Tag Archives: Leisure

Innovative Leisure: “Blindfold Travel” Books Surprise European Trips Per Travelers’ Budgets

From a The Italian Eye Magazine online review:

Blindfold TravelBlindfold Travel offers a complete package with flights and overnight stays in a European city. The customer is only asked to choose the budget and fill out a questionnaire to indicate wishes and preferences. Blindfold Travel organises your holiday from the starting point to the end by providing all the useful information to travellers, who reach the airport completely unaware of their destination. Before leaving, a package containing the various directions arrives at home, and a series of numbered envelopes guide you step by step to the discovery of the journey as in a treasure hunt.

https://www.blindfoldtravel.com/

The only important elements to know are the departure datetime and some hints about what to bring with you; but it’s only shortly before leaving that boarding passes are sent by email. The surprises continue with other offers already included in the package, such as guided toursmuseum tickets and many other activities. If you are already curious and want to find out more, you will be amazed!

To read more: https://www.theitalianeyemagazine.com/en/alternative-travels-3-websites/2

Travel Destinations: Isla Palenque Is An Island Eco-Paradise Off Panama

From an Architectural Digest online review:

Isla Palenque Resort Panama PoolAs a natural paradise rooted in sustainable luxury, only 5 percent of the island is developed, with the rest kept as a nature reserve. “It’s 400 acres of unspoiled jungle, lagoons, mangroves, and beaches that create intimate connections between the land and the traveler,” notes Benjamin Loomis, the architect and developer behind Isla Palenque Resort. From the people to the food to the design materials, everything is sourced locally (most even coming directly from the property).

Let’s strip it back to the basics. Imagine your own private island: 400-acres of lush rain forest with a rich archaeological history and secluded beaches accessible by foot from a beachfront casita. At Isla Palenque, a small private island on the western Pacific shore of Panama, this is exactly what guests are treated to: a sustainable and intimate escape that is the ultimate expression of barefoot luxury. A plane, an automobile, and a boat ride are the minimum requirements to get there, but once you arrive, allow the tide to kiss your feet while you sip a fresh fruit juice at sunset on a beach you have completely to yourself.

To read more: https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/this-private-island-oasis-in-panama-raises-the-bar-on-sustainable-design-retreats

Boomers Hobbies: 75-Year Old Dave Hinz Of Michigan Spent Ten Years Building His 1936 A.J. Speciale

From a Wall Street Journal article by A.J. Baime:

Dave Hinz 1936 A.J. Speciale Interior Photo by Erin Kirkland for the Wall Street JournalI built a frame out of ash wood. Then I hand-formed and welded body panels onto the frame. I re-engineered the brakes, the steering and the clutch system to fit properly, and I hand-formed the grille out of aluminum. The seats I built out of plywood, foam and vinyl that looks like leather. When I started, I had no idea how to do any of this.

Dave Hinz, 75, a retired former software company co-owner from Harbor Springs, Mich., on what he calls his homemade 1936 A.J. Speciale, as told to A.J. Baime.

After I retired in 2005, I found a photo of a beautiful Bugatti online. I made the mistake of telling my friends that I was going to build a car just like it. I had no experience in metal forming. I knew nothing about car mechanics. But I had made this statement, and I was the butt of so many jokes, I had to try.

To read more click on the following link: https://www.wsj.com/articles/its-not-an-alfa-romeo-or-a-jaguarits-a-tribute-to-both-11566914306

New Travel Books: “Epic Bike Rides Of The Americas” From Lonely Planet (2019)

From inside the book as seen on Amazon.com:

Epic Bike Rides of the Americas Lonely Planet Finger Lakes Ride inside book

Epic Bike Rides of the Americas Lonely Planet coverThis definitive companion for cycling enthusiasts showcases 200 of North, Central and South America’s best and most celebrated routes, from epic adventures off the beaten path to shorter urban rides. Go bikepacking in Baja, road riding in Colombia, mountain biking in Canada and gravel riding in Pennsylvania.

Each ride is accompanied by stunning photos and a map and toolkit of practical details – where to start and finish, how to get there, where to stay and more – to help you plan the perfect trip. Suggestions for similar rides around the world are also included.

Rides in Canada include:

  • The Cabot Trail (Nova Scotia)
  • Whistler Bike Park (British Columbia)
  • The Whitehorse Trails (Yukon)
  • Banff to Whitefish (Alberta)

Rides in the USA include:

  • Mountain Biking in Moab (Utah)
  • Great Allegheny Passage
  • Colorado Beer Ride
  • Glacier National Park Loop (Montana)
  • The Covered Bridges of Vermont

Rides in Central America & Caribbean

  • The Baja Divide (Mexico)
  • Oaxaca to Zipolite (Mexico)
  • Cuba’s Southern Rollercoaster (Cuba)

Rides in South America include:

  • The Trans Ecuador Mountain Bike Route (Ecuador)
  • Mendoza Wine Ride (Argentina)
  • The Lagunas Route (Bolivia)
  • To the Tip of Patagonia (Argentina)
  • The Peru Divide

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=epic+bike+rides+of+the+americas&i=stripbooks&crid=191XU7O536M9Y&sprefix=Epic+Bike+Rides+of+the+%2Cstripbooks%2C192&ref=nb_sb_ss_i_2_23

Top Hikes In Oregon: The 7-Mile Loop Trail To Ramona Falls Features Stunning Views Of Mount Hood

From a Willamette Week online article:

Ramona Falls Trail View of Mount HoodIt’s not quite Multnomah Falls in terms of Disneyland wow factor, but it’s up there. Bear in mind that some things are justifiably popular—and Ramona Falls is just such a place. It is one of those natural wonders that must be seen in person. Photos, good as they may be, do the sprawling cascade little justice. Accordingly, the approximately 7-mile loop hike that visits it is a rite of passage for any and all Oregon hikers—including dirt-caked and determined adventurers trudging their way along the Pacific Crest Trail, which joins a portion of this route.

Ramona Falls Oregon Hiking Map

You’ll have to ford the Sandy River or cross on downed logs (a bridge was washed out several years ago), so exercise caution. But the view of Mount Hood from that vantage point is a stunner, so that’s a plus. In addition, the walk beside Ramona Creek looks and feels more like a forested fantasyland than a hiking trail—and if ever there was a place to enjoy a picnic, it is in the large, shaded amphitheater surrounding the cooling mist of the falls.

Boomers Bicycles: The 1970’s California Beach Cruisers Created Today’s Fat-Tired Vacation Rides

From a CityLab.com online article:

Fat Tire Biking in Virginia BeachMcNeely trademarked the term “California Beach Cruiser” in 1976, when he was 21 years old. He started selling the bikes at his store, with the tagline “comfort, durability, and nostalgia.” They caught on. After the Los Angeles Times wrote a syndicated story about McNeely’s new entrepreneurial niche in biking, McNeely started getting bags of mail from potential buyers. “We couldn’t build enough of them each night to supply the next day’s demand. There’s no way I was going to be able to sell the bikes across the country.”

If you hit the beach this summer, you’ll see them. Fat tires. Wide handlebars. Candy-colored retro-looking frames.

That particular kind of bicycle is known as a “beach cruiser.” While it looks like a nostalgic holdover from the Eisenhower era, the bikes that ramble along boardwalks of America’s beach towns were born in mid-1970s. And, as Marketplace chronicled a few years back, they found their way to the beach thanks to the efforts of one man.

To read more click on the following link: https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2019/08/beach-cruiser-bike-paths-california-bicycle-history-schwinn/596113/

Boomers Leisure: Vintage Electric Bikes “Designed In The Grand Tradition Of Open-Air Sportscars”

From a DesignBoom.com online review article:

Vintage Electric Bikes storydesigned in the grand tradition of open-air sportscars, the brand new vintage electric roadster presents riders with an impressively fast 36-mph throttle bike that offers top-shelf performance with eye-catching styling. vintage electric founder and lead designer andrew davidge says, ‘the new vintage electric roadster is our take on applying the thrill of a canyon-carving convertible sportscar to our respective ev bike segment. we set out to combine best-in-industry performance with a grand aesthetic inspired by the simple, yet powerful, european and american sportscars form the 1950s and 1960s eras.’

To read more click on following link: https://www.designboom.com/design/vintage-electric-roadster-throttle-bike-08-07-2019/?utm_source=designboom+news&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=vintage+electric+introduces

Automotive Nostalgia: 25th Annual Woodward Dream Cruise On August 17 In Detroit Will Feature Over 40,000 Classic Cars

From a Curbed.com online article:

Four Ford Thunderbirds at the 2014 Woodward Dream Cruise - ShutterstockEnthusiasts and spectators will soon be out showing off their rides for the 25th Annual Woodward Dream Cruise, which rolls through the northern suburbs along Woodward Avenue on Saturday, August 17. The world’s largest one-day automotive event is an enormous draw—last year an estimated 1.5 million people attended and 40,000 classic cars were on the roads.

While the main event takes place from Pontiac to Ferndale, Detroit also has a few offerings for visitors this year. Here’s where to go if you want to watch—or avoid—the festivities.

Time

Officially, the Woodward Dream Cruise runs Saturday, August 17 from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Events have already started, and an official ribbon cutting will take place on Friday at 5 p.m. in Ferndale.

To read more click on following link: https://detroit.curbed.com/2018/8/16/17690358/woodward-dream-cruise-2019-traffic-parking-route

Newly Renovated Resorts: Desert Hot Springs’ “Two Bunch Palms” – Carbon Neutral Rejuvenation

From a Design Milk online article:

Two Bunch Palms Mineral WatersTwo Bunch Palms mineral springs flow up from Miracle Hill, a 600 year old source bubbling from under the surface and flowing hot directly into the resort’s pool. Ecological considerations also extend to the hotel using its very own solar field array, earning Two Bunch Palms the status of being the first carbon-neutral resort in America.

Studio MAI, the firm responsible for designing the popular Venice restaurant mainstay, Gjelina, remained cognizant and careful to retain the resort’s storied “quirkiness and authenticity” while adding enough colors, textures, and modern motifs in acknowledgement of the new generation descending into the region drawn by the desert’s charms. The resulting makeover feels fresh without cloyingly contemporary, retaining a textural charm that has mostly abandoned nearby Palm Springs.

To read more click the following link: https://design-milk.com/mineral-springs-modernity-bubbles-anew-at-the-two-bunch-palms/

Road Trip: Peak’s Island, ME Is Kayaker’s Paradise, “Wild & Rocky Coastline” Two Hours From Boston

From a Boston Magazine article:

Peak’s Island, ME PHOTO BY TRENT BELLDifferent Strokes | If the idea of wearing a tank top seems profoundly depressing, skip the sports club in favor of an upper-body workout that’ll replace the reflection in the gym mirror with a view of Maine’s wild and rocky coast. And thankfully, there’s little exertion in getting there. Drive up Friday night; stay at Portland’s Regency Hotel (two hours from Boston); then catch the nearby ferry at 9:15 a.m. to Peaks Island, where the affable staff of Maine Island Kayak Company will escort you to a kayaker’s paradise. After an introductory paddling course, a primer on the vagaries of ocean weather, and some disclaimers, you’re ready to slide into a single-person sea kayak and head for open water. 

To read more click on following link: https://www.bostonmagazine.com/2010/10/12/52-weekend-getaways-from-boston/?utm_campaign=Welcome&utm_source=hs_automation&utm_medium=email&utm_content=62834177&_hsenc=p2ANqtz–XkUG6GUmi64K3MsN3JBCCSYZTmSFfqMgdjKZMlOzbGKmeNDMi1Rdgn3fr8B54rvdKQJAhfxOMTtYTm6Rb0hcYkaNceQ&_hsmi=62834177