Summer Listings:
BRIMFIELD OUTDOOR ANTIQUES SHOW
Rte. 20, Brimfield, MA, 413-283-6149. More than 1000 dealers from around the country on mile-long strip of antiques & collectibles (7/10-7/15, 9/4-9/9). Tues.-Sun., from daybreak till 6 p.m.
FINGER LAKES WINE FESTIVAL
607-535-2481, www.theglen.com/winefest Wine-tasting festival held at Watkins Glen International Race Track (7/21-7/22). Designated drivers & minors get discounted tickets, plus you can take advantage of nonalcoholic entertainment?seminars, arts & crafts vendors, music, food court & more.
INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF ARTS & IDEAS
Downtown New Haven, CT, 888-ART-IDEA, www.artidea.org Sixteen-day arts assault on New Haven feat. theater, dance, music, poetry, visual arts & other events. Performers & cultural leaders from around the world join hundreds of musicians, dancers, artists & actors during this annual celebration (6/14-6/30). World premieres of specially commissioned works, most events free & outdoors, incl. Metropolitan Opera's performance of Puccini's Tosca (6/27 at 8).
NORTHWESTERN CONNECTICUT BALLOON FESTIVAL & CRAFTS FAIR
Goshen Fairgrounds, Rte. 63, Goshen, CT, 860-489-FEST, www.nwballoonfest.com Hot-air balloons, tethered balloon rides, "hot-air balloon glow," live entertainment, fireworks, inflatable rides, food, games in rural Connecticut (6/22-6/24). Don't miss the Hare & Hound Hot Air Balloon Contest scheduled for Sat. morning.
28TH-ANNUAL SANDCASTLE & SCULPTURE DAY
Jetties Beach, Nantucket Island, Nantucket, MA, 508-228-1700, www.nantucketchamber.org Contest lasts all afternoon & prizes awarded in various categories at the end. Must register in advance to participate, 8/18.
Tourism
ACADIA NATIONAL PARK
Bar Harbor, ME, 207-288-3338, www.nes.gov/acad More than 40,000 acres, incl. Mount Desert Island, Maine's largest island. Lots of water?ocean coastline, inland lakes & ponds?means lots of fishing, boating & swimming. Also many trails to hike plus car-free biking on carriage roads, built by John D. Rockefeller in early 1900s. Park offers ranger-led hikes, which incl. educational information about geology, plant life, human history & more. Art galleries, antique shops & accommodations in Bar Harbor.
ATLANTIC CITY
For more info contact Atlantic City Visitors Bureau, 609-449-7130. East Coast gambling & gaming mecca is easy to reach by bus. Greyhound (800-231-2222) & Academy (212-947-1710) offer daily New York departures at frequent intervals; Grey Line (212-397-2600) picks up passengers in select neighborhoods. All buses drop off at a major casino. All casinos offer Vegas-style open buffets. While you're there check out Wild Wild West (800-225-5977), one of the newer casinos on the strip, which, consequently, has cleaner carpets & prettier cocktail waitresses. Curiously & perhaps a bit desperately, the place is tricked out as a frontier town, inside & out. Don't miss the wannabe-Vegas animatrons of a gold prospector, complete with pop-up prairie dogs plus a howling coyote that, for all we know, could be nothing more than someone's stuffed pet. Trump Taj Mahal (609-449-1000) has seen better days?its glitter ain't so glittery, its chintz seems chintzy. Still a good bet for cheap afternoon tables & smiling cocktail waitresses. Caesar's (800-524-2867) offers just about the same amenities & odds (that is, losing) as any other casino, but we always win by self-parking in their lot for a couple bucks for an unlimited duration. Trump Plaza (609-441-6000), the grand old dame of the strip, still holds her own with fine gaming, decent rooms & occasional live music in the lobby. It's a great spot to rub shoulders with old-school A.C. regulars decked out in their sequined satin and leisure suits. When you need to get off the floor, hit Deja Vu (609-348-4313), the only non-casino club we've ever found on the strip. They promise three-floors of dancing & six bars...we've stumbled in on decent beer specials & the worst music that side of the Statue, but were still unable to resist a down-and-dirty ass-shaking. The Madison Hotel (609-345-1400) is our favored non-casino hotel, but only when we're gambling with our accommodations. As with everywhere on the Boardwalk, room prices fluctuate according to the day of the week, season & crowds. We've lucked into a double room for less than $200 on a Saturday night (go late, pray for vacancies). You can't miss the place?it's almost as tall as the neighboring casinos, though when we were there, the sign advertised "MAD SON."
CONNECTICUT
800-CT-BOUND, www.ctbound.org Southernmost of the six New England states & only an hour away by train or car. Metro North's New Haven line offers service from Grand Central Terminal to Stamford, South Norwalk, New Haven & many towns in between, special sightseeing promotions incl. packages to Foxwoods Casino & Gillette Castle, 800-638-7646 for info. Amtrak isn't worth the extra money to the seaboard?New Haven is simply a stop on the Penn Station-Boston corridor, but it does run to Hartford, 800-872-7245. Bus service is available from Greyhound (800-231-2222), Bonanza (800-556-3815) & Peter Pan Trailways (800-343-9999). Once you're there, check out the Shubert Performing Arts Center in New Haven, offering backstage tours of the theater where South Pacific, My Fair Lady, Carousel & Oklahoma had their world premieres; or visit the country's largest maritime museum, Mystic Seaport, famous for its tall ships & recreated 19th-century fishing village (800-572-5315). The northern corner of the state, Quiet Corner, is exactly that?a quiet cluster of cottages from the 18th & 19th centuries, incl. the Nathan Hale Homestead in Conventry. If quaint cottages & pre-abolitionist school houses aren't enough to give you a culturally anachronistic shock, take a shopping trip to the Antiques Marketplace in Putnam. Connecticut boasts an array of summer events, incl. the 5th Annual Wethersfield Festival (860-721-2975), which dramatizes some of the state's history w/a Revolutionary encampment & battle plus a muster led by Wethersfield's Colonel Chester Fife & Drum Corps. Most events are free (6/1-6/3). Like the Wethersfield Fest, Connecticut summer events tend toward the historically educational. The Hartford Vintage Base Ball Invitational at Bushnell Park & Trinity College gives tourists a glimpse of the baseball world of the 1870s & 1880s (7/5-7/8); call for sched. (800-730-8119). Later that month is the Antique & Classic Boat Show at the Connecticut River Museum (7/6-7/8). The rest of the summer months are packed w/events, most of which incl. one or more of the following: food, music & water. For a comprehensive list of all the cruises, dances, concerts & festivals taking place this summer, go to www.tourism.state.ct.us/calendarofevents.htm.
THE HAMPTONS
Beautiful beaches, fine dining, multimillion-dollar waterfront mansions & a plenitude of summer activities all a relatively short distance from New York make the Hamptons a favorite vacation spot. An oasis of esthetic consideration, there are several classy (& pricey) inns like A Victorian on the Bay, which rents roomy suites w/bay windows opening to the ocean (888-449-0620). Visit the beautifully maintained Bridge Gardens Trust (631-537-7440), an elegant park of botanical splendor. For boat rentals & fishing charters, try Hampton Watercraft & Marina (631-288-2900), Daybreaker Charters (631-668-5070), Montauk Sport Fishing (631-668-2109), Offshore Sports Marina (631-668-2019) or Montauk Charter Service (631-668-2117) in Montauk. Before choosing a date for your trip, log on to the Shakespeare Festival's website for a summer performance sched. In Hampton Bays, you can take a 5-mile, self-guided hike through Red Creek Park (631-283-6000, x233). Keep your eyes peeled for pheasant, deer, blue heron or red-tailed hawks. If you're not up for the walk, go to Deep Hollow Ranch in Montauk & mount a horse for a ride on the beach & through Theodore Roosevelt County Park. On the other hand, you can always opt out of all physical activity & spend your time observing classy English sporting events. On six Saturdays in July & August, the Bridgehampton Polo Club hosts serious & sophisticated polo competitions (212-421-1367). You can reach the Hamptons by air, water or road. Twin-engine planes leave La Guardia & fly to East Hampton w/Shoreline Airlines (800-443-0031). Executive Airlines sponsors private charters from La Guardia to East Hampton (631-537-1010). The Long Island Rail Road offers service all along the summer resort route, 718-217-LIRR. The Hampton Jitney is a rolling social club, 516-283-4600 for res. & sched. info. Once you're there, pick up a Dan's Papers or Sag Harbor Express for info on local events, or just ring Puffy, Martha or Calvin.
HUDSON VALLEY, NY
800-CALL-NYS, http://iloveny.state.ny.us, www.hudsonvalley.org Metro North offers many routes to the Valley on the Harlem line, some in conjunction w/local carriers, (212-532-4900 for sched. & fares). Amtrak stops in Rhinecliff & Poughkeepsie (800-872-7245). Shortline Bus offers service to & from New York (800-631-8405). Plenty of restaurants, cafes & bakeries; 26 antique shops; street after street of handcrafted gift & art shops; plus a number of quaint inns located just an hour from the city. Summer months, the Valley hosts antique fairs & musical festivals. The Italian Gardens in Hyde Park are formal gardens w/reflecting pools, terraces, loggia & three levels of annuals, perennials & roses (914-229-6432). Riverboat Tours cruises & charters up the Hudson River departing from Poughkeepsie (914-473-5211). State parks, most of which have campgrounds, hiking trails, lake swimming & fishing, incl. Edward R. Murrow Park in Pawling (914-855-1131), Ferncliff Forest in Rhinebeck (914-876-3196), Pinewoods Park in Hyde Park (914-229-8086), Poet's Walk Park in Poughkeepsie (914-473-4440) & James Baird State Park in Pleasant Valley (914-452-1489).
MASSACHUSETTS
617-727-3201, www.massvacation.com Easy access for New Yorkers makes Boston & Cape Cod favorite summer destinations. Boston offers a good weekend's worth of activity, best taken on foot. Visit the Public Garden for a ride on the Swan Boats, then step across the street to the Bull & Finch Pub, the real-life incarnation of the Cheers pub. Shopping in Boston centers around Downtown Crossing, where three major streets intersect: Newbury St., filled w/happening stores, boutiques & 19th-century townhouses; Faneuil Hall Marketplace, known as Quincy Market to New Englanders, & Copley Place. Check out some seafood spots in Boston for lobster & oysters. If you're less inclined to metropolitan vacation spots, Massachusetts offers plenty of biking, hiking, fishing & swimming tours, plus the beaches of Cape Cod. No visit to the Cape is complete without a clam chowder sampling?the 20th Annual Cape Cod Chowder Festival is held in Hyannis, usually in late June (508-760-5252 for info). Chatham, at the "elbow" of Cape Cod, is one of the more beautiful towns. Seaside houses have been falling into the ocean since the Atlantic sandbar broke, but the ocean's currents are already in reverse. You can see the landscape change over seasons as the ocean redeposits sand, recreating the natural barrier that formed Chatham Bay, popular w/windsurfers. The Chatham Lighthouse is more than 100 years old & sits at the entrance to the town's beach. Provincetown, an artists' colony w/an entrenched gay & lesbian population, also the home of Norman Mailer, is at the northernmost tip of the Cape. Martha's Vineyard, a Methodist summer campground in the 1800s, is part of every New Englander's upbringing, whether through experience or lore. Check out the whaling port of Edgartown & the oldest carousel in America. Nantucket Island lies 30 miles off Cape Cod. The best way to see the island is on bike or foot. Nantucket Town has cobblestone streets along which sea captains' houses still stand.
VERMONT
802-828-3683, 800-VERMONT, www.1-800-vermont.com Made up primarily of communities of under 2500 & boasting a state population of only 590,000 people (roughly the population of the Upper East Side), Vermont is the nation's most rural state & the only one that allows gay civil unions. The pine tree-covered hills are not quite mountains, but they rival some of the taller skyscrapers in Manhattan. There are miles of trails, hundreds of lakes & ponds plus a plethora of outdoors activities, such as fishing, hiking, swimming & biking. Montpelier is a small cluster of houses w/a few restaurants & shops. Sarducci's (802-223-0229) offers the best Italian food in town, but if you don't feel up for the wait, Angeleno's Pizza (802-229-5721) serves a up a nice slice of pie?just don't opt for anything but their pizza. Head northwest & you'll stumble across Burlington, a small town that offers a cobblestone strip of clothing shops (mostly major chains) & a quaint park overlooking one of Vermont's many lakes. Stop by the Rusty Scuffer (802-864-9451) for a lobster dinner or a plate of stuffed clams; the highlight of eating out in Burlington, however, is NECI, New England Culinary Institute (802-862-6324)?excellent pastries, wonderful desserts, creative, delicious dinners prepared by young chefs-in-training. Wherever you eat, remember to bring your ID if you look under 40?they card everywhere. The Vermont Festival of the Arts is held in Mad River Valley (8/2-8/24). Housed in various small towns & villages, this festival feat. numerous Vermont artists in several different galleries. Call 800-517-4247 for more info.
Guided Travel/Package Tours
BROOKS COUNTRY CYCLING & HIKING
212-874-5151, www.brookscountrycycling.com NY-based touring co. feat. short trips within the Tri-State area. Cycling-abroad excursions are also available & incl. first-class hotels, chateaux & fine dining. After pedaling by the castles, palaces of France's Loire Valley or cycling past the vibrant gardens of Holland, you can unwind in elegant accommodations & sip wine. Or you can spend a day biking close to home; ride lengths vary depending on rider's preference or experience. Day trips incl. bike rentals (or BYOB).
EUROBIKE TOURS
800-321-6060, www.eurobike.com Guided bike tours in Iberia, the Loire Valley, Provence, Burgundy, Ireland, Eastern Europe & Scandinavia, provided by the first U.S. co. to offer bike trips to Europe. Guided walking & hiking packages also available. Meals & accommodations incl.
LONG ISLAND RAILROAD ONE-DAY GETAWAYS
718-217-LIRR, www.mta.nyc.ny.us Guided tours leave from Penn Station. Packages incl. the annual "Strawberry Festival," among others. Call for more info, check the website or pick up brochure in Penn Station.
THE SUNDANCE
RR3, Box A-1, Sundance, UT 84604, 801-225-4107, www.sundanceresort.com 6000-acre mountain village founded as an artists' community in 1969 by Robert Redford. Hiking, horseback riding, fly fishing & mountain biking in spring & summer. Summer programs incl. Art Shack Studios program w/daily classes in painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, jewelry, pottery, printmaking & papermaking. The Sudance Theater's performance of Funny Girl is slated for 7/30, w/previews beginning 7/27. Accommodations are both rustic & elegant cottages w/fireplaces & roomy bedrooms.
Eco-Tourism
ALLIANCE FOR A LIVING OCEAN
2007 Long Beach Blvd., N. Beach Haven, NJ, 609-492-0222, www.livingocean.org Nonprofit organization dedicated to keeping beaches clean hosts biking trips, arts & crafts fairs, plus volunteer trash pick-up days. Call for info.
EXPLORAMA
800-707-5275, www.explorama.com Explorama offers tours of exotic rainforests & beautiful accommodations. Chose between a week away, a weekend away, or anything in between. The Canopy Walkway in Peru hoists you 120 feet above ground into the leafy realms of rainforest foliage. If you're afraid of heights, stay on ground, do some hiking or take advantage of the room from the lodges.
KITTANY CANOES
800-FLOAT-KC. Whitewater rafting, canoe, tubing & kayaking vacations on the Delaware River. Prices from $24-$31/day.
LONG ISLAND GREENBELT TRAIL CONFERENCE
23 Deer Path Road, Central Islip, NY 11722-3404, 631-360-0753. Trails incl. 20-mile Nassau-Suffolk Trail w/both easy, flat nature trails & steeper, more challenging terrain plus rock climbing. Trails are free & open to the public. Volunteer-guided tours are available. Some sectors of trail require permits, call for info.
HUDSON VALLEY, NY
www.canals.state.ny.us/trail/trek for info Be part of the fourth annual Canal Cruise & Trek adventure through canals of New York, beginning in Whitehall, boating down Champlain Canal & the Erie Canal to end up in Buffalo (7/10-7/27). Must register by 6/1. If you want to take a canal trip on a bike, look into the Cycle the Erie Tour (7/8-7/15). For Canal cycling event information, contact NYPCA at www.nypca.org/canaltour
OUTWARD BOUND
800-341-1744, www.outwardbound.org The classic for adventure travel. Each expedition requires every participant's involvement, making Outward Bound more of a survival school than a tourism outfit. Those who complete the journeys return changed, high off the religious communion the tribe experienced while hacking at underbrush, lifting cargo up mountains & going without showers or running water for days. Nearly 200 courses are offered, from 5- to 70-day programs. Sailing, mountaineering, sea kayaking, rock climbing, mountain biking, whitewater rafting & cross-country skiing.
TREK AMERICA
800-221-0596, www.trekamerica.com Backpacking in Alaska, Mexico, Belize, Grand Canyon & other locations in the North. Small groups of travelers walk cross-country, camping, eating fresh food purchased en route to destinations & occasionally stopping off in cities for restaurants & hotels. Program stresses freedom & friendship.