Traveling First Class on a Budget

I have always wanted to bring my nephew to Lake Placid, NY during the winter months to experience the magic that was the 1980 Olympics first hand. Finally, this year a holiday weekend without hockey games on the schedule permitted our trip down memory lane.

Travel to the North Country of New York is always dicey in the winter months, but never more so than in the middle of January. With reports of no snow and favorable weather on the horizon, we booked our trip two weeks in advance and decided it was safe to fly into Boston and make the drive from there. We took the Jet Blue redeye as it was the quickest and easiest way to fly east without layovers and wasting precious time on a short weekend. It's all about multi tasking! And a bargain at $104 each way when booking only two weeks in advance! Of course, despite all indications to the contrary, a winter storm hit the northeast as we arrived, tormenting us with freezing rain in Massachusetts up through New Hampshire and changing to beautiful heavy thick snow in Vermont.

Since we had all day to travel, we took our time and stopped at the Follansbee Inn in North Sutton, NH for a quick nap and visit with friends (see earlier posting on this wonderful B & B) and explored Montpelier, VT for a lunch time break. What a beautiful town. The old buildings, the friendly downtown area with quaint shops and mom and pop diners overwhelmed us with choices. It was the perfect location to view a slice of all that makes Vermont rustic and beautiful.

There are three separate ferries to cross Lake Champlain from the Vermont side over to New York or you can choose to drive the long way which takes you within a mile of the Canadian border but takes a lot longer. We made the mistake of not checking which ferry was running at this time of year and were disappointed to find the one from downtown Burlington, VT was closed for the season. But we were delighted to drive through the campus of University of Vermont and quaint shopping areas of Burlington in making this discovery. Since this trip was about visiting colleges as well as Lake Placid, we were checking many off our to do list.

After heading north and locating the correct ferry, we made our way across Lake Champlain in increasingly dangerous weather. The wind was ferocious and the snow was piling up on the New York side of the lake. But I am pleased to say that the ferries were still running on time and it was probably the smartest and quickest way to make this part of the journey for less than $20. See http://www.ferries.com. If we had taken the time and the weather wasn't so bad, we would have made many more "not to miss" side trips in Vermont, such as the Ben and Jerry's Factory, a tour of Simon Pearce glass factory, the Vermont Country Store and even the Middlebury college campus. Next time. Thanks to the weather, we were now running out of daylight.

Make sure to get gas and food along the route, because there aren't many choices once hitting the upstate NY side of the lake. Despite having our GPS devices, we managed to get lost on the country roads of upstate NY and almost wound up in Lake Placid a couple of days before our intended arrival. With the blizzard blowing the wind sideways and the road completely covered in snow, our journey became a bit more treacherous, but still amazingly beautiful in the farms and churches that dot the landscape that is the north country. We arrived at our intended destination, my alma mater, St. Lawrence University in Canton, NY for the SLU-Brown hockey game only to find a vacant, darkened hockey arena and empty parking lot. Turns out the blizzard tore down trees onto power lines which left the town almost completely dark. Needless to say, we were devastated after driving hours through a blizzard after taking the redeye with no sleep. But like a light shining from afar on this windswept landscape, the local University Inn (www.bestwestern.com) with its cozy bar and restaurant managed to stay open and serve us hungry travelers. It was the place to be as the remaining students from campus and coaches of the hockey teams who were in the same boat as us found the same oasis. We were warm and toasty and drinking Canadian beer with friends we had never met before. Perfect!

After a fun weekend watching St. Lawrence hockey and touring campus in sub zero temps, we headed out to Lake Placid. The storm having passed by now, we found ourselves on the same road we had gotten lost on previously and it was a beautiful drive through the mountains. What a difference sunshine and dry roads make!

We were headed to Whiteface Mountain to start our day skiing the Olympic ski hill. Without realizing it, we had put Whiteface Mountain into the GPS and it took us literally to Whiteface Mountain, as opposed to the ski area. We wondered why no one else was on the road! Finally, after hitting a road closure sign at the top of the mountain, we turned around and went the other way and quickly discovered the ski resort. It was easily accessible off the main road and there were two free parking lots right at the base of the mountain, which is a nice amenity compared to Colorado Ski Country! www.whiteface.com. We quickly found parking, got our ski clothes on and were ready to tackle the mountain despite the zero degree temps at the BASE of the mountain. We discovered that half day tickets were available despite not being advertised on the website, so waited another 15 minutes to get a substantial savings.

Here we were at a world class ski mountain on a holiday in January and it was not crowded at all. Granted the ski conditions were not ideal and the wind and freezing temps were enough to scare away all but the hardiest of skiers, but we were happily surprised to easily get in a number of runs before giving in to the freezing conditions. Knowing we had a luxury hotel room waiting for us helped spur our retreat off the mountain. Nevertheless, it was phenomenal to ski the same mountain the famous 1980 Olympians had so many years ago. One more thing off the Bucket List!

I had booked us a room at The Whiteface Lodge, a relatively new resort hotel in Lake Placid. I had discovered it in the pages of my travel magazines as one of the Leading Hotels of the World. With most of my past experiences staying in Lake Placid consisting of small old lakeside motels in college, I was anxious to see what appeared to be a world class hotel. www.thewhitefacelodge.com. I had intended to explore this hotel in the off season as I usually do for the most expensive hotels, but this was a special occasion so I was willing to pay full price. Ouch.

The Whiteface Lodge is a beautiful ski and hunting lodge situated just on the outskirts of town. There is a free shuttle into town if you do not want to drive the couple of miles into the center shopping area. The hotel is an all suite hotel and our room was a Superior Suite which was the size of a large one bedroom apartment. I have to say, the rooms were spacious and beautiful. We had a full kitchen fully stocked, a dining room, a large living room with fireplace and flat screen tv which opened onto our private patio. The king size bedroom had another flat screen tv but the bathroom was the best part of the room. It had wood paneling and a large deep jacuzzi tub with a heated floor. We had to fight over who got to take the first bath. It was heaven. Additionally, the room had a washer and dryer complete with detergent and dryer sheets. What a nice surprise. I did pay the high season rate which was just under $600 a night. However, this rate included taxes, valet, breakfast and a $50 dining or spa credit. During high season, the website won't allow you to book a single night, but a quick call to the reservations number and the agent was more than willing to book us for just the one night.

The Lodge is a very family friendly hotel with many amenities and activities for kids. The indoor/outdoor heated pool is across the park from the main lodge with an adjacent kids camp and outdoor hockey rink with free rental skates. Every night, s'mores are set out fireside after dinner. It's help yourself. Believe me, we did. Additionally, the lower level of the hotel houses a bowling alley, fitness center, spa and game room in addition to an ice cream parlor. We were so in love with our room that we did not explore much beyond the hockey rink and s'mores, but the bar and restaurant were hopping long into the night.

After soothing our aching muscles and warming up from our ski afternoon, we explored the grounds and quickly headed into town to explore before things closed. One of the only USA Hockey Olympic stores in the country was open on Main Street and was our first stop. Despite the freezing temperatures, we walked up and down Main Street looking into the cute stores and searching for a warm meal. We quickly found ourselves at the Olympic hockey rink which was miraculously open with a public free skate just ending. We were free to wander and no one stopped us.

The 1932 and 1980 hockey rinks stand next to each other and are as different as the years that they became famous. I remember the 1980 Miracle on Ice like it was yesterday and being in the Herb Brooks Ice Arena was phenomenal. For my nephew who was not alive when that USA triumph was reached but for whom it guides his hockey career, it was a dream come true. We wandered down onto the USA team bench and took pictures, pretending we were in a game. Looking out the windows to the east and right below the 1980 rink was the Speedskating Oval, the site of Eric Heiden's Olympic record breaking 5 gold medals. The oval was lit and a few lone speedskaters were doing laps. It was a beautiful sight.

After reliving all the Olympic memories we could possibly fit into one night, we headed out into the cold night air and found a wonderful bar at the Northwoods Inn to watch some playoff football. It was the one place where everyone seemed to be and quickly became a community atmosphere to enjoy our final night in the north country.

We enjoyed our luxurious hotel room long into the next morning, squeezing in every last minute before checkout. The free breakfast was in the hotel's dining room, and while it was a buffet, it was the most amazing buffet breakfast short of being in Europe. I still think about how wonderful it was with the floor to ceiling windows providing rustic lakeside views. We reluctantly checked out and headed back through town, stopping again at the speed skating oval for some final pics.

Driving through town on our way to yet another ferry, we discovered many more wonderful places to stop on our next visit, as well as the bobsled run and ski jumping hills. Just not enough time for this visit. We made good time and found the third and most southern ferry across Lake Champlain with a few minutes to spare. This ferry brought us into Vermont south of Burlington, making the trip to Boston a much quicker journey. Without the weather to hamper us and just the ski traffic at the end of a holiday weekend, we made it to Boston in record time. Our final stop as always was for a lobster dinner harborside at Legal Seafood at Longs Wharf before heading to the airport.

A quick visit with lots of driving, but a memorable one.

This year's trip to Nantucket was one of the best ever. It was the first time in early June that I have been there for an entire 5 days without a drop of rain. It was 70 degrees and beautiful the entire time!

I spent the first two days on the island by myself and because the weather was so beautiful, was forced to rent a small car on day 2 just to go exploring and head to the beaches. What a wonderful day. I tried a new rental car company this time, one of the ones from the airport. They seemed much cheaper than the one in town and they sent someone to come pick me up at my hotel and then drove me back to the airport where I signed the paperwork and took the car. I learned the hard way when I returned that because of airport taxes, it was in fact NOT cheaper and the time it took to be driven back and forth from the airport was not really worth it. So, I headed back to the old standby, Affordable Rentals, when it came to rent a Jeep the next day.

I first arrived on Memorial Day and learned a valuable lesson not to do that again! It was the end of the most popular weekend on Nantucket, the Figawi Race Weekend. While the ferry ride over to the island was captivating in passing the throngs of sailboats, I quickly realized that the island was full of young people who were now trying to get back to the Cape. I have never seen so many people on the island before. All of the ferries were full and people were camped out everywhere with their luggage. I quickly went to one of my favorite restaurants, the Brotherhood of Thieves, to relax and hide from the crowds. They were actually out of beer from the weekend. It was crazy. The ATM's were out of money and there was a lot of frustration from the weekend crowds.

One night I was desperate for a great meal and even though I was dining alone, I headed to my favorite restaurant in town, the Boarding House. It was not crowded and I was able to get a small table in the bar and had the best meal of the week, one of the classics, Steak Frites. I love that place.

By day 3, my college roommate had arrived on island and since I still had a few hours left on my rental car, we headed straight out to the Galley Restaurant at the Beach for lunch. For the first time ever, I was able to have a lovely lunch with drinks on the patio without a crowd trying to catch the sunset. It was the perfect location for lunch on the beach. Pricey, but perfect.

We rented a Jeep the next morning and headed out to Sconset. I discovered something new on this trip, thanks to my friend. She took me on the "Sconset Walk." It is a long winding trail at the top of the bluff overlooking the ocean that is open to the public. It is simply lovely. The walk takes you past the mansions and gatehouses overlooking the water and in most cases, you are actually walking across the homeowners lawn. It is a wonderful opportunity for exercise in addition to some "house hunting" and enjoyment of the day.

From Sconset, we headed out to Great Point with our Jeep and were not disappointed. Last summer, we were prohibited from getting more than 3 miles from the lighthouse due to some conservation issues, but this year, we were able to drive right up to the lighthouse and get cozy with all of the seals. It was amazing. One of the best things to do on Nantucket.

After spending the afternoon at Bartlett's Farm shopping and the brewery, we discovered my other newest favorite place on the island, Madaket Millie's. This is a super cool restaurant and bar just blocks from the beach at Madaket. The dining room and main bar are upstairs offering panoramic views of the ocean and the island famous sunsets on Madaket. The food was wonderful and the location was to die for. It will now be a usual stop of mine on my Nantucket trips.