Get 55% off this Ridgeline Studio room 
at Vermont's Stowe Mountain Lodge.

by Lisa Gill on Travel Deals

We promised that we'd see plenty of ski deals coming down the pipeline. Today's featured offer is a short-lived one, but it will save you up to 55% on your ski vacation, if you book by midnight on Thursday, September 24. The luxe Stowe Mountain Lodge, the full-service ski resort now anchoring the "Ski Capital of the East," Vermont's historic Stowe Mountain Resort. I checked out this resort last summer when it was newly opened and I could see the appeal for a winter stay--most notably for its ski-in/ski-out access to the base of Mt. Mansfield via the new Over Easy Gondola.

The property's 48-Hour Sale is actually two-fold:

(1) Rates from $236 per night during the week and $302 on weekends from December 1, 2009 through January 31, 2010. Compare this to the usual winter rates of $357 during the week and $456 on weekends (all prices include taxes and mandatory parking fees). These prices exclude the days between Christmas and New Year's Day weekend, as well as Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend. If you're bummed that this offer excludes these popular holiday weeks, read after the jump for some good news.

The Wauwinet's restaurant, TOPPER's, has been rated highly by both Zagat and Wine Spectator.

by Julia Bainbridge on Travel Deals

Nantucket can be pricey in late spring and summer, when families up and down the eastern seaboard are vying for vacation spots. Luckily, Nantucket Island Resorts is offering savings of up to 67 percent on certain dates from April through August.

At the Wauwinet, a Condé Nast Traveler Gold List property for the past 5 years, the normal summer rate for a standard room is $746 per night (including tax). You can get the same room for $247 (including tax) on May 17-21, 24-28, June 1-4, 9-11, 14-18, and 21-22. The rate steps up to $357 May 22-23 and 29-30, but that's still a 52 percent savings.   

The White Elephant was a Condé Nast Traveler Hot List property in 2001, and our readers have nominated it to our Gold List every year since 2005. Standard rooms there normally go for $675 per night during the summer, but you can get a room for $192 per night on April 22-23, 26-29, May 3-7 and 10-13. Here are more ways to save: From April 24-25, May 8-9, 17-21, 24-28, June 1-4, 7-9, 14-16, 21-25, and 28-30 that room goes for $214; and $439 gets you to the White Elephant from July 5-8, 13-15, and August 23-31.

The Cottages at the Boat Basin are normally $538 per night in the summer, but on April 12-16, 19-23, and 26-30, you can get a studio cottage, which sleeps 2 adults and 1 child, for $137 per night. Here are the rest of the dates when you save 29 percent and up: Rooms go for $148 on May 3-7 and 10-13; $154 on April 10-11 and 17-18; $192 on May 1-2, 8-9, 17-21, 25-28, June 2-4, 21-25, and 28-30; and $384 July 8-9, 12-15, August 23-27, and 30-31.

Finally, the Jared Coffin House is normally $170 per night, but from April 1-23 and 26-29, you can get a room for $109 per night. The price jumps a few dollars to $115 from May 3-7, 10-14, 17-21, 25-28, June 1-4, 7-11, and 14-18; $137 from June 22-25 and 28-30; and $148 from April 24-25.

Book by: April 15. Rates are subject to change after this date, so check the Web site for updates.

by Wendy Perrin

Yesterday reader Jslpig wrote in asking where she and her husband should sleep and eat en route from Newark International Airport to Stockbridge, Massachusetts:

"Wendy, my husband and I are landing at EWR early evening and will be eventually headed to Stockbridge, Mass.  I would like suggestions of where to stay upon arrival that would offer easy driving should the weather be bad (don't want to go into Manhattan).  We don't want to spend a lot of money for one night stay, but it is our anniversary and would like to have a good dinner and a nice hotel before heading out the next day on a road adventure.  Suggestions?"

Not a one. So I asked the team over at Daily Traveler to look into this. Lo and behold, they've got a solution. Click to learn where to celebrate your anniversary.

If anyone has a better suggestion, we're all ears.

On sunny summer weekends there's no better oasis off traffic-snarled I-95 than Captain Scott's Lobster Dock.

by Wendy Perrin

So here's my holiday-weekend tip for anyone New England-bound: Just five minutes off Exit 83, on the water in New London, Connecticut, sits a hidden-gem pit stop that I finally discovered last summer, after having driven this particular highway between New York and Massachusetts literally hundreds of times. (For those who haven't had that pleasure, I can assure you that this stretch of I-95 is particularly unappealing in summer, as it gets backed up with beach traffic, and its grimy, outdated rest areas offer little more than gas stations and McDonald's.)   

From left to right: Captain Scott's fish 'n' chips, hot lobster roll, and cold lobster roll.

What I love about Captain Scott's is that, unlike most road-trip rest stops, it's both fun for children and civilized for parents. The grown-ups get to sit down to delicious fresh seafood with lovely views of a cove and marina, while the kids get plenty of space to run around, look at boats, and burn off their pent-up energy from the car ride. And who wouldn't love the selection of unusual ice cream flavors on offer?

Charlie's favorite flavor is Lobster Tracks; Doug likes Dinosaur Crunch.

Anyone else have a hidden-gem Interstate pit stop to share?

 Photo: Wikimedia

by Sara Tucker

Leafers touring Vermont highways this fall will see a lot of signs proclaiming "Moose Crossing." They'll be lucky to see a moose. Any moose with any sense is hiding deep in the woods, especially since last week, when a three year old bull wandered into somebody's backyard in Burlington and was shot dead by animal control.

The Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department has been taking heat for the killing ever since, and the Burlington Free Press has been running a poll on its Web site with the question "Did the authorities make the right decision?" (The last time I checked 5,693 votes had been cast, 58 percent of them for the moose.) City-data.com, a Burlington based Web site, has also been collecting opinions on the controversy.

Before you weigh in, you might want to check out a video that depicts the moose's final hours (minus the blood and gore). I'm no expert and I wasn't there, but it's hard to imagine such a docile-looking creature going on a rampage, which is what wildlife officials feared. Their pre-emptive strike consisted of four blasts from a shotgun. That's right, a shotgun. Four blasts.

As a former safari guide, I've been around a lot of dangerous game. None of the guides I knew ever had to shoot an animal, though many routinely took clients into the bush on foot. When people get in trouble with wild animals, it's usually because of inexperience and fear. On the part of the humans, I mean.

I say we all (game officials included) need to become a whole lot smarter about the way we relate to wild creatures, especially since we tout them so often as part of our natural heritage.

What do you think?

The maples are late this year, but the sumac is right on time.
Photo: Sara Tucker

by Sara Tucker

It's leaf season in Vermont, and the foliage hotline is ringing. Call 1-800-VERMONT, press "1," and you may be told, as I was on Monday, that the Northeast Kingdom is one of your best bets this week for seeing "near peak" color. The Kingdom is my favorite corner of the state (I'm a native, so my vote counts extra), and so remote that most visitors never see it. From now through Sunday, seven towns are hosting the region's annual fall foliage spectacular--this is your big chance to attend a winery tour in Plainfield, a chicken-pie supper in Groton, or a band concert in St. Johnsbury. Just don't get all hung up on whether St. J's leaves are peaking or not.

The truth: The leaves are late this year, and many parts of the state are still green. Yankee Foliage blogger Jeff Folger drove 727 miles this past weekend to check out what was happening in the Kingdom and found that "good color was limited to the very upper northern part of the NEK." As an expert leafer, however, Jeff didn't let a little off-peak color get him down, and you shouldn't either.

At the Stowe Visitor's Center they hear the "When's peak?" question so often they've started a "Guess the Peak" contest. The correct answer is, as always, a matter of opinion--the opinion of the folks at the Stowe Area Association, that is. (To enter, you've got to walk into the center and fill out an entry form in person. Winner gets a free five-night stay at a resort in Stowe.) The contest ends October 22.

Former governor Deane Davis used to say that Vermont's foliage peaks on October 4. That's tongue-in-cheek for "Ask a silly question, get a silly answer." My advice: Don't worry about it. Peak is more a state of mind than an actual phenomenon. Read on to find out everything you need to know for a peak leafing experience:

In the annual Fools' Rules Regatta in Jamestown, R.I., locals start constructing their "boats" only two hours before sailing them. Aug. 18, 2007.

by Wendy Perrin

In my earlier posts about last week's "vacation" (ha! does such a thing even exist for a travel blogger?) in Newport, Rhode Island, I never did tell you where my family stayed.  That's because we didn't stay in Newport. 

Here's the secret that every smart traveler should know: Want to enjoy Newport's attractions but avoid its traffic and tourist crowds?  Make next-door neighbor Jamestown your base.  A quick drive or an easy ferry ride from Newport, on an island right across Narragansett Bay, Jamestown is a low-key, quaint, surprisingly rural haven.  We rented a house there and ended up catching the Jamestown Yacht Club's hilarious 30th annual Fools' Rules Regatta.

Sailors in the Regatta have from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. to build their "boats" from scratch.

No manufactured nautical equipment may be used. That means no masts, sails, dinghies, or surfboards. So what do you construct your hull from?  "Hull examples might be beer cans, auto bodies, bathtubs, trees, or an old worn-out sofa," the rules read. "Sails could be made of old sheets, old rugs, burlap bags, or your grandma's petticoats. Bystanders must not steal materials from crews they have no bets on."

"Vessels shall be propelled by nature's wind only," the rules continued.  "There shall be no mechanical means of propulsion. Because of the possibility of gales, hurricanes, and such during the competition . . .

Sunset drinks at Newport's schmancy Castle Hill Inn & Resort is a surprisingly kid-friendly experience. Aug. 11, 2007.

by Wendy Perrin

Remember my surprise at learning, when I was in Rhode Island last week, how child-friendly Newport's historic Gilded-Age mansions can be?   An even bigger surprise was how kid-welcoming some of the town's most sophisticated restaurants are.  The Castle Hill Inn & Resort's outdoor tables, for instance.

At Castle Hill, the kids can run around to their heart's content . . .

. . . while grownups sip sundowners with a killer view of Narragansett Bay . . .

. . . and then enjoy a gourmet dinner. (Do not try this in the Inn's indoor dining rooms.)

The Breakers, a Vanderbilt mansion, offers tours specifically for children.
Photo: The Preservation Society of Newport County

by Wendy Perrin

Who woulda thought that Newport's elegant turn-of-the-century mansions, built by the robber barons and their descendants as "summer cottages," could be child-friendly? But last week in Rhode Island I happened upon two that anyone sightseeing in New England with tykes should know about. 

The Breakers, the 70-room palazzo built by railroad tycoon Cornelius Vanderbilt II in 1895, actually has a family tour geared specifically to children.  Offered daily in summer, the tour starts at the Children's Playhouse. (Imagine having McKim, Mead and White design your kid's playhouse!) 

The Vanderbilt tots used to hang out here in the Children's Playhouse. Our tour was led by the fabulous guide Ellen Sadlier (right). Aug. 14, 2007.

Our guide must have been a kindergarten teacher in a former life. Charlie, 5, and Doug, 3, were riveted by her stories about the Vanderbilt children, and especially by the silk-carpeted grand staircase down which the kids used to slide on sterling silver trays. (Speaking of Vanderbilt progeny, a bit of trivia I learned:  Did you know that CNN's Anderson Cooper is Cornelius Vanderbilt's great-great-great-grandson?) A parent-friendly bonus: For ages 5 and under, the tour is free.

More on Newport's kid-friendliest "summer cottages," after the jump.

Last leg of the trip: stairs to the summit from the parking lot at the end of the Mt. Washington Auto Road.
Photo: Mount Washington Observatory

by Stephan Wilkinson

It claims to be the oldest man-made tourist attraction in the U.S.: the scary, hairy Mt. Washington Auto Road, a snaking two-lane track up the highest mountain in the Northeast.  (It's the third highest east of the Rockies, slightly topped only by Mt. Mitchell, in North Carolina, which is 396 feet higher, and Clingman's Dome, in Tennessee, 355 feet higher.)

The road opened to vehicle traffic exactly 146 years ago, on August 8, 1861, when horses rather than horsepower were the motive force; it was originally called the Mt. Washington Carriage Road.  It predates Coney Island's first amusement ride (1876), the decidedly non-U.S. Eiffel Tower (1887), the first Ferris Wheel (1893), and Pikes Peak's similar tourist road (1915).

Still, I'd edit the "oldest" claim to make it a little less inclusive, for certainly there are man-made artifacts -- Jefferson's Monticello, Anasazi ruins in New Mexico, and lots else older within the U.S. -- that have become tourist attractions, though obviously none were built specifically to woo travelers.  "Oldest man-made tourist attraction built as such," however, doesn't have quite the same ring, does it?  And as my cynical wife asked, "Is the tourist attraction Mt. Washington, or is it the road?"

Well, never mind, I know what the Mt. Washingtonian spinmeisters mean, and their road certainly makes for a challenging, remarkable, and spectacular side trip.  Here's why some cars deserve those classic "This Car Climbed Mt. Washington" bumper stickers:

A Hudson River scene by Louis Comfort Tiffany, from the Corning Museum of Glass. Photo courtesy of the Corning Museum of Glass.

by Stephan Wilkinson

Faithful reader MissCarmichael asks, "My husband and I and our infant son want to take a one-week road trip in July, and we live in New York City. Any suggestions?"

Absolutely!  I've spent most of my life in New York and at one time or another have driven every mile of the roads I'm going to suggest, and if you stay in the Empire State, you won't need a Connecticut passport or a Cape Cod visa, and you'll avoid at least some hysterical summer traffic.

Get out of the city as fast as possible--the New York State Thruway northbound--but ditch it as soon as you get to Harriman, and take Route 17 northwest.  (In the mood for shopping? Right there is the famous Woodbury Common designer-outlet mall, its bargains so highly regarded that Japanese tourists fly from Tokyo and take buses straight to the mall from JFK.)  Route 17 is a fun-to-drive, albeit heavily patrolled, widely divided four-lane through beautiful and lightly populated Upstate hill country.

But we've only started.  The rest of the route comes after the jump.

Acadia National Park, Maine.
Photo: Comstock Images, Alamy/Conde Nast Traveler

by Brook Wilkinson

Want to see some wilderness this summer, but without roughing it? Head up to Acadia National Park on Mount Desert Island, off the coast of Maine. I wrote a story on the area that you can read in Conde Nast Traveler's June issue -- on newsstands now -- or online. Many of you are probably like me and tend to think that the farther you travel the better the destination, but I've had some fantastic experiences without a passport, and Acadia is near the top of the list. Dense woods abruptly give way to Atlantic shoreline, carriage paths and walking trails wander every which way, and the moderate peaks make for spectacular views.

The biggest secret on the island continues to be its "Quietside," . . .

My friend Marc's wedding in Beverly, Massachusetts, Sept 17, 2006

By Wendy Perrin

Remember a couple of weekends ago I was in the Boston area to attend a friend's wedding?  (That was when I had the high-speed Internet access nightmare at the Boston Marriott Peabody.)  Been meaning to post this ever since but got too busy:

The rate for wedding guests was $129 . . . which seemed reasonable until my friend Marc, the groom, told me he'd managed, six days before the wedding, to get a rate of $54 through Priceline.

By Wendy Perrin

I loved this comment that came in during my Boston-area trip last weekend:

"Wendy: As long as you're stuck in Peabody with no Internet access, ankle on over to the Peabody Essex Museum with the kids. There is a great new wing, Moshe Safdie is the architect, and it's a very user-friendly place, bright and cheerful." 
                                                                  Betsy Shequine

Thanks for the thoughtful suggestion, Betsy. I'm afraid we didn't get to the museum, as we were too busy hitting the L.L.Bean Store in Freeport, Maine.  I'm also afraid my two- and four-year-old whirling dervishes are not quite ready for such a civilized outing.   Take a look:

Doug and Charlie attack the L.L. Bean flagship store. Sept 15, 2006

Inside the L.L. Bean Hunting & Fishing Store next door.

The boys storm the Factory Outlet. 

By Wendy Perrin

If you slogged through the saga of my fruitless efforts to get high-speed Internet access at a Boston-area Marriott last weekend, or if you've ever found yourself in the same boat, you'll want to know this: 

Just got an e-mail from tech guru David Rowell of The Travel Insider, who had the polar-opposite experience with in-room high-speed access at Marriott's Residence Inns.  "My guess is that there was a problem with the wiring in the walls up to where it terminated at the outlet in your room," he writes.  "The last time I was in a similar situation, I demanded and was given a second hotel room to save moving from the room I was all unpacked and settled in, and so I had an Internet room and a regular room."  What a great idea!  Wish I'd thought of that myself. "Not a perfect solution with kids," acknowledges David, "but I guess you could call from one room to the other and leave the phone off the hook as a sort of baby monitor."  Love it!