Touristy Mystic is Also A Placid Destination

 In Mystic, Connecticut, I was as infatuated with clouds as I was with trees.

Though Mystic is thronged with tourists, a sense of calm is pervasive.

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Photos - Travels in Niantic, Connecticut

Scenic Niantic, Connecticut radiates a chill vibe no matter where you wander.

A mere two-hour drive from New York City, the village of Niantic on Connecticut’s shore front offers cool breezes, scenic waterfront views, placid green spaces, and a calming vibe.

hi It’s easy to practice mindfulness in the early morning when walking the beaches in scenic Niantic, Connecticut.

On the Niantic River that opens to the bay, Connecticut’s Port Niantic marina couldn’t be more picturesque.

The village of Niantic on the Connecticut shore offers myriad opportunities to be enwrapped with nature.

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Coastal Southern Maine + New Hampshire in Pictures

As small towns go, downtown Portsmouth, New Hampshire is a favorite of mine, fitting all my criteria: waterfront location -- it’s on the Piscataqua River; numerous independent coffee shops, bookstores and wine bars; sense of history: the town dates to the early 17th century and numerous centuries-old buildings can still be found. But, most importantly, it’s got a walkable downtown. (The only downside: on Friday and Saturday nights in the summer, the town becomes party central.) While visiting a friend who lives nearby on the border with Maine, we decided to focus our daytime activities around little visited walking trails -- all a short drive from Portsmouth -- rather than joining the crowds flocking to the most popular sandy beaches. Here’s what we found:

The Urban Forestry Center, a two-mile walk from Downtown Portsmouth seems little used during the week when I spent a couple of hours on a web of shaded paths that weaved in and out of the forest and beside the tidal marsh of Sagamore Creek.

Despite all the tourist traffic in York, Maine, I strolled strolled first through Steedman Woods and then along first Fisherman's Walk and then the Cliff Walk in York Harbor.  My friend and I were the only ones on this trail that offered access to sandy bays and wide rocky surfaces, perfect for sunning.

Owned by the elite boarding school in Exeter, New Hampshire, the Phillips Exeter Academy Woods has several one-mile-plus loops through the woods that, at times, border the Exeter River.

Rogers Park is located in Kittery, Maine on land that was originally settled in the 17th century by a member of the Rogers family that came over on the Mayflower. It’s set along Spruce Creek with flat trails skirting the water only to head back into the sun-speckled woodland.

Bird watching opportunities abound in the Heron Point Sanctuary in downtown Newmarket, New Hampshire where great blue herons, cormorants and other water and wading birds can be spotted on trails that skirt the Lamprey River.

Trails parallel the Great Bay’s tidal coast in the Adams Point Wildlife Management Area, a property in Durham, New Hampshire once owned by the prominent Adams Family. Also in Durham, at Wagon Hill, a former family farm, trails now wander around community gardens, into dense woods and along a calm shoreline

In Rye, New Hampshire, Odiorne Point State Park has something for everyone, pebbly beaches, historic military bunkers, dense forestland cut by numerous paths and even a small aquarium at the Seacoast Science Center.

This short YouTube video slideshow provides a window into my coastal Maine/New Hampshire travels. 

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Gear Review: Shoes So Comfortable They Feel Like Clouds

 My friends joke about how I describe my ideal pancake: it should resemble a cloud and literally feel like it's floating off the plate. And I was reminded of my cloud analogy when testing out these new Chaco OutCross Evo 2 shoes that the company just provided. I tried them out for a week and they are so cloud-like, I sometimes have to look down at my feet to wonder if I've walked out of the house with just my socks. Extremely comfortable? You bet. Though they come in a rainbow of colors, being a New Yorker I chose black, of course. They're billed as a performance shoe -- one that goes from water sports to the beach to the trail -- but I also wore them in the city with skirts, pants and leggings and got plenty of compliments on their low profile style.

When I wanted  to check out their performance, I ventured to Long Island's east end for a weekend of fishing, and beach walking. The speed lace system that Chaco is noted for makes it easy to slip these shoes on and off. When wet, the shoes dry rapidly. No worries about your feet overheating; these shoes are completely breathable. But, though I had hoped for great traction on wet rocks, that's not what I found. As we fished just off shore and I navigated across slick rocks of different sorts, I wasn't happy with the traction I got. And, walking across the beach brought plenty of sand into the shoes which I had to remove frequently during our walks to clear out the sand.

Then I checked out the shoes in Manhattan's wet streets during some spring rainstorms. Again, there were traction issues, this time if I crossed anything metallic -- it was like an ice skating rink. Of course, these shoes are not meant to be city walking shoes. So, this wasn't a fair test. (They are meant to have great traction on natural surfaces.)

Overall, I love these shoes for their comfort and their aesthetics -- two things for which the Chaco brand is noted. I'm packing two pair of Chacos on my next trip to Brittany where I will be walking the Nantes-Brest Canal. One of these I've written about these shoes before as well as the sandals - check out why I love 'em.

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Laos In Pictures

Journeying along the Mekong River that courses through Laos, and driving along the rough roads that rise and dip through the lush interior, I found a wealth of treasures: riverside villages where women wove traditional textiles, wonderful coffee shops in Luang Prabang, the UNESCO World Heritage city, charming waterfront chalets and restaurants in the town of Vang Vieng that's noted for its adventure sports and much more. This short YouTube video slideshow provides a window into my two-week trip in Laos. 

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Witches' Water Park in Austria

 In the summer, we expect Austria to have a network of cable cars providing views of jagged spires, wildflower coated meadows, and slopes criss-crossed with hiking paths. But a Witches' Water Park? This had to be a joke. It turns out that Hexenwasser Hochsoll, which translates to Witches' Water, is set in Soll in the Tyrol province of Austria, under an hour from Innsbruck. You could think of it as an ultra soft adventure park where parents and kids can spend the afternoon or the day experiencing nature and the vitality of water. Clearly, this is unlike anything you might find in Orlando, Florida.



Hexenwasser is given this name because legend has it that witches, who were both revered and feared, had long lived in this land where the women practiced their healing arts. Now, in a bucolic mountain landscape, you can explore dozens of stations spaced along a 1,500-foot-long route where you'll have an intimate experience with the power and therapeutic properties of water. Kneipp treatments are pools where you either immerse your arms to stimulate your circulation, or tread water, which is said to benefit varicose veins.

You can give your feet a reflexology massage by walking across what's considered the longest -- a little over a mile long -- barefoot trail in Austria. Wander along shallow water channels and across various surfaces, including pebbles, grass, and pine bark, as a way to stimulate your feet and your body organs. There's plenty of barefoot walking at Hexenwasser, through pools, ponds and basins.

Try to schedule a visit on a warm, sunny day and remember to take towels and the kids may want bathing suits. Expect invigorating icy cold spring water.

But, aside from the water focus, the park also has an educational aspect, whether it's learning about bee behavior at the apiary, finding out how to bake bread in a stone oven, discover what a day in the life of a woodcutter would be like, and see if you can tell time using a sundial.
 
Unlike other waterparks, where you have to shell out a wad of cash, here if you decide not to take the cable car up, all the stations are free. The cable car also goes from mid-station to the summit of Hohe Salve peak that offers 360º views of the Tyrol's ragged peaks that pierce the sky.

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Top Travel Tips-Downloadable E-Book

From reading my many posts, you've probably come away with some useful travel tips, including my secret packing tips, how to stay healthy on the road, and the best sites in my fave travel destinations. Since I'm on the road 90+ days a year, I've accumulated tips that help make my travels safe, healthy, efficient and worry-free. But now you can read travel tips from not just me but also over 150 other top travel bloggers? We've all contributed some of our top travel tips to a downloadable e-book. Aside from picking up a wealth of practical information, you'll be able to contribute to a charitable cause. That's because $1 from each sale goes to Charity: Water where as little as $20 is enough to help one person get clean drinking water for 20 years. Click on the Best Travel Tips icon on the right to download this e-book.

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