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Escape to Israel this Winter

Israel’s national airline, El Al, just announced a great deal this winter. Depart New York, Boston, Miami or LA from November 25-February 21 and they’ll offer a direct flight to Tel Aviv and 6 nights at any Dan Panorama property for as low as $1329 per person. ActiveTravels works with great ground operators in Israel who can help arrange transfers and guides to any part of the country, from a day trip to two of my favorite cities, Safed and Akko, to hiking Masada and floating in the Dead Sea. Jerusalem reaches an average high of 60 degrees in December, while Tel Aviv can often top 70 degrees. So it’s a still comfortable time of year to visit Israel. 

 

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Hiking the Acadia Mountain Trail, Acadia National Park

With the highest mountains on the Atlantic coast north of Brazil, slicing fjords, deserted offshore islands, and 41 miles of rugged shoreline, it’s easy to understand why Acadia is the sole national park in the northeast. Take the hour-long hike to the short peak of Acadia Mountain, and you’ll be peering down at the lobster boats anchored in Southwest Harbor, captivated by the meeting of mountains and sea. Unlike the iconic national parks of the West, with their lofty five-digit peaks, everything in Acadia is on a human scale, creating the ideal family-friendly retreat. After the hike, treat yourselves to strawberry lemonade and piping hot popovers, fresh out of the oven, at the Jordan Pond Gatehouse. 

 
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Cruising Tahiti and French Polynesia with Paul Gauguin Cruises

French Polynesia will always hold a special place in my heart. It was here and other South Pacific locales like Fiji and the Cook Islands that I received my start in travel writing, penning stories for Rodale’s Scuba Diving and resort reviews for Bride’s Magazine. In 1994, Lisa and I went on a freighter cruise to the Marquesas Islands that still to this day is one of the highlights of my career in travel. But you don’t have to deliver food to the locals to savor French Polynesia. Go in style aboard the m/s Paul Gauguin, a luxury cruise ship that has been plying these waters for 20 years. The Gauguin is currently offering 50% off standard cruise fares, including airfare from Los Angeles. It’s only a 7-hour flight from LA to Tahiti, a mere two hours past Hawaii. Then you arrive in dreamy French Polynesia, where the emerald green mountains rise from the aquamarine waters. I’ve been all over Hawaii and the South Pacific and these are my favorite islands in the world, half of them deserted motus, specks of land surrounded by pristine white sand that are ideal for snorkeling and then walking the lonesome beach. Summer is the ideal time to visit French Polynesia, without the threat of cyclone. So if you’re considering a river cruise in Europe this year, maybe you want to head to the South Pacific instead. For the same price, you can follow in Paul Gauguin’s footsteps. Let ActiveTravels know and we’ll check pricing and availability. 

 
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Rangeley, Maine Hosts Moose Calling Championship

For many people, their image of Maine resembles a Winslow Homer canvas—the battering surf of the North Atlantic thrust against a boulder-strewn coastline, spewing foam high into the air. Yet, this massive state is more than mere ocean. The interior is one of the most undeveloped regions in the country, a blanket of forest filled with mile-high mountains traversed by the Appalachian Trail, colossal lakes, sinuous rivers such as the Kennebago and Penobscot, and too many ponds to count. The small village of Rangeley, hub to the Rangeley Lakes Region, is considered by many Mainers as the gateway to this vast tract of land. This is especially true if you drive out of town and spot moose searching for food at dawn or dusk. A personal favorite is Route 16, north of Rangeley to Stratton, where moose seem as prevalent as squirrels in suburbia.  

 
So it should come as no surprise that Rangeley will host the World Invitational Moose Calling Championship the weekend of June 22-24. The competitors will be judged in four categories: Cow Call, Bull Call, Other Attraction Techniques (props allowed) and Presentation/Sportsmanship. The first place winner will receive $1000. Restaurants and bars will be joining in the festivities with moose-themed specials like chocolate mousse, ‘moose’ whoopie pies, moose jewelry, and moose shots. Sounds like a good time for all, including the moose. 
 
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Favorite Fall Outings in New England, Visiting Weir Farm, Connecticut

Sort of ironic that the only time I’ve ever been published in National Parks Magazine, the National Parks are closed due to a government shutdown. When congress gets their act together, be sure to visit the 60-acre Weir Farm National Historic Site. This serene pastoral setting in southeastern Connecticut, an hour’s drive from Manhattan, is home to the only national park unit devoted to American painting. Century-old barns and a homestead still stand, stone walls are built around fields of swaying grass, and a large pond is lost in a canopy of tall maples and birches. They would become the fodder for J. Alden Weir’s ambitious body of work. Weir’s early paintings reflect an appreciation for the scenery of rural life—dogs sleeping in the tall grass, his wife Anna sitting on the steps that lead to the house. By the latter half of the 1880s, he began to show an interest in painting landscapes, possibly due to the influence of his friends and fellow painters, Childe Hassam and John Twachtman, who often visited the farm to fish and paint the grounds. These weren’t the grand theatrical landscapes of his American predecessors, Thomas Cole and Frederick Church, but intimate portrayals of pasture, thickets of trees, barns, and meandering stone walls. Have a look and don’t forget the sketchbook. 

 
Photo by Tim Washer/FLICKR
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Travel Like a Local on These Guided Day Trips

If you’re planning to visit New England over the next month to see the fall foliage, it might be wise to get away from the crowded roadways and sign up for one of these authentic day trips with local experts. Authenticity is the buzzword in travel these days, the chance to live and feel like a local, not a tourist. Thankfully, there are many opportunities in New England where you have the chance to go beyond the boilerplate tours and get a real feel for the region while being led by an expert on the subject. These dozen day trips, which I reported for Yankee Magazine, strive for genuine authenticity and hopefully reward you with lasting memories. 

 
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Budget Beach Option in Belize

Located at the southern tip of a long, narrow peninsula, Placencia attracts sun worshippers from all over the globe with more than 16 miles of white sand. If you tire of the beach, a popular day trip is a half-day kayak through the mangroves of Monkey River. Crocodiles, howler monkeys, even manatees can be spotted here. A popular beachfront restaurant in town is De’Tatch Seafood Beach Bar, where you dine on shrimp burritos or fish tacos. If you’re lucky enough to snag one of the six beachfront cabanas, all air-conditioned, at Blue Crab, you’ll also be treated to some great Asian fare, courtesy of the Taiwanese-born owner. 

 

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