Rainforest Alliance announces second annual “sustainability” photo contest

by Kraig Becker on

“Sustainability” has been quite the buzzword over the past few years and has been interpreted in many ways across a number of different industries. Now, the Rainforest Alliance wants to see what your interpretation of the word is in the form of a photo, as they launch their second “Photo Sustainability” contest.

The contest is co-sponsored with Fujifilm and is open to U.S. residents only, but offers up some great prizes, including a Grand Prize of a five day trip for two to Costa Rica that includes a stay at the Pacuare Jungle Lodge and a whitewater rafting expedition. The winner will also be awarded a new digital camera from Fujifilm.

In addition to the Grand Prize winner, four other winners will be named in the following categories:

  • Wildlife on farms, forests or other natural habitats
  • Landscapes (forests, waterways, flowers and plants, beaches, wetlands)
  • Sustainable tourism (hiking, bird watching, mountain biking, and other land-based nature activities; surfing, scuba, kayaking, snorkeling and other coastal or marine activities; other ecotourism-related subjects)
  • Conservation (people working to protect natural resources, including water, flora and fauna)

Each individual winner will also receive a new Fujifilm digitial camera as well as an honorary one-year membership to the Rainforest Alliance.

Up to five submissions in each category will be selected by Rainforest Alliance staff, who will then post them on their website where the public will be able to vote on them, helping to determine the category winners. The Grand Prize will be awarded by noted outdoor photographer Art Woolfe, who will be looking for “overall composition, creativity, artistic merit and relevance to the Rainforest Alliance mission.”

All submissions will be added to the Alliance’s library of photographs to be used on their website and other publications as they pursue their goal of raising awareness about conservation issues and the general theme of sustainability. To enter the contest go to RAPhotocontest.org between now and November 1st. Register online and upload your best photos. Winners will be announced on the Rainforest Alliance website on December 15, 2009.

Good luck everyone!

Great American Road Trip 2009: The fly and drive combo New Mexico to Montana and back

by Jamie Rhein on

For the past seven summers, ever since we moved back from India, we’ve embarked on a Great American Road Trip. The first was the mega version that put 10,000 miles on a new Ford Taurus station wagon in three months. Mind you, this was in 2003 with a 10 year-old and a 1 ½ year old-and without video games, computers or a DVD player.

This year’s version is a fly drive combo. Three months for tootling around between the Atlantic and Pacific is harder to come by-three weeks, doable. Without a burning desire to drive through the Midwest to get to Montana from Ohio like last year when I waxed poetic about Wisconsin’s cheese curds, we flew on Northwest Airlines (aka Delta) over those endless corn and soybean fields to Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Sure Albuquerque is no where near Montana, our main destination, but there’s a reason for the detour.

I used to live in Albuquerque. So did my husband. Between us, we have loads of friends we haven’t seen since that first road trip. Besides, Albuquerque is a budget destination with cheap flights to get there and inexpensive car rentals for heading out on the open road IF you rent away from the airport (more on that later).

When planning a Great American Road Trip, I highly recommend the fly then drive option. One year we flew to Denver and drove to Montana. Another year we flew to Seattle. With a limited time frame, the flight cuts out the parts you don’t necessarily want to see and provides the time to see those places that you do. If you’re going to be renting a car when you reach your main destination, why not head a few states away for the opportunity to explore the bounties in between?

For us the bounties might be a national park, the largest metal sculptures in the world, a mom and pop restaurant with regional food, or a town that a highway bypassed. Sometimes we know where we’ll stop before we head out, or one of us notices a point on a map and says, “Let’s stop here.”

In the next few weeks, as we’re traveling in a Toyota Sienna van through New Mexico, Utah, Colorado and Montana, where the landscape and people have a flavor so unique I could return again and again, I’ll fill you in on the places we’ve stopped and give some Great American Road Trip how-to suggestions.

We passed by Arches National Park a week ago. It’s been a busy week. Stay tuned. Ghost towns, neon and great eats on the way.

[The first photo was taken two years ago at the parade at Flint Creek Valley Days in Philipsburg, Montana where I am now. The second photo was taken last year at the pheasant family sculpture, part of the Enchanted Highway, on the way to Regent, North Dakota.]

The Maitre d’ of Cheese

by Kendra Bailey Morris on

I must confess. I want Carolyn Stromberg’s job. She spends all day surrounded by stinky cheese, nibbling away her work hours immersed in plethora of funkiness. There’s no three-walled office cubicle for this former Cowgirl Creamery apprentice. Only a butcher’s block and a stainless steel cheese slicer, along with one of the ultra-coolest gadgets I’ve seen in a long time– a glass-enclosed cheese cave built right into the wall of the Old Hickory Steakhouse restaurant at the Gaylord National Resort and Conference Center in National Harbor, Maryland.

And, these are no ordinary cheeses, mind you, so get that grocery store smoked gouda and that plastic-wrapped havarti out of your head. Carolyn, whose proper title is Maitre d’Fromage, spends much of her time working with a variety of local and international purveyors in search of the very best seasonal cheeses to present at their ultimate peak.

Each cheese is carefully selected based on origin, texture, taste and appearance, and is housed in the restaurant’s own cave which is kept at just the right temperature and humidity (60 degrees and 80 percent humidity) in order to preserve its optimum ripeness and moisture level. The cave, which is the only one of its kind in the D.C. area, can best be described as a sort of humidor for cheese.

For diners at the Old Hickory Steakhouse, a classic tasting platter might begin with selecting from a fruity cow’s milk Piave from Italy or a piquant Lord of the Hundreds sheep’s milk from England or perhaps an earthy Irish Cashel Blue might be your savory ticket. U.S. artisan cheese makers get a well-deserved nod on Carolyn’s list as well, whether you’re craving a buttery Nettle Meadow Kunik from New York or an Up in Smoke goat’s milk from Oregon.

Boasting more than two dozen artisanal cheeses, the collection can be worth an estimated $8,000 to $10,000 on any given evening.

And, these rare cheeses don’t come cheap. Boasting more than two dozen artisanal cheeses, the collection can be worth an estimated $8,000 to $10,000 on any given evening. With this in mind, cheese lovers are encouraged to choose wisely, which is where Carolyn as Maitre’d comes into play.

After spending all day ordering, slicing and tasting some of the most respected dairy producers in the world, Carolyn fills her evenings catering to the inner-cheese junkie in all of us. Pushing along her trolley of goodness (a custom-made cheese cart), Carolyn presents fifteen or more varieties table side for guests to choose from.

What results is both delicious and educational, as diners are first asked about their personal taste preferences and then offered several options from the trolley. As choices are narrowed down, Carolyn offers her take on the history of the cheeses along with pairing suggestions. The presentation culminates with guests customizing their own cheese plate, which can serve as a tasty beginning or end to a carefully-crafted meal built for the passionate cheese lover.

As part of the Old Hickory’s dinner menu, which is an impressive collection of delights in and of itself courtesy of Chef Wolfgang Birk, the customized artisanal cheese option, is just the beginning. With views overlooking the Potomac and a contemporary design take reminiscent of a Georgetown row house, the restaurant boasts a collection of 130 award-winning wines designed to pair with hearty cuts of grain-fed Black Angus beef (which can be decadently topped with lobster tail or foie gras) and signature dishes such as pepper crusted organic Scottish salmon with butternut squash risotto and truffle leek sauce. Birk, a former chef of the five-diamond awarded Casa Casuarina (a.k.a. the Versace mansion) often culls from local farms and producers in an effort to keep the menu fresh and contemporary.

Service is tight here as well, and the little details make all the difference, such as presenting a wedge of unsalted butter on cold salt stone to accompany the basket of bread. Yet, the most unique aspect of the resort’s restaurant is Carolyn’s table side cheese presentation, which is a foodie adventure not-to-be-missed, so when you’re ready to get your cheese on, hit the Gaylord National for an experience tailored to those who crave a little more pungency in life.

—Kendra

Shark shutdown looms in Hawaii

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Some native Hawaiians are looking to bring an end to shark tours, despite their popularity among tourists. They cite cultural concerns, according to a report by MSNBC, while surfers and environmentalists are worried that the animals could begin to associate people with lunchtime. Meanwhile, federal regulators are doing what they do best … investigating.

Of course, tourists don’t respond all that well to arguments made from cultural sensitivity. But, the notion that they could wind up fish food is gaining some momentum. George Burgess, who researches sharks at the University of Florida, believes that sharks will go where they are fed daily, which could deplete other forms of marine life in these areas … and leave populations elsewhere unchecked. There is conflicting research from the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology.

Federal law generally doesn’t allow shark-feeding off Pacific island territories and Hawaii, but this doesn’t stop the tour operators, which claim to be operating within the law.

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Spin a hula-hoop, get an upgrade

by Alison Brick on

Forget about singing for your supper. How about hula-hooping for your hotel upgrade?

If you can spin a hoop for 20 seconds, that’s enough to earn you a room upgrade at Kimpton Hotels. Not civilized enough? Okay, how about Rock, Paper, Scissors?

The get-in-touch-with-your-inner-kid approach is part of Kimpton’s Summer Playground promotion. Some freebies at wine hour are tailored to the kid in us: ice cream, or virtual Wii golf, baseball, or tennis. Others are more adult favorites: wine, sangria, and appetizers.

They’ve also put together a Summer Playground package: accommodations, $25 food/beverage credit, and complimentary in-room movie/popcorn. Rates start at $199/night, depending on the location and availability. Book on the phone and mention Summer Playground, or online and use the promo code PLGD.

The promotion is available at Kimpton Hotels’ 47 US and Canada properties through September 7th.