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Harvest Jazz and Blues Festival Returns to Fredericton in September

Fredericton, New Brunswick has garnered a reputation as the Festival Capital of the Atlantic Maritimes. Last time I was in town, I caught up with David Seabrook, one of the founders of the Harvest Jazz and Blues Festival, over a tasty Picaroons Yippee IPA at King Street Ale House, as he explained to me how he gets some of the bigger names in the music industry to play the festival every year. The line-up for the 28th annual festival (September 11-16) is one of the best yet, with Steve Earle, Mavis Staples, Sturgill Simpson, and The Blind Boys of Alabama among the 150 performers on hand for the 6-day event. When not listening to music, be sure to see the impressive collection of art at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery, including works by Turner, Dali and Lucian Freud. Also try to plan your trip to Fredericton around the Fredericton Farmers Market, voted one of the "Top 10 Farmers Markets in the Country" by Canadian Geographic. The Market is open every Saturday from 6am to 1pm with over 200 vendors selling produce, home baked goods, meat, maple syrup, flowers, handcrafts, jewelry and much more.

 

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The Passionate People of Lamèque and Miscou Islands

All it takes is a one-minute conversation with Dr. Mathieu Duguay to understand how he persuaded the finest harpsichordists and cellists in Amsterdam, New York, and Berlin to come perform Bach in a 300-seat seat church on the island of Lamèque. A genuine lover of music, Duguay knows the most talented period performers of the day and has flown them over to New Brunswick to play in a church, acclaimed for its exceptional acoustics and vibrantly painted interior. Today, the Baroque Music Festival, now in its 37th season, is the best of its kind in North America. 
 
If you make the wise decision to venture off the Acadian Route and travel on Route 113 to Lamèque and Miscou Islands on the Acadian Peninsula, you’ll quickly realize that Duguay is just one of many colorful characters that light up this sylvan setting. Sandra LeCouteur grew up in the circa-1856 lighthouse on the edge of Miscou Island. Her father, the lighthouse keeper, is known for catching the largest tuna in the world, a whopping 1243 pounds. On select nights in summer, LeCouteur sings on a small stage inside the lighthouse and her deep voice resonates within these historic walls. 
 
Just beyond the Miscou Island Bridge, La Terrasse à Steve is named for the owner, a seafood lover who uses lobster 14 different ways. Sit down at one of the picnic tables overlooking the harbor and dine on lobster casserole, lobster paste sushi, or simply a lobster just out of the pot. Ask if you can see his 13-pound lobster, which is for photographs only. Then write your name on one of the wooden poles, right next to the guy from Alaska. Finally, there’s the seafood pizza at Au P’tit Mousse, written up in Michelin of all places. One bite of Patrick Noel’s sublime combination of lobster, clam, shrimp, and scallop topping and you’ll forgive him for being a Montreal Canadians fan. 
 
Climbing the Miscou Island Lighthouse and looking out over the water, feeling like you’re on the edge of the great abyss, or lounging on the sublime white beaches are the main reasons folks visit the Acadian Peninsula. But spend more than an afternoon here and you’ll realize it’s the people that make this place special. 
 
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Biking Around Stanley Park, Vancouver

This past month, I had the good fortune to bike along the Lake Michigan waterfront in Chicago, alongside the Charles River in Boston and Cambridge, by the shores of the Bow River in Calgary, and around Stanley Park in Vancouver. I loved that all of these scenic rides were on bike trails, not having to worry about car traffic. Sure, I savor pastoral rides on the backcountry roads of Vermont, cruising on two wheels through the rainforest of Costa Rica, or biking past the coffee plantations on the Big Island of Hawaii. But I also enjoy riding in cities. The chance to pedal over the Brooklyn Bridge, with views of the Statue of Liberty in the background. Or heading north towards Navy Pier with the majestic Chicago skyline creating the perfect panorama It’s hard not to be impressed.

The 9 km ride around the Seawall of Stanley Park can be done in less than an hour. Yet, by the time you stop at the world-class aquarium, see the selection of totem poles, and dine on sablefish (a tender and rich Northwestern whitefish) at the classic Teahouse for lunch, the day is over. Riding under towering Douglas firs and along the rocky shoreline, you’ll also stop numerous times to take pictures of the bay. On my last ride around Stanley Park two weeks ago, we spent a good chunk of time being entertained by the sea otters at the Vancouver Aquarium. Less than 15 minutes later, we were watching river otters in the wild dining on crabs along the Seawall. Another unexpected find in a city of unexpected finds, the reason why I return to Vancouver as often as I can.
 

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Ski the Alps

I had lunch yesterday with 12 ski resorts from the Swiss, French, Italian, German, and Austrian Alps. Travel to the Alps from America was up a whopping 50 percent this past summer and 30 percent last winter. Americans, especially from the East Coast, are finally realizing that you don’t have to be a Rockefeller to ski the region. On average, lift tickets are $50-$60 per day, far less than Stowe or Vail. Yes, you can splurge on some grand hotel at St. Moritz, but there are also many affordable pensions around town. And not all the ski areas are as challenging as Chamonix. Remember, you’re not skiing down the Matterhorn. You’re looking up at the Matterhorn as you ski the base area in Zermatt, a far less threatening proposition with a vast amount of intermediate and novice terrain. The trails are long, relaxed, and thankfully in the past decade, groomed with snowmaking capabilities. Best of all, you’re in Europe, dining on exceptional food and savoring the culture. One day you can be in Kitzbühel, downing large mugs of beer, the next day enjoying a glass of Bordeaux and exceptional French food in Megève. Cortina, in the Italian Dolomites, is only a two-hour drive from Venice, so you can combine Carnevale in February with several nights of skiing. Overseas flights are also much more reasonable in the winter months. So grab those skies and fondue forks and hit the Alps this winter.
 

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Celebrating the 80th Anniversary of Maine Windjammers

In 1936, an artist from rural Maine named Frank Swift had the wild and crazy idea of reinventing the American merchant sailing ship. Once essential in transporting lumber and granite along the Eastern Seaboard, fish from the Georges Banks, and fruit from the West Indies, these vessels were becoming obsolete by the 1930s. Swift knew full well that Maine’s 2500-mile stretch of jagged coastline, where long inlets form sheltered bays, was tailor-made for sailing. No other sport gives you the freedom to anchor in a pristine cove, hike on an untrammeled island, and sleep with a lighthouse beacon as your nightlight. So he went on a shopping spree, buying up old schooners with a vision offering travelers a new type of experience, windjamming. The business flourished and today there are now 9 ships in the Maine Windjammer Association fleet.

Writing about Maine this past quarter-century, the opportunity to hop on one of these vessels, smell the salty air, eat lobster to my stomach’s content, and spend precious time with loved ones is an unparalleled joy. One image in particular, my father taking the wheel of the Grace Bailey and sailing for at least an hour, is forever etched in my memory. Now I get the chance to sail with my daughter, Melanie, before she leaves for college. This week, I’ll be reporting from the Schooner Mary Day, the first windjammer built specifically to carry passengers. Please join me this week and come sail away. 
 
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Arizona Week—Our Fair Share of Excellent Mexican Food

We didn’t skimp on Mexican fare during out time in Arizona. Our first guacamole was made with tender chunks of ribeye at the Mexican-Asian influenced SumoMaya in Scottsdale. The rock shrimp tempura roll and ahi tuna tostada were also big hits at our table. Elote Café in Sedona was our favorite meal of the trip. We arrived when the restaurant opened at 5 pm and already there was a line out the door. A sublime carne asada, topped with a square of blue cheese and served with black beans and rice, was washed down with a perfectly concocted margarita on the rocks. Adding to our bliss was a riveting sunset that enlightened the red rock canyons outside the window. Swanky Café Poca Cosa in Tucson served the finest chicken mole of the trip. We ended the trip at supposedly the oldest Mexican restaurant in America, El Charro Café, which originally opened in Tucson in 1922. We sampled their signature dish, the carne seca. Dried in the Sonoran Desert sun, angus beef is shredded and grilled with green chile, tomatoes, and onions. I’ll be thinking about that hot spicy flavor all winter long in Boston. 

 
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Time to Revisit Cooperstown

Now that Pedro Martinez is enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame, it might be time to take a side-trip to Cooperstown when I drop my son off at Cornell in the fall. I also want to make a stop at the Farmers’ Museum to view the Cardiff Giant. In 1869, con man George Hull paid someone out West to carve a ten feet long, 3000 pound statue out of gypsum. The Giant was then shipped back East and buried underground in Hull’s backyard. Hull hired a group of workers to build a well in the precise spot the Giant was buried, and, lo and behold, they found the world’s first petrified prehistoric man. Hull made a fortune as the Cardiff Giant traveled around the country tantalizing viewers into paying a hefty ten cents to see this incredible find. Evidently, P.T. Barnum desperately wanted the Cardiff Giant and when Hull refused, Barnum built his own replica and ended up making more money than Hull. Lastly, no one can visit Cooperstown without stopping at Brewery Ommegang for a taste of their heavenly Hop House, a Belgian-style pale ale. 

 

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