Archive for the ‘activities’ Category

Mountain Music in Quincy, California

August 10th
2010
by Pete Rerig
posted in:
U.S. West Uncategorized activities destinations events and festivals family music outdoor adventure

The scenery changed dramatically on the 90-minute ride west from Reno, from desert dunes and red-gold canyons and cliffs to beautiful pine forestland dotted with one-stoplight towns. We were headed to northern California for a Quincy vacation, specifically to the 20th annual High Sierra Music Festival, a four-day event jam-packed with music and merrymaking drawing tens of thousands from around the country. The car weighed down with camping gear and coolers. This trip was more than just an excuse to jam out to more than 50 bands playing everything from funk to bluegrass, country to jazz—it was opportunity to relax and breathe in one of the most beautiful spots in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

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Hitting the Sac

August 9th
2010
by Pete Rerig
posted in:
U.S. West activities destinations events and festivals family music

It was unbelievably hot, so much so that the car’s AC could barely keep up. Rolling into California’s capital city in July, we considered turning around and making a run for coast. But we stayed the course and found a Sacramento hotel with a pool, and by the end of the weekend myriad small delights made our first trip to the city something to remember.

After a quick dip to bring our body temperatures back into a reasonable range, we set out for downtown, not really with a plan but more so just to explore. The blocks around the statehouse were strangely quiet, but music and laughter carried on a gentle breeze drew us towards Cesar Chavez Plaza at 10th and J streets, where the free Friday Night Concerts in the Park were rockin’ and rollin’. From 30-somethings pushing strollers to tweens’ goofing with their friends to seniors spread out on blankets enjoying a cold beer, it was a great surprise to happen upon seeing as though we had no real agenda for the evening.

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Durango, Colorado In-town Adventures

August 9th
2010
by Becky Youman
posted in:
U.S. West activities destinations outdoor adventure

Colorado is known as a fantastic spot to get outside in the summer and enjoy the majestic wilderness and mountains for which the state is famous. Colorado vacations are often planned around hiking, biking, or the summiting of “14-ers”.

While some people may prefer the remote backwoods for their adventuring, others, due to time constraints or the conflicting desires of travel companions, need to stay closer to town. If you find yourself in the second group, do not despair. Durango, located in southwestern Colorado, offers a wide range of in-town adventures. You can find high quality hiking, biking, and paddling just minutes from your Durango hotels.

I just spent a few days in Durango and enjoyed the following adventures without leaving the city limits:
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Slovenia: Land of Outdoor Travel Adventures

June 22nd
2010
by Becky Youman
posted in:
activities outdoor adventure

The tiny country of Slovenian made the news in the United States last week as the most recent opponent of the US soccer team in the FIFA World Cup championships. The game ended in a 2-2 tie after a controversial foul call on what looked like the go-ahead goal for the US. Watching the game in an outdoor café surrounded by thousands of beer-drinking locals in Ljubljana, Slovenia, I was actually okay with the tie. I would have hated to end one of my best Europe vacations amid a nation of morose Slovenians.

With a population of only two million, Slovenia is an unknown travel destination to many American vacationers. Sandwiched between Italy, Austria, Hungary, and Croatia, the tiny country is about the size of New Jersey but offers alps, wine country, Adriatic coastline, friendly people, excellent hotels, and abundant outdoor adventures.

For those whose idea of a great vacation includes miles of hiking trails, back-country huts, mountain biking, rafting, spelunking, or canyoning, Slovenia is just your place. Although the country is small, over 33% of its lands are designated as nationally protected forests, meaning plenty of easy access to outdoor activities. Here are some of the highlights from my trip last week:
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Splashdown at Indoor Water Parks

March 22nd
2010
by Becky Youman
posted in:
U.S. West activities destinations

While spring is definitely in the air in the southern parts of the country, our friends in the northwest are still dealing with cool temperatures, rain, and even some snow. Maybe you’re planning a Washington vacation but want to get in some pool time. Sure, plenty of Olympia hotels have heated indoor pools, but what if your kiddos are looking for a bit more adventure than that? You’re in luck, as there are a couple of indoor water parks in Washington and Idaho that will blow their socks off.

Great Wolf Lodge – Grand Mound, Washington

Located about 20 miles south of Olympia, the Great Wolf Lodge features a 60,000 square foot indoor water park with six giant slides, a wave pool, a tree house water fort, and hours of splashy fun. The largest slide, the River Canyon Run, twists and turns down six stories. Designed to be ridden in a five-person inner tube/raft , friends and families can enjoy descending the River Canyon Run together. The Howlin’ Tornado, another six-story slide, is ridden in groups of four. The spinning rafts shoot up to 30 feet up the side of the funnel before splashing down at the end.
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West Virginia: Almost Heaven for Skiers

March 18th
2010
by Matt Wilson
posted in:
U.S. Mid-Atlantic activities destinations

Much like our West Side counterparts, spring break along the East Coast is full of surf and snow. While North Carolina is a well known ski destination among the southeastern states, one rather mountainous area of the region is becoming quite the popular ski vacation spot.

The place? Almost heaven—according to John Denver that is. West Virginia, Blue Ridge Mountains. Life might be old there, older than the trees, younger than the mountains, and so on and so on, but the ski season is in its prime, and there are several different ski resorts where you can shred up the mountain on skis and boards, or slide down out of control on tubes. Along with some great lift tickets and other ski vacation packages, you can also find some cheap airline tickets into several big cities, as most of the Mountain State’s resorts are a three-hour drive or less from major airports in Pittsburgh, Washington, D.C., Columbus, and Richmond.

Here are four spots in West Virginia where you can go all Bode Miller (or at least try to) this spring break:
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Yoga in Hotels — Ommm

February 22nd
2010
by Becky Youman
posted in:
activities news

Another Monday morning, another body part sore from my weekend adventures.  (This time it was mountain biking racing instead of snowboarding.)  Once again I’ll be headed to yoga class this afternoon to help work out the kinks. And I won’t be alone. Yoga has become so popular that even travelers aren’t content to leave their yoga practice at home. According to a recent article in the New York Times, yoga is becoming so mainstream that, “like Wi-Fi, on-demand movies and fitness centers, yoga is becoming an amenity many hotels and resorts just can’t do without.”

The article states that yoga classes are no longer offered exclusively at resorts and spas, but also at conventional hotel chains. You are as likely to find a yoga session offered at Salt Lake City hotels these days as at fancy San Jose del Cabo resorts.  According to the article, the hotels see yoga as a way to help the bottom line. While the widespread offering of yoga in hotels may be a new trend, there are some chains that deserve kudos for getting the ball rolling, or maybe I should say, “downwalk dog walking”, earlier than others.

Kimpton Hotels

Kimpton was the first chain hotel to offer in-room wellness and yoga. The idea was to make it easier for guests to maintain the practices that keep them calm and serene, even while traveling. Most of their hotels offer special yoga tote bags for guests that include yoga props, mats, and straps. Combine those with an on-demand video yoga class and you might not even need the famous complementary Kimpton wine hour in the evening.
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Searching for B.C.’s Mythical Beasts – Sasquatch and Ogopogo

February 15th
2010
by Robin Bruns Worona
posted in:
activities destinations events and festivals family outdoor adventure

Here we are, just four days in to the Olympics and we’ve already been through so much. The media blitz has been intense, starting with horrible tragedy, then quickly moving on to fanfare and fashion. There’s been protests, some truly amazing video art involving whales , and even a tight pant controversy. I think there’s even been a bit of athletic competition in there somewhere. Of course, there’s also been loads of press about visiting beautiful Vancouver, Whistler, British Columbia, even Canada as a whole. Where to stay, what to do. I was especially struck by the report Tom Brokaw did Friday night. It was informative, yes, but still kind of reminded me of those reports we used to basically copy out of the World Book Encyclopedia when we were kids. But I guess that’s about the level of knowledge most people have about our neighbor to the north. After all, did you know that we import more petroleum from Canada than from any other country?

Naturally, I can’t resist adding my two cents. British Columbia is indeed a lovely part of the world and after another 13 days of coverage, I’d be surprised if you didn’t have a desire to check it out for yourself. And by then you’re sure to know all about Vancouver’s Gastown and Chinatown. You’ll be able to map out a great public transit tour , compile a list of hidden gems, and figure out which whale watching trip is right for you. You’ll be reading local blogs (there are some great ones) and publications. But will you remember to take a second look at all your photos before you delete them just in case there’s a surprise lurking in the background? In fact, why not plan a little sidetrip or two in search of two of British Columbia’s mythical beasts—Sasquatch and Ogopogo?

It was the cutesy Olympic mascots that reminded me of the rich animal mythology in this part of Canada. I won’t get into it here, you can check out the site for their, uh, inventive bios. But basically, they are based in part on some of the beliefs and myths of the West Coast First Nations. While there are countless creatures you could investigate, why not start with two of the best documented? It just so happens that Sasquatch and Ogopogo have great taste location-wise, so really, it’s a win-win.
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Kidtopia at Keystone Resort

February 11th
2010
by Becky Youman
posted in:
U.S. West activities destinations events and festivals family outdoor adventure

Now that all the Superbowl hype and fanfare is behind us, the buzz is building around another epic sporting event. That is of course the 2010 Winter Olympics, which will get underway tomorrow.  The big news today is the injured shin of designated Olympic darling Lindsey Vonn. I’m sure that the marketing machine at NBC will be able to find another big story to hype – be it Shaun White and his Double McTwist 1280 Whitesnake or perpetual Bad Boy Bode Miller and his, well, perpetual bad boy-ness.

Should the Olympics inspire any pint-sized skiers you might have at home, President’s Day Weekend is a great time to take the family and hit the slopes. A Colorado ski vacation might be just the ticket to grooming your ski grommet into being a future Olympian. Just think, book an Aspen hotel today, and you could be buying a ticket to host-country finalists France, Germany, or South Korea in 2018.

Children’s sports experts agree that one of the keys to instilling a love of any exercise instruction in kids is to keep it fun. If it’s wintertime snow fun you seek, look no further than Colorado’s Keystone Resort this weekend, where Keystone Kidtopia, a festival designed just for kids, will be in full swing.
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Costa Rica Girl Power

February 8th
2010
by Becky Youman
posted in:
Central America activities beaches destinations outdoor adventure

With most of the votes in yesterday’s presidential election counted, it looks as if Costa Rica has elected its first women president by a landslide. Laura Chinchilla, a protégé of Nobel Peace Prize winner and former Costa Rican president Oscar Arias,  has received roughly 47% of the vote, about 22 percentage points more than her closest rival.

Costa Rica, the most stable country in Latin America, has long been a popular destination for adventure-seeking travelers. San Jose hotels are full of people on their way to explore the jungles, volcanoes, rivers, and beaches of this amazingly diverse country. In honor of the country’s new president, and girl power in general, here are some great Costa Rica vacations for women only. (Costa Rica is not the first Latin American country to elect a female president by the way — Nicaragua, Panama, Chile, and Argentina have elected women leaders before.)

Costa Rica Surfing Chicas:  Want to learn to hang ten without the pressure of a bunch of guys telling you what to do or monitoring your progress? You can try one of the women-only sessions offered by Del Mar surf camps. With programs in two locations, one on the central Pacific coast in Jaco, and other north of there in Nosara, Del Mar offers something for everyone. While learning or improving your surfing skills are the main goals, other camp offerings include yoga, hikes, massage, and time for relaxation.
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