YOU MUST BE DREAMING
Montana’s newest luxury getaway, The Resort at Paws Up, has been getting a lot of attention lately, with write-ups in the major travel magazines and plenty of press about its 37,000-acre property nestled along the Blackfoot River (where “A River Runs Through It” was filmed) and small feel (it hosts only 80 guests at a time). The resort has begun to offer unique themed retreats, such as the Western Women wilderness weekend May 4-7, which features John Fraley, author of “A Woman’s Way West,” discussing his narrative on a young woman’s adventures in Montana in the 1920s and equestrian specialist Donna West teaching natural horsemanship. Sprinkled throughout the weekend are nature hikes, yoga sessions, fly-fishing instruction and spa treatments. “Love and Miracles” is the focus of the May 18-21 retreat, with Martha Hopkins, author of “Intercourses: An Aphrodisiac Cookbook,” hosting a champagne reception and cooking secrets, along with yoga instructor Joni Consroe teaching couples yoga and a dinner with every course featuring chocolate. Three-night, four-day stays at the ranch in May, including three meals daily, cocktail receptions, one spa treatment per person and round-trip airport transfers cost $999 per person. Call 800-473-0601 or visit pawsup.com.
BOOK YOUR VACATION
Now that Dan Brown has been cleared of any wrongdoing, and the movie’s release will go off as planned May 19, travel books referencing “The Da Vinci Code” are coming faster than you can say “Opus Dei.” They promise many things: the “real” sites featured in the book, to answer the unanswered questions, to follow the characters. Some are intriguing, some annoying, and some just plain silly. But for travelers determined to visit any of the book’s destinations, explore museums and see historic artifacts, a good place to start would be “Fodor’s Guide to ‘The Da
Vinci Code’: On the Trail of the Best-Selling Novel” ($14.95, Fodor’s). Edited by Jennifer Paull and Christopher Culwell, the book uses 17 writers, a mix of travel freelancers, art curators and historians and Da Vinci experts (including Jessica Teisch, author of “Da Vinci for Dummies”). The result is a collection of travelogues, color photos, helpful diagrams and interesting facts about the areas covered in the novel, retracing the footsteps of characters Robert Langdon and Sophie Neveu from Paris to Rome and the Vatican and finally London. Bonus restaurant and lodging suggestions at the end are done in the exhaustive Fodor’s style.
GEARING UP
It’s a pricey little item, but what price peace of mind? For folks with small kids and swimming pools, hot tubs or boats, or those who frequently travel to places that have them, the Safety Turtle might be worth the dough. A tiny plastic turtle on a strap that sounds an alarm the second your child (or even adult or pet) hits the water, the Turtle simply wraps around a wrist or life jacket , sending a signal to a base unit. The Safety Turtle also can come with a “Man Overboard” option with a wireless lanyard that simultaneously turns off a boat’s engine to speed up recovery time. It’s important to note the Safety Turtle is tricky when it comes to seawater, which it acts as an electromagnetic shield, blocking the signal; there are extra precautions that have to be taken for it to work properly. And the Safety Turtle manufacturer is quick to point out that this isn’t a substitute for watching your kids. | $242, safetyturtle.com
WEBSITE
coloradoinfo.com
A clearinghouse of sorts for the vacation guides of many of the towns and cities across the state, this site also offers free guides to Colorado and the mountain communities for the asking – they even pay the postage. Search the site by place, activity or lodging, or pick out a vacation planner to peruse online or have mailed. The activities run the gamut: attractions, dining, fishing, historic sites, hot springs, kayaking, music festivals, snowshoeing, trains, weddings and wineries are but a few of the options. The lodging links include dude ranches, corporate retreats, campgrounds and houses for rent, and there is also a link for deals on things such as shuttles to the casinos, two-for-one admissions to attractions and rate reductions at area hotels. Click on the free-guide link and receive such references as “Colorado Golf 2006 Magazine” and the “Colorado Vacation Planner – Summer 2006.”
TRAVEL BY NUMBERS | Top 25 walking cities
The April issue of Prevention magazine (along with the American Podiatric Medicine Association) ranked the top 100 walking cities. To qualify, a city must have a high percentage of people who regularly walk – for fitness and health, or to get to and from work. Mass transit was then factored in; research from the University of British Columbia in Canada shows that every 30 minutes spent in a car increases your risk of obesity by 3 percent, and each 0.6 mile walked daily decreases that risk by 5 percent. Finally, walker- friendly attributes, such as low crime rates, mild year-round temperatures and the number of cultural attractions, were weighed, as well as participation in recreational sports and pet ownership. Denver, by the way, ranked No. 27.
1. Portland, Ore.
2. Colorado Springs
3. Madison, Wis.
4. Boise, Idaho
5. Las Vegas
6. Austin, Texas
7. Virginia Beach, Va.
8. Anchorage, Alaska
9. Fremont, Calif.
10. Raleigh, N.C.
11. Paradise, Nev.
12. Glendale, Ariz.
13. St. Paul, Minn.
14. Honolulu
15. Aurora
16. San Diego
17. Albuquerque
18. Henderson, Nev.
19. Tacoma, Wash.
20. Cincinnati
21. Greensboro, N.C.
22. Seattle
23. Chandler, Ariz.
24. Lincoln, Neb.
25. New York
To see the top 100, visit prevention.com.
GEOQUIZ
1. Tofu, a protein-rich food that is an important part of the Japanese diet, is made from what crop?
2. Sheffield, famous for its steel and cutlery industries, is located in South Yorkshire in which country?
3. What country bordering France and Italy is known for manufacturing precision instruments, such as clocks and watches?
4. What large island country off the southeastern coast of Africa is one of the world’s largest exporters of vanilla?
5. A British overseas territory in the Caribbean Sea with George Town as its capital is known as a major offshore center for finance. Name this island group.
6. Which country, bordered by France, Belgium and Germany, depends on foreign workers for at least 30 percent of its workforce?
7. The Nikkei, a stock index in a country with one of the world’s largest economies, has its headquarters in which Asian capital city?
8. Which Asian country recently reissued its currency, the dinar, with pictures of a Babylonian ruler and a 10th-century mathematician?
9. Which Asian country is the world’s largest producer of rice and cotton?
10. Meat, dairy products and eggs are important agricultural products in the Scandinavian country that borders Germany. Name this country.
ANSWERS: 1. soybeans 2. United Kingdom 3. Switzerland 4. Madagascar 5. Cayman Islands 6. Luxembourg 7. Tokyo 8. Iraq 9. China 10. Denmark
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY
