Recently I read a book that made me think of vacations in a brand new way.  Most of my vacations in the past have focused on family and relaxation. The vacations described in the book, The 100 Best Vacations to Enrich Your Life, focus on improving yourself and the world.  Author Pam Grout describes arts & crafts getaways, volunteer vacations, learning retreats and wellness escapes designed to give you an expanded perspective on life. 

If you’re looking to become more creative, you could paint at Georgia O’Keeffe’s ranch, make a film in New York City, or design your dream home in Frank Lloyd Wright’s studio.  These are just a small sampling of the creative opportunities listed in the book.

For volunteer vacations, you could pick orchids or harvest coffee beans at an organic farm in Hawaii, protect loggerhead sea turtles on Georgia’s sea coast, or help unearth history at Mount Vernon.

For an educational retreat, you could learn about marine science and bird life at a remote research island in Maine, learn Spanish in a quaint village in Mexico, or choose from over 1200 summer seminars at an idyllic New York learning institution.

There are several options listed in the wellness escapes section – yoga retreat destinations and historic spas being among them.

According to Pam, most people want “to contribute, to create and to grow”.  If that’s true for you, this book will give you a wealth of ideas for your next vacation.

Amazon link

Are you grumbling instead of looking forward to the holidays?  Here’s a sure way to get you into the holiday spirit.  The Ritz-Carlton Spa Orlando, Grande Lakes is offering festive and delicious reasons to indulge. Their holiday spa treatments incorporate everyone’s favorite treats like hot apple pie, chocolate and pumpkin to rejuvenate, refresh and remove the Scrooge. 

Here’s a sampling:

Hot Apple Pie & Vanilla Massage
A massage using warm cinnamon apple pie oil tingles the sense and relaxes the mind.  This mouth-watering treatment is topped off with a highly moisturizing vanilla shea butter scalp massage. 
50 minutes - $140

Pumpkin Glow Rejuvenation Facial
This purifying anti-ageing facial uses Pumpkin or wild black cherry enzymes to reduce fine lines, deep cleanse and refine the pores and nourishes from the inside out, leaving the skin look radiant and ready for your favorite holiday party. (Inclusive eyebrow waxing or shaping) 60 minutes - $175

Café & Spearmint Glow Massage
A soothing & detoxifying coffee scrub exfoliates away dry skin and leaves the body smooth and refreshed.  After a warm shower using a coffee cleansing gel, a full body massage is performed using a refreshing mint body lotion to nourish and pamper dry skin.
75 minutes - $215

Cinnamon & Vanilla Chocolate Martini Escape
Indulge yourself in the essence of chocolate from the inside out with the ultimate chocolate pedicure experience that will soften and renew the skin and rejuvenate your nails.  Indulge in the touch and taste of a warm soak, Cinnamon sugar exfoliation mask and a Vanilla Shea butter moisturizing treatment that is blissful, all the while feasting on Ginger cookies and sipping a delectable chocolate Martini.
50 minutes - $120

Contact the Ritz-Carlton Spa for more details.

Last week for our girls’ night out we decided to try something new and took a local cooking class. Our “Autumn Flavors” class was taught by Chef Ray – a Vermont native and a graduate of the Culinary Institute in Hyde Park, New York.  He was there to teach us how to make a classic autumn meal.  The menu was promising: it included romaine & endive salad with honey balsamic vinaigrette, oven seared pork tenderloin with braised fennel, roasted butternut squash, rosemary rissole potatoes and apple cranberry tart for dessert.

We sipped our wine as Chef Ray prepared each course for the class, demonstrating cutting techniques, sharing cooking tips and answering questions along the way.  As each course was ready, we were all served and got to taste the result.  Which was good, because I was able to see which parts of the menu I liked and which parts were just so-so. During the class the aroma of pork, rosemary and apples was incredible – I felt like I was back in Vermont on a cool fall evening. 

By the end of the class we’d enjoyed a wonderful meal and were ready to tackle the menu on our own.  If you haven’t tried a cooking class recently, give it a try!  Check with your local upscale food market (Whole Foods, Central Market, Draeger’s, Wegmans, etc.) for upcoming classes.   

Its fall again and pumpkin patches (as well as pumpkin lattes!) are appearing everywhere.  As I’ve mentioned before, I love everything about pumpkins. What other vegetable serves as a food source, artistic canvas, candle holder and the perfect symbol of autumn?   
 
Here are some places around the country that celebrate pumpkin season:

Half Moon Bay Art & Pumpkin Festival
Oct. 13-14 on Main Street
This festival, located 25 miles south of San Francisco, features gargantuan gourds, world-class pumpkin carvers, harvest-inspired crafts, live entertainment, a Pumpkin Parade, a haunted house, pie-eating, carving and costume contests. The pumpkin winning the Word Championship (pumpkin) Weigh-off will also be on display.  Hit the road early if you plan to go – this is a very popular event.

Pumpkin Festival, Keene, New Hampshire
Oct. 20, 2007
This small New England town holds the current Guinness world record for most lit jack-o-lanterns in one place – almost 29,000.  You’ll see an amazing collection of carved pumpkins at this festival.

Other Pumpkin Festivals

Each year Half Moon Bay hosts a World Pumpkin Championship Weigh-off where farmers bring in their home grown pumpkins and try to beat the current record.  This year’s winner took home the prize with a 1,524 pound pumpkin.  Now that’s a lot of pumpkin!

When I travel I try to carry on my luggage  - and will only check my bag when its absolutely necessary.  The last time I made an exception to this carry on rule was on my recent return trip from Chicago.  Sure enough, my bag missed its connection and arrived 12 hours after I did.  Not a big deal, just an inconvenience that would have been nice to avoid. 

To learn about the fine art of packing light, check out a site called OneBag.com.  This site has a wealth of packing tips including a sample packing list which you can tailor to your travel occasion, tips for packing clothes to avoid wrinkles, advice on choosing a carryon bag, and other useful topics.

If you can apply some of these tips, you’ll be surprised how unencumbered you feel on your next trip. On arrival you’ll be able to breeze past the baggage claim area and be heading towards your destination while others are still waiting for their bags to appear.  

 

“…because in the real world, there are two kinds of luggage: carryon and lost. – oneBag.com”

 

Slip into good vibrations for a good cause!  HoMedics has developed new Massaging Slippers to sink your feet into that benefit The Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF). 

For the third year in a row, HoMedics has committed to raising funds by donating $1 from each sale of these pretty-in-pink foot pleasers to the worthy organization.

Can’t make it to the spa for a foot massage?  Try these limited edition, cushy Massaging Slippers.  They’re battery operated and provide an invigorating vibration massage to soothe tired muscles.  Available during September exclusively at Bed, Bath and Beyond for $19.99. 

Places to Eat

During our stay in downtown Chicago, we’d eat a big breakfast and then have an early dinner before the evening events.  Here are some of the restaurants we visited along Michigan Avenue:

- Yolk is located near the south side of Grant Park and serves huge omelets, fritattas, crepes, 5 types of french toast and variety of pancakes.  My avocado, bacon & cheese fritatta with blackberry/banana multigrain pancakes was awesome!  A local favorite.

- The Corner Bakery Café is located at several locations along Michigan Avenue and perfect for a quick meal. The Wacker location has a nice outdoor patio overlooking the Chicago River.  For breakfast they offer simple scrambles, muffins and coffee cake, as well as several types of oatmeal.  For lunch or a light dinner, they have salads and sandwiches with mini-bundtlette cakes for desserts. 

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Within a matter of hours of arriving at Chicago’s O’Hare airport, we’d viewed the opening of an origami exhibit along with a local news crew, sipped complimentary St. Michelle wine at the Chicago Art Institute while listening to live blues, and attended an outdoor performance of Bolero.  All these events were free and just a short walk from our hotel. 

My sister and I met in downtown Chicago last weekend to enjoy some music, shopping and relaxation.  It was the first visit for both of us, so I came prepared with my Chicago Pocket Pilot.  This handy water-proof guide has maps, top attractions, fun facts and transit routes and easily fits in a jeans pocket.  It ended up being a great resource.

Downtown Chicago is easy to navigate with its collection of trains, trolleys and buses, so we didn’t need a rental car.  Instead we bought a multi-day CTA pass at the airport and enjoyed being car-free for a few days.  Even with the transportation system, we did quite a bit of walking and were glad we’d brought good walking shoes.  

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Here’s a site that will inspire you visually.  Trey Ratcliff’s gorgeous photo blog, called Stuck in Customs, is packed with photos he’s taken during his travels around the world. Here’s one of the Amalfi Coast in Italy. 

Photo blog:
Stuck in Customs

Baggage heaven?

Ever wonder where all the unclaimed airport luggage goes to?  To Scottsboro, Alabama, of course!  You never know what you’ll find at this store where luggage, clothes and accessories are sold for a fraction of their retail price.   

The Unclaimed Baggage Center

Via  sk-rt.com

One of the things I love about traveling in the summer is that many cities have a wide array of events going on, including free outdoor concerts and music festivals.  I try not to let the summer pass by without spending at least one evening under the stars at a musical performance. 

Here are just a few of the concerts coming up in the next few weeks - check your local city guide for even more listings:

• New York - Central Park’s SummerStage  info 
• San Francisco
• Stern Grove concerts: through Aug. 19  info  
• San Jose concert series  info
• Chicago
• Grant Park concert series   info 
• The Art Institute - free admission on Thursdays and Friday evenings with live concerts in the garden.
• Newport, RI
• Newport Folk Festival: Aug. 3-5  info 
• Newport JVC Jazz Festival: Aug. 10-12   info 
• Orange County concert series:  info
• Seattle
• Chateau Ste. Michelle concert series:  info 
• Bumbershoot: Sept. 1-3   info
• Lollapalooza Chicago: Aug. 3-5   info 
• Austin City Limits Music Festival: Sept. 14-16  info
• Monterey 50th Annual Jazz Festival:  Sept. 21-23  info