Outdoors
AMC's gear demo center
Check out the latest outdoor gear and put it to the test for free at the Joe Dodge Lodge in Pinkham Notch, at the base of New Hampshire’s Mount Washington. The lodge, run by the Appalachian Mountain Club, just opened an outdoor gear demo center for lodge guests, enabling them to try out Lowa boots, Leki hiking poles, Osprey backpacks, and Hillsound traction devices, which fit over boots and help keep you upright on slick trails. Equipment is available in all adult sizes, and in children’s sizes for boots and poles. Find something you like and you can get a discount to purchase the same or similar items at the AMC’s Pinkham Notch visitors center. Demo gear is available on a first-come, first-served basis. 603-466-2727, www.outdoors.org/pinkham
Bike trips highlight seasonal events
Faneuil Hall hosts street theater festival
Contortionists, jugglers, acrobats and more can be found in Boston at Faneuil Hall Marketplace's first Street Theater Festival Oct. 20-21. Scheduled to appear are Alakazam, aka "The Human Knot," who puts on what is billed as a self-contained freak show as he twists his body into pretzel shapes. Wacky Chad is scheduled to be there as well, a guy who does comedy with tricks and pogo-stick stunts, who has bounced on programs like 'America's Got Talent" and "Live with Regis & Kelly." Also on hand will be magician/juggler/comic/mind reader/fire eater Lucky Bob, and Jason Escape who lives up to his name by wriggling out of constraints, a Houdiniesque display of magic that features him wrapped in 75 feet of rope and hung by his ankles by audience members.
The two-day festival runs 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. and is free to all. Check out the full listing of events at www.faneuilhallmarketplace.com/info/streetperformers
News from the edge of things
We've known Cambridge-based Larry Millman as a fellow travel writer for at least 20 years now, and when meet up with him and exchange notes of where we've been, our highlights usually involve warm places with good food and wine. Larry's generally involve ice, rocks, wild creatures, and mushrooms. Long ago we became resigned to the fact that we are travelers, and he is by nature an adventurer who never carries a ''computer-type device'' on his travels ''lest I become tethered to the world I left behind.''
Lawrence Millman's newest book, Hiking to Siberia: Curious Tales of Travel and Travelers, came out on Tuesday. Published by a tiny Buffalo press called sunnyoutside, it's a modest compendium of 20 essays about the joys and vicissitudes of travel (which, he notes, shares an etymology with ''travail''). It's small enough to tuck in a backpack to read a tale each night before crawling into a sleeping bag – or to lay by the bedside to encourage dreams of far-off places and the strange characters who inhabit the margins of the world. As Millman writes of himself, ''If a wrong turn can be made, I will find a way, God or his absence willing, to make it....''
We wouldn't have it any other way.
Central Mass foliage already ablaze
It might be a rainy weekend, but a little drizzle isn't putting a damper on the foliage in central Massachusetts, as we discovered on Friday driving around in the towns just east of the Quabbin Reservoir. In fact, this llama seemed to think the foliage looked good enough to eat, as he pruned some low-hanging limbs.
Photo by Patricia Harris for the Boston Globe
Stay and save with NYC package
Affinia Manhattan in New York City is offering a "Miracle on 31st Street" holiday package, Nov. 1 through Feb. 26, with rates starting at $209 per night. The hotel is located at 7th Avenue and 31st Street, and the package includes a VIP ice-skating package for two at Bryant Park; 10-percent off your tab at Celsius Restaurant at Bryant Park; a free bottle of wine; 20 percent off holiday dinner at Niles NYC Restaurant and Bar at the hotel; a Macy's 10-percent off savings pass; two winter "rescue kits" with lip balm, ear warmers, hand sanitizer and hand warmers; and an in-room DVD of the classic film, "Miracle on 34th Street."
Affinia Manhattan recently underwent a $25 million redesign with Rockwell Group, transforming the historic, pre-war property into what hotel officials called an urban retreat. Check it all out at www.affinia.com/miracle, or call 866-246-2203 and mention promotion code 31st.
Opulence hidden behind a hedge in Newport
I've probably driven up and down Memorial Drive in Newport a million times, and have long heard of the upscale Chanler at Cliff Walk, but never put two and two together and realized the Chanler was so close to Cliff Walk. OK, so it's smack dab on Cliff Walk, but my reason for not knowing that is a big one: It is completely hidden behind a giant hedge, affording it remarkable privacy and quiet despite being steps away from one of Newport's busiest streets. Set back on a cobblestoned drive, it is a magnificent building, loaded with charm, elegance and a pretty neat history: Built in 1865 as a summer home for New York Congressman John Winthrop Chanler and his wife, Margaret Astor Ward, it was the first mansion built on Cliff Walk and hosted the likes of President Theodore Roosevelt and poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. It was later a museum and then a girls' school before becoming a hotel in the 1940s.
We had the occasion to stay there one night and got the Empire Room; each of the 14 mansion rooms in the main building are decorated and named for an historical period based on the furniture design and architecture of that time, themed from Gothic to English Tudor to Greek Revival. One of the many beauties of this place is no two rooms are alike. And throughout, some of the furnishings from the Chanler Museum are sprinkled throughout. There are also three separate garden villas and three ocean villas.
Our Empire Room in the mansion was gorgeous, on a corner facing Easton's Beach and Cliff Walk. The room had a sizable living room with a two-person Jacuzzi on the far wall, which doesn't exactly befit the historical period on which the room is based, but was a very relaxing respite after a long stroll on Cliff Walk. Here, for an extra cost, a butler will come in while you're at dinner, run the bath and leave rose petals strewn about, and lighted candles surrounding the tub set in a mirrored alcove. A more romantic setting we could not imagine.
The fireplace mantel is of antique slate, taken from a mansion in Michigan and painted to look like granite. Empire decor, inn officials said, often used a faux treatment of materials to look like granite or marble. Several antique tiles with figures on them in ochre and lime green are embedded into the mantel, making it more unique and interesting. The room itself is unique; being on the corner, the ceiling height varies from corner to center, from around six feet to more than eight, with a stained-glass skylight in the ceiling. The room's feel is decidedly Victorian but with modern touches such as a triple-head shower in the gold-hued granite bathroom, and iHome docking station.
The main culinary draw is the Spiced Pear, a restaurant with incredible ocean views, some of the best in Newport, and cuisine to match. Give the Spiced Pear martini a shot, with Absolut pear vodka, Amaretto DiSaronno, pear nectar, cinnamon and lemon juice. We also had local chilled oysters, wild burgundy escargot, Narragansett Bay striped bass and the menu's highest priced item, the exquisite butter-poached Maine lobster for $42, worth every melt-in-mouth cent. Before and/or after a meal like that, a long jaunt down nearby Cliff Walk is almost a necessity. Or you could wait until the next day, because breakfast here is insane, too; check out the salmon and goat cheese omelet.
We retired to the bar of hand-rubbed mahogany for a nightcap before heading back to the room where that rose-petal strewn tub awaited, and got more proof of how renowned the Chanler is: The following weekend, it would be closed to the public, privately booked for the wedding of the creator of the Facebook logo. And yes, Mark Zuckerberg was scheduled to attend.
Newport used to go to sleep in the off season, but no more. At the Chanler, a fall two-night special ($425 per night) includes full breakfast, a bottle of Spiced Pear sparkling wine, two tickets to a Newport mansion of your choice, and one, three-course meal for two in the Spiced Pear. Wait until winter and you can get the two-night "A Chanler Christmas," ($375 per weekday night, $430 per weekend night), available Nov. 28-Dec. 29 which gets you the same as the fall special, minus the bottle of wine; instead you get a minted Chanler Christmas ornament. All prices include room taxes, food taxes and dinner gratuity. And if you want to check out other parts of the city, you can get a free ride any place in Newport, up until 11 p.m., first come, first served. Check it out at www.thechanler.com
All that behind a hedge? I have to start paying attention where I'm going.
Cool times this Nantucket fall
So the Nantucket Project seems a good fit, it running Oct. 5-8, a veritable think tank which brings together big-brained types from many disciplines, such as writer and businessman Jack Abramoff; CNN political analyst David Gergen; Eric Schmidt, Google chairman; Henry Louis Gates, Harvard professor of black culture; John Abele, founder of Boston Scientific; and Doug Melton, founder of the Harvard/MIT Broad Center for Stem Cell Research. For full information and ticket pricing, visit www.nantucketproject.com/#blank
The Nantucket Project is one of a few cool things happening on Nantucket in the off season, a time with still lots of sun but lower temperatures and prices. For cheaper fall stays, check out the "Hot Dates, Cool Rates" program. Nantucket Island Resorts is offering discounted fall nightly rates, including at places like Jared Coffin House, with rooms going for $125. Check it out at www.nantucketislandresorts.com/hotdates.php
There are a lot of great restaurants on the island, and many are showing their stuff during the Nantucket Restaurant Week Sept. 24-30, including Topper's at the Wauwinet, home of a notable butter-poached lobster, and Brant Point Grill at the White Elephant, known for its duck confit Bolognese. Visit www.nantucketrestaurantweek.com/ for complete information.
The 10th annual Cranberry Festival is scheduled for Oct. 6, when the Milestone Cranberry Bog and Nantucket Conservation Foundation host a festival celebrating the island's historic bogs. Events include cranberry foods of all stripe, bog tours, hay rides, and sheep-shearing workshops. Check www.nantucketconservation.org/page.php?section=3&page=cranberry_festival for more info.
And rounding out the season, the Brant Point Grill offers a New England Thanksgiving and on that morning, the island hosts the 11th Annual Turkey Plunge on Children's Beach. For information on all, visit www.nantucketislandresorts.com or call 800-475-2637.
Balloons taking to New Mexico skies
The signature event is the launch of 700 balloons, making it the largest ballooning event and the most photographed event in the world, and the largest annual international event held in the United States, organizers said.
General admission is $8 for adults, and you can book your own hot-air balloon rides as well. For all ticket prices and information, including where to find lodging, visit www.balloonfiesta.com
Photo credit: Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta and photographer Cindy Petrehn
Celebrating California wine in its birthplace
The 2012 Sonoma Wine Country Weekend features Taste of Sonoma at MacMurray Ranch; the 20th annual Sonoma Valley Harvest Wine Auction held at a new venue, Chateau St. Jean; the new Sonoma Starlight Supper Club at Francis Ford Coppola Winery; and various small, exclusive winery lunch and dinner parties at locations throughout Sonoma's wine country.
Proceeds from the weekend support Sonoma County non-profit organizations; to date, more than $10 million has been donated directly to Sonoma non-profits by the local wine community.
Ticket prices range from $85 to $500 per person. Presenting sponsor, Visa Signature, is offering its cardholders even perks and savings. For reservations and information visit www.sonomawinecountryweekend.com
Zip lining hundreds of feet above mountain floor is a New Mexico first
Angel Fire Resort, in the southern Rockies of New Mexico, has opened a multi-station zipline tour at the summit of the resort's ski mountain, which includes one blazing-fast component that has you going downhill, strapped belly down into a safety harnesses and blasting head first down the mountain. The Angel Fire Zipline Adventure Tour is the first of its kind in New Mexico, resort officials said. Another signature segment of the tour includes a tandem zipline, where you shoot down the mountain, above the forest floor some 50 stories, on a 1,600-foot tandem zipline.
The three- to four-hour adventure, costing $89 per person, starts at the 10,600-foot summit (which dwarfs the northeast's highest peak, Mount Washington in New Hampshire, with its comparatively scant 6,288 feet), though a tamer version is available for those with young families.
The zipline tour is part of the resort's new Summit Adventure Center, an activity park at the top of the ski mountain, which includes Eurobungie, mountain biking, disc golf, horseshoes and hiking. Check out the video of the head-first ride on YouTube and all that other stuff that may seem pretty laid back compared to ziplining. For all resort info, check out www.angelfireresort.com and check out some pretty hairy rides at
Boston Light: One if by tour, two if by poster…
The nonprofit Boston Harbor Island Alliance offers summer tours of Boston Light, located in Boston Harbor on Little Brewster Island, a three-hour trip that includes a boat cruise with a 45-minute narrated tour of the harbor islands, with info on two other historic sites, Long Island Head Light and The Graves Light. Docking at Little Brewster Island, tour takers can meet with the Boston Light keeper (it is the last and only lighthouse to have a US Coast Guard light keeper), and get an up close look at the light's Fresnel lens, the only Fresnel still in use. Pack a lunch, enjoy the view of Boston and make an event out of it.
The tour runs through Sept. 30, Friday to Sunday, leaving the Boston Harbor Islands Pavilion at 9:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. Cost is $39 for adults, $29 for children 3 to 11, and $35 for college students, seniors and military personnel with valid ID. Tickets are available at www.brownpapertickets.com. For more information, visit www.bostonharborislands.org
Alan Claude, a Maine artist best known for his Lighthouse Travel Poster Collection (some of which have appeared on "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition"), has come out with a new poster, this one of Boston Light, a limited-edition print that shows the lighthouse bathed by a rising sun, the Boston skyline behind it, and a plane flying in the distant sky.
"The city's skyline proclaims its modern present and the soaring airplane signifies its bright future," said Claude, whose posters are evocative of European travel posters of the 1930s. "So it's a lighthouse travel poster but also a poster about Boston and civic pride."
Claude photographed the lighthouse one dawn, setting off from a friend's house in Hull to capture the moment, which he later turned into a work of art via pencil sketching and then redrawing on computer. His Boston Light poster sells for $65 and can be bought at the National Park Service visitors' center in Faneuil hall, or at www.alanclaude.com Claude has donated prints to the American Lighthouse Foundation and other lighthouse preservation groups in New England.
Boston Light is the first and oldest lighthouse in the country, first built in 1716 but destroyed by retreating British soldiers during the siege of Boston in 1776. It was rebuilt in 1783, and still stands.
R.I. Audubon Society runs nocturnal wildlife tours
Summer nights are the best, with cool breezes, bright moonlight, star-studded skies and just a peaceful easy feeling. Oh, and things that make noises in the dark that can make you jump out of your skin if you don't know what they are. Which is what the good folks at the Audubon Society of Rhode Island are counting on with a summer program of nocturnal events designed to explore, embrace and explain things that go bump in the night.
"When we venture out on the wildlife refuges at night, we seek out those mysterious noises and movements," said Audubon naturalist Kim Calcagno. "Part of each walk is simply getting used to walking in the dark. The more you learn about what you see and hear, the more comfortable you become in the darkness and the more you can enjoy the peacefulness, cool air and array of night sounds."
The evening events include:
Aug. 3, bats at Eppley Wildlife Refuge, West Kingston, a night walk through the refuge to learn about the flapping creatures of the night.
Aug. 10, family night exploration at Fisherville Brook, Exeter, where kids and their parents engage in games and activities that explain the night vision of creatures like bats, deer and coyotes, and have some s'mores later.
Aug. 29, family hike night at Fort Nature Refuge in North Smithfield, where participants (ages 8 and up only, it involves a nearly two-mile hike) listen for animal sounds and test their night vision.
Aug. 31, a full-moon kayak paddle at Hundred Acre Cove in Barrington (ages 16 and up), a quintessential salt marsh with osprey and terrapin turtle nesting sites, where great blue herons and snowy egrets are often seen, and where participants can get out and see the cages of the turtle nests.
All programs are $12 for non-members of Audubon ($6 for kids) and $8 for members ($4 for kids), except for the moonlight paddle, which is $65 for non-members and $55 for members (all equipment included). Registration is required for all programs by calling 401-949-5454 ext. 3041 or emailing programs@asri.org. A free download of all Audubon activities is available at www.asri.org
"We want people to discover the night and find wonder and delight in what is around them," Calcagno said. "In the end, we hope to introduce and share with people the same enjoyment of the wilds at night that our naturalists possess. It's a wonderful time to explore."
RI skies to fill with hot-air balloons
The festival is the main fundraiser for the Wakefield Rotary Club, which has raised more than $1 million since it began. All proceeds from the event are donated to charities, club officials said. For a complete list of events and more information visit www.southcountyballoonfest.com
Photo by Laurie Ramaker
Quebec City rocks for 45th year
For a complete listing and ticket prices, visit www.infofestival.com
L.L. Bean marks 100th anniversary with party in its park
From one man -- Leon Leonwood Bean -- came an eventual $1.4-billion empire. And now a party to celebrate it all.
In honor of its centennial, L.L. Bean is hosting a 100th Anniversary Hometown Celebration on Main Street in Freeport, Maine, from July 4-7, a four-day event that includes free daily concerts in L.L. Bean's Discovery Park, the 35th Annual L.L. Bean 10K Road Race, family friendly outdoor activities and more. The event ends with a fireworks display.
Fun stuff along the way: Freeport Fourth of July parade, featuring the L.L. Bean Bootmobile; free Outdoor Discovery School demos, including kayaking and stand-up paddle boarding; appearances by Red Sox legendary shortstop Rico Petrocelli, Wally the Green Monster and the Sox World Series trophies; a Muddy Bean Boots ice cream sampling, a flavor created by Gifford's for the anniversary; outdoor games with Olympic gold medalist snowboarder Seth Westcott; music from Chris Isaak and Jo Dee Messina; farmer's market; free concerts by regional artists; and all-day street festivals with local crafts, food and live entertainment.
Bean started his company in 1912, a one-man operation catering to those lovers of the great outdoors, starting with the waterproof "Bean Boot," which remains an iconic symbol of the company. L.L. Bean still makes the boot -- and a lot of other things, outdoorsy and fashionable.
For a complete schedule and more information, visit www.llbean.com
Fireworks with a view at Hotel Viking in Newport
The rest of the summer, the lounge is open to all, and features musical entertainment, barbecue food, chilled plates and signature cocktails like the Viking Green Tea. To check it out on Twitter, use @HotelViking, or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/hotelviking
Variety marks offerings at summer film series in Newport
The mostly al fresco films air all over Aquidneck Island, starting just after sunset, from Bellevue Avenue mansions to ocean-front lawns to working farms, with many films followed by industry experts or filmmakers holding conversations with the cinematically curious.
On July 20, at the International Tennis Hall of Fame’s fabled grass courts, “Ethel,” by Rory Kennedy will air, a look at the life of the famous wife of the late Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Rory Kennedy will be on hand to introduce the film and hold a Q&A after. Admission is free.
For baseball fans in general, and Red Sox fans in particular, “Knuckleball,” a film which features former Boston Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield, will air at the Casino Theater on Freebody Street on July 31. The pitcher is expected to attend, organizers said, and he may put on a little pitching demonstration. Tickets are $25 each.
Performing at the Newport Folk Festival July 29 is Sixto Diaz Rodriguez, a.k.a., the musician known as Sugar Man, and airing July 28 at the Jane Pickens Theater in Newport is “Searching for Sugar Man,” winner of the 2012 Sundance Audience Award. Tickets are $15 each, and Rodriguez will be in attendance, along with the film's director, Malik Bendjelloul.
Other free films in the series include “Marley,” on June 30 at the Newport Yachting Center, a film about the fabled Reggae star; “Don’t Stop Believin’: Everyman’s Journey” on July 12 at King Park in Newport, billed as a rock ‘n’ roll fairy tale; “The Queen of Versailles” on Aug. 2 at the Elms mansion gardens on Bellevue Avenue, about a billionaire couple’s story to uncover the “innate virtues and flaws of the American dream," at which director Lauren Greenfield will be in attendance; “Gregory Crewdson: Brief Encounters” on Aug. 9, on the Newport Art Museum Lawn, about creative photographer Crewdson, who will be in attendance; and “Chasing Ice” on Sept. 7, an environmental documentary that’s part of newportFILM’S Green Screen program, airing on Rose Island.
The newportFILM Kids series runs this summer as well, some of which is free, some of which isn’t but still reasonable at $5. Through July 1, the “Fort Adams with American’s Cup World Series” runs at historic Fort Adams, with daily half-hour sessions of children’s ocean-focused environmental short documentaries, all free.
On July 26 at Sweet Berry Farm in Middletown, from 4:30-6:30 p.m., live music in the field will be followed by a half hour of short children’s films in the barn house, for $5 per person. Three free films will be shown at Ballard Park in Newport, “The Lion King” on Aug. 8; “E.T.” on Aug. 15; and “Back to the Future” on Aug. 22. Preceding each, newportFILM will air a family friendly short film.
For more information, up-to-date changes or additions, and locations for rain-date alternatives, visit www.newportfilm.com or call 401-649-2784.
Photo from "Ethel" courtesy of newportFILM
Moose Calling Championship in Maine cranks up
Moose callers replicate the barks, bellows and grunts of the giant denizens of the north woods, and this year is the first that combines the contest with the lottery. Last year, more than 3,000 people attended the lottery drawing. This year, there are 3,725 hunting permits up for grabs to the tens of thousands of hunters who have entered the drawing. The whole thing is part of a three-day festival, which is good for tourism, said Judy Morton, executive director of the Rangeley Lakes Chamber of Commerce.
"Our region is enthused about hosting the moose lottery and the moose calling contest and our shops, restaurants and bars will be joining in the festivities with moose-themed specials, like chocolate mousse, moose whoopie pies, moose jewelry and moose shots.
The moose calling semifinals will be held June 22 at Moose Alley in Rangeley and the finals the following day in front of the Rangeley Outdoor Sporting Heritage Museum. Participants will have previously qualified at one of several preliminary competitions across the state.
Winners are judged in cow call, bull call, other attraction techniques (props allowed) and presentation/sportsmanship. First-place winner gets $1,000 (and bragging rights), and top finalists earn packages from Cabela's and Extreme Dimension.
It's three days of all manner of outdoor activities and events, information on which can be seen at www.rangeleyoutdoors.com/2012-moose-lottery-festival/ And for a video clip of moose calling in action, check out www.maineprmaven.com/tag/video/ It shows Maine guide Roger Lambert demonstrating various calls, that you can presumably try on your own. If a befuddled squirrel taps at your window looking for Bullwinkle, you may want to turn down the volume.
Photo from Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife website
Boston's Fairmont Copley Plaza offers family entertainment deals
The hotel's Call of the Wild Package, with rates kicking off at $339, partners with the Franklin Park Zoo, and includes two tickets to the zoo, accommodations in a newly renovated guest room and one Zookeeper Level Zoodoption, which awards a certificate of "adoption" of an animal in the zoo. And speaking of animals, but not in the literal sense, the Just Ducky Package revolves around Boston's famous Duck Tour, a package that starts at $319 and includes overnight stay at the hotel and four Duck Tour tickets. The Children's Museum package, starting at $219, includes accommodations and passes to the Boston Children's Museum for two adults and one child.
For information and specific pricing on all Fairmont Copley deals, visit www.fairmont.com/copleyplaza or call 800-441-1414.
Boston Harbor Islands ferry service resumes
Boats depart from Boston's Long Wharft North, next to the Long Wharf Marriott, adjacent to Christopher Columbus Park. Nearest T station is the Aquarium stop. For more information, visit www.bostonharborislands.org
Photo of picnickers on Georges Island by Jessey Dearing for The Boston Globe
NH inns team up for hiking package
The package runs four times: June 10-14, July 8-12, Aug. 19-23 and Sept. 16-20. To reserve, call the Candlelite Inn at 603-938-5571 or email candleite@mcttelecom.com
Rhode Island tour includes nod to Family Guy
Quahog, R.I., does not exist in real life. It thrives on TV, however, as the fictitious hometown of the dysfunctionally funny family Griffin in the hit animated Fox series, "Family Guy," created by R.I. native Seth McFarlane in 1998.
The fake Quahog -- and real Rhode Island -- gets its tourism due May 5, when the ninth annual Tour Rhode Island rolls out on more than a dozen buses jammed with people eager to learn more about the nation's smallest state, a very popular annual event that sells out quickly, state tourism officials said.
There are 15 tours in all this year, including the return of, by popular demand, "The Family Guy Tour," which includes more than a dozen sites in Pawtucket, Providence, Johnston, and Cranston that are known, or are suspected to have inspired the Emmy-winning series. There will also be a "Family Guy'' celebration lunch at Walt's Roast Beef on Airport Road in Warwick, where a "Family Guy'' version of Trivial Pursuit will be played.
The Tour Rhode Island lineup, other than the Family Guy trek, will take people all over the literal Rhode Island map, with things like "Rhode Island Myths & Mysteries: Shades of Revolutionaries and Romantics," "Hidden Gems of the Blackstone Valley" and "Geocaching Adventure: A Treasure Hunt for Grownups."
New this year is "Independence Trail and Taste of Rhode Island," a three-mile walk that takes in more than four centuries of state history. The one-year-old Providence Independence Trail celebrates its first birthday with its founder, Robert Burke, who is the tour's host and guide, showing tour takers key spots in state history, including where the first shot was fired against English rule in Rhode Island and the spot where President Lincoln spoke.
There are also tours this year for the more physically active, including kayaking the Blackstone River, hiking land-trust trails and bicycling the East Bay Bike Path.
Ticket prices vary, from $24 to $55 for the day-long tour, and most include boxed lunch - but sorry, no quahogs.
For information, visit www.tourrhodeisland.org, or call 401-724-2200.
Cracking up the Queen
“The Queen had written us a letter expressing concern about the length of the lily stems,” smiled Wadson, 61, a tall, craggy sort with calloused hands and rugged spirit honed by almost 40 years of tilling the land in the hot Bermuda sun. “Well, that year, I met her once at a formal get-together here.”
Wadson is known around Bermuda not just for the Bermuda hogs he raises, or the dozens of types of fruits, vegetables and flowers he grows, or his busy farmer’s market stand or the farm being named “Best Greengrocer” by Bermudian Magazine or the publication’s “Award of Excellence, Best of Bermuda Gold” for food and beverages in 2008. He’s also known for his playful sense of humor, straightforward and blunt
“So I told her, ‘Your Majesty, we have a microscopic complaint department but just wanted you to know that your complaint stood out because it’s the only one we’ve gotten that was handwritten!’” Wadson roared one day at the farm, telling the story and pointing out lilies being grown for the queen this Easter.
The queen took it in stride, Wadson said, even smiling at the comment. And later that night, Wadson said, he went and quaffed a few brews with her husband, Prince Philip, whom Wadson dubbed, “a good fellow, a down-to-earth sort.”
Wadson started his farm in 1976, dabbling in farming prior to that, going to school abroad, then graduating from Ontario Agricultural College in Canada. The farm was doing well – until Hurricane Fabian destroyed the whole thing in 2003. He built it up again, but transitioned from conventional to organic farming in the process.
The farm does a lot of school tours, and will soon get a commercial kitchen and open a little café at the farmer’s market, which sells all manner of what Wadson grows or harvests, including duck eggs, lamb meat, and a wide range of organic vegetables. The farm is the island’s only CSA (community supported agriculture) site, Wadson said.
Taking a tour of the farm one day, Wadson showed us parched fields with chickens running about them, which come season’s end, they’ll plow under, enriching the soil, turning the brown earth to green grass the following year because, Wadson winked about what chickens leave behind, “we’re just using what nature drops us.”
He also rents some land near a former U.S. Navy base, using it to graze a few dozen sheep, land likely to be developed into a massive resort at some point but for now suiting his sheep’s grazing needs just fine.
The farm is open for regular tours, which if you’re lucky, you’ll get Wadson to conduct. Feel free to ask about the Queen’s lilies. If he wasn’t shy with her, he won’t be shy telling you about it. For information on the farm, visit www.wadsonsfarm.com
Beer and baseball in the great Southwest
Kimpton's Firesky Resort & Spa in Scottsdale, Ariz. -- an area that's home to the Cactus League's 15 Major League Baseball spring-training camps -- is offering a "Play Ball" package for the whole month of March. The package includes a welcome basket of baseball snacks, a welcome bucket of beer and free shuttle service for travel within three miles of the resort, which is 10 minutes from the home stadiums of the San Francisco Giants, Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks.
The other 12 stadiums are within freeway access. Rooms are priced from $199 a night, and packages can be reserved at www.kimptonhotels.com by entering PBAS in the rate code box, or by calling 1-800-546-7866 and asking for the "Play Ball Spring Training" package.
Last year, the Cactus League hosted 233 pro ball games, attracting 1.5 million fans to the Valley of the Sun, as the area is known. The organization now known as the Cactus League started up in 1946, when its first two teams, the Cleveland Indians and New York Giants, headed west for spring training. Check out the league at www.cactusleague.com
- Anne Fitzgerald, Globe Travel Editor
- Paul Makishima, Globe Assistant Sunday Editor
- Eric Wilbur, Boston.com staff
- Kari Bodnarchuk writes about outdoor adventures, offbeat places, and New England.
- Patricia Borns, a frequent contributor to Globe Travel, writes and photographs travel, maritime, and historical narratives as well as blogs and books.
- Patricia Harris, a regular contributor to Globe Travel, is author or co-author of more than 20 books on travel, food, and popular culture.
- Paul E. Kandarian, a frequent contributor to Globe Travel, writes and photographs New England and Caribbean stories.
- Chris Klein is a regular contributor to Globe Travel. His latest book is "The Die-Hard Sports Fan's Guide to Boston."
- David Lyon, a regular contributor to Globe Travel, is author or co-author of more than 20 books on travel, food, and popular culture.
- Hilary Nangle is a regular contributor to Globe Travel. Her latest guidebook is Moon Maine (Avalon Travel, 2008)
- Joe Ray, a frequent contributor to Globe Travel, writes and photographs food and travel stories from Europe.
- Kimberly Sherman writes about unique happenings throughout New England.
