April 03, 2008

Early-spring get-out-of-town linkathon-a-palooza

MadMaps has published a series of daytripper and weekend getaway maps, including two focusing on the area around New York. They're maybe best suited for the times when you're too fed up to do the research ahead of time, and just want to hit the road and drive. However, the itineraries are maybe too generic from some travelers and could be frustrating when they list a town's high points, but offer no directions or addresses.

For cheap out-of-town travel, keep tabs on BoltBus and MegaBus, which are rapidly adding service to NYC with fares from $1 (if you book in advance.)

And in the cheap-airfare department, Skybus is now flying to three destinations (Portsmouth, Columbus, and Greensboro) from the rapidly expanding Stewart Airport in the Hudson Valley. (Update: Skybus just went out of business.)

Metro-North's new partnership with Enterprise lets you take the train out of Manhattan and then pick up your rental car at 23 stations, including Beacon, Middletown, Port Chester and Goldens Bridge.

For organized trips out of the city, the Adventure Society has a serious calendar of offerings ranging from hiking and horseback riding to Indy race car driving and Adirondack white-water rafting.

NYC Audubon spring field trips include a wildflower hike at Pyramid Mountain and to the Raptor Trust bird rehabilitation center.

Metro-North's one-day getaways include packages to Cold Springs, the Mohegan Sun Casino, and the Bruce Museum of Arts and Science in Greenwich.

Not only is there a Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Center in Jamestown NY, but the town is hosting Luci-Desi Days from May 23 through May 25.

Singer Castle on Dark Island opens for the season on May 17.

Stone Barns Farm Market opens for the season on May 2.

The Long Island Lighthouse Challenge -- scheduled for May 17 and 18 -- opens the doors to the lighthouses on Fire Island, Eatons Neck, Huntingdon Harbor, Cedar Island, Horton Point, Montauk Point, Orient Point, and the Long Beach Bar.

New York state finally has launched its Empire State Brewery Trails.

Get free Hudson Valley wine trail maps (in PDF format)

Wino TV is the new online video series from Applewood Winery.

Grand Cru has a full list of spring wine classes in Long Island wine country.

Olana, (pictured,) the Hudson hilltop home of Frederic Church, on May 10 opens the wagon house.

April 16 is Pirates Day at the Mystic Seaport in Connecticut.

Dia Beacon art gallery switches to extended summer hours starting April 17.

Albany's 60th Annual Tulip Festival starts on May 9.

You can now make online reservations for the CIA restaurants in Hyde Park

The Philadelphia Museum of Art's Frida Kahlo retrospective runs through May 18.

Marking the 40th anniversary of the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy, the George Eastman House in Rochester is exhibiting the civil rights and Vietnam-era photography by Benedict J. Fernandez.

The two best hotels in New York aren't even in New York City, according to Travel + Leisure. Check out the Lake Placid Lodge or Mirror Lake Inn Resort & Spa.

Regular tickets to tour the Philip Johnson Glass House in New Canaan, Conn., -- which last year started opening to the public for the first time in its 50 year history -- are already sold out for all of 2008. But "you can still visit the Glass House in 2008 if you book a Private or Patron Tour of the Glass House," according to the website.

In that same vein the Saugerties Lighthouse Bed & Breakfast is now taking reservations for 2009 as this year's mostly booked up. (Although tonight and Friday happen to be open, according to their website.)

Andre Balazs' Sunset Beach on Shelter Island reopens for the season May 16 with midweek rates from $245.

The 1926 Wurlitzer Organ at the Riviera Theatre in North Tonawanda, NY has just emerged from its restoration process and will be used in its monthly Wurlitzer Concert Series.

Stories from elsewhere:

Great American Drives: NYC to Kent, Conn. (Travel + Leisure)
Saratoga Springs' spas shine in the off season (Washington Post)
Historic estate hopping in White Plains (Jaunted)
Newburgh: Williamsburg without the Brooklyn (Time Out)
Pollywogg Hollër is a 30-acre ecohaven (New York mag)
Where to eat and drink in New Haven (Gadling)
Atlantic City is back. Almost. (Daily News)
If you want to gamble in Atlantic City, you may need a passport (Gadling)
The Chelsea Atlantic City hotel renderings (HotelChatter.com)
Dining wonders of the Jersey Turnpike (NY Times)

Earlier: Almost-summer get-out-of-town link festival
Early autumn/end-of-summer roadtrip links

April 3, 2008 11:13 AM in Arrivology, Drinkology, Foodology, Hotelology, Maps, Out of Manhattan, Romance, Tours

®Copyright 2008, All Rights Reserved