Travel

Whew, winter was brutal. Between being shut in by arctic temps and the incessant shoveling, most of us are coming out of the season feeling like a cave troll with a bad back. So we have some major catching up to do in the sun-on-the-face and breathing-the-fresh-air departments. A nice long bike ride – a two-wheel trip – is just the cure. Traveling by car can be enjoyable, but on a bike, you’re closer to the experience. You’re exposed to all the flavors of the places you’re moving through. You can feel your momentum as you move through the air.…

Gentle waves lap at the powdery white sand surrounding your lounge chair. Just beyond the dark patches of reef, a hundred yards off shore, a pod of dolphins passes unhurried and a humpback whale breaches, sending a mist of crystalline tropical water skyward with its breath. A waiter in a linen shirt and sunglasses hands you a coconut with the top chopped off. It has slices of citrus, cherries and an umbrella marinating in a blend of fresh fruit juice and rum. You take a pull off your drink and breathe out the last bit of stress from your perfectly…

While some people would be best served by seeking an even keel in their lives, others, whether they realize it or not, would benefit from a little run-in with extremes. And no pursuit forces you into the realm of black and white quite like river kayaking. From one moment to the next, you can go from right side up to inverted, dry to submerged, breathing air to sucking river. Indeed, the yin-yang nature of running rivers can teach you a lot about the benefits of looking on the bright side (read: the side with air and without oncoming rocks). Unbeknownst…

It doesn’t take more than a brief flip through prime-time TV to see that the once great American male has become a bumbling, unsophisticated sloth whose self-confidence far exceeds his competence. You know the stereotypical yahoo we’re talking about: the guy in all of those commercials and sit-coms who inevitably brings ruin upon his homestead with his ill-fated fix-it projects and creeping macho lassitude. Since our circulation data show that many of you, dear readers, are of the fairer sex, we must urge you to take action against this cultural epidemic, and now. Here’s how you do it: Call all…

While the exact history of Valentine’s Day is murky, it appears to have evolved from rituals involving the welcomed whipping of women with strips of blood-dipped lamb, a lusty lottery, three martyred saints…all sorts of really hot stuff (honest, look it up). But throughout the centuries the heat got turned way down. Today, millions languidly trudge through a holiday clichéd with exchanges of paper products and heart-shaped pieces of chalky candy, both inscribed with generic declarations of romance. The randy days of playful mutton whippings are over. So how to make Valentine’s Day less predictable? This year try an intimate…

Sailboats Inc., one of the oldest and largest bareboat certification schools in North America, offers an intensive sailing course for beginners that covers safety, boat handling, navigation, seamanship and maintenance – everything, besides the proverbial foul mouth, you need to become a sailor. Held in various places on Lakes Michigan and Superior (including Manitowoc, Marinette and Superior), the course ($795) includes all teaching materials, 20 hours of instruction on a 30-foot yacht and a life vest. From the moment you arrive till the sun is over the yardarm on the last day, you will learn and practice techniques that, in…