Nature-Based Adventures in Rhode Island

Many travelers associated Rhode Island solely with summer fun and, especially, with a visit to Block Island. But there’s so much more to experience in this the smallest state in the U.S. With hundreds of miles of coastline and myriad state parks in the interior, Rhode Island is a year-round delight. Here are some photos from my most recent travels there. 

After the skies cleared one stormy morning in Weekapaug, Rhode Island, I strolled along the waterfront and found the silence to be stunning and comforting.

Solitary hiking along the DuVal Trail system in Rhode Island gave me an opportunity to feel an intimate connection with nature, whether it’s the enchanting tree tunnels, the colorful thickets of mountain laurel, or the fields of glacial boulders that are clustered in the shade of black oak and white pine trees.

 

At the Weekapaug Inn in Westerly, RHode Island, I had numerous opportunities to connect with nature, including kayaking on this placid salt water pond. 

As I strolled along the barrier beach steps away from the Weekapaug Inn in Rhode Island, I was enwrapped by a sense of the serene and the scenic.

While roaming along the coastline of Rhode Island’s Weekapaug area, I explored the wee lanes that wiggled through the serene neighborhood.

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Gear Review: Rugged/Stylish Sandals

What cramps a savvy packing style that revolves around never checking luggage? In my opinion, shoes are one of the chief culprits that force travelers into lugging around and checking large bags. Not me, though. I usually wear one pair of shoes and pack another in my carry-on. Most women especially are adverse to wearing fewer than three pairs of shoes per trip. I've found the solution, at least as far as non-winter travel is concerned: Chacos.

This company makes a variety of different sandals (and now shoes) that are sturdy, comfortable, good looking versatile. Recently they sent me the ZX2/Yampa Sandal to test.

These were my only outdoor shoe on my recent one-week trip to the Azores where I went bicycling, light hiking, and kayaking as well as doing plenty of walking on cobbled lanes in the towns and villages, and along sandy stretches of beaches. The Vibram sole with lugs performed well under all circumstances but one: moss- or algae-coated rocks. But I've found that only my ultra sticky-soled 5-10 hiking boots are the only ones that kept me from slipping under these circumstances.

These sandals are stylish when worn with a dress or skirt but are also plenty rugged for all my adventures on this trip. (I like the versatility of the black straps but other models come in a variety of patterns and bold colors.) Most importantly, they were oh-so comfortable, especially along my arch which ordinarily would be fatigued after a long day of nothing but walking. And, while I know many people find a toe loop uncomfortable, I loved the security it provided.

A negative about Chacos is they take a bit of tweaking to get the straps to fit. And, perhaps I'm a bit challenged because the accompanying directions illustrating how to loosen and tighten the straps only made things more confusing. Furthermore, it seems the main tightening strap (along the buckle side) is way to long for my feet. No worries, though. I simply had my talented shoemaker cut and resew the strap. So these negatives were easily taken care of with the slight expense for the alteration.

When I head to Southeast Asia for a month of travel, I'll be bringing along one of my Chacos as well. And, despite the fact that I'll be away for a month, I won't be checking luggage.

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Adventures in Costa Rica

Most visitors only see the dense foliage of Braulio Carrillo National Park from the window of a tour bus that zips by. Instead, I chose to hire a private guide and explore on foot. This is the closest national park to San Jose, Costa Rica's capital. But Braulio Carrillo has few maintained trails and those that are navigable are steep, often muddy, and require a guide who'll lead you to refreshing streams and tumbling waterfalls and, most importantly, keep you at a distance from one of the most venomous snakes in the world, the fer-de-lance. (Luckily, I didn't see the latter.) But this tropical expanse is also a birdwatchers paradise, considering over 500 bird species can be found here, including the magnificent quetzal that I did spot. 

You certainly can't hike down the active Poas Volcano crater filled with teal-hued waters. But on the periphery trails wind through an otherworldly landscape of miniature bonsai-type trees and sizzling steam vents. In this crater-hugging cloud forest, one path wanders through a forest of twisted dwarf trees and leads to Laguna Botos, a lake formed from an extinct volcano where you may even see the fiery-throated hummingbird.

Puffy white masses meet the trees and the world becomes enveloped in mist. Welcome to the world of Costa Rica's cloud forests, include the most notable: the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve. Trails snake through a wilderness dominated by bromeliads, orchids and other epiphytes, 200 types of ferns and hundreds of butterfly species. Birdwatchers who get up very early can spy the resplendent quetzal, a bird that's noted for its iridescent green and ruby red coloration. Dozens of hummingbird species are also a major draw.

A visit to Manuel Antonio National Park offers a cross-training adventure, where you could choose a different activity every day for a week. Among the options:

 

• horseback ride through the rainforest-coated interior.

• white water raft on the Sevengre River with its Class II and III rapids

• scuba dive where you're likely to spot giant manta rays and white tip reef sharks.

• ocean kayak along the coastline rimmed with white sand beaches or through the nearby mangrove forests around Damas Island where sloths, howler monkeys and anteaters can be seen

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Adventure Travel Sweepstakes

You know I'm all about authentic travel, especially if it involves an adventure component, such as biking, hiking or kayaking. Well, how would you like to enter a contest where you could win a $5,000 credit towards a trip for two with an award-winning adventure tour company? Interested? Read on:

Austin Adventures - Adventure Travel, that's been ranked as the "World's Best Tour Operator" by readers of Travel + Leisure Magazine, is an active travel company that's been setting adventure tour standards in The Americas, Europe, and Africa and other places around the world. They recently named J The Travel Authority as one of its Top 10 Travel Blogs. The winners were selected based on unique content, honesty, integrity, video/photos, useful links and other criteria.




"These bloggers are truly the best in the blogosphere, providing beautifully written travel posts that highlight their expert knowledge, undeniable passion, cultural insight and unique, personal experiences," said Dan Austin, founder and owner." "Each blog provides the most fascinating, up-to-date content on travel tips, destinations, active travel, family adventures and the everyday life of a traveler. These blogs are imaginative, fun, original and poignant; reaching to the heart of what traveling is all about: discovery, adventure and finding yourself," said Austin.

As recognition for excellence, readers of J The Travel Authority now have the opportunity to win a trip for two on any Austin Adventures - Adventure Travel of their choice. Among the options are bicycle tours, hiking trips, multi-sport adventures, kayaking trips and family adventures. (Terms and conditions apply.) Among the options are biking trips in Slovenia, hiking and white water rafting in Southern Africa, and kayaking in Peru.

The promotion runs through 11:59 PM, May 19, 2011, with the winners announced the next day (May 20, 2011) on Austin-Lehman Adventures blog.

To enter the sweepstakes, go here and enter your name, email address and the name of the blog (J The Travel Authority) that brought you to their site.

Here is their list of the Top 10 Best Travel Blog Finalists, in no particular order:

http://ellenbarone.com

http://wanderlustandlipstick.com

http://www.jthetravelauthority.com

http://travellogged.com

http://almostfearless.com

http://theplanetd.com

http://www.wildjunket.com

http://www.amateurtraveler.com

http://www.motherofalltrips.com

http://mantripping.com

Go to the Austin-Lehman Adventures Blog to see the complete list of the 125 Best Travel Blog Semi-Finalists.

Wishing all my readers the best of luck and happy travels.

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Florida's Hidden Retreat

It's hard to believe that there are still hidden corners in Florida, a state I've criss crossed extensively. Yet, I just returned from Cedar Key that harks back to the Florida of maybe 50 years ago. But what was even more curious was that every single person I spoke with before my trip thought Cedar Key was part of the Florida Keys on the east coast. In fact, Cedar Key is on the west coast -- so, clearly, not part of the Keys. And given that there are no water parks, or beach resorts, and that it's one hour from Gainesville or two hours from Tampa, it's understandable why Cedar Key is off the radar.



The island of Cedar Key is one of 17 barrier islands, many of which are part of the pristine Cedar Keys National Wildlife Refuge.




Here's what I found and did:

1. Cedar Key is the farmed clam capital of the U.S. We enjoyed healthy, plump and juicy clams served in myriad ways

2. Kayaking along shallow salt marshes and marine estuaries

3. Plenty of bird watching possibilities, including shore birds like ibis, heron and egret

4. Bold sunsets that I never tired of watching

5. Roads where I rarely saw cars, making it perfect for renting a bike and pedaling around to the museums, old cemetery, petite landing strip and across the bridges linking four of the isles

6. Several state reserves, like the Cedar Key Scrub State Reserve, where I could walk sandy trails bordered by lush foliage and spy curious animal tracks

7. Wandering the town of Cedar Key to check out the arts and crafts shops where I talked with painters and sculptors

8. Taking a historic walking tour of the town that's dotted with buildings dating to the 19th century


My base for this five-day trip was the Cedar Key Bed & Breakfast, a yellow pine, two story 19th century dwelling just steps from the water. Here I knew I had just stepped into another world when owner Alice Phillips greeted me saying "We don't lock our doors here." To a native New Yorker, this couldn't have sounded more alien. But every night we found the door to the inn's public rooms unlocked. There we could raid the ever-present cookie jar for chocolate chip or oatmeal raisin cookies, M & Ms, or biscotti.



The town is oh, so walkable. So at night, we'd wander from dinner down the streets where everything shuts down at 9:30 pm to find our inn along a dark residential lane rimmed in tiny lights. What a welcome sight.

My room, the Honeymoon Cottage, one of the 7 rooms and 2 suites at this B & B -- was plenty quaint and comfy with thick bathrobes, a clawfoot tub, rose detailing, lace curtains and antique accoutrements.

But the key selling point of this room is the views of the garden with the 500-year-old live oak tree. As a New Yorker where views of nature are in short supply, I couldn't get enough of this one.

The backyard garden is where I spent much of my down time listening to the tinkling water fountain or watching the butterflies flitting about the blooming flowers. I often curled up with a book on the patio that fronts the backyard. And, despite the fact that the area drips with heat and humidity in the summer -- conditions I happen to love -- the patio was comfortable with its fans blowing a cooling breeze.

Every morning we were treated to fresh fruit salad, cinnamon raisin toast and bagels, yogurt and an ever-changing hot breakfast. The cream cheese omelet with chives was plenty flavorful. So was the French toast with nutmeg, and breakfast burrito with bacon and cheese. My favorite: the light-as-clouds pancakes. (I have a thing for pancakes that float off the plate; and these were so fluffy that I could've tied them down.)

The breakfast room, like the rest of the inn and Cedar Key in general, was like stepping back in time. An antique type phone and clock hung on the walls as did a framed set of the well-known Donax brushes that were made from local saw palmetto plants.

Alice and Bill, her husband and co-owner, keep a wall of DVDs, CDs and books to occupy anyone who can't find enough to do in and around the islands.

I spent five days here and I could've easily have spent another five or more. It's not every day that you find a warm, friendly place where the owners take such great care in providing their guests with everything they need for an enjoyable stay. They knew I'm very type A and I wanted to know everything there was to do and see and they didn't disappoint. They gave me the insider info on the best restaurant to eat chowder and who serves the best Key lime pie. They suggested who I should kayak with because I'm a novice kayaker as well as who gives one of the best boat tours in the area.

But even more important were the other guests who checked into the Cedar Key B & B. I rarely hold long conversations with guests at breakfast. But here I found people who were smart, interesting and welcoming who had a love of nature. And many of them had either been here before or, if not, they knew they'd return again. And I'll be one of them, too.

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A Beach For Every Personality in Vieques

As far as Puerto Rico goes, one of my favorite places is Vieques, the offshore island that once had a reputation as a test-bombing site for the U.S. Navy. The only plus to that situation: the seaside remained largely undeveloped. With the Navy now completely gone as of a few years ago, I have concern regarding overdevelopment along the waterfront and elsewhere. But there are still so many untouched sandy swaths and secluded covers that you'll easily find a place where you'll feel like Robinson Crusoe. Here's a large sampling of the beaches I've visited; each offers a different pleasure, whether you prefer to set your blanket in the midst of crowds or you would rather stroll the sands without any distractions.


• Sun Bay, where Lord of the Flies was filmed, is so easy to get to that it's the beach everyone flocks to on the weekends. I enjoyed hiking around Cayo de Adentro, one of the keys that's accessible by walking on a narrow spit of sand. Visitors to Sun Bay will have plenty of opportunity to eat local food thanks to vendors at the entrance selling cod fish fritters, mashed plantain with meat or seafood, conch salad and pastelillos.



• A short walk or drive down the Beach Road is Media Luna, named for the half moon shape of its bay. This calm water attracts families who wade several hundred yards into the still water and, like Sun Bay, is fringed with tall coconut palms.


• The next beach, Navio, is renowned for its white sand and clear turquoise water with strong waves that make it good for surfing. On either side of the beach are caves, one where fruits bats live, that you can either swim or walk to.


• At Esperanza Beach, in the eponymous town with restaurants and bars aplenty, you can get away from it all by snorkeling around the coral reefs of the uninhabited island, Cayo Afuera, that sits a few hundred feet offshore. You can easily kayak to the island that's also noted for its surf-battered sea cliffs.

• On the west end of the island, Green Beach is where the Atlantic meets the Caribbean. From there, I parked the car and walked to a series of sandy coves that are so desolate yours will be the only footprints. Most visitors stop at the main beach rather than continuing south to a rocky point and then east to a series of beaches with intimate coves and stands of coconut palms. Backed by hills topped with scrub, these beaches are desolate with desolation with sculpted boulders.


• Among the beaches that were off limits but opened to the public as of 2003 are Red and Blue beaches on the east end of the island. (They are now part of the Vieques National Wildlife Refuge.) Playa Caracas (Red Beach) is one of the prettiest on the island with white sand, gentle waters and volcanic outcroppings. The much longer Bajia la Chiva (Blue Beach) allows those with four-wheel vehicles to drive onto the sand.

• Also on the island's once off-limits east end are the latest beaches to open to the public. These include Playa Escondida, Playa La Platita and Playa La Plata (Silver Beach), aka Orchid Beach. No matter which one you choose, you'll be delighted with the bay views as well as the expansive verdant hills in the distance. The often calm waters make La Plata especially appealing.

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Surprising Wilderness in Staten Island

As a native New Yorker, I never had Staten Island on my list of top New York venues to visit to check out parks and gardens. So you can imagine my surprise when, on a recent visit with the New York City Parks Commissioner, Adrian Benepe, I visited his top four parks. Hmm. No wonder Staten Island is referred to as the "Borough of Parks." Benepe tells me that it's got more parkland than any other borough: 30% of Staten Island is preserved for parks.

Here's more of what I found out:

• Adrian Benepe told me that the there's a spacious Greenbelt of parks in the center of Staten Island and that Greenbelt Nature Center provides some lovely hiking trail maps. (Who knew? Hiking trails in Staten Island?) And, when I wondered if I had to do my hiking alone, I found out that High Rock Park, in the Greenbelt, offers guided walks, as does the Nature Center. High Rock Park is dense with woodland. "It's the closest you can get to the Catskills without leaving the five boroughs," says Benepe. I'm thinking how could I have missed this all these years.
• Snug Harbor is a leafy area that's closest to the ferry and chock full of cultural -- Neo-classical buildings from the 1800s -- as well as botanical delights. This is the site of the Botanical Garden where you can find a real hidden treasure: the Chinese Scholar's Garden. This is the place for peaceful contemplation as you walk the pathways in the walled-in courtyard and catch glimpses of sky, rocks and water.

• Clove Lakes Park dates to the 20th century and really feels like you are walking into another world as you walk across a stone bridge over the placid bodies of water to a waterside stone cafe, the Clove Lake Cafe, that reminded me of a quaint French bistro. You couldn't get a nicer place to dine on a summer evening. Beyond the bridge are hilly woods and a place to rent canoes.

• Another restaurant beside a pristine waterfront can be found at South Beach, a long swath of sand that merges with Midland Beach. You can bicycle or walk the boardwalk, stop at the South Fin Grill for some calamari with hot peppers -- the NYC Park's Commissioner's favorite -- and enjoy the ocean views. According to Benepe, "This is one of the most beautiful of our waterfront restaurants and one of the best beaches in all of New York City." There are plenty of activities to keep everyone occupied: beach volleyball, kayaking and even a boccie ball court.

• Conference House Park is the Commissioner's favorite. "It's my favorite park," says Benepe, "because it's beautiful beyond compare. It's like being on the coast of New England." Here, you've got a park that's 200+ acres of natural beautiful. Sure, you've got historic homes to explore, but what I love most are the walking, hiking and cycling paths and the great views of the Raritan bay.

• Finally, though Lemon Creek Park is most noted for its grand 19th century Seguine Mansion, I was particularly enchanted by the acres of salt water marshes and the soaring red clay cliffs. Numerous birds pass through this parkland on their migratory routes. But, of course, you'll spot various duck species and swans on your visit.

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The Florida Keys Are Still Wild

Driving from Key Largo to Key West, many people find it difficult to imagine what Florida must've been like before malls and wall-to-wall resorts invaded the area. Yet, all t takes to experience the wilderness of the Florida Keys is to make a very short detour off the main highway or take a pleasant ferry ride. Some of the wilderness venues are so close to the main drag, it's almost hard to believe it when residents admit they've never heard of a particular spot. There are more than half a dozen of these nature preserves to choose from. On my last trip to the Keys, I based in Islamorada and took day trips to each of these leafy destinations below:


• The Dagny Johnson Key Largo Hammock Botanical State Park is just off Route 1. It's the largest remaining tropical hardwood forest in the U.S. and home to endangered plants and animals. Thanks to the signs and labels along the paths, it's easy to pick up plenty of botanical facts about the Jamaican dogwood whose leaves were once used to stun fish or the Bahama strongbark tree whose tea is said to be revitalizing.

• At Indian Key Historic State Park, rangers lead treks through this 10-acre greenspace that has a colorful past. The rogue wrecker bought the island and built one of Florida's first post offices; an agriculturist introduced agave and prickly pear; and a band of Native Americans attacked in the 1800s destroying most of the island's structures. You'll see the ruins of the town square and be able to roam trials that were once busy streets.

• Lignumvitae Key Botanical State Park is one of the last virgin tropical forests in the Keys. The park is named for the endangered medicinal tree that 's said to possibly be the tree of the Garden of Eden and also the source of the Holy Grail. Rangers also lead guided walks on the island where you'll find plenty of oddly named and lush foliage. Kayaking, snorkeling and fishing are three other top activities you may want to consider both here and at Indian Key.

• The Crane Point Museum, Nature Center and Historic Site is a 60-some-acre wilderness preserve that is sure to satisfy botany and history buffs alike. Here you'll find the Adderley House, the oldest house in the Keys outside of Key West. It's constructed of sand, shells, lime and rocks. Walk the trails that wind past fresh water ponds and mangrove forests with blue herons and white ibis.

• In Long Key State Park, visitors can walk the pleasant Golden Orb Trail, so named for the spider whose web is many times stronger than the same mass of steel. It meanders through a dense mangrove forest to an observation tower high above the forest.

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