A winter escape in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula; are you kidding? Most Floridians happily forgo snow shoveling, driving under treacherous road conditions and freezing rain. But the fluffy white stuff often makes the right stuff for winter fun. So, I flew to Crystal Mountain Resort near Traverse City in February to frolic in the frigid air.
I laced up cross country skis and was soon gliding along peaceful trails. Snow encrusted branches hung over the frosty landscape and sunshine sparkled through the pines. I kept warm by the constant movement of my arms and legs and rationalized the effort earned me a steaming mug of hot chocolate.
In the afternoon, I thought I’d take a shot at a new sport–paintball biathlon. I’d never fired a paintball gun before, but discovered it was rather easy. What was difficult was shushing (cross country skiing) from station to station as fast as possible, then calming the heart rate enough to aim at the target. I hardly resembled the athletes in the Winter Olympics, but sure gained a new perspective and respect of their sport.
Paintball Biathlon
Crystal Mountain Resort offers numerous winter activities and I did my best to try them all. I hit the downhill slopes but the chairlift ride seemed too cold for this Southern lady. Ice skating found me with wobbly ankles and I admit, I would have preferred an indoor rink.
Then, I discovered the Crystal Spa– oh my. An outdoor whirlpool blasted my circulatory system before I indulged in a calming massage. How heavenly to relax with therapeutic touch as warm aromatic oils and stones are applied to the body. Truly decadent as was food in the restaurants.
By nightfall the slopes were illuminated, creating a mystical aura. Snow tubing looked like a hoot but I chose to watch, pretending I was a parent observing my kids. A late evening walk took me by cute rental cottages with icicles dangling from the roofs.
Dogsledding
Dogsledding? You bettcha. I became Nanook of the North being pulled by magnificent canines who howled and begged to run. Once they took off, the huskies quieted, content at doing what they love. Fortunately, the owner rode along and instructed me to lean in or out of the sled to balance it over the course.
I didn’t have time for snowmobiling or snowboarding, although they remain popular options in Michigan. Instead, I made a road trip to local wineries. Yes, they’re open in the winter and the view from the top of the Old Mission Peninsula was worth the drive — striking clear blue water in Grand Bay abutting white covered fields. Fabulous wine, too.
I reckon I can honestly recommend leaving Florida and submerging yourself in the snow– for up to a week. Then return to the Sunshine State and you’ll appreciate the glorious weather even more.
Mention a visit to Montserrat and you can expect quizzical expressions. Spanish mountain? Massachusetts college? West Indies island?
The name applies to all three, but only the Emerald Isle of the Caribbean beckons with shamrocks, sunshine and the still-smoldering Soufriere volcano. Travelers savvy enough to venture beyond neighboring Antigua, Guadeloupe or St. Kitts find a tropical throwback to another time. The British-governed territory endears itself to divers, nature lovers and villa vacationers with unspoiled reefs and a unique Irish-Caribbean culture. Montserrat’s people maintain phoenix- like hope, despite the fact that the volcano has rendered two-thirds of their island off-limits.
Outside Ireland, Montserrat is the only place to declare St. Patrick’s Day a national holiday — even passport entries come stamped in the shape of a shamrock. Celebrations honor the 17th-century Irish indentured servants who settled here after fleeing anti-Catholic violence. The festival also recalls a failed slave uprising of March 17, 1789. Resilient islanders merge all traditions and ethnicities for a week-long party.
My visit to the 39 square mile island began with a flight to Antiqua followed by a 15-minute adventure on Fly Montserrat’s 8-seat twin engine Islander plane. Upon arrival, I was given an invitation to attend a party at the Governor’s house that evening. Apparently March 16th is when the festivities begin as the honorable Peter Andrew Waterworth met me wearing an orange tee shirt emblazoned with green lettering and a plaid kilt. He carried a pewter tankard of Guinness stout, flown in from Ireland for the occasion. Dublin’s own Martin Healy band entertained with flute and fiddle until local crooner, Shaka Black commandeered the microphone.
Debi and the Governor
Back in the eighties and early nineties, music ignited this tiny (39 square miles) mountainous isle. Sir George Martin, the former Beatles producer, built AIR Studios for recording stars like Paul McCartney, Sting and Elton John. Mick Jagger flew down too, along with Dire Straits and Jimmy Buffett, who recorded his album Volcano here. Arrow, a Montserrat native, sang hot, hot, hot as reggae beats pulsed in discos and nightclubs while calypso simmered through posh villas and restaurants of brightly colored stucco.
Then, on July 18, 1995, a loud rumble, like a jet roar, swept over the tropical landscape. Longtime resident and expat Carol Osborne recalls seeing smoke rise from a green mountain–not wispy puffs but powerful columns shooting skyward. The plumes kept churning and the noise kept pounding, day and night. Plymouth, the capital, and the surrounding southern hills were emptied–no small problem given that the north end of the island had little in the way of housing or other facilities for 10,000 residents.
Finally, the Soufriere Hills volcano went back to sleep, but the temperamental toddler wasn’t through with her tantrums. She acted up again and again, spewing ash, which necessitated masks for breathing and numerous evacuations. Then she blew her top, exploding like a wild child flinging off her clothes, the verdant peak transformed into gray shale.
Today, she continues, a turbulent teen. One day she’s gentle and kind, approaching sweet sixteen; the next day, she rages. Life with teenage Souffi, as I nicknamed her, teeters on the edge, and Montserrat is still without a new capital. Its remaining 4,500 residents will never be the same.
Still, a retreat to her simple lifestyle blesses one with a laid-back escape. Rent an inflatable kayak at Scuba Montserrat and paddle around the corner to Rendezvous Bay, the only golden-hued beach. All the others glimmer with sparkly black sand and typically lie empty, except in the fall when the green and hawksbills turtles nest ashore. Woodlands Beach, which has restrooms and showers, offers views of migratory humpback whales in the spring.
Inflatable kayak
Divers plunge into the slightly warmer aquamarine Caribbean Sea (79 to 85 degrees) due to the volcano, which formed boulders, pinnacles and walls that now anchor new coral reefs. Troy Depperman at Green Monkey Dive Shop guides visitors into caves and rock formations where spotted morays, porcupine fish and octopuses hang. Deep-sea fishing benefits from the lack of cruise-ship traffic. Wahoo, bonito, shark, marlin and tasty yellowfin tuna cavort just two to three miles offshore.
Tourists, especially the eco-kind, enjoy hiking on the 14 well-marked trails established by the National Trust. At 2,437 feet, Katy Hill requires a guide, as the often-overgrown route easily leads visitors astray. The trail demands a high level of fitness and about five strenuous hours. Oriole Trail, the most frequented, provides 1,287-foot scenic outlooks and, if you’re lucky, a sighting of the endangered Montserrat Oriole. James Scriber, a former forest ranger, leads hikes and recounts local lore. With his thumb, mouth and voice, he mimics their song, luring the melodic creatures out of the bush and almost into his hand.
A boat ride to see the ruins of Plymouth, frequently called the modern-day Pompeii, is a must. Worldwide, no other destination compares with the ghostly apparition of the lost capital. I cannot forget my first sight of the now-forbidden city that stands as if Medusa turned it to stone.
Buried Capital City
Soufriere doesn’t spew lava; she heaves red-hot rocks and boulders over the dome like popcorn, along with blasting steam currents called pyroclastic flow. They travel up to 100 miles per hour, mushrooming like clouds of an atomic bomb. During Montserrat’s rainy season (usually July) gushers gather trees, rocks, ash and mud in a mixture resembling wet concrete, then flow in torrents down the ghuats (ruts) created over time. Gradually Plymouth has sunk deeper and deeper, buried in a cement stew. Sightseers cruise her shores but aren’t allowed to stop. Nonetheless, the outing engulfs the senses with dusty smells, eerie quiet and a stark vision of a once-vibrant village.
Buried House
Plymouth took a direct hit, but her suburbs on the neighboring emerald mountainside suffered, too. The lavish villas and Creole cottages paint a memorable still life in the government-quarantined exclusion zone.
Don’t miss the Montserrat Volcano Observatory, where scientists monitor the situation 24 hours a day. Watch the 3-D documentary of past eruptions to understand the volcano’s dynamic force. An eruption in February 2010, sent ash billowing 40,000 feet and carpeted the last remnants of the control tower at the former W.H. Bramble Airport. Pyroclastic flows create new land, leaving the seawater at shoreline a gorgeous luminescent turquoise and increasing the mass from 39 square miles to more like 41. But no one can use the additional property–temperatures below the ground simmer around 300 degrees.
New Land Formation
Folks have high hopes for the geo-thermal wattage in the volcano’s core. David Lea, a longtime resident and documentary videographer, said Montserrat could become “the breadbasket of power in the Caribbean.” If only the Montserratians could finance and pull off such a grand, eco-friendly project.
Passport entries come stamped in the shape of a shamrock, recalling a distinctive Irish heritage. Outside Ireland, Montserrat is the only place to declare St. Patrick’s Day a national holiday. Celebrations honor the 17th-century Irish indentured servants who settled here after fleeing anti-Catholic violence and recall a failed slave uprising of March 17, 1789. Resilient islanders merge all traditions and ethnicities for a week-long party.
St. Patrick’s Day Parade
A parade starts near Little Bay, the proposed new capital, and marches to the Village Heritage Festival, where replicas of plantation slave huts and traditional African food take center stage. Try Duckna, a paste of shredded sweet potato, coconut and spices, wrapped in elephant-ear leaves (taro) and tied with strands of banana palm. The national dish, Goat Water, reigns most popular despite its less-than-enticing name. It looks, tastes and smells like spicy gumbo with pieces of tender goat meat.
Expats and visitors from other Caribbean islands unite at the Green Monkey Bar. The Martin Healy Band from Dublin plays, while patrons quaff pints of Guinness along with mango rum punch. But…no green beer. At Soca Cabana, reggae artist and Montserrat native Shaka Black belts a soulful tune. Music once brought prosperity to this island and now it simply unites. Mother Nature bubbles up clean mountain water, breezy trade winds and planetarium-worthy stargazing. But some days she also blows ash in the air. Come see the haunting beauty and listen to her song.
Daytona may be known as the “Birthplace of Speed,” but today the city beats with intensity for thrill-seeking fanatics, adventure junkies, bikers, sun worshippers as well as racecar enthusiasts. During the late 1980’s and early 1990’s Daytona Beach earned a reputation as the Spring Break oasis of the south. These days the busty and bawdy scene has toned down, as many college coeds-gone-wild flee to Bermuda or the Caribbean islands.
Every February NASCAR fans flock to the Daytona International Speedway (1801 West International Speedway Drive) for the 57th annual Daytona 500. The day’s event pits 43 of the best stock car drivers in the world against each other in NASCAR’s biggest, richest, and most prestigious race.
Auto and motorcycle racing began on the Atlantic shores of Daytona’s hard-packed sandy beach and turned the corner onto legendary Route A-1A. The Daytona Beach Road Course holds the honor as the site of fifteen world land-speed records. In 1959, the Speedway was constructed allowing cars to move to the safer asphalt surface. The historic venue’s $20 million track repaving was completed just in time for the announcer to call the “gentlemen” to start their engines. And yes, since 1977, ladies too were called, since that was the year Janet Guthrie became the first woman to earn a starting spot.
Encompassing 180 acres and including a 29-acre lake, the speedway attracts about 250,000 spectators — their masses divided between the 165,000-seat grandstand and the infield track. On non-racing days the track offers three separate open-air tram tours through the hallowed grounds enabling a driver’s point of view of the steeply-banked course.
Richard Petty Experience
4…Feel the need for speed the Richard Petty way
Attending a race at the International Speedway is a definite bucket list item for race fans: those must-see places and events to accomplish before you die. But imagine instead, testing your own driving skills on the 2.5 mile course in a real NASCAR that roars with 600 horsepower. The Richard Petty Driving Experience puts you in the driver’s seat for the ultimate pedal to the metal thrill. Sit with a professional driver as he coaches you through a few speed controlled practice spins. Then, with hair raising goose bumps, your heart pounding and deep concentration, let it rip and zip around the 31-degree banked turns.
For those wanting a slightly tamer ride, choose the Ride-Along option and sit shotgun while the expert racer makes a 3-lap run. The high performance activity isn’t cheap (driving starts at $595) but the bragging rites remain priceless. To qualify you must be at least 18 years old, have a valid driver’s license, be proficient with a manual transmission, be able to climb through a 15″ high by 30″ wide window that sits 36″ from the ground and fit into a driving suit.
3…Get down and dirty during Bike Week and Biketoberfest
Every March, the leather and chains look hogs the limelight as the world famous Bike Week rolls into Daytona. This festival of vintage and custom bikes is a cultural blend of ages and income levels. Riders living the tattoo lifestyle buzz with hive-like activity hovering around the Harley-Davidson dealership, the Boot Hill Saloon local watering hole (310 Main Street, 386 258-9506) and, of course, the track. Concurrently, the Speedway hosts two weeks of intense motorcycle racing, supercross and dirt track competitions.
The va-vroom of exhaust pipes heralds another noisy week for Daytona during Biketoberfest (www.biketoberfest.org). This extravaganza tends to attract “rubs,” or rich urban bikers, executives, medical and legal professionals. They usually ride in small groups, visit fine restaurants and choose upscale lodging. But make no mistake, the event still garners “Easy Rider”-types and traditional leather-clad bikers.
For anyone wanting to get down and dirty, join in the action by renting a chopper and ride the 22-mile Bike Week Loop. The Chamber of Commerce sponsors this opportunity for novice bikers and show-offs to connect with Florida’s natural beauty.
2…Skydive toward DeLand
For those looking for a supreme adrenaline rush, check into Skydive Deland (1600 Flightline Blvd, DeLand, 386 738-3539, a world-class premier skydive training center located just 20 minutes from downtown. Here you soar with safety minded professionals and ‘chute yourself full of memories.
The gutsy start with ground and safety instruction, being reassured that this is going turn out fine. Then, you ascend to an altitude of approximately two miles for your tandem parachute jump. You, and the instructor strapped on your back, leap from the plane, briefly free-falling at speeds up to 120 miles per hour. The butterflies in the stomach quickly disappear as you revel in the beauty of flight. After about a minute of freefall, your instructor opens the parachute, and together you make a soft landing. To push beyond your weak knees and white knuckles and fears grants one of life’s most empowering experiences and guarantees you’ll have stories to tell the grandchildren. Be sure to hire a videographer to jump with you and record your audacious dive.
1…Yes, there’s a beach here, too
Daytona’s piece de resistance remains its 23 miles of extra wide shoreline. The “World’s Most Famous Beach” consists of sand firm enough to permit driving along designated sections. Find the original North Turn marker off Highway A1A and have lunch at Racing’s North Turn restaurant (4511 South Atlantic Avenue, Ponce Inlet, 386 322-3258 ). While waiting for your order you can peruse old beach-racing photos and memorabilia.
Bicycling enthusiasts will find the beach’s extended straightaway close to nirvana. The lack of shells affords sunbathers comfort and makes Daytona perfectly suited for beach volleyball.
Early morning walkers and runners like to bask in the sunrise as foam rolls onto the shore. But any time of day is good for a walk along the historic pier and boardwalk where you can ride the Ferris wheel and play amusement games, too. Grab a hot dog or some cotton candy and continue to stroll past the Sir Malcolm Campbell Clock tower and the 1937 Band shell which looks like a giant sandcastle. The beach scene hasn’t changed much but remains a must-do in Daytona.
