The results are in . . .your top five places to visit in Canada
Historic cities and nature's wonders dominate in our reader survey on the top places to see in Canada and Ontario
Jim Byers
Travel Editor
The Big Nickel came up a little short. But so did Peggy's Cove and Stanley Park.
The results of our reader survey on your favourite places to visit in Canada and in Ontario didn't reveal any huge shockers, but there were a couple of surprises that might not go over so well out West.
Topping your list was Quebec City with 58 votes. Niagara Falls was next with 39 votes, followed by a big whack of places all jostling for a spot on the list.
We only asked for your top five choices in each category, but we've gone the extra kilometre here and are presenting the top 10 destinations in Ontario and the top 10 in the rest of Canada that you think folks should visit before making their final exit.
It looks as if some destinations lost out by getting separated. For instance, Stanley Park got eight votes, while Vancouver and Vancouver Island (which are clearly separate places, folks) got seven votes.
It's a little odd to see nothing west of the Rockies in the top 10. But don't worry; all it means is means Star readers can forget about getting their ticket requests approved for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. It's nothing serious, and west coasters hardly ever carry a grudge.
We seem to really like water in this country (Niagara Falls, the Bay of Fundy, Lake Louise, Lake Superior, Algonquin Park) as well as rocks and trees (Algonquin, Gatineau, Muskoka and Banff). Cities are okay, but only if they speak French or have really iconic towers (real ones, not telecommunications behemoths like Toronto's big beacon) and skating canals.
A few folks mentioned seeing Shakespeare in Stratford (how cultured), "a field of canola seed in the prairies" (how pastoral), Kensington Market (how multicultural) and even Yonge St. after a Maple Leafs playoff victory (how naïve).
Other suggestions were "all of Yonge St. from Captain John's to Rainy River" (gee, even including Mel Lastman Square?), Chez Clo in Montreal for tourtiere, "The Top of the World Highway – the back way into Dawson City via Chicken, Alaska" and, perhaps my favourite, "hitting the McDonald's in Perry (sic) Sound at 4 a.m. off the Greyhound."
Sounds like a Stompin' Tom title, doesn't it?
Anyway, thanks to everyone who contributed. And be sure to visit thestar.com/travel for our next survey. We want to find out the favourite place in the world – outside Canada – you visited in 2008 and what's on the top of your wish-list for 2009.
We also want to know if you'll be taking your normal winter vacation or pulling in the reins a bit because of the economy. Please go to thestar.com/travel and let us know where you're likely headed in 2009.
Top five Canada Destinations
1. Quebec City
2. Montreal
3. Lake Louise
4. Banff
5. Bay of Fundy
Honourable Mention: Cabot Trail, Rocky Mountains, Cape Breton, Drumheller Badlands and Royal Tyrell Museum, Peggy's Cove
Top five Ontario Destinations
1. Niagara Falls
2. Algonquin Park
3. Ottawa/Gatineau*
4. Niagara-on-the-Lake
5. Lake Superior
Honourable Mention: Killarney Park, Elora Gorge, Muskoka, Rideau Canal in winter, Thousand Islands, Ganonoque
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Natural wonders of little-known Long Point
Birders and biologists delight as migratory flocks head south
Paul Gallant
Special to the Star
LONG POINT, Ont.–What makes the area around Lake Erie's Long Point so special is all the places you're not allowed to go.
The 40-kilometre spit of sand and marshes is the heart of the UNESCO-recognized biosphere in Norfolk County.
In the last few years, the region has taken off as an eco-tourist and cottager haven, partly because the peninsula's no-public-allowed protected areas have maintained and boosted the abundant wildlife around it.
In Long Point Bay and in the surrounding area, bird-watchers, recreational fishermen and hunters co-exist with relative ease because of the tremendous biodiversity.
A bike ride away, Port Rowan provides a quaint business hub. Its artsy Festival by the Bay on the weekend of Nov. 8 and 9 offers studio tours and dozens of artsy shopping opportunities.
"I came here for a month as a teenager to volunteer at the bird observatory and I was hooked," says Jody Allair, 30, who eventually moved back to work as project biologist and outreach co-ordinator at Bird Studies Canada (BSC).
The national organization is based in Port Rowan and operates several observation stations, including one open to the public on the causeway to Long Point.
"The birding, both migratory and native, is amazing. Places like this, with so much protected area, are few and far between," Allair says.
This time of year, it's the Northern Saw-whet Owl that's got Allair excited.
The size of a beer can (and the personality of a bank president, as author William Service once said), the birds fly through the area in flocks of hundreds. BSC workers and volunteers go out on cool, clear nights, play owl calls on a stereo system, catch the owls in nets, tag them and release them. (If you want to join in, call BSC at 888-448-2473 for details.)
Visitors can see all kinds of birds, turtles, snakes and frogs along the BSC trails through the marshes at the western end of the peninsula and, until mid-October, camp right behind the dramatic wind-swept dunes of the provincial park.
But the eastern end of Long Point is protected as a national wildlife area by the federal government. Visitors are not permitted except at the very tip, where there's a lighthouse, only reachable by boat.
The area between the provincial park and the wildlife reserve, about a third of the point, is owned by the Long Point Company, a private venture shrouded in mystery.
"Most people don't know much about Long Point and the Long Point Company and I'd like to keep it that way," says Frank Reid, 73, the treasurer of the company which owns 3,240 hectares of the peninsula. His is one of the names on the "keep out" signs warning strays off the private property. (In the summer, nudists make the provincial park beach just outside the fence their unofficial home.)
Reid's father and grandfather were treasurers before him, going back to 1910. But the company's history dates all the way back to 1866, when its founders bought the whole peninsula from the federal government for $8,540, later selling the eastern end back to the feds.
The company was created out of self-interest as much as preservation. Its founding members were avid hunters who wanted to keep the marshland pristine and protected from poachers and other wrong-doers.
In the early 1800s, the Point had developed "an unenviable reputation for drunkenness, murder and debauchery of every kind," writes historian Harry Barrett.
"Gamblers and others wishing to indulge in activities ... could readily reach the Point by steamboat or sailing schooner hired from Buffalo or Erie. Few officials followed them or could prove the lawbreaking if they did."
The 20 current company members are well-off, low profile and from all over North America; in addition to Reid, they employ four people year-round to maintain the grounds and the cluster of cabins the locals like to call "millionaire's island."
Most members only visit for a couple of weeks of hunting in the fall, maintaining the philosophy that "real conservation is non-use," says Reid.
"The company's efforts to protect the area has had huge spinoffs," says Allair.
"We owe them a lot. Our breakwater station on their property gives you a sense of what Southern Ontario would be like before cities and roads. With the waves crashing and the rare trees, it has a total wild feeling."
The UNESCO biosphere designation has encouraged Norfolk County to manage its growth wisely, which is tricky, since the decline of the tobacco industry has meant rapid change to the area's economy.
"The groups in the area are cognizant that this is a natural area, we know it's not going to be destroyed," says Cindy Vanderstar, who moved to Port Rowan three years ago.
She now runs a store, a bed and breakfast (The Coach House on Lake Erie, 519-586-2832) and is president of the local chamber of commerce. "It's still a laid-back, relaxed place."
Except, maybe, during the Festival by the Bay, where local stores are busier than at Christmas.
"It's a lot of women shopping is what it is," says Norm Stobbe, whose handmade bird houses, made out of reclaimed wood and salvaged bits of metal, will be available during the festival.
Though he's not a birder himself, he's provided homes for thousands of birds, sold by his wife Colleen at her store Shear Creations (519-586-3817, 431 Brock Ave., Port Rowan).
"I'm more of a hunter. November is the best time, I think. Last year I got 30 geese and got my limit of ducks," says Stobbe.
Paul Gallant is a Toronto-based freelance writer. |
Market tumbles have a silver lining for travellers
Faltering economy means deals are available
as vendors try to cut their losses
Oct 18, 2008 04:30 AM
Peter Gorrie
Special to the Star
What's the perfect antidote to the stress of the stock market's extreme roller-coaster ride and the threat of a recession?
A vacation, of course. Preferably one that lets you put your feet up, sip a drink and absorb a pristine beach and breeze-blown palms, or watch the sparkling ocean slip by as your ship glides through gentle waves.
The bad news and turmoil might even cut the cost of that respite. Travel agents and tour operators say there will be bargains as cruise lines, resorts and hotels try to ensure a downturn doesn't leave them stuck with empty cabins and rooms.
"It's going to be a challenging year for the industry," said Cathy Keefe, of the New York-based Travel Industry Association.
The impact of the economic uncertainty is not nearly as dramatic as the immediate and abrupt decline in travel after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. But it's lurking in the wings.
Travel to the Caribbean is down 10 per cent this fall, and advance bookings to the islands and Mexico are below normal, said Brian Simpson, general manager of Travelocity.ca. Companies that offer travel packages "need to get rid of the inventory they've booked in advance."
Most cruise companies and several airlines have already cut their fuel surcharges, or say they will. But that fee, while annoying, is a relatively small part of a holiday travel budget. The big news is reduced rates.
"I've booked people for Cuba today at $700 per person for a week," said Robert Townshend, president of Total Advantage Travel and Tours Inc. Simpson, and Allison Eaton, spokesperson for Flight Centre, confirmed three-star Cuba packages are available in January for $560 plus taxes.
The big worry for travel folks is that Americans, battered by the sub-prime mortgage crisis, the credit squeeze and job losses, will stay close to home. Signs of retrenchment are evident – 66 per cent of the respondents in a recent survey for Travelocity.ca said economic concerns would affect their holiday travel plans – even though most travel industry officials insist people attempt to preserve their vacation time no matter what it takes.
"It's going to affect business," says Carolyn Condon-Burns, of Carlson-Wagonlit Travel in Peterborough.
Cruise vacations might be among the biggest bargains, because Americans typically occupy three-quarters of ships' passenger lists, and most of the industry allows cancellations without penalty up to 70 says before departure.
"Cruise lines need to fill their ships, so they'll look to other markets for passengers," Condon-Burns said. At least one is offering free airfare to Florida for the second person in a couple; another, half off the full rate for the second passenger.
"I'd say that in January, compared to 2008, we're looking at 15 to 20 per cent lower."
For those travelling to the United States, with the exception of mainstays such as Disney, deals are available even in the high season. Resorts in Florida, Arizona, Las Vegas, California and Hawaii are offering upgrades or free nights with bookings at full rates; unusual for peak times. And bi-city hotels are cutting their rates, largely to counter a decline in corporate travel.
Still, industry people advise against waiting for bigger bargains since operators increasingly offer bonuses for early bookings and many choice spots are already gone.
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A hikers haven in Beaver Valley
Hikers can revel in autumn glories of Beaver Valley along newly-opened route
Oct 16, 2008
Roberta Avery Special to the star
GREY HIGHLANDS, Ont. – The quest for the dream began with a handshake.
The dream was to link the two magnificent waterfalls of Hoggs and Eugenia and take the Bruce Trail over an optimum route identified in 1967 on the Niagara Escarpment, above the Beaver Valley.
For more than a decade, Bruce Trail members Chuck Grant and Eric Kiertinge had spent countless hours poring over maps trying to work out how the dream could be realized.
Finally, four years ago, a plan based on their efforts came together and a group of volunteers knocked on the door of a private landowner and asked permission for a section of the trail, near Flesherton, southwest of Collingwood, to cross the landowner's property.
The landowner agreed and the first handshake took place to cement the agreement and 14 different handshakes later, the Falling Water Trail has opened, just in time for the fall hiking season, when the Beaver Valley takes on a splendid mantle of fall colours.
Including loops and side trails, the Falling Water Trail stretches for 31 kilometres and offers dozens of vantage points to view the brilliant red and gold hues of the valley below.
At almost any point on the trail, the sound of rushing water can be heard.
There's the thunderous boom of the waterfall at Hoggs Falls near Flesherton and at Eugenia Falls and the pounding of the falls as it drops 30 metres.
Along the rest of the routes there's the babbling of gentle brooks and at least five more waterfalls with sounds ranging from a roar to a tinkle.
It's no wonder that this trail has received rave reviews from casual strollers and serious hikers alike.
"Collective achievement," explains Jack Morgan, the Beaver Valley club's Land Securement and Trail Development Director.
"A lot of people have worked very hard to make this happen."
But like access to much of the 1,200 kilometres of paths, which follow the Niagara Escarpment from Queenston to Tobermory to form the Bruce Trail, it wouldn't have happened without the handshake agreements with the private landowners.
"Getting permission for the trail to cross private land is always the hard part ... we depend on the generosity of private landowners who allow the trail to cross their land on a handshake agreement," says Morgan.
Not easy to achieve in these days of concerns about public liability, but remarkably 15 landowners have shaken hands on agreements that allow thousands of hikers to enjoy the Falling Water Trail and cross their properties.
Access to the balance of the route has been gained by partnering with Ontario Heritage Trust to purchase 125 hectares of prime property at a cost of $1.1-million and taking the trail through properties owned by the Grey Sauble Conservation Authority, the Ministry of Natural Resources and along unopened municipal road allowances. Having acquired the access to the optimum route, the real work began, says Morgan.
Hundreds of volunteers picked up chain saws, branch loppers and shovels and headed out into the woods to create a trail.
"We don't ever cut down trees, we take the route around them. But we do cut down dead trees or cut them up when they've fallen across the trail," says Morgan.
Where the trail crosses meadows, two volunteers dragged a giant machine that's a cross between a mower and an edge trimmer to cut a swath through the deep grass.
Where the trail crosses water, which it does a lot on this path, bridges or boardwalks were built, or giant rocks hauled in to form stepping stones, and where the trail crosses fence lines, stiles were constructed.
The most popular section of trail will likely be the seven kilometres between Hoggs and Eugenia Falls. If you are planning to hike both ways, it's best to start at Hoggs Falls and climb up toward Eugenia, so the uphill section is done first.
Roberta Avery is a freelance writer based in Meaford, Ontario.
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Your place in the sun
September 27, 2008
Click on each section to be taken to the article.
A second home doesn't always mean a cottage up north. More and more Canadians are exploring the option of buying a slice of real estate under the sun down south. Some of the options are surprisingly affordable.
Florida: Housing to fit all pocketbooks
There are bargains galore south of the border these days. Just ask a pair of snowbirds from Halton Hills who bought a house for $19,000 after discovering the Florida phenomenon of manufactured homes. And you don't even need to go to a real estate agent to buy one. (Click here)
Mexican getaway homes
At one time, buying beachfront property in Mexico was almost impossible for foreigners. But no more. Low property taxes and a low cost of living make Mexico an attractive getaway. And then, of course, there's the climate. (Click here)
Arizona: Bridge over desert waters
In the middle of the Mojave Desert sits Lake Havasu, a Mecca for swimmers, anglers and even surfers. And, if that's not enough, they have the original London Bridge. The area welcomes about 3.5 million visitors a year, many of them Canadian. And some of those Canadians like it so much, they buy property in Arizona's Lake Havasu City. (Click here)
Hidden gems in Hawaii
Alex Gray didn't look to the Toronto waterfront, up-and-coming Liberty Village or glitzy Yorkville when was in the market for a condo recently. He looked to the white sand beaches and lush tropical landscape of Maui. (Click here)
Panama: Buying a little highrise paradise
Joy Bannister bought a condo while holidaying in Panama two years ago. When she returned to Toronto, everyone told her that she was crazy. (Click here)
Gringo offers decor help
Anyone who has purchased a vacation or retirement home down south will tell you that buying is the easy part. But furnishing the place – now that's another thing altogether. (Click here)
Buying an island unto itself
Owning a private island might be the ultimate getaway fantasy. For those rich enough to indulge, there is a Toronto-based company that specializes in making that fantasy a reality. (Click here)
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10 reasons to travel ... in October
Sep 27, 2008 04:30 AM
1. Music in Amalfi
Amid the beauty of Italy's Amalfi coast, the curtain opens for choir music from all over the world. Cantus Angeli is the festival of music, art and culture. Oct. 22 to 26.
http://www.cantusangeli.com
2. Slow Food in Turin
The Salone Internazionale del Gusto is a food market and meeting place in Turin, Italy, where gastronomy meets ethical and social awareness. Oct. 23 to 27.
http://www.salonedelgusto.com
3. Ghostly Events
Salem, the picturesque town north
of Boston and site of the infamous Witch Trials of 1692, hosts the ultimate Halloween extravaganza. Haunted Happenings transforms
the historic seaport into a ghostly hotbed every day during October.
http://www.hauntedhappenings.org
4. Turkish Sailing Delight
Turkey has more than 8,000 kilometres of coastline, 127 blue-flag beaches, and twelve blue-flag marinas. The Bodrum Cup Sailing Regatta (Oct. 22 to 26) has become as much a cultural event as the place to see and be seen each fall on the stylish Turkish Riviera. http://www.bodrumcup.com
5. Treasures of Byzantium
Opening Oct. 25 at London's Royal Academy of Arts, Byzantium 330-1452 will highlight the splendours of the Byzantine Empire with some 300 objects including icons, wall paintings, micro-mosaics and precious metalwork.
http://www.royalacademy.org.uk
6. Joburg Pride
Some 30,000 spectators and participants are expected to be on hand Oct. 4 for Pride March, the original and largest of South Africa's Pride celebrations.
http://www.joburgpride.org
7. Pottery on Parade
The new enlarged Wedgewood
Museum opens Oct. 1 at Barlaston, in the heart of England. Thousands of priceless archives and rarities chart the full history of one of the world's best-known pottery manufacturers.
8. Drumheller Boo Tour
The Atlas Coal Mine National Historic Site, outside Drumheller, Alta., is haunted. On Oct. 24, 25 and 31 you can take a tour – if you dare. Not recommended for the faint of heart or anyone under nine. http://www.atlascoalmine.ab.ca
9. Houston Quilts
From Oct. 30 to Nov. 2, the "World's Fair of Quilts" takes over Houston's George Brown Convention Center. It's the world's largest quilt show, sale and quilt-making academy. http://www.quilts.com
10. Polar Bears in Churchill
Churchill, Man. is the polar bear capital of the world and October is the month to see these magnificent animals in their natural habitat.
www.destinationchurchill.com
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Meaford Winery's
the apple of their eye
Coffin Ridge forerunner of emerging wine region around Georgian Bay
Jul 03, 2008
Roberta Avery
Special to the Star
MEAFORD, Ont. – In a community that's as down home as apple pie, it's a surprise to drive down a gravel road and trip across a chic new winery with all the sophistication of a California vineyard.
Meaford may be the apple capital of Ontario, but it's considered the "outer limits" of the Ontario Vintner Quality Alliance's designated wine regions. Yet, after successfully experimenting with some hardy varieties of grapes, Neil and Gwen Lamont opened Coffin Ridge winery here in early June.
The building itself has sleek lines emphasized by black and blood-red trim. Inside, the tasting room oozes sophistication – even in the bathroom where the black-and-red theme continues.
The name is equally dramatic. Legend has it that more than 100 years ago, pioneer pallbearers crossing the ridge dropped a coffin and the corpse rolled toward what is now the vineyard.
Gwen Lamont, a former psychotherapist with a knack for spotting a marketing opportunity, tied in the Coffin name with California winemaker Robert Mondavi's theory that winemaking breathes life into harvested grapes.
"The grapes die a natural death when they are picked and turning them into wine brings them back from the dead," says Gwen Lamont.
So, naturally, Coffin Ridge's signature wines go by the names Back from the Dead Red, Into the Light White and Resurrection Rose.
"Do you think the names are okay?" Gwen Lamont asks a group of ladies enjoying a glass of wine on the patio overlooking the blue waters of Georgian Bay.
"Perfect. I'll take a bottle of Back from the Dead Red next time I visit friends I haven't seen in years," says Jean Compton of Mississauga.
Coffin Ridge sells a glass of wine for $5 to $7 and, for $15, offers a vintner's plate – enough for two to share – pairing the wines with local artisan cheeses and breads.
Wine is also available by the bottle, but with an inventory of only 500 cases for the first year, Lamont fears they may run out before they close for the season in October.
"The response has been amazing," she says.
So far, about half of the 10-hectare vineyard has been planted, with geizenheim and frontenac. Winemaker Terry Rayner experimented to perfect the wine made from the hardy grapes brought in from Quebec and Ohio.
"You have to do things a little differently this far north," says Rayner.
The result has wine connoisseurs identifying Coffin Ridge as a winery to watch.
Coffin Ridge's 2007 riesling sur-lie is "bound to win many awards," says food and wine author Shari Darling. "This is one of the most unique, complex and interesting Ontario rieslings I've ever tasted."
While Coffin Ridge is the Southern Georgian Bay region's first winery to open to the public, others are also working hard to establish the area as a new wine region.
Third-generation apple grower John Ardiel has been growing grapes in the Town of the Blue Mountains since 1998. Ardiel has teamed with Collingwood wine marketer Robert Ketchin and sixth generation Niagara wine maker Murray Puddicombe and their Georgian Hills Vineyards is already producing wine that is available at local restaurants including Oliver & Bonacini at Blue Mountain and Collingwood's Café Chartreuse.
Georgian Hills plans to open a winery in 2010, but private tastings are currently available upon request, says Ketchin.
Tim Dixon, of Miami, Fla., owns land on the Bruce Peninsula which he hopes to turn into a vineyard so he contacted the Lamonts and offered to fly up to help with this year's planting.
"My property isn't much farther north than this, so it's very encouraging to see grape vines do so well here," he says as he plants in the Coffin Ridge vineyard.
Darling is enthusiastic about Coffin Ridge's location.
"Take a deep breath and count your blessings that we have such a lovely winery to visit in northern Ontario's cottage country," she says.
Robert Avery is a Meaford-based freelance writer.
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Motor City Magic
Detroit has taken some hits over the years, but it always seems to bounce back, thanks to its creative spirit and proud people
May 03, 2008 04:30 AM
Denise Balkissoon
Special to the Star
DETROIT, MICH.–Everybody in this storied border town has an opinion and a fierce local pride that they feel compelled to share.
It starts early on. As my cohort and I enter the U.S., a chatty customs agent regales us for a good 15 minutes on the techno talents of local musical legend Derrick May. A taxi driver insists we tour Boston Edison, the posh neighbourhood famous for Henry Ford's Motor City mansion.
A bartender at the fantastic Slow's BBQ restaurant tells us about Handmade Detroit, an up-and-coming arts and crafts collective.
And at Pronto, one of the city's oldest gay bars, a well-dressed young man named Darryl shares his tidy opinions on architecture: "The most beautiful houses are in Indian Village."
Yes, the brutal hand of history has left Detroit's formerly glamorous city centre bereft of the human energy needed to fill its imposing skyscrapers.
That doesn't override the city's equally imposing artistic and industrial accomplishments – of which we remind ourselves by rattling off its nicknames.
There's Motor City, of course: and this summer, Detroit is beefing up its auto-themed events to celebrate both the 100th anniversary of the founding of General Motors and the 100th anniversary of Henry Ford selling his first Model T.
There's "Detroit Rock City," thanks to bands like The Von Bondies and The White Stripes, and Motown for a playlist stocked with Marvin Gaye, the Jackson Five, Stevie Wonder and The Supremes.
It seems like every time Detroit has taken a hit, it surges impossibly back, and this cycle lends itself to colourful retelling by a population that is both gregarious and prideful.
Our best local guide is Bill Cooper, who has so many anecdotes and statistics on the tip of his tongue, we dub him Mr. Detroit. (FYI, Michigan residents use their hand to show what part of the state they're from. Ask someone and see).
He brings us to Cliff's Bells, a breathtaking art deco bar re-opened three years ago.
One of Cooper's favourite spots to spend an afternoon is the eight-year-old, 41,000-seat baseball stadium Comerica Park, which he considers an analogy for the city.
"It's beautiful and flawed," he says. "We spent $300 million on a ballpark that opened with a scoreboard so far to the left no one could read it."
But in extolling the park's virtues, Cooper offers up a Norman Rockwell painting: The stadium has a midway with a Ferris wheel and a merry-go-round, plus fireworks every weekend. Sunday afternoons, kids can get their faces painted free, then can run the basepaths after the game.
Mike Ilitch, owner of the Little Caesars Pizza empire and both the Tiger and the Red Wings hockey team, is another local with a surfeit of hometown pride that he's shown off in the 80-year-old Fox Theatre, which he restored to a heart-stopping level of ornate splendour after it, too, spent decades abandoned and picked over.
Treated as a hero in the city, Ilitch has made Tigers games a Michigan must-do, bringing out three million spectators to Comerica Park in 2007 alone.
Of course, it doesn't hurt that baseball is a local obsession – or, as Cooper puts it, "The Tigers and Detroit are one and the same."
He tells us how the Detroit Tigers mended a patch in the fabric of a city torn apart by racial strife. After the brutal race riots of 1967, white residents took off for the suburbs, while blacks were trapped in a hollowed-out downtown. The down-and-out stretch along 8 Mile (Eminem's `hood) gained national notoriety as the dividing line.
"Fast forward to 1968," he says. "The Tigers won the World Series and unified the city." Cooper wasn't even born yet but considers that World Series win his own.
The design of Detroit's city centre is a tribute to the wheels of the cars that once afforded it so much Roaring '20s dazzle – streets like Woodward Ave., Michigan Ave. and Cadillac Square radiate out like spokes, proffering gorgeous Renaissance buildings to the gods of commerce and industry.
Of course, many of those buildings have been underused for decades. Which makes them especially interesting to those fascinated by beautiful decay: The 79-year-old Leland Hotel has soaring ceilings, a ballroom with ornate crown moulding and a fireplace offset by massive chandeliers.
It also has buckets to catch leaks and tragically water-stained wallpaper. It gives off a faded grandeur reminiscent of Havana, Cuba.
Those who prefer their treasures shiny will be happy to know that Comerica seems to have got the urban renewal ball rolling. Another newly polished spot is Campus Martius park, a green patch in the centre of the wheel's spokes that's well traversed by baseball fans in search of that sloppy, chili-laden postgame treat, the Coney Dog at the Coney Island diner.
One of the city's greatest architectural treasures, the Book Cadillac hotel is undergoing an ambitious, $180-million-conversion into a luxury Westin.
The playboy Book brothers who owned the Cadillac lost it during the Great Depression, and it changed hands countless times, growing more and more decrepit until its shuttering in the mid-80s. Like so many of the city's landmarks, it spent decades being broken into and picked over, much of its gorgeous marble and stonework now part of locals' personal artifact collection.
So why reopen it now? The answer is baseball. John Ferchill, the brain behind the Westin project, made his name building luxury hotels in formerly deadbeat strips of Cleveland and Pittsburgh.
"We noticed that new ballparks dramatically changed a city's demographics," says Ferchill. "In Cleveland, it created a whole generation of people, of kids, who are downtown all of the time."
And there's hope that just might happen here. Most of the 67 condominiums slated for the Cadillac's top floors have been sold, including a three-level penthouse with a 30th-floor balcony looking out over the Detroit river.
Other revamped architectural wonders have been remade into art galleries. The splendid, massive, Beaux Arts space known as the Detroit Institute of Arts is the country's fifth-largest museum: a Diego Rivera mural celebrating the city's factories is one of the most important 20th century works in the United States. Just down the street is a former car showroom that's now the hip Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit.
"Artists have always been outsiders who like to colonize areas that aren't popular," says the MOCAD's director, Marsha Miro. "Detroit is really on the fringe, nothing is perfectly packaged, it isn't over. That cultivates a lot of artistic energy."
Just about every Detroit bar has adorned its walls with local photos and paintings and, in my humble opinion, a lot of it is really good.
Of course, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Denise Balkissoon is a freelance writer based in Toronto.
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Israel's unexpected treasures
Country prepares to celebrate 60 years of nationhood with a focus on the `new' behind the headlines
Apr 19, 2008 04:30 AM
Caroline Mallan
special to the star
Judean Desert, Israel – Here are just a few phrases that you never thought you'd hear yourself say:
"The off-roading in the Judean Desert is breathtaking" or "I tried a lovely cabernet-merlot on a recent wine-tasting in Israel," or "The bird-watching safari I went on is a marvel of eco-tourism."
As this country prepares to celebrate 60 years of nationhood next month, amid 4,000 years of history, Israel is more eager than ever to put on a fresh face for the world and offer travellers a dose of the unexpected.
It's not an easy job in a country where political battles continue to dominate headlines and where tourism is so intricately linked to a rich religious heritage.
Nonetheless, this tiny nation's less obvious attractions are putting themselves out there, extending a warm welcome and encouraging visitors to explore the "new" Israel.
Desert off-roading
The Pink Floyd blasting from Gil Shkedi's Land Rover suits both the man and his surroundings perfectly, mixing a taste for adventure with a decidedly laid-back vibe.
Shkedi was a pioneer in turning the harsh yet striking environment of Israel's Judean Desert into a tourist attraction. He first launched his desert jeep tours 15 years ago and now boasts three Land Rovers, a hostel-style tented campsite on the southern tip of Israel's famed Dead Sea and excursions that range from two hours to several days and include camping under the desert stars.
The powdery layer of dust covering every inch of the jeep and the salty taste in the air as we climb into the back is a sign of what lies ahead.
Taking a hard – very hard – left off the comfort of the highway that runs alongside the Dead Sea, we are plunged onto a swath of dry seabed.
After bumping along the salt-crusted shore a short while, we veer back across the highway and then enter the labyrinth of wadi (Arabic for dry river beds) that lead to the fabled Mount Sodom, an 11-kilometre stretch of hills made up almost completely of salt.
Star among the eerie salt peaks is the 230-metre-high "Lot's wife formation," a biblical reference to the woman who disobeyed God by turning to look back as she fled Sodom and was turned into a pillar of salt.
A haven for rappelling, hiking and biking, the region has well-marked trails and hosts a mountain-bike challenge every November that draws enthusiasts from around the world.
Rappelling inside the dark, cold caverns of Mount Sodom was halted after the number of visitors getting lost or injured became too much for the local mountain rescue volunteer unit, of which Shkedi is a member.
"You have to respect the desert, you have to take your water, you have to prepare yourself and yet, still, some people will cross the limits."
Scaling a fortress
Anyone who watches the History Channel will know the story of Masada, the tragic tale of how 960 Jews chose death by their own hands over slavery after a long siege by Roman conquerors in 73 A.D.
The 450 metre-high mountaintop fortress of King Herod, where the Jewish zealots resisted the Romans, is considered the best-preserved example of a Roman siege camp.
While already a popular tourist stop on the Dead Sea, Masada opened a new museum last year at the base of the fortress that puts the battle and subsequent archeological finds into perspective using life-sized statues and settings that invite the visitor to be part of life in Masada.
The exhibit concludes with a moving statue of Yigael Yadin, the famed archeologist who led the teams of thousands of young volunteers who excavated the site in the 1960s.
He is pictured hunched over his desk drawing his clues from ancient writings of Jewish struggle by Josephus. The three-minute cable car ride, or one-hour hike to the top via the Snake Path, is worth it, if only just for the sweeping views of the Judean desert and the Dead Sea.
Wine for a new age
The history of Galil Mountain winery sounds like a joke. What do you get when you mix an Israeli kibbutz looking for a new business venture with a winemaker trying to bolster the reputation of Israel's wine industry?
The punch line is an amusing little wine known as Galil Mountain Yiron, which has been putting grins on the faces of wine critics ever since it was first bottled back in 2000.
The winery's most acclaimed creation is a kosher blend of cabernet, merlot and syrah grapes, but Galil's Carmit Ehrenreich says it's about more than accolades and awards.
"We want to sell wines, but we want to sell Israel too," she says of the venture that borrowed from the established winemakers of Golan Heights Winery in partnership with the local Yiron Kibbutz.
Nestled high in the picturesque hills above the Sea of Galilee, Galil Mountain is just steps from the border with Lebanon and was a grape-growing area 1,000 years ago.
The new, young vines growing on hills steeped in so much history is just one of the motivations that drive the winemakers of Galil, says Ehrenreich.
Dispelling the myth that Israeli wines are sweet, unsophisticated concoctions only to be brought out for religious holidays is another key aim.
"We have so much to offer and we are very eager to grow," she says of the plans to establish a food, wine and music festival along with some of the smaller, boutique wineries already operating in the area.
Fine dining for high flyers
We are roaming around one of the world's best restaurants – in a golf cart.
Nir Aspis tells us that if only we were migratory birds, we would be feasting in the equivalent of a Michelin-star establishment.
"Up to 500,000 birds stop in Israel twice a year," he explains of the migratory patterns of 400 species of birds that make the long journey from countries such as Finland and Russia to northern Africa every fall before returning home again each spring.
"For them, the Hula valley is like coming to a very good restaurant," he says.
"For some, we are also a good motel for a few days."
The Agamon Hula Lake Ornithological Park, which lies in northwestern Israel on the edge of the Golan Heights near the border with Syria is viewed as a world leader in accommodating the needs of migratory birds, their natural predators and even local farmers while providing a unique attraction for visitors.
"We are not a nature reserve, this is a working farming area," Aspis stresses of the eco-tourism venture which has been open to visitors for four years.
Visitors can choose from golf carts, bicycles, pedal-powered carts, a guided mini-train or even a camouflaged trolley that lets you get up close and personal with thousands of visiting cranes. You are also free to roam on foot.
We are visiting Agamon at a special time for bird-watchers. In anticipation of the Beijing Olympics, each country was asked to submit information on their national bird.
"We didn't have one," Aspis tells us of the dilemma that prompted an ongoing national competition for Israel's official bird.
Among the contenders is the spur-winged plover, which Aspis points out and says he thinks might just win the contest, to be announced as part of Israel's anniversary celebrations in May.
"The spur is a bit like the people, a bit aggressive, a bit loud and looks like it's ready to protect itself," Nir laughs as he points out the bird's wing shape. It appears to be armed.
Caroline Mallan is a London-based freelance writer. Her visit to Israel was subsidized by the Israeli Ministry of Tourism.
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Just the facts
May 8 is the official date of Israel's 60th anniversary and there are events planned throughout the year. See www.goisrael.ca
For information on Agamon Hula Lake Ornithological Park, including what birds you can expect to see at different times of the year, go to www.agamon-hula.co.il
Jeep tours and trekking in the Judean Desert can be found at www.shkedig.com
Masada National Park visitors information can be found Here
Galil Winery visits can be arranged via their website at www.galilmountain.co.il
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Ontario golf courses
Click on the map links to find golf courses by geographic area or type. Click the markers on the map to read more about the golf course and get directions.
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The Bogeyman's Top 10
Boldly going where few golfers have gone before - to the GTA, Muskoka and beyond!
Apr 10, 2008 12:05 AM
Bob Marshall
Whenever your most pleasurable games and memorable courses are crammed into a couple of weeks, it almost seems uncivil.
After attending The President's Cup at Royal Montreal, immediately followed by the seductive scenery of Mt. Tremblant's Le Geant and Ontario's Muskoka Bay, it was a golfer's dream vacation.
Yet my biggest thrill last year was playing Canada's most northerly - and westerly - golf course up at Dawson City in the Yukon, a gorgeous wilderness course with real live grass and just one live golfer.
Ordinarily, you'd stop there and be done with it. But these days, I feel compelled to forge on and seek the most easterly and southerly clubs of Canada and add them to my resume of trifles. Luckily, my loyal cadre of spies still keeps me informed about course conditions around the GTA and I'm always intrigued by new clubs and changes in the old standbys.
Incidentally, during my two years of glorious retirement, I golfed every day with my loyal band of brothers - Bob, Rod, Bill and Ziggy - still managing a single digit handicap, although I've been playing for so long, it's in Roman numerals. Just maybe I'm slowing down a bit, too.
The other day, a little old lady tapped me on the shoulder at the seventh tee and asked if she could play through. But now it's time for a Captain Kirk shot - one that goes where no man has gone before - my
picks for the birdies and bogeys, and top 10s of 2007.
TOP 10: GTA PUBLIC COURSES
1. Bond Head North
2. Eagles Nest
3. Copper Creek
4. Wooden Sticks
5. Glen Abbey
6. Lionhead Legends
7. Angus Glen South
8. Woodington Lake
9. Osprey Valley
10.Royal Ontario
TOP 10 BEYOND THE GTA COURSES
1. Muskoka Bay
2. Taboo
3. Black Bear Ridge
4. Deerhurst Highlands
5. Legends on the Niagara
6. LochNess Links
7. Tangle Creek
8. Copetown Woods
9. Timber Ridge
10.Atoka (Cranberry Resort)
FROM THE 19TH HOLE
Top executive course: Innisbrook
Toughest tee time: Twenty Valley
Best senior value: Coral Creek
Longest hole: Black Bear Ridge's 11th, 690 yards
Best greens: Deerfield
Top waste bunkers: Copetown Woods
Scruffulous driving range: Le Geant
Friendliest staff: Royal Ontario
Most unique 150 yard markers: Dawson City's dredge buckets
Most hair-pulling short par 4: Royal Ontario's 14th, 239 yards
Quirkiest hole: Lakeview's 12th
Best bar view: Peninsula Lakes
Classiest clubhouse and art gallery: Bond Head
Trickiest green: Wildwind's 3rd
Yummiest chili: Bond Head
Longest driveway: Muskoka Bay's mile
Worth bootlicking to play: 18th Le Geant; 9th Muskoka Bay
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New view of the Grand Canyon
A different take on the natural beauty of the Grand Canyon
Apr 12, 2008 04:30 AM
Dan Leeth
Special to the Star
GRAND CANYON, ARIZ.–A canyon wren greets the dawn, its call a descending scale of flute-like notes. Eyes open to the sight of distant palisades blushing in the morning sun. Here at the canyon bottom, a kilometre below the rim, shadows linger well into the morning.
One by one, campers crawl from sleeping bags, grab mugs and head toward the aroma of coffee and pancakes. Beside them flows the Colorado River, a football-field-wide channel of muddy-brown liquid. The nearby current mildly laps the bank, but a quarter-mile downstream, the ominous roar of rapids reverberates from riverside cliffs.
Stunning confines, tasty cuisine and the promise of coming cataracts – another day begins in the depths of Arizona's Grand Canyon.
Every year, more than four million tourists stand at the canyon's edge and gape at its cliffs and chasms, shapes, shades and shadows. A mere 25,000 gaze back annually from below.
Instead of expansive grandeur, folks at the bottom experience a corridor filled with intimate colours, textures, sights, sounds and smells.
Riverside landforms vary from sheer cliffs to tumbling slopes and skirted terraces. Surprises abound. Springs gush from cliffside caves, waterfalls tumble over desert bluffs and tributary canyon slots lead to emerald grottos.
Willows and tamarisks shade sandy benches. Coyotes, deer, and desert bighorn roam streamside flats. Other than a pair of foot bridges near Phantom Ranch, the only marks of humankind are historic.
"There are not many places in North America where you can go for 18 days on a river trip and not go through communities," observes part-time river guide Matt Claman. "This is a very long stretch of uninterrupted river travel that also happens to have a lot of whitewater."
The Grand Canyon offers over 150 named rapids. They range in scale from wavy churners to frothing maelstroms sporting waves higher than houses and holes that could swallow a Hummer. Bounding, bouncing and bashing through one of these can be a puckering endeavour.
Most river trippers hurdle through the canyon's cataracts on pontoon rafts powered by pistons. The rigs stretch around 10 metres in length and can hold 15 or more people plus guides. Gear, food, fuel, spare engine and generally enough adult beverages to open a streamside speakeasy get strapped on top.
These floating motor coaches travel at around 13 km/h, giving gas-powered trips the advantage of speed. Passengers can traverse the length of the canyon in six days, with optional seven- and eight-day journeys available to those wanting more time for side-canyon exploration.
Motor rigs plough through whitewater, treating passengers to an amusement park-like, drenching ride. Riders, especially those near the bow, feel the thrill as waves of water pour over them. Because of their power and size, motor rafts seldom flip.
Motorized trips have their disadvantages. Thjere's the din of engine noise, and those sitting near the back smell the exhaust. Guide interaction is limited. Scenery passes quickly and the shortness of the trips and size of the groups make it difficult to get to know fellow passengers.
"People go back to their cliques and families," observes Ryan Zimmer of Wilderness River Adventures. "You have a few people who mingle, but not many."
Then there's the speed itself. Some think that even eight days in the bottom of the canyon is not enough time. For them, commercial outfitters offer longer, muscle-powered alternatives.
The most common go-slow options employ oar-powered, inflatable rafts.
Floating at half the speed of piston-powered rigs, a full-canyon oar journey takes a dozen days or more. The unhurried pace allows more time for absorbing the majesty of the canyon. Vacations become experiences.
"You get people who come down here for 16 to 18 days and it's a completely different experience," says guide Bill Bruchak. "They become part of the place and end up taking it with them. That's what boatmen call `getting it.'"
If motor rigs are the river's busses, these are its minivans. The rafts carry four to six passengers each plus an oarsman. Chummy seating and lack of engine noise gives guides the opportunity to share natural history, human history and a few tall tales from their own canyon history.
Their smaller size and lower-slung seating make oar-powered rafts feel more exciting in heavy whitewater. Although it happens infrequently, they will flip more easily than their motorized brethren. Fortunately, they are far easier to turn back, sunny-side up.
For those who think that watching a guide do the work is too sedentary, a number of companies offer paddle rafts. Passengers wielding plastic paddles provide the locomotion while guides bark instructions. Success in the whitewater depends on strength and teamwork.
Of course, paddle rafting is not for the unfit. With 364 kilometres to cover, upper body muscles get a Bengay-worthy workout.
Paddling a rapid can be exciting but when it comes to whitewater, few rides compare to those provided by dories. Invented in the 1960s, these wood and fibreglass vessels carry four passengers and an oarsman. They are broad on the bottom and feature upturned ends with pointed bows and sterns. Costly, colourful and classic, dories are the sports cars of commercial river running.
They are also somewhat rare. Of the canyon's 16 outfitters, only two (Grand Canyon Dories and Grand Canyon Expeditions) offer dory trips.
The most manoeuvreable commercial craft on the river, a dory's hard sides, sharp bow and rocker-shaped hull allow it to carve its way through a rapid like a Ferrari twisting down a race track. Guides carefully plot routes. Unlike rubber rafts that bounce off boulders, when a dory smacks a rock, holes can result. Most are easily patched with fibreglass and epoxy.
Dories are also the most prone to tipping, and the easiest to right. To help keep the boats from going bottoms-up, passengers learn to lean into waves. After a rapid, they bail out the boat.
The fun of a run can be measured by the inches of liquid sloshing in the foot wells.
Grand Canyon float trips are not for everyone. Nights are spent camping on sandy benches. Shelter comes in two-person tents, which you erect yourself.. Mattresses are foam pads, and bedding is a sleeping bag.
The bathroom consists of a military-surplus ammo can topped with a toilet seat, and the only bathing facility is the 7C river. There are bugs, bats, snakes, scorpions, rodents and the occasional skunk to contend with, along with ample blasts of wind, rain and heat.
Cell phones don't work at the bottom of the canyon, and there's no TV, WiFi, Internet, or even electricity to recharge an iPod. In the world of interconnectivity, it's a disengaging getaway.
On the other hand, most commercial trips provide guide-cooked dining with menus featuring fresh foods through trips' end. Experienced river runners share knowledge, stories and song.
Hikes lead to waterfalls and pools nearly impossible to reach by any other means. Sunsets paint the sky pink, and starlit nights are simply stellar.
Best of all, the river provides an ideal venue for testing limits, challenging fear or just contemplating the meaning of life.
"The greatest thing for me being down here is just seeing how it affects different people," says Wilderness River Adventures guide Paul "Okie" Jones, "and trying to see how it has affected me."
Whether motor or muscle-powered, the experience is not soon forgotten.
Dan Leeth is a freelance writer based in Aurora, Colo.
Just the facts
When: Spring weather may be unstable and temperatures can range from pleasantly warm to downright cold. The river is most crowded in summer, with groups adjoining camps. Days can be scorching. Late summer-early fall brings cooler temperatures and generally more stable weather.
Outfitters: A list of the 16 companies licensed to operate in the Grand Canyon may be obtained from the Contact Grand Canyon National Park or the Grand Canyon River Outfitters Association. Full-canyon trips range from six to 18 days and cost $2,000 to $5,000 U.S. or more.
Outfitters generally provide camping gear and dry bags free or at a nominal rental fee. Most companies offer half-canyon trips of 3 to 5 days with a takeout or put-in at Phantom Ranch, at the bottom of the Inner Gorge. The only option to hiking is to arrange for mule transport.
Shorter trips: Colorado River Discovery offers half- and full-day trips down the river from Glen Canyon Dam to Lees Ferry. Prices run $70-145.
At the western end of the canyon, the Hualapai tribe (www.destinationgrandcanyon.com/runners.html) offers one-day, white-water float trips downstream from Diamond Creek. Cost is $249 plus a $79 transportation fee.
Information: To learn more about the Grand Canyon, contact the National Park Service or the Grand Canyon River Outfitters Association.
For more visiting the Grand Canyon State, contact the Arizona Office of Tourism.
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Victoria's grande dame still charms
guests with
a sumptuous serving
of treats, tea and tradition
Mar 29, 2008 04:30 AM
Jeremy Ferguson
Special to the Star
Victoria, B.C.– What grande dame Canadian hotel was designed by a man who'd later be murdered, played host to a wild cougar, charges $60 for afternoon tea and is celebrating 100 years in the business?
It's Victoria's Empress Hotel, which opened its portals in 1908 – the year Henry Ford produced his first Model T, the first-ever Mother's Day was celebrated and Anne of Green Gables was published.
The stately Edwardian pile was designed by Francis Rattenbury, who had also designed the nearby B.C. Legislature.
To this day, the two define the city's British sensibility and colonial charm.
Rattenbury later returned to his native England and was bumped off by his chauffeur, who was having an affair with Mrs. Rattenbury.
A century later, the hotel – now branded as the Fairmont Empress – remains a Canadian classic. Travel magazines perennially list it as one of the world's great hotels.
The hotel looks back at a who's who of royals, politicians and movie stars. Shirley Temple stayed, allegedly hiding out from kidnappers. Bob Hope joked about using the corridors as a putting green. Barbra Streisand was turned away from Afternoon Tea for running afoul of the dress code. Rita Hayworth, John Wayne and Lassie – yes, Lassie – slept in the Vice Regal Suite.
The only celebrity ejected for bad behaviour was actor Peter Lawford, charter member of Frank Sinatra's Rat Pack, who'd gone overboard attempting to seduce a room-service girl.
But no guest was more stellar than the 60-kilogram cougar that dropped in back in March 1992.
The story that the cat sauntered into the lobby and gave the desk manager a new white hairdo is just a rumour. In fact, the feline was found in the hotel's indoor parking lot. It was pursued by a hotel employee who insulted it by mistaking it for a dog. Finally, it was tranquilized and packed off to a new home in the Cowichon Valley.
This Centennial year, the Empress has a portfolio of treats for guests who walk through its imposing portals. They range from a bargain accommodation package to a new souvenir book.
In the baronial opulence of the Empress Room, the menu spins through time to offer the gastro-hits of 1908 – the likes of tournedos Rossini and baked Alaska – only lightened up in the contemporary mode.
Much of the Centennial fuss has to do with the Tea Room. It's been fastidiously refurbished.
"We spent $175,000 replacing the white oak floor," says general manager Roger Soane. "We finished it to look as if it'd been around since the beginning. It looks so much like the original, people can't tell the difference."
Afternoon Tea goes back the full hundred years.
"It's what we're known for," explains Soane. "It's not about what you get. It's about the experience. Like being in Singapore and going to Raffles for a Singapore Sling. It's not breakfast, lunch or dinner. It's purely for pleasure. It's about good friends and decadent food. There's no rush, no worry, just an abiding sense of tradition."
The hotel sells more than 115,000 teas every year. That's a cool minimum revenue of $6.9 million.
Tourists can't seem to go home without it. Cruise ship passengers practically storm the room.
"Afternoon" tea is often served at 9:30 p.m.
But what do you get for $60? You're seated in an early 20th century room that's cozy and formal at the same time. There's Royal Doulton china, a silver tea service and a piano player.
The slate of teas comes attuned to a time when everyone's a tea connoisseur. The Centennial tea, for instance, blends leaves from Assam in northeast India for a predominantly malty flavour, Sri Lanka for fruitiness and Kenya for floral aroma.
The food platter is a triple-tier of dainty sandwiches, scones and pastries.
"Americans start at the bottom and work their way up to the pastries," says Ray, a veteran server. "The Queen works her down from the desserts to the sandwiches. Canadians start in the middle."
The smoked-salmon-and cream-cheese sandwich beats its cucumber counterpart. The scones demonstrate why the recipe hasn't changed in 100 years. Among the desserts, the tart cherry coated in chocolate is a decided winner. Included is a glass of Stellar's Jay, the award-winning bubbly from Sumac Ridge in the Okanagan Valley.
The pot thickens with the Centennial Tea to be served Fridays from May to October in the Library. The tab jumps to $100.
"It'll be like tea in a Victorian home," says Soane. "There'll be a harpist. The tea sommelier will be working with the best. The food will be upgraded to include items such as lobster and caviar. But it's still about the experience of being here."
Jeremy Ferguson is a freelance writer based in Victoria, B.C.
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Upscale Key West still funky
Once-sleepy hideaway now has art galleries, a symphony orchestra
Mar 06, 2008 04:30 AM
Mike WILLIAMS
Special to the Star
KEY WEST, Fla.–You can still see chickens crossing the road near the busy intersection of Duval and Truman.
Once they might have been chased by an axe-wielding cook with a gleam in her eye. But today they are more likely to dodge tourist trolleys or shoppers weighed down with high-end fashion accessories or original works of art.
But to those who love the laid-back feel this once-sleepy hideaway was long known for, the chickens are a reassuring sight.
Key West may have gone upscale, but the place hasn't lost all its funky, renegade charm.
Drunks still wander arm-in-arm out of Sloppy Joe's, the wisecracking street artists still put on whimsical shows at sunset on the dock at Mallory Square and the descendants of Ernest Hemingway's cats still lap water from the urinal the author hauled home from his favourite bar.
Key West has gotten pricey, especially during the winter season, but it also has a lot more to offer these days than simply a rousing good time slamming rum drinks and singing along to Jimmy Buffett songs. A new art film cinema just opened, art galleries are almost too numerous to keep up with, local troupes perform plays frequently, the annual literary seminar regularly attracts important authors and even a small symphony orchestra calls the island home.
And if culture isn't your thing, there's always the standard fare of scuba diving on America's only coral reef, sport fishing in the azure waters of the Gulf Stream, kitesurfing or sunbathing, strolling the shops and tourist traps, taking a walking tour to gaze at Victorian mansions set in a tropical paradise, or biking your way around an island famous for its end-of-the-road ambience.
Don't forget fine dining, fresh seafood and people-watching, always a winner in a place with as many outrageous characters as Key West.
"It's changed a lot in recent years, but it's still a town that inspires creativity," said Sharon Wells, an artist and student of local architecture who escaped to Key West some 30 years ago. "It's hard to put myself back in 1976 when I came here. It was so incredibly different then. But it's still the people who make the place.''
For visitors looking to escape their everyday grind for a relaxing getaway, Key West is hard to beat, and the prices are certainly competitive with most Caribbean islands.
One of the best ways to see the older, more picturesque part of the island is a walking tour. Wells has produced an excellent "Walking and Biking Guide to Historic Key West." It is available free at her gallery, KW Light Gallery on Duval St., and in many of the racks with tourist flyers all over town.
More than a dozen different walks are organized around themes that include literary landmarks, Victorian mansions, a graveyard ramble, a jaunt through the city's forts and military installations, an Afro-Caribbean tour and a gay trek.
The literary tour is a favourite, and Wells' book includes thumbnails of the remarkable list of heavyweight authors who made Key West a favoured retreat, including Hemingway, Tennessee Williams, Richard Wilbur and Ralph Ellison.
The Hemingway home at 907 Whitehead St. is one of the best because you can tour it, gazing at the desk where the author plied his trade and the airy rooms where he entertained a dazzling array of Hollywood celebrities and bon vivants. The tour costs $11, but is worth the price for the colourful stories the guides tell about the author, his four wives and the dozens of cats that still have the run of the place.
Try renting a bicycle or a motor scooter to expand your touring. The island is only 6 1/2 kilometres long and three kilometres wide, but you can still fill up a day exploring back streets, many of which offer glimpses of fabulous mansions or whimsical shacks.
History comes alive at the Key West Shipwreck Historeum Museum on Whitehead St., just a block from Mallory Square. Actors in period attire entertain visitors, who can also see artifacts from the 1856 wreck of the Isaac Allerton.
Nearby, Mel Fisher's Maritime Museum will dazzle you with gold coins and other treasure brought up by Key West's most famous treasure salvage outfit. Both are great for kids, as is the Key West Aquarium, just across the street from the Shipwreck Historeum.
Key West is hard to beat for an island vacation. And while it has grown and changed dramatically in recent decades, its charm remains.
"There is still a great sense of community here," said Wells.
Cox News Service
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Journey to Earth's edge
Travelling the Karakorum Highway to the part of China 'that isn't China'
Mar 01, 2008
Mitch Moxley
Special to the Star
XINJIANG, CHINA–We drive the Karakoram Highway linking China and Pakistan in a rickety Volkswagen Santana; our driver and guide is a bespectacled man named Xiao Xu.
Xiao, who runs a travel café in a hotel in Kashgar, a city in the far reaches of China's Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, is testy this morning. He'd expected two people for our trip, but late last night my travel partner and I found a young Australian couple – Tom and Kelly – to join us.
I ask Xiao how long the trip will take.
"With two people, three hours," he huffs, his clear-rimmed glasses resting low on the bridge of his nose. "But four people, four hours. Because it's uphill."
We're on our way to Karakul Lake, a glacier lake 3,600 metres above sea level tucked in the Pamir Mountains, a stone's throw from the Tajikistan border. We've arranged to camp in a yurt belonging to Kyrgyz herders.
This is the China that isn't China. In fact, there's little about Xinjiang's sprawling and inhospitable western region that resembles the Middle Kingdom. Residents are predominantly Uighur Muslim, peppered with Kyrgyz, Kazak and other minority groups living in an area of mostly desert and mountain ranges.
Unlike much of China's natural beauty, the region hasn't been devastated by the nation's growing tourism machine – though there are signs that is changing. At Karakul Lake, a small Chinese restaurant has already been built, construction on a new hotel is underway, and the number of tour groups making day trips is increasing – a trend sure to continue considering the growing interest in travel among China's affluent.
For now, however, a trip to Karakul, or "black lake" in Kyrgyz, still feels like a visit to edge of the Earth.
First, you have to make it. The drive out is harrowing, not so much because of the terrain, which is rugged, but because of Xiao's driving. He rides the Santana from side-to-side on the highway, as if practising alpine ski turns. When his eyes catch a mountain or lake on the side of the road, the car drifts to whichever direction he is looking.
Then there's the fact that the Santana's back seats have no seat belts.
It's a remarkable drive.
The Karakoram is the highest paved international road in the world and the scenery is striking – mountain ranges, glacier lakes and sand dunes. We stop for photos and locals with weathered faces from the cold try to sell us trinkets and watches.
Sometime after noon, we arrive at Karakul Lake.
It's as impressive as we'd heard – a pristine, blue-green jewel, surrounded by snow-capped mountains, bare hills and grazing camels. Muztagh Ata Mountain, at 7,500 metres high, looms in the background.
Fortunately, few tourists have made the impressive trek to the lake, and after dropping off our bags in our yurt and eating a quick lunch with our Kyrgyz hosts, we head out for what we're told will be a four-hour hike around the lake.
Almost immediately I feel shortness of breath – altitude. The scenery, |
