Nature-Centered Girlfriend Getaways Near New York City

As a woman, maintaining a tight bond with my girlfriends is a priority. But, sometimes our everyday lives are so frenzied with the needs of kids, partners,and colleagues that email, texting and video chats have taken the place of face-to-face sharing. Instead of attempting to schedule and reschedule Sunday brunch with your best friends only to find that electronic devices are still too tempting a distraction, why not plan a girlfriend getaway oh-so-close to New York City?

No, this isn't all about endless shopping sprees or consuming large quantities of alcohol. Sure, you'll be putting your usual responsibilities on the back burner, but you'll be focusing on activities that will nurture your body, mind and spirit. To me that means sipping fine wines, sampling exquisite cuisine, relishing a therapeutic massage and, tree hugger that I am, embracing nature-focused activities.

My favorite spots in the Northeast that are ideal for a girlfriend getaway include St. Michaels, RI, Litchfield Hills, CT, Finger Lakes Region, NY, New Hope, PA and Newport, RI. The farthest away is the Finger Lakes Region, the closest is New Hope. But each offers abundant opportunities to reconnect with the women that brighten your life.

I recently wrote an article on girlfriend getaways for offMetro, the online travel guide for native New Yorkers or visitors to the Big Apple alike.

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Solo Travel Safety Tips + Much More

I'm a slim packer. Whether I'm traveling for eight weeks or eight days, I only carry a backpack and a fanny pack that doubles as a shoulder bag. In order to do this efficiently, there are certain items I bring on every trip, such as a large, cashmere pashmina that serves several functions, including as a blanket on the or, when rolled up, as a lumbar support on the plane.

These are some of the many things you'll learn from an interview I just did with Flavours Holidays, a cool travel agency specializing in cooking, painting, and Pilates vacations in Italy.

You'll learn about some of my personal security tips when I'm traveling alone. For example,  if you ever carry a pursse, never ever hang it over your chair in a bar or restaurant or even place it between your feet on the floor. Find out the security situation of your destination neighborhood by speaking with women business owners in the area.

And, then there's one of my most memorable experiences: a fun, informative and exciting trip down the Amazon with International Expeditions where I met the best naturalist guide ever. You'll find out about what makes him so stellar in this interview, as well as much more information on how I plan my trips, and the circuitous course I took to becoming a travel writer.

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A Scenic Spiritual Retreat In Maine

My travels aren't always filled with joy. When a good friend and colleague recently and suddenly passed away, I needed time to grieve and reflect in a natural setting, which, for me, is the most therapeutic. Luckily, I found the Marie Joseph Spiritual Center in Biddeford Pool along Maine's south coast.

Though the seaside location fronting a long stretch of sugary sand couldn't be beat, this property is solely for those who desire a spiritually-focused time for reflection.

The behemoth castle-resembling building dates from the 1890s when it was a major hotel resort that later fell on tough times, transforming first into a girls boarding school in 1948, and much later, in the 1970s, into an adult learning center, a nursing school and finally into this spiritual center run by the Sisters of the Presentation of Mary. But men and women of all faiths are welcome at this peaceful oasis.

I spent my time taking long, contemplative beach walks, jogging a short loop to East Point and back, bird watching, meditating while gazing at one of two ponds, and mindfully eating simple but flavorful meals, often outside at one of several picnic tables set beside shade trees. (When there is a silent retreat going on at this spiritual center, then no talking is allowed at designated meal times, which is why I chose to eat outside.) There are no embellishments here, but none are needed. My room was spare but comfy with bathrooms down the hall. But, then, I spent little time in my room because I enjoyed the comfort of nature.

And, for those who do prefer to reflect in a more formal way, you can attend morning or evening prayers in the chapel as well as mass and also the afternoon rosary.

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Gear Review: Studded Snow Tires For Your Feet - Winter Footwear

Another week, another ice storm. That's what New Yorkers, like myself, have faced since Christmas. But this week is different. No, the streets are not ice free. In fact, they're slicker than ever, thanks to a recent snowstorm that dumped five-plus inches, followed by rain, followed by sub-freezing temperatures. No, this week is different because I feel like shouting "Houston, We have traction," in the fashion of a successful NASA mission. You're probably wondering if all this snow has frozen my brain. My glee comes from a product I decided to review that, as they say, puts "studded snow tires" on my feet! Welcome to the world of the STABILicers Lite Walker by 32North.

These are made of ultra light rubber with steel cleats. The boots I tend to wear all winter are North Face and, though they are comfy and warm no matter how low the mercury drops, the sole doesn't grip packed snow or ice. In fact, I feel like I've been wearing ice skates this winter.

With friends and colleagues falling in the middle of busy streets and on ice-coated sidewalks, I jumped at the opportunity to test this product this week when the sidewalks were the iciest. And that's why I've been declaring "We've got traction."

It takes seconds to pull the cleats on over the sole of my boots (or shoes) and seconds to remove them, roll them up and tuck them in my bag.  In fact, they're so light, I forgot they were in my bag. While wearing them -- and they come in five different colors -- I walked confidently at my usual brisk pace over hard-packed snow and ice while those around me, of course, fell. No problem wearing them on asphalt or dirt, either. The big problem, though, is that you can't walk across any polished surface, like tile or marble. The cardboard insert did mention this, but I somehow didn't read it and accidentally walked across a sidewalk surface that was polished. Bad news. Very slippery. But that's the only caveat with this product that I intend to carry with me until spring. Ice storm in spring? I sure hope not.

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St. John - A Hiker's Paradise In The Caribbean

The Caribbean often attracts those who simply desire to sun on long swaths of golden sand. I go to hike. And that's what made a trip to St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands so perfect. Two-thirds of the island is a national park, cut with 21 trails where you can take a short walk or a two-hour hike. Even in high season,  you’ll run into only a couple of other hikers on the trail, especially those that are more strenuous.   

Unlike other Caribbean islands, such as Dominica and Grenada, where you have to negotiate tortuously slick, red mud trails through the rain forest, or step carefully around boiling pits,  St. John is graced with dry, safe and, often, short treks. 

To access some trails you don't even need a car; the Lind Point and the Caneel Hill trails are just outside of downtown Cruz Bay.  If you only have time for a short hike, the Cinnamon Bay Nature trail only takes 15 minutes. This trail heads through a moist, shady forest where you’ll see golden orb spiders and zebra butterflies. 

The National Park Service leads hikes on the Reef Bay trail which is chock full of history. Considered St. John's most popular trail, Reef Bay passes old sugar estates and petroglyphs. The bonus is a botany lesson where you'll learn about bay rum trees whose leaves were made into cologne, kapok tree seed pods whose cotton-like fiber were stuffed into mattresses, and locust tree wood that was part of the shipbuilding process.

For a more strenuous hike, the Bordeaux Mountain trail takes you to the highest point on the island and drops to Little Lameshur Beach.  If you tire of lying on the beach, the Ram Head trail starts at the blue cobblestone Salt Pond Bay Beach and then climbs past roly-poly cactus that dot the sides of the path. On this windy path, you'll find goats and burros wandering in the meadows, the oldest rocks on the island, from 90 million years ago, and crevasses where you can peer down to tumultuous waves.

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How I Discover Hidden Treasures, What's One of My Most Memorial Journeys + More

No matter where I journey, I manage to find treasures that even the locals may be unaware of. Wondering how I manage to do that?

Why was the chief mason I volunteered with in southern France the most interesting character I've ever met?

While all of my journeys are memorable, find out why my recent trip on the Amazon ranks as one of the best.

If you read this blog regularly, you know Iceland has a very special place in my heart. Find out why I was compared to an elf. 

These are just a few of the tidbits you'll learn from the Q & A Dave Gelling at Global Bike in the UK did with me recently.

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What Makes Bequia In The Caribbean So Special?

The sleepy isle of Bequia certainly has a lost-in-time quality. Dogs doze in the middle of some roads that wiggle up a hill, goats nibble on grass growing around the headstones in a local cemetery, and one of the restaurateurs seems to know all the school children that pass her waterfront eatery. 

This is a destination where I strolled Belmont Walkway, a ribbon of a pedestrian path beside azure waters, past pastel-hued shops, hotels, bars and restaurants; sipped a non-alcoholic lime squash at Jack's, a bar along a remote stretch of Princess Margaret Beach, a golden arc of sand; and dined at Toko's, an ultra informal restaurant where I shared the table with fishermen and whalers. 

If you're looking for an island with a high glitz factor with shopping opportunities galore, Bequia isn't for you. Rather, it's suffused with authenticity, whether it's the sea-to-table cafes or cliff top picnic spots where you'll likely not run into a soul. 

I just wrote an article on Bequia for National Geographic Traveler - Intelligent Travel.

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The Art Scene in Peekskill, New York

Roaming around Peekskill's Riverfront Green Park, now draped in snow, thanks to a storm that hit just as my Metro North train departed NYC's Grand Central Terminal, I understood how, over the centuries, artists  have taken their inspiration from the Hudson Valley. Many infuse their landscapes with a sense of the romantic

Today, I stroll Peekskill's waterfront green space as well as downtown and find both sprinkled with sculptures (installations and murals) by a retinue of artists, mostly from New York State with a smattering representing the international community. The works are varied in their themes, materials and sensibilities.

Basha Ruth Nelson's oeuvre, a 10-foot-high steel ring, is a simple, graceful form that allows the viewer to interact with it, viewing the park and the Hudson as if through a window. "The Golden Mean," sculpted by Carol A. Feuerman, is a buff, 16-foot-high bronze diver that's so infused with energy, it looks as though he will fly into the river. Nearby, Serge Onnen's Planetariummonetarium is a steel sphere resembling a space object. Farther along the shoreline is a small hut constructed of weathered steel and set atop a steel bar. This work by Daan Padmos,"Time Sharing," is inherently unstable, looking like it was just washed ashore.

In the town itself, art work appears just about everywhere you look, whether in a vacant lot, across from parking spaces, snuggled between buildings, coating an expansive facade, even set atop concrete benches. 

Normally the presence of convex mirrors reflects a security function. But not with Marko Remec's "What Would I Wish For," which is constructed of more than 100 convex mirrors covering two utility poles. They act as fun house-type mirrors, reflecting your image, over and over again for the narcissist in you. Another Remec piece, "Totem (Up/Down)," -- it's more than a mile away, near the Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art (HVCCA) -- suspends two bicycles along a flag pole, upending the idea that bikes represent the American dream. Perhaps one of the most whimsical is Leon Reid IV's "Pedestrian Shuffle," twin school crossing signs that are stepping out along a particularly ordinary Peekskill street.

With all the focus on these large works and with the snow draping every outdoor surface, it's easy to miss the series of colorful tile-covered concrete benches that lead visitors all the way to the HVCCA. The tilework, created by some two thousand school kids, provides visual representations of the history of the Hudson River and Peekskill, including English explorer Henry Hudson himself.

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The Best Christmas Lights in New York City

Why would I trek over an hour on the sluggish D train to Brooklyn and then wander another 20 minutes from the 18th Avenue subway station in Bensonhurst? For the extravagant Christmas lights in Dyker Heights, of course. The online real estate company, Redfin, considers this mostly Italian-American neighborhood to be among the top five neighborhoods in the U.S. to see holiday lights.

While there are one- and two-family homes that trim their modest dwellings with extravagant holiday decorations, it's the $1 million+ mansions along 84th and 85th streets between 11th and 12th avenues that are the real draw. So much so that tour buses make Dyker Heights a holiday destination for New Yorkers and out-of-towners alike, while the police cordon off 84th St. between 11th and 12th avenues, allowing crowds to overflow onto the asphalt.

Multi-floor balconies are decked out with glowing red bows and garlands of lights. Giant lighted gingerbread stand sentinel on one lawn. Another outlined their gazebo in blue, red and white lights, and set up brilliant reindeer and a golden sleigh nearby. This homeowner allows the public to shoot photos of their kids in the sleigh.

Colorful icicles drip from the eaves, trees are densely peppered with scarlet lights from the tippy top to the base; animated toy soldiers peep out of windows; grand staircases, pillars and old fashioned street lamps are bejeweled with gold, azure and emerald lights; a small merry-go-round spins; and a giant animatronic Santa beckons all. Even the trees along the sidewalks glitter with the dangling snowflakes and Christmas balls. And, of course, the Eiffel Tower makes an appearance on one property. Tacky? I don't think so.

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