I was only in Maui for four days, but I learned enough about Hawaiian culture and nature to fill an encyclopedia. It’s a testament to the dedication of the Kapalua Resort and the Ritz-Carlton to preserving both the Hawaiian environment and Hawaiian traditions that make this such a wonderful place to vacation.

The Ritz-Carlton Kapalua

Hawaiians have an incredible reverence for nature that is absolutely contagious.  Many of the employees at Kapalua Resort, which includes the Kapalua Villas, Kapalua Luxury Homes, Ritz-Carlton Kapalua hotel, and the Ritz-Carlton Club and Residences are Hawaiian born and raised.  These hosts are very enthusiastic about their history, and eager to share their knowledge with guests of all ages.

Touring the burial ground with Ritz-Carlton Kapalua Cultural Advisor Clifford Nae'ole; Photo by Julie Wolfson

It’s not just the locals who have this enthusiasm.  When the Ritz-Carlton first built at Kapalua, the company consulted with local cultural advisors.  When these advisors told Ritz-Carlton executives about the ancient Hawaiian burial ground on their planned property, building plans were modified to preserve this sacred ground.  Inside the hotel, the architecture and the decorations are as Hawaiian as they are posh.  The food in each of the hotel’s restaurants is distinctly Hawaiian, and most of the fruits, vegetables, herbs, and spices are grown either right on the Ritz-Carlton property, or on nearby Kapalua Farms.  All of these things plus the Ritz-Carlton’s tremendous commitment to the Hawaiian culture and environment make this a luxury destination you can feel great about.

Ritz-Carlton Kapalua Pool

In fact, when you visit the Ritz-Carlton Kapalua, environmental education will be part of your vacation when you participate in their Ambassadors of the Environment program.  Ambassadors of the Environment turns regular Hawaiian vacation activities like hiking, snorkeling, and whale watching into educational experiences that are fun and fascinating for all ages.  While I was there, I was lucky enough to take part in two of the Ambassadors programs.  First, I went on the Maunalei Magic Arboretum hike with naturalist Jaclyn.  This is an easy 2.5-mile hike into the Hawaiian rain forest, and Jaclyn was a very knowledgeable guide.  She showed us how a banyan tree’s roots create a natural trampoline (fun!), and she knew the history and traditional Hawaiian uses for every plant in the rain forest.  The views from the summit were incredible, and it’s impossible to leave a place like that without wanting to do more to preserve it and help the rain forest prosper — and that’s the point of these expeditions.  They take you out and let nature court you.  Jaclyn said that many of the kids that come to Maui have never played in the woods before.  They leave with a newfound love and respect for nature, and they then become ambassadors of the environment.

Here I am with fellow writers Annie Scott and Johnny Jet enjoying the banyan tree trampoline

The second program our group did was my favorite part of the Maui experience — Cities Under the Sea Underwater Photography.  I had never snorkeled before, and I didn’t know what to expect.  When I first tried on my snorkel mask, it was really uncomfortable and unnatural, and I didn’t think I’d be able to handle it, but as soon as my face was in the water, I was captivated, and I didn’t even have to think about the snorkel anymore.  I figured we’d get in the ocean and swim out somewhere far off shore where all the fish and other cool marine animals hang out, but in reality, you don’t have to go anywhere.  It’s all right beneath you as soon as you get in the water!  In just one hour of snorkeling, I saw a giant green sea turtle, more kinds of fish than I ever knew existed, a white tip shark (just a little guy, not dangerous), eels — literally, a city under the sea.  This time our naturalist guide was Linda.  She prepared us before we got in the water by telling us all the necessary safety information, but also told us great stories about the different things we’d be seeing so we knew what to look for.  My favorite were the butterfly fish — Linda said they mate for life, and if one gets caught, the other one will starve itself to death.  The cleaning stations were also very cool — little fish called doctor fish swim around the bigger fish literally cleaning them up.  The big fish will actually line up like they’re in a waiting room, waiting for the doctor fish to come around and fix them up.  It was so cool to see all of this in action!

This green sea turtle was one of the first things we saw on our snorkeling adventure.

One of the best parts of the Ambassadors of the Environment program is that the naturalists take photos for you — I took my own, but I’m not exactly a pro — and give you a CD at the end of your stay.  On the snorkeling trip, I brought back a lot of blurry pictures with fish swimming out of frame, but Linda got some amazing closeups of everything we saw that day.

A doctor fish doing his thing on a larger fish at a Kapalua Bay cleaning station

I didn't really think I was afraid of eels until I was face to face with this guy.

When you stay at a place like the Ritz-Carlton Kapalua, and you see the beauty of Hawaii everywhere you go and in everything you do, that respect for culture and nature simply becomes a part of you.  You leave feeling relaxed, fulfilled, and wanting to make the world a better place.  What an incredible takeaway from a vacation.

Weddings are joyous occasions, but for the bride and groom, financial stress is right up there with the joy.  The average American wedding costs $30,000, and that doesn’t include all the pre- and post-wedding expenses like a diamond engagement ring and a honeymoon.  Factor in those figures, and don’t forget we’re in a nasty recession, and now you understand why I eloped last year.

Valentine’s Jewelry wants to make your wedding expenses a little less painful, starting with your engagement ring and ending with your honeymoon.  The Harrisonburg, Virginia jeweler is giving away free Caribbean cruises when you purchase an engagement ring at the store.  You don’t have to live in Harrisonburg to take advantage of this offer — online purchases count, too.

The promotion begins September 1, 2009.  When you buy a 14 karat gold or higher quality (18K or platinum count as higher quality) ring with a .60ct G SI2 or better diamond, the jeweler will give you a free 8 day, 7 night Caribbean cruise for two, to be redeemed within a year of the ring purchase on either Norwegian or Royal Caribbean cruise lines.  You just pay port fees and taxes.

It’s a pretty great offer for newlyweds, but it doesn’t have to be specifically an engagement ring.  Is there such thing as a bad time to buy a diamond ring?  If you want to surprise your spouse with an anniversary diamond, a birthday diamond, or a just because diamond, you should definitely take a look at Valentine’s — they do custom orders, too, so you can get just about any style you want — all with an 8-day Caribbean cruise thrown in.

Check out Valentine’s Jewelry online or call customer service at 540.434.3899 if you have any questions about the offer.  If you’re thinking of buying a diamond, you can get a free cruise — and if you’re thinking of buying cruise tickets, you can think of it as buying a cruise and getting a free diamond ring!

We’re all looking for ways to ease our concerns over the state of the economy.  Though lots of people advise tightening your pursestrings in times like these, others are saying it’s more important than ever to take vacations, to let yourself relax.  The AANR — that’s the American Association for Nude Recreation — suggests nakations.

Photo courtesy of aanr.com

They say it’s the perfect escape for the recently laid-off.  Their attitude is that the best thing to do when you lose the shirt off your back is to go nude.  Fair enough.  Not all nude resorts are thriving, but many are truly capitalizing on the bad economy and expanding their services as more people try nakationing.  AANR director Erich Schuttauf explains that nude resorts are a great escape from the stress of the working world, because when you remove your clothes, you remove your ties to that world.  He says that getting naked helps put you in a relaxed state much faster than when you go on a regular, fully-clothed vacation.

Photo courtesy of aanr.com

If you’re going to go nude, you probably want to go someplace warm for your nakation, though the AANR says you can find some great cool-weather nude resorts as well, like Turtle Lake Resort in Michigan or Sun Meadow in Idaho, both of which are equipped with spacious, well-heated indoor facilities.  You can find a list of nude resorts by region in the US and Canada here.  Unsurprisingly, you’ll find some of the biggest and best properties in Florida.

Some of the most popular nude resorts are outside the US.  To find a clothing optional resort in the Caribbean, check out A Bare Affair.  Of course there are nude beaches all over Europe as well.  Find a good list here.

Photo courtesy of aanr.com

If you want to do more than just lounge around naked on vacation, check out the AANR’s calendar of events, which has a surprising number of upcoming nude 5K races.  Keep in mind that some events and destinations are for adults only, while others are family friendly.

Whatever you do, wherever you go, don’t forget your sunscreen!

Visiting Hawaii is like traveling to another planet, and if you’re American, you don’t even need a passport to get there.  The island state has an incredibly rich ecosystem, full of life and beauty that simply can’t be found anywhere else.

The Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua has just launched a new program to give visitors a closer look at the incomparable Hawaiian ecosystem called Ambassadors of the Environment.  This program is an educational journey led by expert naturalists, designed to teach visitors about Hawaii through experience and exploration, and to inspire participants to live more sustainably.  According to program creator Jean-Michel Cousteau, “We expect everyone, by learning more about our natural world and their places within it, to return to their communities as environmental stewards – ambassadors of the environment.”

The program includes several activities for children, adults, and groups of all ages, so there will surely be something to interest everyone in your party.  You can hike through the Hawaiian rainforest while the naturalist leaders will guide you through traditional methods of gathering and creating sustainable products to be used at home.  If you prefer the water, try snorkeling among Hawaii’s coral reefs, where you’ll learn about the underwater community and how all the life above and below the surface is interconnected.  Underwater photography expeditions let you capture your coral reef experience on film in ways that you probably never have before.

Now through April is peak whale-watching season in Hawaii, with approximately 10,000 humpback whales currently hanging out in the Hawaiian waters.  Ambassadors on whale watching trips will learn about the whale song, identification, and more through fun and interactive education.

The Ambassadors of the Environment program has lots to offer all year round — and it is flexible.  You can arrange customized group activities within the program when you contact the Ambassadors of the Environment Center at ambassadors.kapalua@ritzcarlton.com.

In addition to learning about the Hawaiian environment, you’ll learn valuable lessons about sustainable living that you can apply in your daily life, wherever you live.  The Ambassadors of the Environment program will soon be available at other Ritz-Carlton properties around the world.  For now, though, it’s one more good excuse to take a Hawaiian vacation.

It’s been said that the gaming industry is recession-proof.  It’s also been said that Earth is flat and Rush Limbaugh is a nice guy, but some things just aren’t true.  Even Vegas has been hard hit in this economic downturn, but that doesn’t mean the fun stops in Sin City.  In fact, now might be the best time ever for a visit to Las Vegas.

Tourism in Vegas was down almost 5% in 2008, and those who still come to the city are spending less on activities like fine dining, shows, and gambling.  As profits sink, hotels, airlines, and resorts are offering some of their best deals ever to lure the tourists back to Las Vegas.  Room rates at five-star hotels in Vegas dropped by 35% in January, but some rooms, especially during the week, are selling for less than half of their regular prices.  You can get a $300+ suite at the Bellagio or Venetian for as low as $170 right now.  If that still sounds like a lot to spend on a hotel, try some of the less swanky resorts like the the Sahara, which is currently offering weekday rates as low as $19 a night!

I’ve stayed at the Sahara before.  It’s nothing special, but it’s not a hole, either, and its casino and buffet are comparable to anything else on the strip.  It’s absolutely worth it for under $20 a night!

Almost every hotel on the strip is offering special deals along with their cheap rooms, too.  Ask about specials on airfare, return trips, free shows, free dining, and rewards programs.  If it seems like they’re desperate, it’s because they are — so take advantage of it!  Travel agents say that booking your Vegas vacation in special packages is the best way to get the most bang for your buck.  Websites like Travelocity and Expedia are offering great airfare + hotel deals for under $300 per person for a two night stay.

Vegas isn’t for everyone.  My husband hates it for all the crowds and smoky casinos, not to mention the heat.  I, on the other hand, can’t get enough of the place.  Crowds and smoke are a bummer, but I have enough fun to make up for it.  In the summer, it’s like walking through an oven, but when I went last February, the weather couldn’t have been nicer.  While it was snowy and frigid back home, I was enjoying the sunny 75-degree weather, which is pretty typical in Vegas this time of year.

If you’ve got a few days of vacation time to spend and you want to get away, chances are you can find a cheap deal on a trip to Las Vegas.  A travel agent can help you navigate all the special offers — there are a ton of them — and find the deal that’s perfect for you.  Good luck!

When a quarry goes out of use, so often you’re just left with a giant hole in the earth that can’t be used for anything.  In Sonjiang, China, near Shanghai, developers are taking advantage of the “useless” real estate and building a 5-star resort hotel inside a quarry.  And it’s going to be flippin’ sweet.

Atkins Architects won a contest to design the hotel, and construction is currently under way on an aquatic-themed luxury resort.  As the quarry is partially full of water, the hotel will be partially underwater, offering spectacular aquarium views to guests in the restaurants, fitness areas, and lower story guestrooms.  At the top of the hotel, rising above the quarry, guests can enjoy an extreme sports center with activities like rock climbing and bungee jumping.

The 400-bed hotel is expected to be completed sometime this spring or summer.  The amenities are everything you’d expect from a 5-star resort, but my favorite part of the hotel is that it’s very green.  Building in an abandoned quarry instead of tearing up more land is innovative and environmentally friendly, but the Songjiang Hotel is going above and beyond just eco-friendly building.  The hotel will feature green roofing, natural lighting, and geothermal energy.  Sustainability is an important feature in the Songjiang Hotel design.  It’s luxurious, it’s eco-friendly, it’s totally unlike any other hotel I’ve ever visited — if only I had a good excuse to go to China…

In two weeks, Washington, DC is going to swell with inauguration tourists.  We’re expecting record numbers showing up to see Obama take his oath of office, and if you’re not one of the millions who can’t wait for that moment to come, the week of January 20th will be an excellent time for you to get far, far away from DC.  If you live there, consider financing a long weekend for yourself by renting out your dwelling to the Obamarama tourists, and then get the heck out of the city.

It won’t do any good for you to go an hour or two away — hotels within a two-hour radius are reporting heavy booking for the inauguration — so I suggest looking for something at least 150 miles away for a truly relaxing escape.  I’m one of those crazy people who will actually be going to our nation’s capital, but if McCain were taking the oath instead of Obama, I’d want to get away to a place like Williamsburg, VA.

Virginia’s Historic Triangle, made up of Colonial Williamsburg, the Jamestown Settlement, and Yorktown, is incredibly tourist-friendly.  It’s the kind of place where there’s lots to see and do, but you’re free to explore it all at your own pace.  Inauguration week will be an excellent time to visit these places, because we’ve reached the end of the peak holiday tourism season, so prices and crowds will be low.

Colonial Williamsburg has a few different ticket options.  You can walk the streets and go in selected buildings for free, but some of the more interesting parts of the area require tickets.  If this is your first visit, I definitely recommend the Governor’s Key-to-the-City Pass, which will get you into all the museums, trade shops, exhibits, historic homes, gardens, and the Governor’s Palace.  The Governor’s Palace was always my favorite part of Colonial Williamsburg, largely due to the hedge maze in the back yard.  I loved it when I was six, and I love it now.

Governor's Palace at Colonial Williamsburg

You can buy multi-day passes if you’d like, but I think you can take in most everything in one day.  You can always do one day of museums and tours, and then come back another time and just wander the town on your own for free.  When I’m in the area, I like to do one day at CW, one day at Jamestown, a shorter visit at Yorktown, and then spend the rest of my time hanging out in modern-day Williamsburg, which is a pretty rad place, too.

Prime Outlets is a huge outlet mall in Williamsburg, featuring dozens of designer brand outlet stores (see the full list here).  To be quite honest, I usually spend more time here than at any of the historic sites.  Fashions change; Colonial Williamsburg is still the same as it was 300 years ago!

Between the historic triangle and the shopping, Williamsburg is the perfect place to spend a 3-5 day vacation, with or without children.  It rarely snows in eastern Virginia, so winter weather shouldn’t be too much of a concern if you want to visit in the next month.  At just over 2.5 hours south of DC, Williamsburg is just far enough away to avoid the inauguration crowds, and the environment there is over 300 years removed from today’s political atmosphere.  It’s the perfect escape.

2008 was my first full year as a freelancer, and thus the first full year of real travel experiences for me.  It’s amazing how much you can see and do in twelve months, and I had a real blast the whole time.  Read on for some of my favorite things from 2008, and maybe you can check them out for yourself in 2009.

Best Hotel Experience: The Pompano Beach Club in Bermuda was hands-down the nicest place I’ve ever visited.  It doesn’t hurt that it’s in Bermuda, which would be a great vacation even if you stayed in a cardboard box, but this place knows how to treat its visitors.  Breakfast and dinner were included in my stay, and I enjoyed incredible five-course meals twice each day that I was on the island.  I never bothered with any of the local restaurants because the food at the resort was so perfect.  The facilities were lovely, the staff was great, and I loved every minute there.

Best Airline: Southwest.  Again, this category’s not even close.  Southwest’s amazing airfare deals made it possible for me to travel frequently between my home in Virginia and my soon-to-be-home in Oregon.  Not only do they have the best fares, Southwest has the best policies in the airline industry.  They have fewer fees than any other major American airlines, and the things they do charge for are cheaper than what the other carriers charge.  It’s also painless to change a reservation with Southwest, whereas other airlines make you sign over all your earthly possessions just to push your flight back a few days.

Best Vacation Spot: Bermuda was fantastic, of course, but I’m not calling it the best vacation spot because it was very expensive.  Worth it, certainly, but your travel budget will go a lot farther in other places.  My favorite vacation spot in 2008 was Ashland, Oregon, which I wrote about here.  I fell in love with all of Oregon in 2008, but Ashland was my favorite stop on the tour.  It’s a small town with a hip, intellectual population, and it’s driving distance to Crater Lake, a must-see destination.

Crater Lake

Best Concert:  I see a lot of great music every year — it’s one of the main reasons I travel — but this year’s top show had to be Great Big Sea at the Aladdin Theater in Portland, Oregon.  I love my GBS albums, but their shows just bring the experience to a whole new level of euphoria.  They have so much energy, and their fans are so enthusiastic, it’s impossible to have a bad time at one of their shows.  I saw them twice in ’08, and one of my most serious New Years resolutions for 2009 is to see these guys as much as possible.  The Aladdin was a new venue for me, and I loved it.  It’s a comfy medium-sized theater without a bad seat in the house.  Trust me, I was in the back in a corner and still had a great view and a great time.

Best Gear: You know how you often don’t realize you need something until you get it, and then you wonder how you ever lived without it?  That’s how I feel about my Keen shoes.  (Read my review here.)  I’ve taken these things in rivers, oceans, up mountains, to the gym — even to a wedding, believe it or not — and they’re still good as new.  Better, in fact, because now they’re broken in.  Keens aren’t cheap, and it took me a while to talk myself into the investment, but I’m so glad I did.  These things are practically indestructable.  I want more pairs, but I don’t need them!

Best Book: It wasn’t new in 2008, but I read it in 2008 — Dry, by Augusten Burroughs.  This is a captivating memoir about getting sober.  The content is often disturbing, but always interesting and usually hilarious.  It’s a book you won’t get bored with, and it’s about the perfect length to read on a cross-country flight.  Maybe a shorter flight.  I’m a slow reader.

What were some of your favorite things in 2008?  Tell me where to go and what to do (and write about!) in 2009!

Happy New Year!

If you hold firm creationist views and don’t want to see any evidence supporting the existence of evolution, I suggest you skip over this post and ignore any future mentions of the Socotra archipelago.  If, on the other hand, you have no problem entertaining the possibility of evolution, then you’ve gotta see this place.

People smarter than I am believe that Socotra island was once part of the supercontinent Gondwana, and that it detached some six million years ago.  Since that time, the island (actually, it’s a group of islands) has been almost completely isolated from the rest of the world.  Because of its geological isolation, much of the plant and animal life on the island is unique to Socotra, found nowhere else on the planet.

Blood trees on Socotra

The archipelago is about 1500 square miles, with approximately 50,000 inhabitants, most living on the main island.  The territory is part of Yemen.  Tourism has increased in the last decade, but you won’t find resorts and fancy hotels on Socotra.  Instead, there are a handful of locally owned hotels and beachfront campsites.

While the US State Department maintains a travel warning for Americans in Yemen, Socotra is so far removed from the rest of the country that most agree that American tourists have nothing to worry about here.  Getting to the island can be tricky, though, so you may want to hire a travel agent to help you make arrangements.  Once there, you’ll need to rent or hire a vehicle, as many of the island’s best ecological attractions are at least an hour’s drive away from the main city, Hadibu.

The New York Times has a great article on one journalist’s experience in Socotra in 2007, found here.  The island’s official tourism brochure can be found online at this site.  Due to extreme weather in the summer (it’s monsoon season there), it’s best to visit Socotra between October and April.  March and April are the best months for water activities like snorkeling and diving.

I landed in Boston yesterday for the 2008 Fall North American Bridge Championships. There are few other reasons I would agree to visit New England in the late Fall. It’s effing freezing here! And seeing as how it’s still not totally cold at home yet, this cold weather might well be more uncomfortable for me than, say, dead-of-winter in Boston, when I’ve had a few months to get used to the cold weather at home. Ah well. For the next six days, I’m resigned to freezing my nose off each day, all for some good card games.

Seriously, Boston is a rad place. I’ve been here a couple of times before, and I’ve always enjoyed it. In the summer, the weather is perfectly agreeable and the city is quite beautiful. It’s hard for me to appreciate Beantown’s beauty with my head wrapped in scarves and bowed against the wind. The sidewalks here are just OK.

As the land of the Pilgrims, Boston does have some touristy stuff going on for Thanksgiving, though most everything I’ve seen advertised is for special Thanksgiving meals and mall sales. These are not things worth suffering through the cold and wind, if you ask me. I heard from a questionably reliable source the last time I was here that Boston is actually windier than Chicago, the “Windy City.” I’m not sure if it’s true, but it’d definitely believable. The forecast may call for highs in the 30s, but the wind chill keeps the outside air at a brisk negative forty or so.

Copley Square, where I will be playing cards all week. No flowers in November, though.

Have I made my point yet? It is cold here. Unless you have a damn good reason to be here in the non-summer months, like competitive duplicate bridge or getting a degree from Harvard, I recommend staying away until the weather perks up again. Besides, if you don’t do Boston in the summer, then you’re going to miss out on what I think is the number one reason to come here anyway: Red Sox games at Fenway Park.

Boston loves its Sox

The New England Patriots may be Boston’s best pro team, and the Celtics have a recent title, if I’m remembering correctly, but the Red Sox are the real heart of Boston sports, and the true Boston experience has to include a game at Fenway — which you can only see in the summer.  If you want to see the Celtics, Bruins, or Patriots play, try going to one of their away games in Arizona or Texas.

Nothing against Boston.  The people here are cool, the accents are nifty, and there’s a lot to see and do here, really.  I’m just sayin’, do it all when it’s warm.  Then the city’s windiness will feel great.  And don’t you want a home-cooked meal for Thanksgiving anyway?