Lots of fun in the “off season” at Lake Tahoe…

Personally, I love “off season” for traveling.  Spring at lake Tahoe means fresh green grass, wildflowers swaying in a soft breeze and less crowds.  You can hear the wind whistling in the pines and the lake lapping on the shore in the quiet.

And my favorite place to stay, the Resort at Squaw Creek at Squaw Valley has some wondrous and fun May activities scheduled.

Skiing:

There’s still time for a few last runs of the year—at Alpine Meadows, which will be open for skiing Fridays – Sundays through May 13.

Biking and hiking:

May can be a terrific time for biking (Resort at Squaw Creek rents bikes).  A twenty-mile long paved bike path meanders through the pines and along the shore of the sparkling blue lake.

Also, hiking to nearby waterfalls in Shirley Canyon at the far western edge of Squaw Valley or Eagle Falls near Emerald Bay should be possible due to the lower than average snowfall this year.

Fly Fishing:

But here’s one of the best things to do in May: head to the on-property Resort at Squaw Creek Fly Fishing Center, led by expert fly fisherman Matt Heron.  Heron, a Federation of Fly Fishers Certified Casting Instructor, started fishing at age three and has been going strong for twenty-six years, twenty of those years fly-fishing.

The fly fishing center features private, stocked ponds, lessons and options for guided trips to local rivers.  It also offers a variety of classes to teach you all about this ancient angling method.

The most popular class, called Cast N’ Catch (3 hrs) offers the best of both worlds, casting instruction and fishing. Class begins with an hour and a half casting lesson, which leads into an hour and a half of guided fishing on the private ponds.

Here’s how Heron describes the fishing in May at the Resort at Squaw Creek:

“Most people think that summer is the best time to go fishing, but most

fly fishers know that spring is one of the best times of the year to catch trout in the Tahoe area. And, so far, 2012 has been no exception. Guide trips are fully underway on the Truckee and other rivers, and fishing has been spectacular to say the least.

Watch a video of Heron catching a thirty-pound rainbow trout

With less than normal snow accumulations this year, fishing should continue to get better over the next few months.  We are usually able to stock our ponds at the Resort at Squaw Creek by mid-May with beautiful rainbow trout, and we really start to get busy around Memorial Day.”

The resort offers their popular Creek Creatures class for kids and also special women’s classes this season and can custom tailor classes for a group.

Whether your spring fun is skiing, hiking, biking or fishing, come back at the end of the day and soak in one of the resort’s hot pools, enjoy a massage at the spa and a sumptuous meal at the Six Peaks Grille.

If you are planning to head to Lake Tahoe this Memorial Day holiday, take advantage of the Resort at Squaw Creek™ Memorial Weekend Bed & Breakfast Package.  The package starts at $199 per room, per night, and features daily breakfasts in Six Peaks Grille for two adults and two children (12-and-under), and accommodations in a Deluxe Guestroom.  (Available May 24-May 28, 2012. Resort fees and taxes are additional, and the offer is subject to availability.)

The Resort at Squaw Creek’s Robert Trent Jones, Jr. golf course is expected to offer 18 holes of play for Memorial Day weekend.  And the water slide will open again for the season, such fun for kids of all ages.

The Memorial Weekend Bed & Breakfast package can be booked at Visit Squaw Creek , or by calling 800.401.9501, using promo code MDAYRSC.

For more information on fly-fishing classes:

• Squaw Valley Fly Fishing
• Matt Heron Fly Fishing

Diane Covington here, one of TouristTravel.com’s roving reporters, today writing to you from beautiful Squaw Valley, California.

Winter made her fashionably late entrance with a blast of over four feet of fresh snow in the past few days and more is on its way.

I’m staying with my fiancé at the beautiful Resort at Squaw Creek, which Conde Nast Traveler magazine ranked among the top 50 ski resorts in North America.  The resort is known for both family and romantic vacations and when you stay here you can see why.  (AAA also gave it a Four-Diamond rating.)

We love that we can hop on a lift right outside our suite when we’re ready to ski. We skied the fresh powder at Squaw Valley, stopping for lunch at Rocker’s Restaurant at the base—don’t miss the hot spinach artichoke flatbread, topped with jack and Parmesan cheese, real après ski comfort food.

We skied back to the Resort at Squaw Creek in time for a soak in the outdoor hot pools before our massages at the spa.  The heated blankets on the massage table welcome me from the cold and the massage relaxed all the muscles we’d used all day.  I lounged in both the sauna and steam room before heading back to our room.

Our cozy suite looks out over the valley that has transformed into a Winter Wonderland in the last few days.  We can choose between skiing, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing or ice-skating, not to mention the heated pools and spa or staying by the fireplace in our room, curled up with a book.

Dinner at Sandy’s Pub and Six Peaks Grille

Skiing in fresh snow is fun, but driving in it at night to go out to dinner isn’t.  But we’re lucky to have a choice of excellent restaurants here at the resort to choose from.

Our first night, I enjoyed the best fish taco I’ve ever tasted at Sandy’s Pub, which serves American pub fare and microbrews in a casual and friendly atmosphere with non-stop sports on TVs.

Last night we strolled through the arcade of shops and across the lobby to the Six Peak’s Grille, where chef Chad Shrewsbury uses local organic farm sources to create his trendy and tasty menus.  We began with a rich Butternut Squash Soup, then I enjoyed Wild Salmon on a bed of asparagus paired with a velvety Fransican Estate Cuvee Sauvage 2009 Chardonnay, while my partner sipped a lush Groth 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon with his tender Filet Mignon.

A variety of freshly baked rolls and fingerling potatoes complemented our dinners and the crackling fire next to our table made our dinner memorable not only for the sumptuous meal but also for the romantic ambience.  For dessert, we chose the light and fluffy Lemon Cheesecake.  Yum.  Good thing we’re skiing every day!

Then we bundled up for the two-minute refreshing walk in the crisp night air back to our room.

Squaw Valley now America’s largest ski resort

The local buzz here is the recent merger between Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows ski areas, which means that skiers and boarders can now access over 6,000 skiable acres, more than 270 trails, forty-three lifts and eight peaks, with one lift ticket and a free shuttle between the two resorts.  That’s amazing.  (Check out www.squaw.com for the latest ski conditions and deals.)

With winter arriving so late, the Resort at Squaw Creek is also offering many early spring romance, ski and family specials.

For example, the Children Ski, Skate, Sled Free Package includes all that fun and deluxe guestroom accommodations for families including two children per room.  Prices start at $299 per night.

Or the Family Spring Break Package, which starts at just $219 per night.

Don’t miss this Winter Wonderland and some amazing deals. For the most up-to-date information, log onto www.squawcreek.com.

Diane Covington 2012

The Florida Keys are made up of some 1,700 islands.  From Miami to Key West, this archipelago stretches over 150 miles alone.  It’s here where I found some unique saltwater kayaking opportunities stretching from the Cow Key to Key Largo.

Kayaking through the Cow Key Channel

The two hour, 1.5 mile roundtrip through the Cow Key Channel beginning at US Highway MM (mile marker) 4.1(just outside of Key West) with Lazy Dog Kayak Guides involved a steady current that’s heavily influenced by the two high and low tides coming from both the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean each day.  The firm breeze helped to counter the muggy conditions.  Bethany and her four-legged companion Tucker (a.k.a. “Mr. T”) served as our guides.

Through her guidance as we kayaked through open waters 2-10 foot deep, a natural mangrove creek and one “hurricane hole” (a pond surrounded by mangroves that offer more protection from hurricanes), I got an up close and personal view of primary Red Mangrove trees, whose prop roots filter out about 95 per cent of the saltwater while the trees leaves sacrifice themselves to filter out the rest of the salt so the trees can have “potable” water.   Their death means decomposition in the channel, which creates the soil ingredients to build up the small islands.

In my 12 foot Perception model, I heard the soundtrack of osprey, Great Blue and White Heron as I paddled through the waters, ranging in depth of two to ten feet.  Bethany often stopped alongside the mangrove growth to educate our group about the plant and animal life thriving here, letting us hold them.  Creatures like the prickly-feeling Florida Spiny Sea Star, and the Sea Cucumber, which has the feel of its vegetable counterpart.   She was excited when she came across a government-protected Queen Conch, a large creepy-looking snail that would make the subject of a good horror film.

Venturing to the Key with “No Name”

Just four miles off of US 1 at MM 30, I found a more isolated, off the beaten path world, where I kayaked roundtrip over a couple of hours in waters 1-18 feet in depth from Big Pine Key to the No Name Key (where the 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion was staged).   The winds whistled through the palms on a mostly cloudy morning and afternoon, helping to keep the heat and mugginess in check.   Our guide from Big Pine Kayak Adventures, was Bill Keogh.  He’s kayaked some 800 Florida Keys.

Like Bethany at Cow Key, Keogh’s four-footed friend joined, a friendly mixed breed named Scupper, who quickly won my fondness.  As we set off from Big Pine Key, the scent of sulfur permeated my nostrils because of the decomposing seagrass which this Key catches from Florida Bay.  Getting to the Key with “No Name” meant crossing the Bogie Channel’s choppy waters (about a 1/3 mile long) in a 12 foot Vapor that weighed 50 pounds.

When I looked down into the more shallow waters, I caught the sight of flat Turtle Grass, round Manatee Grass, and soft-looking Shoal Grass waving back and forth.   Being out in this wide channel heightened my sense of isolation from the hustle and bustle only a few miles away.  My eyes took in the sight of a kettle of Turkey Vultures heading south for winter.   Arriving at the No Name Key, we paddled into a deep mangrove forest via a very narrow creek, so narrow that I dismantled my paddle into halves, using one along with low-hanging branches to navigate hundreds of feet.  But awaiting my camera was a camouflaged Yellow-Crowned Night Heron bouncing around from tree to tree as well as a variety of crabs climbing the densely-packed branches.

Breakfast and pelting rain in Boot Key Harbor

“Kayak Dave” said this about how one paddles a kayak, “It’s like sex, so long as you’re having fun, it doesn’t matter how you do it!”   He admonished me to turn my body more instead of my elbow during my three mile roundtrip to and from Boot Key (where Radio Marti broadcasts to Cuba take place) as light to moderate rain pelted me from above the first half of my journey.  Thunder and lightning thankfully weren’t part of the storm.  We started out at Sombrero Beach on Marathon’s Vaca Key, facing the Atlantic.  This Key is named for “the cow of the sea,” the manatee.  Vaca is Spanish for cow.

En route to Boot Key via Boot Key Harbor my eyes caught sight of million dollar homes sharing the shorelines with red mangrove forests.  The snowy egrets were plentiful, but very camera shy when approaching them for a close up shot.    My 12.5 foot, 44 pound Cobra Navigator was much more prone to capsize as I navigated through this Key’s creek.  The tree branches created such an obstacle that leaning into them wrongly could result in capsizing. “No-see-ums” (biting midges) terrorized my eyes inside the still waters, but I was covered up otherwise, avoiding further torture.  I at least caught my first glimpse of a yellowish nurse shark as it swam at the bottom of the creek.

The longest 1.5 miles in the Key Largo area

I’d never forget the challenges I faced over 1.5 miles using a sea kayak the first time.   One of the realities of this sport is that weather plays a pivotal role on one’s experience.   I set off from Key Largo into Garden Cove in a Current Designs 17 foot, 52 pound sit-in model.  The 25 knot winds immediately caused me to drift about in the rough waters either because my foot pedal adjustments (foot pedals move the rudder) made on shore didn’t lock in and/or I didn’t keep my feet fully on them.

It came at a time when I needed to cross an area shared by motorboats; and thus, fear almost got the better of me.  But thankfully, my guide Todd of Florida Bay Outfitters and another really skilled kayaker came back to “rescue” me, getting on both sides of my vessel to readjust the foot pedals.  I made my way southward down North Sound Creek, which separates Key Largo from Rattlesnake Key.   It was here where I’d see the beginnings of another red mangrove island, as numerous red mangrove trees were scattered about like an archipelago obstacle course.

For as the gusts of winds blew this way and that in the creek (which were less strong), I found myself getting stuck against the trees, which meant that Todd had to fall back from the rest of the group to bail me out.  I’ll admit that the wind is something that I found hard to deal with even as sunny skies above at least kept me dry.   Nonetheless, as we ventured back to Key Largo across the cove, the guide had to tow me in the headwinds part of the way.  Still, I had to still paddle my kayak, trying to emulate the strong motions he did in leading me safely, even as the swells hit my boat, splashing salt water on my jacket, face, and mouth.   I found shelter against some mangroves while waiting for him to come back with others.

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Pictures credit to Roy A. Barnes and may not be used without permission.

 Disclosure:  The writer attended a pres trip sponsored by Florida Keys Tourism Council   but what he wrote are his impressions and were not vetted by the sponsor.  He  writes from southeastern Wyoming. 

The road was only a dirt lane leading up to the house.  We huffed and puffed our way past cows lowing in the fields at the dairy farm nearby.  The calves lying close to the fence started and darted away as we approached. Then, we ran past more fields with horses swatting flies with their thick brown tails.    On occasion we would hear a car or tractor off in the distance.  For the most part, we were alone with the steady pounding of our feet.

We were in Moyen, Belgium,  which is in the French speaking region of Eastern Wallonia in the Semois Valley near the French border.

A good, long run, followed by a hearty breakfast feeds the soul like nothing else, which is one of the reasons we came here. We wanted to “rest” on this vacation—mentally as well as physically. We did not want to fill our days rushing around crowded tourist sites trying to squeeze in everything in a few days. We were looking for a “local” experience.

We found Le Charmois, a lovingly restored nineteenth century farmhouse resting on several acres of pastoral land in the Belgian Lorraine. According to DK’s Eyewitness Travel Book on Belgium—a most unlikely place to find such a quaint bed and breakfast.  Normally the best B&B’s are found by stumbling upon them, not scouring guidebooks. Luck was on our side when we booked the reservation by calling directly to the farmhouse.“No, problem,” said Frans in his heavily accented English. The caretaker of Le Charmois went on to tell me the week was very light indeed, and we would be the only guests on the premises.  Prices were 80 Euros per night for two people including breakfast.

When we arrived, Le Charmois far exceeded our expectations. We were greeted warmly by the caretakers and shown to a lovely guestroom on the second floor. Although simply decorated, the room was charming and very comfortable with fluffy down comforters and pillows on the bed. A rocking chair was placed casually by the window with an exceptionally pleasing view. Our room overlooked the front of the farmhouse and gave us a picturesque view of rolling hills and green pasturelands dotted with cattle.

The stillness was almost overwhelming. We heard a lonely train whistle off in the distance with the clickety-clack of the wheels rolling along the rails.  An open door beckoned us across the hall to another room. The view of the valley below was even more spectacular than the one from our room. Rooftops brushed across the landscape in small clusters where quaint hamlets were positioned along the Semois.  Small farms peaked from behind trees clumped together. The sky seemed endless. We had found the perfect place for our relaxation vacation.

What a pleasant surprise to find our bathroom was not the size of a closet, which is common in European guesthouses. All the utilities were perfectly and conveniently installed inside a comfortable sized bathroom.  Everything necessary for our comfort was provided.

Though the farmhouse had a rustic feel, the public rooms, guestrooms, and bathrooms, and furnishings had a comfortable flair. The focal point of the large common room was the big stone fireplace with wood and kindling stacked conveniently nearby. The room shared a living area and a farmhouse table, which seated 30 people. While no cable was provided in the guest rooms or the common room, a large flat screen television was nestled near the sofa for movie watching along with a selection of DVDs. The farmhouse also boasted an excellent WiFi connection, which made it very easy to check emails and call our family on Skype.

One evening, on a particularly rainy day, the caretaker came in and built a big fire for us. The temperatures had dropped due to the weather even though it was August. Imagine that!  A roaring fire in the middle of the summer!

Each morning a European style breakfast greeted us at the end of the long dining table. Frans drove daily to neighboring Chiny, a little hamlet down the road, to pick up fresh bread and meats for breakfast. Croissants, jambon, yogurt, Nutella, and cheeses were served along with an array of jams and coffee or tea. We especially enjoyed the fresh apple juice from the apple orchard on the farm. We ate each morning gazing out of the paned windows which overlooked a lovely brick patio area with lounge chairs and tables.

The nearby town of Florenville, just minutes away by car, provided a place for dining and light grocery shopping. We wandered through the grocery aisles searching for breads, meats, wines, and, of course, Belgium beer. We found multiple cafes in the quaint town square where we lingered over coffee along with the townspeople. We indulged on Belgian pastries at the local patisserie and chocolates at the chocolaterie.

The 12^th century monastery Abbaye d’Orvale, with its Romanesque-Gothic ruins offered picturesque scenery, a brewery, and a restaurant. Only a few kilometers away, the Abbey is famous in Belgium for its Trappist beers and cheeses. We stopped in the local brassiere at the entrance and enjoyed a hearty lunch of salads and meats. Various other historic sites, such as the Chateau-Fort de Bouillon which overlooks the River Semois, and Bastogne, the focal point of the Battle of the Bulge, are also within driving distance.

We managed a day trip into elegant  Luxembourg City, the capital of the grand Duchy of Luxembourg.  We walked around the city exploring the cafes and watching city life.  We shopped among 18^th and 19^th century buildings in a pedestrianized shopping district with modern retail stores, outdoor cafes, and restaurants. The Place d’Armes, a grand plaza in the cross section of the shopping district, was filled with diners and shoppers under big market umbrellas. We parked at a nearby parking plaza that offered reasonable prices.  Although we chose to shop and enjoy the city, Luxembourg offers many things for historians— the Palais Grand Ducal, the Notre Dame Cathedral (looking very similar to the one in Paris), a history museum, and an art museum.

Our DK book outlined two different driving tours along the Semois through the Belgian provinces of Luxembourg and Namur into France. Each offered dramatic landscapes and rolling hills.  We did not take the time out to follow these tours, but vow to do so upon our next trip to the area. The Semois Valley area offered biking, camping, canoeing, and other adventure sports.

Our trip was exactly like we dreamed—-relaxing, restful, and not too expensive. Le Charmois was a perfect place to move at a slower pace. The farmhouse offered excellent accommodations along with good service at a fair price in beautiful surroundings. We felt at home away from home.

Resources:
DK Eyewitness Travel Belgium & Luxembourg, 2009 Edition, Eastern Wallonia, pgs. 213-245.

July 4, 2011

We’re continuing our journey using only our own steam and public transportation in England and France. So far, so good—a real fun adventure.

In London, with our light bags, we took the tube from our hotel to Paddington Station, then walked to the Brit Rail terminal there to connect to our train for the short jaunt to the quaint village of Henley-on-Thames. My partner Landon, was competing in the Henley Masters rowing regatta.

We settled in for the trip and relaxed– someone else was in charge, our job was to enjoy the beauty of the changing countryside as it unfolded in front of us.

We passed neat farms, quaint villages clustered around a church steeple and fields of bright yellow and purple wild flowers. We read and day dreamed. I relished the ease of the train and the relief from driving.

When we arrived in Henley, we walked the several blocks to our apartment, which overlooked the river. For the next six days, we got around by bicycle or walking.

Having an apartment meant that we could prepare some of our own meals, or make ourselves a cup of coffee or tea. I enjoy shopping in other countries, looking at all the interesting foods and their unique labels, buying fresh fruits and vegetables at the open markets and feeling like a local.

My partner won both of his races and I enjoyed cycling along the Thames or wandering around the quaint village of Henley.

We rested up for a big day of travel on our next jaunt—back to London, then to Paris on the Eurostar and then continuing on to Normandy.

• For information on traveling by train in England, visit BritRail.com
• For information on renting an apartment in England, visit HolidayLettings

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More in this series:
Part One: Arriving in London – but without the luggage
Part Two: The English Countryside and on to Paris