Liftopia Has Hot Deals On Lift Tickets For The Upcoming Ski Season

by Kraig Becker on

As the last few weeks of summer drag out to their inevitable conclusion it is time to start thinking about the seasons ahead. The crisp air and cooler temperatures of autumn will be a welcome change of pace for many of us who have endured unusually warm temperatures the past few months. But for many travelers and outdoor enthusiasts it is the coming of winter that gets them the most excited. That’s because winter brings fresh powder and the promise of a great ski season ahead.

To help skiers and snowboarders prepare for their winter adventures, Liftopia, the largest online site for purchasing lift tickets, has launched their Red Hot End of Summer Sale. This limited-time event features more than 32,000 deals on discounted passes from over 60 ski resorts across North America. Some of these tickets are being offered at prices that are as much as 86% below their normal price, which makes buying a ski pass in September seem like a really smart idea.

Thinking of heading to Colorado to hit the slopes this year? Liftopia has passes for Aspen/Snowmass at 34% off and Arapahoe Basin for as much as 39% off. Utah’s Snowbird is currently selling at a 45% discount while Idaho’s Tamarack Resort passes are 54% below normal price. Similar discounts are offered for ski destinations in New England, the Pacific Northwest, Canada and beyond.

Liftopia also happens to be the exclusive provider of the Mountain Collective Pass, which is an unbelievable deal for skiers. For just $349, the pass provides two free days at each of the following resorts: Aspen/Snowmass, Alta, Jackson Hole and Squaw Valley/Alpine Meadows. It also provides 50% off unlimited lift tickets after that, as well as 25% off accommodations. That is an incredibly affordable way to enjoy some of the best ski resorts in North America, if not the world.

If you’re one of those people who just can’t wait for winter to arrive then you’ll definitely want to check out the deals being offered by Liftopia right now. I know it may seem like winter is still a long way off but it’ll be here before you know it. When it does arrive you’ll be glad you saved some cash in the waning days of summer.

Hampton Inn Touts Clean Bedspreads

by Dave Seminara on

When I checked into a Hampton Inn in Michigan last week and saw post it notes stuck on the headboards of the beds, I assumed that housekeeping had done a shoddy job of cleaning the room. But a closer inspection revealed just the opposite. The notes read: “Duvet covers and sheets are clean for your arrival.”

My wife’s first response was, “Well, they had better be.” But the truth is that very few large hotels wash the duvet covers or bedspreads for each newly arriving guest. Hampton Inn has been doing so for some time now, but based on my experience, it looks like they’re making another push to try to promote it. We also saw signs advertising the clean duvets in the elevators.

I typically take the bedspread off the bed completely, but at this particular hotel, it felt great to leave it on, safe in the knowledge that I wasn’t cuddling up with Lord knows what kind of disgusting stains.



The Southern Road: The Perks Of Gas Station Food

by Micheline Maynard on

The South has its highways, but in order to get to some places, you have to take four-lane or two-lane roads. That’s where you’ll find gas stations. And in many gas stations, you’ll find food.

Up north, hardly anybody I know eats food from a gas station, unless they’re starving and it has a Subway attached. Down south, gas station food is its own form of cuisine. If you’re fortunate, you can score breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks in a good gas station, which may also have its own booths and dining tables.

At bare minimum, a gas station worth its salt (or fat) will serve breakfast – primarily a biscuit. This is usually a chicken, country ham or sausage biscuit. It is as far from Grape-Nuts as breakfast can get. I had resisted the biscuit breakfast until I was on the road from Birmingham, Alabama, to West Point, Georgia.

I passed a gas station that offered “Hot Biscuits & Full Breakfast, Live Bait, Hunting and Fishing Supplies.” Inside, I bought plain biscuits. They were fine, and flaky, and filled my mid-morning needs. But I knew there was more out there.

I found gas stations that featured barbecue, gas stations with fried catfish (many proudly displaying a “raised in the USA sign”) and gas stations with fried chicken. I found gas stations with a head-spinning, rainbow variety of frozen drinks that actually scared me.

I really struck gold at the Dodge’s Chicken Store in Lexington, Tennessee. It isn’t technically a gas station, but a restaurant with an adjacent gas station. The signs offered the trinity: chicken, barbecue and catfish.

Inside, people were jostling each other to get up to the counter. The variety was enormous and the prices divine: $2.99 for a pulled pork sandwich, $5.99 a pound for barbecue, $2.59 for a slab of catfish. There was corn on the cob, fried corn on the cob, hush puppies, mac and cheese. And, there were fried hand pies, a little bigger than a McDonald’s pie.

Since I knew I’d be eating a big lunch, I asked for a small piece of catfish and a sweet potato pie. The counter girl looked disappointed: “Aren’t you going to have any sides?” she asked. It was a perfect snack, and a terrific example of gas station food.

6 Boston Bars That Transport You To Other Places

by Jessica Festa on




There are myriad bars you can go to if you just want a decent atmosphere and drinks. On a recent trip to Boston, however, I learned there are many bars that are more than they appear on the outside. On your next trip to the city, make sure to check out some of these bars and restaurants that transport you to other places.

The Hawthorne
500A Commonwealth Avenue, Boston

The Hotel Commonwealth is a great home base for bar hopping, as it houses three of the best classic cocktail bars in the city. However, its newest venue, The Hawthorne, takes this one step further by creating an ambiance of sophisticated comfort. As you walk in, you’ll immediately be transported to an upscale urban apartment. Oversized couches, wingback chairs, highly curated art and photography and jam-packed bookshelves transform this cocktail lounge into feeling like a classy cocktail party. Look closer at one of the bookcases, and you’ll notice it’s not just books in there, but some of Bar Manager Jackson Cannon’s favorite things, like his favorite spirits line and personal glassware. You can tell they pay attention to detail at The Hawthorne, and this continues to the bar, where Head Bartender Nicole Lebedevitch and staff craft classic cocktails with the precision of a scientist. Expect international and hard-to-find spirits and ingredients.

What To Drink: A “Phil Collins,” which has cucumber vodka, lime juice, simple syrup, yellow chartreuse and dash of cranberry bitters, or a “Dutch Oven,” made with Barrel Aged Bols Genever, 2 sugar cubes, 3 dashes regans orange bitters and soda water.




Island Creek Oyster Bar
500 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston

Also located at the Hotel Commwealth is Island Creek Oyster Bar (ICOB), which is a “collaboration joining farmer, chef, and diner in one space.” The restaurant brings elements of the Island Creek Oyster Farm in Duxbury to restaurant guests, without any mess. In fact, ICOB is designed in a pristine white, with Gabion cages filled with tens of thousands of oyster shells making the three-dimensional walls. Additionally, reclaimed Wyoming snow fence is used to create the shutters, and wood from a restored Vermont farmhouse has been refurbished to build the wainscoting. When ordering from the menu, you’ll notice the names of small farms, each specializing in aquaculture, carefully listed next to each dish. This bar also takes a classic cocktail way of thinking, but with a local and seasonally inspired twist.

What To Drink: A “Snug Harbor Mash,” featuring crushed lime, Rich Demerara and ICOB’s house 4 Rum Blend, or an “ICOB Pilsner,” an exclusive pilsner brewed with jasmine and orange peel, and designed to be the ideal accompaniment to fried fare and shellfish.




The Back Deck
2 West Street, Boston

At the Back Deck, guests are transported to a backyard barbeque, although with more polish than sitting at a splintered picnic table. The design of the venue brings the outdoors inside, featuring three distinct backyard-inspired deck spaces bordered by walls of sliding floor-to-ceiling windows. Chefs employ the use of three high quality grills, The Woodshow Broiler, the restaurant’s biggest grill, The Montague Charcoal Broiler, used for “low and slow” cooked items and Mt. St. Helens Shallow-Box Charbroiler, the professional version of the charcoal grill. Only Hardwood charcoal is used, as it gives the cuisine a rich, smoky flavor and also allows food to sear better and stick less. At the bar, refreshing punches and coolers will transport you to summer, no matter what season it is.

What To Drink: A “West St. Cooler,” which contains watermelon, Ragged Mountain Rum, a hint of Aperol and a splash of soda, or a “Ginger Arnold Palmer,” made with lemonade and iced tea spiked with Berkshire Bourbon and a touch of Canton ginger.




Uni Sashimi Bar
370 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston

While most sushi restaurants can help give you a quick Japanese experience, Uni Sashimi Bar will immerse you in all the country has to offer and more. In an intimate space, guests can enjoy innovative sashimi, a range of traditional Asian street food items and late-night Ramen. In fact, their fresh seafood is shipped overnight from Tokyo’s Tskuji market. Diners can sample famous street food items like pork belly steam buns and vegetable tempura. While you can order typical Japanese dishes and chefs incorporate traditional sushi practices, they also put an avant-garde twist on many of the selections, like combining salmon with fermented black beans and ginger, or Japanese Striped Bass with chestnut ash, roasted Brussel sprout leaves and pickled kumquats. At the bar, expect an extensive Sake menu, with headings like “traditional,” “seasonal,” “rich” and “fragrant.” Sake cocktails, Asian-inspired drinks and fusion libations are also on the menu.

What To Drink: “Sun Rising,” a mixture of Yamazaki 12 whiskey, plum sake, pear sake, Cherry Heering, orange juice and lemon juice, or “Young’s Sangria,” made with plum sake, pear sake, Churchill white port, lime juice and orange juice.




Union Oyster House
41 Union Street, Boston

While you’ll still be in a restaurant, Union Oyster House leaves guests overwhelmed with nostalgia as they dine in America’s oldest restaurant in continuous service. Established in 1826 as a restaurant, the building itself has stood as an iconic Boston landmark for over 250 years. Diners can still enjoy Union Oyster House‘s heritage, and take a peek back in time with old-fashioned tavern decor, dim lighting, weathered wood, old newspaper clippings and photographs, timeless portraits and antique furnishings. You’ll get cornbread with every meal, lobsters right from the tank, heaping bowls of chowder and fresh seafood cooked just as it was years ago, without any fancy fusion or modern spinning. At the bar, they have an impressive selection of beers, which you can sip in a laid-back atmosphere while slurping back some oysters. This is where you’ll get the best service, and where you can watch shuckers in action while hearing their stories about life in Boston and the history of the restaurant.

What To Drink: The “Sam Adams Colonial Ale.” This American Amber beer has a malty flavor, notes of caramel and pairs well with seafood.




PARK Restaurant & Bar
59 JFK Street, Cambridge

Located in the Greater Boston Area, PARK Restaurant & Bar will make you believe you’re in an antique parlor. With vintage curios like antique typewriters, artwork and photography from the ’60s and ’70s, first edition books and local maps from the turn of the century, their cocktail den retains the atmosphere of your eccentric uncle’s sophisticated parlor room. The menu is comprised of “spirited interpretations of New American classics” like the “Meat Pie of the Day” and the “PARK Patty Melt.” To compliment the theme, the bar operates under a classic cocktail philosophy, using homemade syrups, infusions, tonics and bitters to make new and old favorites.

What To Drink: “The Fireside Poet,” which is a blend of Bulleit Bourbon, Creole Shrubb, Santa Maria del Monte and Marasche Syrup or the “Old Cuban,” which has Barbancourt 5 Star Rum, Lime, Simple, Angostura Bitters, Mint and Cava.

Do you have a favorite bar in Boston that transports you to another place?

Maui’s Hana Airport Open To Commuters Again

by Kyle Ellison on

Stretching for 52 miles, across 59 bridges, and around 620 curves, Maui’s famous and historic “Road To Hana” is not for the weak of stomach. Despite being listed on The National Register of Historic Places and as one of the Top 10 Scenic Drives in America by Lonely Planet, for many Maui visitors, the thought of enduring the switchbacking, nearly three-hour drive is simply too much too handle.

In a nutshell, they would rather pass up seeing the entire east end of the island than get behind a wheel on that road.

Luckily for all would-be Hana travelers out there, Mokulele Airlines and the Travaasa Hana hotel have recently partnered to bring back twice-daily service from Maui’s Kahului airport to Hana’s coastal airstrip beginning on October 1. Along the 20-minute flight passengers of the nine-seat Cessna will be privy to waterfall views and the lush rainforest, which blankets the eastern swath of the island.

With fares starting at $59 each way it’s definitely a pricier option than fueling up the rental car and tackling the hundreds of turns. As part of the partnership, however, guests who opt to book a three-night all inclusive stay at the hotel will be given the tickets for free, a nice perk of spending three days in a town regarded as one of the most beautiful and relaxing of anywhere in the entire Hawaiian island chain.

While the flight option dramatically reduces the commute time for Hana travelers, given the notorious tradewinds on the island’s eastern flank, I can only assume it’s still going to be a bumpy – yet beautiful – flight.