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by maribeth
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Discovery Map Is Coming to Telluride
Me with Peter Hans and Laura Potter from Discovery Map
I love being a travel writer and sometimes I really love being a travel writer. As much as I like to write, the sitting on my butt part (whether in a desk chair or on my couch) can be rough. (Yes, I do stand sometimes but I don’t have a stand up desk per se.)
So often the travel writing part I like the most is the research phase. That aspect of my job is even better when it involves lots of good connecting with people, great skiing and memorable food. Such was the case this winter when Discovery Map International came to Telluride to carry out an important phase of their map-making process. Yes, they came to Telluride because as of next fall, there will be a Telluride Discovery Map added to their community of over 150 maps within the United States and beyond.
Loving Raclette with Laura and My Boyfriend Steve
I’m happy to be involved in writing web content for this dynamic company. Read Fun Times in Map Making, a Map Geek story I wrote for them, to find out more of the back story that goes into the Discovery Map process and most especially how it all went down in Telluride.
Brian Lewis of Discovery Map Telluride
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by maribeth
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Care-taking and Top Picks for Falmouth, MA
My New Mantra
I’ve come to know Falmouth, Massachusetts quite well these past few years. So when it came to writing about this alluring Cape Cod destination for Discovery Map, I found it hard to limit myself to just two pages of content for Falmouth, Mashpee & Woods Hole. But I did because that’s what the assignment required. Take a look at Instagram-able Places and Eat Your Way Through Falmouth, Mashpee & Woods Hole to find out some of the reasons why you should visit this beautiful New England coastal area.
So how have I come to know Falmouth so well? I am lucky enough to have a few friends that live there, however, I haven’t been able to spend much time with them. The main reason I’ve visited Falmouth a lot these past few years–especially this past year–is because of my mom’s oldest and dearest friend. Let me call her El. She’s like an aunt/second mother/good friend to me and since she doesn’t have any children–or even many family members left in her life–I’m like a daughter to her. I love her dearly and have been happy to visit her in her little Cape Cod house (and during one visit by her bedside at the hospital) numerous times in recent history to bring comfort, aid and hopefully a bit of cheer.
Autumnal Glow in Falmouth
That was my mission this past holiday weekend when I cooked up a plan to drive my mom to Falmouth and spend Thanksgiving with her best friend. Well, like most of you perhaps, I took on too much and as I digest the events of our visit, I’m sifting through and cherishing the good moments and yes, well, letting the shit go. Don’t get me wrong–we had a lovely visit and there’s plenty to savor. But dealing with two very strong-minded 84-year-old ladies suffering from an array of health issues is a tall order. Add to that all the stress that comes with holiday gatherings–no matter how small–and you’ve got a scenario best handled by the truly robust. I must admit that’s not me these days because I have been working through my own health issues.
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by maribeth
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Top Reasons to Go to Stowe, Vermont
Stowe, Vermont
If you read my story Touring Country Stores in Stowe, Vermont with Mom, you already know that I recently had a lot of fun in and around this cute little mountain town. I’ve since done my write ups for Discovery Map, which feature Stowe-pendous Adventures and Vermont Country Shopping in Stowe. Do check them out and you’ll find a bushel of reasons as to why you should plan a trip to Stowe.
What surprised me the most about Stowe? Well, I have to admit I didn’t realize there was such a cute little historic town attached to this world renowned ski resort. Once there, I discovered this wonderful New England village that made its mark on this part of Vermont long before the ski mountain existed.
Since I’ve been living in Telluride, Colorado for over fourteen years, I couldn’t help but draw comparisons between these two mountain towns. They’re oh-so different yet both are very inviting and definitely integral parts to the overall ski experience.
To me, Stowe felt tucked in, it appeared nestled into the Green Mountains like a sleeping outdoor enthusiast beneath a pile of quilts. You don’t always see the mountains from town, but when you do–when you peek out upon a green space in between buildings–you gaze out onto bucolic vistas punctuated by old, well-worn mountains. These views–like the town–are quiet, charming and oh-so comforting.
Telluride in contrast, with peaks soaring up into the 12,000-14,000-foot range, is mighty and majestic. And the ski mountain inspires sometimes beyond reason, too.
We need both in our lives, don’t we? We all need some yang to balance out our yin.
As for the skiing, I’ve been told that Stowe holds its own, that there are many challenges to be met on their slopes. I hope to try it some day. In the meantime, I’m looking forward to heading back to T-ride and perhaps adding some yang to my yin.
Thank you to Stowe Mountain Resort for the use of the above photo.
Discovery Map New England Travel Writing & Books: Discovery Map franchises mapmaking Stowe tourist maps Travel Vermont Waitsfield
by maribeth
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Discovering Discovery Map
The Evolution of a Discovery Map
I hope you’ve had a chance to read my story Touring Country Stores in Stowe, Vermont with Mom. I think the photos are pretty nice, too. I give most of the credit to the subject matter–everywhere you turn there’s another photogenic scene in this endearing New England state.
Actually my main reason for heading up to northern Vermont was to meet the folks at Discovery Map. You can tell from my Touring Country Stores story, however, that mom and I were a bit sidetracked. Oops! Shopping and touring can do that to you, especially when it involves mothers and daughters in Vermont country stores.
Discovery Map
But just about forty minutes south of Stowe, on our drive home, we pulled into Waitsfield, Vermont, a charming town in the heart of the Green Mountains that serves as home to Discovery Map International. Whether the name is familiar to you or not, I’m sure you would recognize the cheery, hand-drawn maps that you pick up in travel destinations all over the U.S. You know–the colorful ones full of whimsy that highlight restaurants, shops, places of lodging, cultural sites and a flourish of other attractions?
A Veritable Library of Discovery Maps
Checking Out a Map
Looking in the Map Drawers
People might never imagine that most aspects of the production of these maps take place in a sleepy little town in rural Vermont. Yay! Their origins are as heartfelt and homespun as the maps themselves. With well more than a hundred maps throughout the country and beyond, it’s hard to believe that they are all born here. But it’s true and I hope you will enjoy meeting the team behind them through the photos in this post.
Since I started to write content for Discovery Map’s website, I’ve had a lot of email contact with Susan Klein, the oh-so efficient Operations Administrator who is clearly a multitasker extraordinaire. So, of course, I wanted to put a face to a name, even if it was just a brief encounter.
Discovery Map Hotels & Lodging Restaurants Shopping Spas The Northeast Travel: A Tour of the Heart Cold Water Hollow Cider Mill Country Store on Main country stores dining Discovery Map lodging Nebraska Knoll Sugar Farm Shaw's Shopping shopping books on France Spas Stowe Stowe Mercantile Stoweflake The Riches of France The Riches of Paris Trapp Family Lodge travel memoir France Vermont
by maribeth
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Touring Country Stores in Stowe, Vermont with Mom
Mom and I Shopping in Vermont
Since 1895: Shaw’s General Store
Vermont Country Road
Mom at Stowe Mercantile
My how I’ve been blessed with being back East this fall. The weather has been glorious throughout upstate New York and New England. (I think it has actually been pretty beautiful along the whole East Coast with the exception of down south.) We’ve been experiencing true Indian summer weather–East Indian, in fact, with some days hitting temps as high as 90 degrees!
The annual autumnal festival of colors with regard to leaf peeping has started late this year. (The abundance of jewel-toned mums, however, rates among one of the most spectacular I’ve ever seen. I we don’t have such a display in Colorado.) A brilliant kaleidoscope of fall colors is just now emerging in many parts of the Northeast.
Designer Mum
Magnificent Mums
This fall is not likely to rank among the most spectacular, since many of the maple trees have been stricken with a fungus that has made their foliage look blah. Plus, we have not yet had enough chilly nights to force the color to change into eye-popping hues of red, orange and gold. But isn’t fall always beautiful? I think so. For me, it has already been memorable.
Brick-Toned Beauty Before the Leaves Even Change
Ready for Winter at Nebraska Knoll Sugar Farm
That’s because two weeks ago mom and I headed out for a road trip to Vermont. It was just a two-night stay, however, we packed a lot in. My mother and I have always traveled a good amount together but this was the first real getaway of its kind in two years. There’s no doubt that as you grow older, home offers greater appeal and traveling seems like more of a chore.
Still, mom rose to the occasion and off to Vermont we went. We beat the path that we had tamped down–heading northeast out Route 7 from Troy, New York–for many years throughout our lives. This time, however, we were venturing far beyond our usual destinations of Bennington, Arlington and Manchester, Vermont. This time we were headed way up. Three-and-a-half-hours up.
“I always wanted to go to Stowe,” mom told me as I navigated the sinewy roads of the Green Mountain state, by then dashing along Route 100 past Rutland. (Yes, mom thought I was going too fast around the innumerable bends in the road.)
Pumpkin Potpourri at Cold Hollow Cider Mill
“Really? I didn’t know that.”
“Yes, I wanted your father to take us all there on a ski trip.”
“Wow, that’s the first time I’ve heard that,” I said. I remember the very first time I skied. I had a terrible time. It was so cold and the equipment felt so heavy. But I remember the lodge and the whole ambiance. I just loved the cozy scene in Vermont. I think it was during a New Year’s holiday. I think I was about five–is that right, mom?”
Stowe and Skiing Go Together Like Rolling Hills and Vermont
And so we prattled on, trading thoughts and memories about what we loved so much about Vermont.
Salt and Pepper Shakers from Stowe Mercantile
In truth, most of our mother/daughter escapes to Vermont revolved around day trips. We’d leave early in the day, enjoy the scenic drive, have lunch in a country inn and then poke about in quaint shops. We’d return with the car loaded with goods and goodies, a mostly made-in-Vermont haul that we’d have to sneak in to keep out of sight from “the boys” and my father (six fellas in all). It was female bonding at its best. Sure, we’d share cider and syrup with them but many of our treasures were stashed away in order to avoid looking like spendthrifts.
In truth, we didn’t buy a whole lot, mostly wool sweaters, candles and knickknacks. It was how and where we bought everything that had the most significance for mom and me. It was out of these forays to Vermont country stores that my love for shopping and touring in authentic places was born. So many of these bastions of tradition and charm spoke to me, so much so that I could hardly tolerate shopping and browsing in department stores or other big, impersonal retail outlets the rest of the time.
Little did I know that these excursions would plant the seeds for me to found Chic Promenade, a Paris shopping service where I organized visits behind-the-scenes at the big names as well as tours to the off-the-beaten-path boutiques of the French capital. I later went on to write three guidebooks on Paris and one on the French provinces. (Read about The Riches of Paris: A Shopping and Touring Guide and The Riches of France: A Shopping and Touring Guide to the French Provinces as well as my travel memoir, A Tour of the Heart: A Seductive Cycling Trip Through France at Maribeth’s Books.)
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by maribeth
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Top Reasons to Go to Lake George, New York
Lake George, New York: the Queen of American Lakes
Sweet Minne Ha Ha
Stop it! I can’t believe the summer is winding down so fast. It seems like it’s especially unfair this year because in many parts of the country–including the northeast where I’ve been based–the weather has been rather cool and rainy up until this week, which is simply gorgeous! Thankfully there are still even more glorious late summer days ahead–I just know it.
Shepard Beach
View from the South End of the Lake
What was your favorite moment of the summer? One of my best was a weekend spent with an old friend–and a new one–at Lake George, New York. It was a nostalgic trip on many levels because I was returning to a beloved place with Margie, a friend I’ve known since I was a kid. Even better, Margie was also a big part of my childhood/early adult life at this beautiful Adirondack lake.
New and Old Friends: Me, Helena and Margie
Our families both had camps on Cleverdale, on the east side of the lake, and our summers were punctuated with days consumed with bombing around in speed boats and evenings passed trying to get into the Sans Souci, the local bar (We both were way too young, especially me; although in later years, we could hang out there. Then on big nights, we’d drive into Lake George Village for some rip roaring times.) Many a memorable moonlit night was marked by a girl’s sleepover on my family’s boathouse deck and on real wild ones, we’d head out in the rowboat and make a visit to the boy’s sleepover–oh my! more »
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by maribeth
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Top Reasons to Go to the Outer Banks of North Carolina
Beachtime on the Outer Banks of North Carolina
OBX
A Little Beach Box
Outer Banks Eats
As we steam into the last great weekend of summer, most of us are woe to give up the hot, sultry moments in the sun. We don’t want to replace pumps and loafers with flip flops. We long for more, more, more time at the beach. We want to continue to throw on a shift or a pair of shorts and T-shirt over our swimsuits and belly up to a raw bar for some fresh seafood and beers.
This feels especially so in parts of the country–such as the northeast where I have been based–where the summer has been cool and more rainy and cloudy than usual. No, it just doesn’t seem fair; most of us yearn for more of that good ‘ole summertime feeling.
Good news is that you can find it in spades at North Carolina’s Outer Banks. I’ve visited these oh-so gorgeous barrier islands numerous times, mostly during the shoulder seasons of spring and fall, which in my opinion, is the best time to go. This is when you can avoid the crowds and enjoy more tranquil beach time. Sure, this part of the coast can be pounded during fall’s hurricane season (mostly in September), however, that’s good news for those into big surf. (Indeed, OBX is one of the surfing capitals of the U.S.)
Click here to read a bunch of my stories on the Outer Banks.
For a bucket-full of my fresh reasons on why to visit this beautiful destination, read my OBX write ups at DiscoveryMap.com: OBX Surf, Sun and Fun and Tastes of the Outer Banks.
May summer last forever! Or at least until ski season hits.
Sunset Over Pamlico Sound
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by maribeth
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Top Reasons to Go to Durango, Colorado
Durango: A Good ‘Ole Western Town
I’m back east now in upstate New York, trying to settle in after a whirlwind two-week trip to Colorado that was filled with lots of travel. During that time, I taped a few interviews for Travel Fun, my talk radio show on KOTO. I had the pleasure of doing one with Steve Gumble, founder of the renowned Telluride Blues & Brews Festival, which takes place every September. This time, however, we chatted about his new baby, the Telluride Jazz Festival, which kicks off tonight in Telluride and runs through Sunday. Had we had more time we would have talked about the Durango Blues Train, another big happening he created a handful of years ago. It is super fun and also one of my top reasons to visit Durango, Colorado. This year, the second Durango Blues Train of the season takes place August 18 & 19. Unfortunately these dates have sold out, too! You can, however, start planning for next year. (Fortunately tickets are still available for Telluride Blues & Brews and Jazz.)
Yee-Haw
Yippee Ki Yay
A Recent Respite at The Office Spiritorium at the Strater Hotel
And you can still take the train most days. It’s true–Durango is all about the train, the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad to be exact. Add some blues musicians to that and a bunch of fun-loving people and you have an instant party. Durango is also about historic hotels such as the Strater and the Rochester as well as a whole wagon full of other fabulous sites, establishments and activities that exude the vibrant spirit of the West.
I’ve recently started to write content for Discovery Map, the cheery, hand-drawn maps you can pick up at resort destinations across the United States. They’re developing their website, which is where my destination descriptions can be found. So click Colorado’s Wild Side and Hit the Streets of Durango to read about my top reasons to visit Durango, Colorado. And when you go to visit, be sure to pick up a Discovery Map to help you find your way around this historic gem in southwestern Colorado.
Click here to listen to a previous Travel Fun interview with Steve Gumble where he talks about Telluride Blues & Brews and the Durango Blues Train. You can also read more of my Telluride Blues & Brews stories here.
For more of my stories on Durango and the outlying area, click here.
The Historic Strater Hotel
