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Use the Bike Shuttle When Biking Acadia’s Carriage Path Trails

We brought our good friends from California to Acadia National Park for three activity-filled days last week. I didn’t want to bring the bikes, so we decided to rent bikes in town at Acadia Bike Rentals and ride a good chunk of the Carriage Path Trails, that glorious 45-mile network John D. Rockefeller created in the first half of the 20th century. We were happy to hear about a free bike shuttle in operation from late June through Columbus Day that runs from the village green to the parking lot at Eagle Lake. We waited less than 10 minutes before being brought over to the lake and biking the circumference, up and down the hard-packed roads always with water and mountains in sight. We biked under one of the many stone bridges to see an often-overlooked gem, Bubble Pond, nestled peacefully between the gently sloping mountains. Then we headed north to bike around Witch Hole Pond and to stop and see the stone steps that form gently flowing Duck Brook. We crossed the bridge here, took a left on the bike trail, and soon caught up with West Street, which led right back to the bike store on Cottage Street. A perfect way to spend the morning. 

 

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Rafting Down the Rivers of Jamaica

Two years ago, I was in Ocho Rios riding a tube down the White River under a canopy of green. Today, I’m headed back to Jamaica for a weeklong stay with the family in Negril. This trip, I’ll be on the Great River, which starts in the mountains between Negril and Montego Bay. This is the lush Jamaica, the one I think of when Bob Marley sings, “Don’t worry about a thing, because every little thing’s gonna be all right.” I’ll listen to the high-pitched call of the yellow banana quit bird as I float under a green mosaic of ferns, banana trees, and thickets of bamboo that climb the banks of the waterway like ivy climbs a wall. Irie, mon! Have a great week. I’ll be back on Monday, February 28th.
 

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Bermuda’s Pink Sale Offer’s 50% Off Room Rates

Need to get away? If you live in the Midwest or East Coast and just endured temps in the single digits, I would say you’re due. You might want to know about Bermuda’s Pink Sale, where 15 hotels on island are offering a 50% discount. Book from today through January 28 for hotels stays until April 30, 2015. Bermuda has a reputation of being cold in the winter months, but average highs in Jan and Feb are 68 degrees, with temps moving up to 70 and 73 in March and April, respectively. Flights are direct and only 2 hours from New York, Boston, and DC. If you need suggestions on what to do while you’re there, check out my Boston Globe story. 

 
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Butterfield & Robinson Introduces Bistro Trips

Other biking outfitters have tried to emulate Butterfield & Robinson, but none can approach George Butterfield’s panache. Since he started his company in 1966, Butterfield’s ultra-sybaritic jaunts have included biking through France’s Loire Valley where you spend the night at a different private castle each evening. All vacations should be this glamorous. Or should they? B&R has just announced that they will be offering a more casual alternative in 2012 called Bistro trips. Instead of castles, you’ll be staying at independent 3 and 4-star hotels and pensions. Instead of a gluttonous multi-course feast, expect simpler dinners that feature indigenous fare. Pricing on these Bistro trips is $2,000-$3,000 lower than their signature biking trips and initial destinations include Provence, Tuscany, Puglia, and Normandy.

 
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Ice climb, Then Find Comfort at the Omni Mount Washington Resort

There’s a reason inn-to-inn bike and hike trips are growing in popularity. People love to have a day of adventure and then reward themselves with a night of fine food and pampering. That’s the premise behind Mount Washington Resort’s customized backcountry adventures. Steve Nichipor has been leading the intrepid on winter explorations of the Whites for two decades. Now he’s offering more adventurous guests the chance to partake in an introductory ice climb on the Bretton Woods property or tackle the legendary Frankenstein Cliff. Located in Crawford Notch State Park, Frankenstein Cliff attracts all levels of ice climbers, from beginners just learning to use their ice ax and crampons to experts who can climb up an iced-over waterfall like Spiderman. Then it’s back to the historic Mount Washington to rave about your experience over a four-course meal in the formal dining room, while listening to the pianist play Count Basie tunes. Cost of a semi-private tour with Nichipor is $185 per person, private tour at $275 per person. Rates at the resort start at $170 a night per room in winter.

 
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Rafting the Classic North American Rivers—Quebec’s Magpie

A mere 375 miles northeast of Montreal lies an immense wilderness in eastern Quebec that modernity has forgotten. Here, the Magpie River snakes through virgin forests of pine, hurtling down Class IV rapids in granite notches, before emptying into the St. Lawrence River. You’ll swim in glacial-carved lakes and dry off on rocks that only moose and bear have sunbathed on. Earth River Expeditions was the first outfitter to tackle the river and features an 8-day ride on the Magpie in August. 
 
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Eighth Annual Hotel Week in Manhattan January 4-14, 2019

If you want to visit New York at a discount, then head to the city during their Eighth Annual Hotel Week in early January. The Refinery Hotel, Library Hotel, High Line Hotel, and Archer New York are just a handful of top-tier properties that will cut their rates considerably during this time. For example, Hotel Edison in Times Square will only be $100 a night, more than 50% off their usual rate. Hotel Week NYC™ was created by PR maven Nancy J. Friedman in 2010 to address the occupancy dip most hotels experience after the holiday season. It’s a perfect time to visit Manhattan without the crowds, see the Andy Warhol exhibition at the Whitney and Network, featuring Bryan Cranston, on Broadway. 
 

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