Here are five snowboarding getaways recommended by Future Snowboarding magazine, which promises you’ll be on the slopes within 60 minutes of landing at the nearest airport. “Storm Chasers: From Plane to Powder in Under an Hour” are listed in the magazine’s February issue.
They are:
Aspen/Pitkin County Airport, Colo.: The magazine says you can be on the lift in 10 minutes at Buttermilk. Aspen Highlands, Ajax and Snowmass are within a half-hour’s drive of the airport.
Burlington International Airport, Vt.: The magazine says you can be on the lift in 30 minutes at Bolton Valley. Sugarbush, Stowe and Smugglers Notch are within an hour’s drive of the airport.
Reno-Tahoe International Airport, Nev.: The magazine says you can be on the lift in 30 minutes at Mount Rose. Northstar, Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows are within an hour’s drive of the airport.
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport: You can be on the lift at the Summit At Snoqualmie, Alpental, in 55 minutes.
Salt Lake City International Airport, Utah: You can be on the lift at Snowbird in 45 minutes. Brighton, Solitude, Park City and The Canyons are within an hour’s drive of the airport.
Two-month festival for mustard-lovers
You can see the golden blooms of wild mustard in Napa Valley in February and March, and you can taste and celebrate the condiment at a variety of events during a two-month-long festival held in the region each year.
The 15th annual Napa Valley Mustard Festival is scheduled for Feb. 2 to March 29 in St. Helena, Calif. The opening event, “Mustard Magic,” takes place at 7 p.m. Feb. 2 at the Culinary Institute of America in St. Helena. The black-tie affair includes a gourmet buffet, a visual arts competition exhibit and silent auction, and a performance by trapeze artists. Tickets are $150 in advance, $175 at the door.
Other events include “Mustard, Mud &Music — A Calistoga Jazz Festival,” March 8 and 9, in the town of Calistoga; and a March 14 awards night at Napa’s Black Stallion Winery honoring “world champion mustard-makers,” where you can taste original mustard recipes by Napa Valley chefs and vote for your favorite in the “People’s Choice Mustard Festival Chef of the Year” contest.
A marketplace is scheduled for March 15 and 16 at the American Center for Wine, Food &the Arts in Napa. You can taste mustards from around the world and shop for wine, arts and crafts, and local culinary and gourmet products.
Details at 707-938-1133 or www.mustardfestival.org.
New pocket guidebooks: ‘Fodor’s In Focus’
Fodor’s Travel Publications is out with a new series of compact books called “Fodor’s In Focus” guides.
The $10.95 pocket-size paperbacks measure just over 4 by 7 inches and are under 200 pages — perfect for tucking into a purse or for those who like to travel light.
The series debuted in December. Books out this winter include guides to Aruba; Los Cabos, Mexico; Puerto Rico; Savannah, Ga., and Charleston, S.C. (both cities are covered in one guide); the Bahamas; and Bermuda.
The books list options for a variety of budgets and interests, including must-see sights and local secrets, along with reader recommendations from Fodors.com.
Fodor’s also recently announced a deal to deliver its content for free to mobile users with AskMeNow, a mobile search company. AskMeNow does not charge for the searches, although regular message and texting rates apply. Some carriers add a charge, but users will be asked first to OK the charge before proceeding.
Tour by horseback: Equestrian vacations
If you love riding horses and you love travel, consider booking a vacation with Cross Country International, which offers equestrian vacations.
Packages offer a range of riding experiences and can accommodate all levels, from relaxed trail rides to intensive rides — including cross-country training, dressage and “hunt seat”-style rides. Guests can also choose English or Western saddle, and should expect to spend from one to more than three hours a day on horseback, depending on the package chosen.
A range of accommodations is also offered, from bed-and-breakfasts to castles, farms and four-star hotels. On some trips, accommodations change nightly as guests tour the region.
Riding vacations are offered in many locations around Europe, the U.S. and Central and South America. For some trips, the company creates its own itineraries and hires the guides, but it also packages trips offered by other tour operators.
The company, based in Milbrook, N.Y., also arranges hiking and golf vacations.
Details at 800-828-8768 or www.equestrianvacations.com.
Chicago Museum to showcase green home
A three-story, fully functioning “green” home is going to be built on the campus of Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry.
Museum officials say the house will showcase the latest innovations in renewable resources and smart energy consumption.
For instance, guests will be able to see how wastewater from the shower and bath can then be used for toilets.
The 2,500-square-foot home is expected to be open to the public for nine months, beginning May 8. It will be the basis for an exhibit called “Smart Home: Green Plus Wired.”
The modular home is being built on an assembly line in Decatur, Ind.
It’s expected to arrive at the museum in late February for final interior work, furnishing and landscaping.
Associated Press
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