to pass the Japanese-style garden called Mytoi. Worthy of a stop, azaleas, daffodils, dogwoods, and rhododendrons line the fresh water creeks. The dirt road eventually crosses a bridge, stopping at East Beach. Walk the beach to see one of the most pristine stretches of coastline on the Atlantic. Part of the Cape Poge Wildlife Refuge, this barrier beach is the best place to birdwatch on the Vineyard. Ospreys, oystercatchers, piping plovers, terns, and the occasional bald eagle nest here. To get a close up look at the birds, sign up for the guided kayak tour with the Trustees. 

 
It’s been fun to reminisce about my favorite Trustees sites in the commonwealth this week. Don’t forget that tomorrow is the kick-off of the Trustees 125th anniversary summer bash. 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 for “Home Sweet Home” Historic Open House Day. Enjoy the weekend and keep active! I’m off to Ithaca to pick my son up at Cornell, back on Wednesday. 
 

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Emirates Starts Nonstop Service from Boston to Dubai on March 10

All New Englanders who are avid travelers should rejoice that Emirates will soon be offering non-stop service from Boston to Dubai. Not only to check out Dubai, but to use as a hub to head south from UAE to Nairobi and Capetown, or further east to Mumbai and Phuket. Not only will it spur on competition to these locales, hopefully resulting in reduced prices, but it will save considerable travel time. For example, scuba divers and honeymooners heading to the Maldives (only a 4-hour flight from Dubai) will now be able to save six hours of travel time due to the direct flight. With Turkish Airlines starting non-stop service from Boston to Istanbul in May and the Chinese carrier, Hainan Airlines, set to begin nonstop service from Boston to Beijing in June, it’s never been a better time for New Englanders to check out the world. If the choices seem overwhelming, ActiveTravels.com is here to offer our expert opinion based on your desires. 
 
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The Hills are Alive with the Sound of Dripping Sap

Maria von Trapp, the woman who inspired The Sound of Music, is no longer with us, but Trapp Family Lodge continues to flourish thanks to one of the finest cross-country networks in the northeast, comfy lodging perched on a hillside in Stowe, Vermont, the launch of their microbrewery, and a restaurant that serves a tasty wiener schnitzel. Mid to late March, during the heart of the maple sugaring season, is my favorite time of year to visit Trapps. When it comes to sugaring, the family does it the old fashion way, picking up the sap in buckets with a horse-drawn sleigh or via cross-country skis and delivering it to the sugarhouse to boil off the water and create Vermont’s “liquid gold.” The 1200 taps produce 300 gallons of syrup annually and the season lasts from mid-March until mid-April. Join in on the fun each Saturday, when you can cross-country ski, snowshoe, or grab that horse-drawn sleigh to the sugarhouse for a traditional Sugar-on-Snow party. The hot syrup is tossed on the white snow to create a chewy maple taffy, served with donuts and dill pickles. If you’re in the area tomorrow, March 13, Trapp Family Lodge will be offering a Maple Sugar Snowshoe Tour from 2 to 3:30 pm. Enjoy a 1.5-mile snowshoe through the woods, then learn about the process of making maple syrup at their sugarhouse. 

 
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Adirondacks Multisport Trip Just Added to the Backroads Roster

Backroads, the world’s leading active travel company, just announced their 2017 line-up and I was excited to see that my boyhood stomping grounds of the Adirondacks finally made the cut. Their 5-day itinerary includes some of my favorite activities, including biking the Lake Champlain Bikeway, hiking Mt. Jo in the high peaks region, and sailing Lake George aboard the Morgan, the Sagamore’s 72-foot replica of a 19th-century touring vessel. Set on a 70-acre island near the village of Bolton Landing, the Sagamore has been the lake’s top address for over a century. Steps from the patio lead past the manicured lawn to the Sagamore’s shoreline, offering views of Dome Island, a large round uninhabited forest of firs that looks almost tropical, a place that King Kong would find homey. On the opposite shores is an uninterrupted carpet of trees that soon rise to 2,000-foot mountains. 

The Adirondacks itinerary came as a result of guests wanting trips closer to home and a wee bit shorter. Other new trips in this category include a Maui & Lanai Multisport Adventure Tour for families and an Arches & Canyonlands Hiking Trip. Backroads added over 40 new trips to their schedule in 2017. Some of the highlights include hiking in Japan, a family trip to Sedona, Bermuda biking, Basque Country and a Galapagos, Andes & Amazon river cruise. Next year they are running a total of 71 active river cruises, including a Danube full ship buyout (150 Backroads guests take over the ship). ActiveTravels is here to help you pick the itinerary that best suits your level of fitness and dates. 
 
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The Hot Springs of Pamukkale

Several hours south of Istanbul is Pamukkale (cotton castle in Turkish), appropriately named for the pearl white cliffs that cover the mountainside like huge balls of cotton. Hot springs rich in calcium gush forth from Pamukkale’s highest point, forming milky pools below. Since ancient times, this has been Turkey’s most popular spa area. Try the thermal pools at the Richmond, the best resort in town.
 

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Jay Peak’s New Indoor Waterpark a Blast

In the last couple years, Jay Peak, in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont has grown leaps and bounds with the opening of the Tram Haus Lodge, the new Hotel Jay, and adjacent indoor waterpark, the Pump House. I didn’t realize what a state-of-the-art waterpark they were talking about until I checked it out with my family for the first time on Friday night. It’s immense, about the size of an airplane hangar, with a lazy river snaking around the perimeter. There’s a retractable roof, long bar on the second floor, large video screen to watch sporting events, and a slew of rides. This includes La Chute, a free fall, where you plummet through a loop and can reach speeds of up to 50 mph in five seconds. The Double Barrel is a wave to try your hand at surfing and boogie boarding. There’s also a big hot tub where I rested after skiing on Saturday. Since it opened in December, there have been more people in the waterpark on weekends than skiing the slopes. After experiencing blustery winds and below-zero temperatures on the mountain on Sunday, I believe it. 
 
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Countries on My Wish List for 2014, Iceland

If you’ve seen Ben Stiller in The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, you realize that the diverse landscape of Iceland plays an important role in the movie. Other television series like Game of Thrones also adore the mix of fjords, mountains, and hot springs as their backdrop. A popular destination for Europeans these past two decades, Iceland is finally catching on with Americans. The most acclaimed drive in Iceland is the Golden Circle, with stops at Tþingvellir, the historic rift valley where the Icelandic parliament first convened in 930 AD; Geysir, the geothermal hot spot that lent its name to all geysers; and the majestic Gullfoss waterfall. After the drive, it’s time for a dip in the Blue Lagoon, Iceland’s most famous geothermal pool, before hitting the eclectic restaurants (dishes include smoked puffin breast) and electronic music clubs in Reykjavik. It’s no surprise that Iceland is on the minds of many of our clients for upcoming travels this summer. 

 

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