GEARING UP
Docking stations from iHome have been popular at home, of course, for hooking up
iPods, but now the iH26 is available as a Travel Alarm Clock to take your music to a hotel room and listen without headphones, and then wake up to your favorite song instead of that annoying telephone ringing and some angst-ridden desk clerk or disembodied recorded voice. When set up, the unit is about the width of five iPods and the height of one and a half of them; it weighs 3.8 pounds and uses four AA batteries (the really hard-core could take it camping, too). The sound quality is decent and carries reasonably well without thinning too much at higher decibels. The iH26 also comes with a patch cord for other MP3 players, and folds down into a convenient carrying case with a handle, all of which can be pretty easily carried on. The remote control works from across a room, and it comes in white, black and silver. | $99.99, retail outlets, amazon.com
YOU MUST BE DREAMING
For most of us, it really would be a dream come true to take a whole month off. But if that dream ever becomes a reality, the kinds of vacations that await are ones such as the Endless Escape, a 31-day package on St. Martin in the French West Indies, in a two-bedroom suite on the beach. At La Samanna Resort, the suites are 1,100 square feet and feature two baths, a private outdoor terrace and a fully equipped kitchen that can be stocked to each guest’s choosing (extra fees may apply). One dinner for four each week is included at the resort’s eatery The Restaurant, which has an extensive wine cellar and ingredients flown in daily from France. Also included: a weekly massage for two guests, as well as the use of a Mercedes and the services of a private shopper for the boutiques of nearby Marigot. La Samanna offers Elyseé Spa, with indoor/outdoor tropical garden treatment rooms and a Pilates studio, and 55 acres of beachfront property to play on. Not to mention that the resort was voted one of the “Top 10 Best Places to Go on a Honeymoon in the World” by The New York Times and one of the most romantic destinations by Bride magazine. Cost of a month away for four? $21,680. Call 800-854-2252 or visit lasamanna.com.
BOOK YOUR VACATION
The Moon guides are always helpful, and the new one on Colorado ($19.95, Avalon Travel Publishing) by Steve Knopper is no exception. It’s a solid guide to the state, with extra-
tasty lists of vacations done as a “14-day Best of” and a “Music Lover’s Tour” and “10-Day Ski Bum’s Tour” that make it particularly worthwhile as gift for someone coming to visit. But another recent output from this esteemed group caught our eye: Moon’s “Colorado Camping: The Complete Guide to Tent and RV Camping” ($18.95, Avalon Travel Publishing). It’s possibly even more helpful for those of us who find it tougher these days to pitch a tent in a state that used to be all about getting out there but seems increasingly all about putting up another hotel in a plaza-driven development. Author Sarah Ryan has gone out there to locate the places that still let you sleep under the stars for a fee, tells you what that fee is and, better yet, distinguishes which places keep the RVs far away (or, for you RVers, tells you where you can hook up), rates the sites for scenic value and reveals what outdoors activities are located nearby.
TRAVEL BY NUMBERS | Top 10 new hotels
Travel + Leisure magazine editors picked the coolest new hotels of 2006, including some of the most anticipated debuts scheduled for later this year.
1. Four Seasons Tented Camp, Chiang Rai, Golden Triangle, Thailand
2. The James, Chicago
3. Marataba, Marakele National Park, Limpopo, South Africa
4. Palacio Duhau-Park Hyatt Buenos Aires, Argentina
5. Bulgari Bali, Uluwatu, Indonesia
6. Gramercy Park Hotel, New York
7. The London, New York
8. Château du Champ de Bataille, Le Neubourg, France
9. Boccadileone Suites, Rome
10. Do & Co Hotel, Vienna
For a complete list, visit travelandleisure.com
GEOQUIZ
1. Kudzu, a vine that was promoted in the 1930s to control soil erosion, has spread throughout the southeastern U.S., including which state that borders Mobile Bay?
2. The gypsy moth caterpillar, which strips trees of their leaves, was accidentally introduced in the 1800s near Cambridge. This city is located on the Charles River in which New England state?
3. A large rodent called the nutria, imported from South America, is destroying marsh vegetation around the Chesapeake Bay wetlands near the Patuxent River in which state?
4. Beginning in the 1890s, reindeer were imported to the U.S. from Siberia and now live mostly on the Seward Peninsula in which state?
5. In the 1960s tropical fish dealers imported the walking catfish from Asia. This catfish, which is able to move across land, now inhabits Lake Okeechobee and other waterways in which state?
6. So-called killer bees are descended from African bees that were brought to Brazil and later escaped. These bees first entered the U.S. through which state that borders the Rio Grande?
7. The lionfish, a venomous coral reef fish, was likely introduced to the western Atlantic Ocean through aquarium releases. This fish can now be found near Cape Hatteras in which Atlantic state?
8. The Asian tiger mosquito, which can spread diseases to humans, was brought to the U.S. in used tires. This mosquito is now abundant near Lake Pontchartrain in which southern state?
9. The Chinese tallow tree, whose seeds can be used in candles and soap, has spread throughout the southeastern U.S. This tree was introduced in the late 1700s to what state just northeast of the Savannah River?
10. The Indian mongoose was imported to a U.S. state to help control rats in sugarcane plantations. However, the mongoose has also killed many ground-nesting birds near Hilo in which state?
ANSWERS: 1. Alabama 2. Massachusetts 3. Maryland 4. Alaska 5. Florida 6. Texas 7. North Carolina 8. Louisiana 9. South Carolina 10. Hawaii
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY
