Treasure Island: Hunt for your bliss or globes on Jekyll Island

Find a treasured globe.

Fans of WJCT-FM and travel, do we have a treasure hunt and getaway deal for you.

Melissa Ross, host of First Coast Connect, and I invite you to join us for the First Coast Connect Treasure Hunt Friday and Saturday, February 19 and 20, at the new Westin Jekyll Island Hotel.

Our getaway begins Friday night with a welcome wine tasting hosted by Melissa and I at the hotel. Saturday morning, Melissa and I lead a treasure hunt and we all celebrate our findings with a three-course dinner  and a glass of wine at The Reserve that night. In between, enjoy the hotel and explore the history and beauty of Jekyll Island, once a millionaire's retreat.

The deal?
• An ocean-view room for two nights
• Welcome wine tasting
• Treasure hunt
• Three-course dinner
• All for $399 double occupancy, $349 single.
• And - drum roll - the Westin donates $8.98 to WJCT-FM for each reservation.

The treasure hunt?
Each year, from January through February, the Jekyll Island Authority hides treasures, handcrafted glass globes, throughout the island for visitors to find and take home as unique souvenirs. The globes are elegant reminders of the glass floats used on fishing nets for centuries and by fishermen along the Georgia coast in the early 1900s. The ones that broke away and floated ashore became beachcombers' treasures.

Melissa and I would love for everyone - including us - to find one, but there are no promises. After all, it is the illusive that we treasure most.

To reserve your First Coast Connect Treasure Hunt Package call Shakira Walker, 912-319-2855. The Westin - it is pet-friendly, by the way - has 200 rooms and we would love to fill them all. 

Need more reasons to visit Jekyll Island? Try these or read more about Jekyll Island at www.travelonthelevel.com

Roseate spoonbills. Photo © by Judy Wells.

Vistas. 
Marshes here are the nursery for hundreds of species from shrimp to roseate spoonbills.

The Atlantic Ocean offers a never-ending entertaining spectacle and the Intracoastal Waterway is a liquid highway for boaters and fisher folk.

Atlantic Ocean and Westin pool.

Intracoastal Waterway.

Tree canopied paths.

Trees.
Massive, moss-hung oaks arch overhead offering shade on hot days, perches for songbirds and romantic nostalgia. Along the oceanfront, the oaks are small, intriguingly tangled in a maritime forest.

Driftwood Beach

In one stretch of sand, appropriately dubbed Driftwood Beach, skeletons of past maritime oaks provide backdrops for brides and grooms and irresistible angles and shadows for photographers. Cypresses and pines surround ponds in between.

Save sea turtles.

Sea Turtles.
Loggerheads and leatherbacks made Jekyll Island home long before the Morgans and Rockefellers did, coming here to lay their eggs. The 19th and 20th centuries were not kind to these sea giants and in 20007 the Georgia Sea Turtle Center opened to rescue injured sea turtles and to protect the nests so that their circle of life will continue on these sandy shores. Good thing because the sea turtle has become the mascot for Jekyll Island.

Millionaires arrived by yacht.

History
J. P. Morgan, William Rockefeller, Joseph Pulitzer, plus Vanderbilt, Goulds, Astors and a select group of other millionaire titans of American industry bought the island in 1866 and built the Jekyll Island Club as a hunting lodge. Privacy, isolation, beauty and the lure of island life kept them and their families coming back every year between New Year's and Easter until the incursion of German U-boats and World War II made it a major security risk.

Rockefeller Cottage

The state of Georgia bought back the island, turned it into a state park and today we can tour the cottages to them, mansions to us and stay or dine in their elegant club while enjoying what was once the preserve of a privileged few. Best of all, we can reach it by driving across a causeway instead of being tied to a ferry schedule.

Jekyll Island Club Hotel

From patio to ocean, Westin Jekyll Island.

Accommodations. 
Take your pick, bed down amid the history and nostalgia of the Victorian Jekyll Island Club Hotel fronted by the Intracoastal Waterway or in the contemporary comfort of the new Westin Jekyll Island Hotel, a short boardwalk across the dunes from the Atlantic Ocean.

Lobby, Westin Jekyll Island

Catch a whopper.

Activities.
From the sports once limited to the elite - golf, tennis, horseback riding and croquet (bring your whites) - to the more mundane miniature golf, fishing, swimming, shopping, hiking, dining and just kicking back, Jekyll Island has it.

Causeway to Jekyll Island.

Charming Neighbors.
Jekyll Island is in a very desirable neighborhood known as Georgia's Golden Isles just north of the Florida state line. St. Simon's, Sea Island, Cumberland Island and Little St. Simon's Island are a short drive or pleasant boat ride away.

Jekyll Island Club Hotel

Island specials 

January and February may not bring the best beach weather to the South Georgia coast, but the flying pest population is sharply decreased and the prices for accommodations are the best you will find.
The Jekyll Island Club Hotel also offers specials in February with room rates beginning at $169 per night Sunday through Thursday, $179 Friday and Saturday. 

Transatlantic special

Many think a transatlantic crossing aboard Cunard's Queen Mary 2 is the ideal way to travel. See for yourself and snag significant upgrades (space available) during the month of February.
• A Balcony stateroom for the same price as an Ocean view
• A Princess Grille Suite for the same price as a Balcony or Britannia Club Balcony
• A Queen's Grille Suite for the price of as a Princess Grille Suite
• Free gratuities for two people
These are available also on select voyages aboard Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth. 
For details, contact www.cunard.com or your travel agent.

WellsWorld on the radio: Bid your way to adventure

See Rome, Paris, London or Istanbul the Rick Steves way.

Ride across Canada and back with deluxe accommodations from Via Rail.

Stay at the Peabody Memphis and star as its Honorary Duck Master.

Rick and the other members of the 60-year-old  Society of American Travel Writers have once again assembled a stellar list of travel treats and adventures for the annual Travel Auction and you are invited to participate.

Food lovers
Cook books, giant Texas steaks, a food writer's flavorful guide to the flavors of New Orleans and an evening's stay, a five-course dinner and breakfast for two at Paul Kitching Michelelin-starred 21212, Royal Terrace, Edinburgh.

Marcliffe Hotel

 Speaking of Scotland, golfers can choose from the 5-star Marcliffe Hotel with rounds at Royal Aberdeen and Trump International or 5-star Lochgreen House Hotel overlooking Royal Troon. Better yet, combine them.
 

Go to sea for six- to-eight days in the Caribbean with Carnival Cruise Lines or the Atlantic Ocean off Maine on a Windjammer cruise. 


Safari in south India, spend a week in Tobago or a weekend in Trinidad or get away to condos in Destin, FL. or Orange Beach, AL.

Branson

Closer to home, river raft in West Virginia or South Carolina, wellness spa in Texas, hit the speedway in Indianapolis, relax in Santa Fe or spend a week with air, lodging, rental car and show passes in Branson, MO.

Sample the sights and lobster flavor of this year's 2-nation vacation that the Good Girls in the Badlands took and blogged about (www.goodgirlsinthebadlands.com) with stays in Portland, Maine; St. Andrews-by-the-Sea, New Brunswick and at Digby Pines in Nova Scotia.There's also a whale watching cruise you can add.

Bidding continues until 11:45 p.m. EST  Nov. 8, which means you can buy for holiday gift-giving.
http://events.readysetauction.com/satw/2015 

CruiseStay

Cruising out of Fort Lauderdale? Rodeway Inn & Suites offers free shuttles to and from the port plus parking at its secure hotel site with discount packages available beginning at $60 a night. www.rodewayfll.com.

No Single Supplement Safari

Lion World Travel offers four nights in Cape Town, South Africa, and three nights at Bakubung Bush Lodge during its nine-night safari package for $3,299 per person.

The two departure dates - May 5 or Aug. 18, 2016 - include round-trip economy air fare from New York, transfers, welcome service, accommodations at the Commodore Hotel in Cape Town, a tour of the Cape area, Djembe drumming session, seven breakfasts and five dinners and six game drives in the Pilanesburg Game Reserve.

For details and reservations, 800-387-2706 or www.lionworldtravel.com

Cruise Calculator

We all see deals on cruises but just how much will it actually cost you to go on one?

The just announced, FREE, Cruise Calculator will help you figure it out. Fill in the actual prices on tickets, taxes, parking, airfare, port excursions (you can find out from you travel agent or the line's website) or use the calculator's estimates and the site does the rest.

Try it, http://cruisecalculator.net. I think you'll like it.

Cambodia and Vietnam the AmaDara Way

Cruising the Mekong River on AmaDara

AmaDara

If you want to feel incredibly privileged and fortunate, see a third world country on a first class river ship. AmaDara, the largest and newest ship plying the Mekong River, made her inaugural cruise in August and I was there for the experience.

AmaWaterways had just been named Best River Cruise Line by Virtuoso and AmaDara enhances that reputation. Cruises on AmaDara start at $4,959 per person.

The experience began on land with a stay at the exotic Sofitel Angkor Phokeethra Golf and Spa Resort in Siem Reap, Cambodia to see Angkor Thom and Angkor Wat, what are left of the glories of the Khmer empire when much of this area of Asia was known as Campuchia.

Angkor Thom

Angkor Thom, with a variety of temples and beautifully carved walls, is most everyone's favorite but its smaller spaces can become claustrophobic when the hordes of tourists descend every day.

Angkor Wat, larger and better preserved (its royal builder insisted on a finer grade of limestone), absorbs the hordes and only seems crowded for the sunrise, when everyone wants the same view of reflections from across the lake the massive temple faces.

 Angkor Wat



Both are impressive and convey the melancholy of lost grandeur.

Floating village in Cambodia

Life on the Mekong River
We were welcomed to AmaDara by a local band, Cambodian lion dancers, traditional dancers, captain and crew and AmaWaterways' owners and board of directors. Cabins are spacious, come with two balconies and are well-equipped. Public spaces are comfortable and airy.

Residents' transportation to and from Evergreen Island in Vietnam.

Every day we had choices of excursions to decidedly non-touristy locales each of which added insight to history, culture and way of life of its residents. Unlike large cruise ships, AmaDara has no photographer in your face trying to market photos or a shopping director steering you to "preferred" shopping.

Buddhist monks at prayer, Oudong, Cambodia.

Surprises are an AmaWaterways tradition and we had some doozies: permission to photograph or tape Buddhist monks at prayer, encounters with survivors of the infamous Killing Fields and rides on an ox cart. On board, we were treated to young dancers, seasoned musicians performing on traditional instruments, cooking demonstrations and staff talent shows.

Appetizers were always creative.

Three times a day we were offered inventive Western and local dishes, five-course lunches and dinners, both with fine wines and frequent cocktail parties. Pho Ba for breakfast became a favorite.

City Hall, SaIgon

By the time we reached Saigon, or Ho Chi Minh City as everyone but its residents call it, we were truly an AmaDara family. After a city tour we went out own ways, shopping, touring, relaxing.

Dinner at Quan Bui.

If you ever find yourself here, don't miss a meal at the Sofitel Saigon Plaza's Mezz restaurant, an amazingly comprehensive buffet of Western, Asian and International cuisine stations, or Quan Bui, a gustatory revelation of Vietnamese cuisine.

Cambodian girl gets your attention with her tarantula in hopes you will buy some bananas.

We all took home suitcases full for goodies but lasting longer will be the respect and admiration for the people who smile despite not always having enough to eat and are working hard to improve themselves and their countries.

Note: For a more thorough account of the cruise, go to All Things Cruise  and look for AmaDara.

Italian Deal

How about $479 for nine nights in Italy?
Three nights' accommodations Rome at the Hotel Buenos Aires, three nights in Florence at the Corona d'Italia and three nights in Venice at the Malibran or Santa Chiara plus daily breakfast, high speed train tickets, free pizza and gelato in Rome and Florence and and a tour of Murano in Venice. Oh, and one sight-seeing tour.

Available November 1 to December 20, 2015 and does not include air or local hotel taxes.

Upgrades available, natch, at  www.tourcrafters.it, “Deal of the Week.”   For reservations, call TourCrafters  toll-free  at  1-800-ITALY95.

Maritimes, Maine and more

Snowbirds head south in the winter, southerners return the favor in the summer. Try these destinations I recently visited in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Maine.

Nova Scotia. 

Liscomb River.

Get away from it all. Liscombe Lodge Resort & Conference Center offers cabins or rooms, all with great views, a dining room that serves delicious food with views a bird watcher will love, heated pool, marina and a friendly staff. A two-hour drive from Halifax will put you amid trails galore. En route you will pass folk artist Barry Colpitts' eye-catching house and workshops. Nearby, Sherbrooke Village recreates an 19th century river town.

Halifax

Have it all. Halifax offers dramatic history, a bustling downtown, memorable food colorful wharf, scenic trails and outdoor recreation. Don't miss the Maritime Museum or the Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 a short walk away along the waterfront. Westin has nicely renovated the historic Nova Scotian Hotel which is well located for exploring the city.

Lobster and scallop boats at Digby Harbor.

Scallop capital of the world. You will find lobster, too, from the fishing fleet at Digby. The town is quaint, there's a fun walking tour with "Admiral Digby" and it is surrounded by a plethora of little towns, coves, bays and places to visit. To the north, Annapolis Royal is a charming town with a Historic Garden for strolling, excellent restaurants and a ghost tour that many enjoy. To the south, the Acadian Center, Rendez-vous de la Baie, and the tallest wooden church in North America. All are on the famous Bay of Fundy complex. Digby Pines Golf Resort and Spa, a haven for visitors since 1929, is an elegantly comfortable home away from home from which to explore it all.

Ferry across the Digby Gut to....

New Brunswick

Kingsbrae Gardens.

... where we made a beeline to The Algonquin Resort in St. Andrews-by-the-Sea. Opened in 1889, this commandingTudor-style hostelry added a golf course in 1894, and is an ideal spot from which to explore the wonderfully named Passamaquoddy Bay area. You could spend a day roaming beautiful and welcoming  Kingsbrae Gardens, and don't miss waiting for the tide to recede for the drive to Minister's Island or sign on for a whale-watching excursion.

Maine

Lucky Catch's Capt. Tom measures a lobster to see if it is a keeper. It wasn't.

Time and rain limited exposure to Portland but it has become a foodie magnet with 300-plus restaurants, most chef-owned and/or independent, for its population of 66,000. The Public Market is a co-op of dealers in delectibles, Dean's Sweets (try a Needham) is a chocolate lovers paradise, Gritty McDuff's is the city's first brew pub, handsomely packaged oils and balsamics attract cooks to Vervacious and Vena's Fizz House is the hot headquarters for flavored bitters and bartending secrets. A highlight was a trip on the Lucky Catch lobster boat with its hands-on lesson in catching lobsters. Follow that with a stop at Fort Williams Park and the Bite Into Maine food truck, a locals' pick for best lobster roll.

Nubble Lighthouse at Cape Neddick.

Ogunquit is the quintessential Maine coastal town and nearby Perkins Cove will remind you of the fictional Cabot's Cove of "Murder She Wrote." Treat yourself to a lobster roll crawl and definitely include stops at Lobster Shack, the oldest restaurant in Perkins Cove; Jake's Seafood (the full-bellied clams are great here, too) in Wells, and Shore Road Market & Restaurant,www.shoreroadrestaurant.net.
Walk it off with a jaunt to Nubble Lighthouse at Cape Neddick. If you can snag a ticket, by all means catch a performance at the famous Ogunquit Playhouse. Perfect headquarters for it all, although you won't want to leave it, is the venerable Cliff House Resort & Spa overlooking the rocky waves and crashing waves.

Maine Lobster Festival

 Celebrate the crustacean July 29 to August 2, 2015, in the towns of Rockland and Camden, located in Penobscot Bay.

This year's festival expects to serve up 20,000 lbs of Maine Lobster and 1,700 lbs of Cabot butter. Special entertainment includes a Lobster Parade on Saturday, August 1 complete with lobster floats and a marching band. www.mainelobsterfestival.com .

 Family Fun in the Fjords

Kids Sail Free in Patagonia
Book a three- or four-night all inclusive trip through spectacular Patagonian waters in December 2015 with Australis by Oct. 31, 2015 and one child (age 17 or under) per adult comes along for free. Rates per adult for the three-day cruise are $1,895; $2,298 for the four-day.
www.australis.com.

Jekyll Island Idyll

Book a weekend getaway for two at the historic Jekyll Island Club Hotel, Jekyll Island, GA, Aug. 2-Sept. 1, 2015, and accommodations plus a five-course dinner for two with a bottle of signature wine are $250 a night.
www.jekyllclub.com

Dolphins frolic in Jacksonville's St. Johns River.

 Win a Vacation for Two to Jacksonville, FL

Like to share your vacation photos with friends? Bask in a a bit of green-tinged envy? Have we got a contest for you.

One lucky person will be the winner of Visit Jacksonville’s interactive summer postcard contest “Vacations Should Be Shared.”

Five easy steps does it. Create it, Post it and Win it!

1)  Go to www.VisitJacksonville.com  and click on the contest logo or go to www.visitjacksonville.com/vacations-should-be-shared.
2)  Choose your postcard theme: Beachy, Artistic or Ticket.
3)  Customized your postcard with Visit Jacksonville’s memory-worthy #OnlyInJax images.
4)  Add a message to your postcard. Tell us why you would love to win a vacation to Jacksonville.
5)  Then share your postcard on social media, ask your friends to vote and start packing your bags!

The “Vacations Should Be Shared” contest will run from July 22 until August 23 and winners will be announced August 25. All the postcards generated during the contest will be available for public voting on Visit Jacksonville’s website. The postcard with the most votes will be the grand prize winner of a vacation for two to Jacksonville. A second and third place postcard will also be selected for prizes.
For more on the prizes and the rules of the “Vacations Should Be Shared” postcard contest go to www.visitjacksonville.com/vacations-should-be-shared.
 

Coastal Virginia, St. Augustine and deals on dream trips

Chincoteague's wild ponies.

Coastal Virginia 

How can you go wrong with American history, wild ponies, great seafood and beautiful beaches and bays? You can't so head to Coastal Virginia, which takes in the southern end of Chesapeake Bay. Here's a brief description of destinations to consider.

Eastern Shore.

Tiny towns and welcoming natives, memorable ice cream and seafood, nature preserves and wild ponies, in short, perfect for families. Chincoteague especially. The annual pony swimming, penning and auction attract 40,000 visitors; great if you don't mind mobs.  

This year, the dates are July 29 pony swim, July 30 auction of foals. The carnival dates are July 3-4, 1--11, 17-18, 24-25, 27-August1, 2015. It's all for a good cause, to keep the volunteer fire station in equipment.

Cape Charles has an enticing free beach but it is more for adults, with charming B&Bs and my fave, Hotel St. Charles, a small, very contemporary hotel downtown.
 Note: Find links and more details at www.goodgirlsinthebadlands.blogspot.com

Fort Monroe

Fort Monroe, a National Monument in Hampton, protected this entrance to Chesapeake Bay from 1609 until deactivated in September, 2011. Filled with history, underground rooms and corridors, it and the surrounding houses and cannons have witnessed our country's birth, conflicts and successes. Well worth a half-day. Hampton also houses an historic carousel and the outstanding Virginia Air & Space Center.

Chrysler Museum glass studio.

Norfolk's Chrysler Museum has one of the best collections of glass in the country. Across the street, you can see how it's done during demonstrations at the working glass studio.

Busch Gardens

Colonial Williamsburg

 Between its Busch Gardens and down to the tiniest tankard Colonial town, Williamsburg is a family and adult must-do. Two days are not too many to devote to Colonial Williamsburg, even with kids. Tip: Leave your car at the Visitor Center and  take the the free shuttle buses that take you all around the area. Adults, while there, don't miss the DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum.

 Note: Find links and more details at www.goodgirlsinthebadlands.blogspot.com.

Jamestown Settlement.

 Jamestown is America's 2nd oldest continuously occupied - and first British - settlement and nearby Yorktown, where scrappy patriots with considerable help from the French defeated the British in the Revolutionary War, sum up America's creation. Don't miss both Jamestown Settlement and Historic Jamestowne or the Yorktown Victory Center.

Happy Birthday, St. Augustine.

Speaking of oldest cities, St. Augustine will celebrate its big 4-5-0 Sept. 4-8, 2015. Keep track of all the events at www.staugustine-450.com.
  

  Deals and Specials

Photo courtesy INCA.

Galapagos Islands: INCA, International Nature and Cultural Adventures, a pioneer in cruising these fascinating islands with small ships, offers $1,000 off savings on departures from Sept. 30 to Dec. 10, 2015 (excluding the Thanksgiving holiday).

Example,the 11-day Origin of the Species tour - 2 nights in Quito or Guayaquil, overnight on Santa Cruz Island with a visit to the Charles Darwin Research Station and 8 days, 7 nights aboard the 141-foot yacht Integrity - is now $5,795 per person, double occupancy.

For details and booking, www.inca1.com.

Two to Tango: In the spirit of the Tango World Cup & Festival, HUB Porteno offers the ultimate package August 20-23, 2015. The inclusive three-night excursion into the dance and its music in Buenos Aires, Argentina, includes Tango lessons, tours, nightclub shows, chat sessions with processional dancers and shopping for $1,779 (plus 21 percent tax) per person, double occupancy in a suite.

Details and booking, http://www.hubporteno.com.

Barge slowly through the Loire Valley

Locks unlock the trip.

Beautiful landscapes, charming French villages, historic castles, superb cuisine and friendly crews make barging the canals of France a hard-to-beat getaway.

The inclusive trip isn't cheap, you could drive the route in under three hours or, with a few boating skills do it yourself, but the pleasure of being cossetted while informed and given an insight into the lives of the French that tourists never see is priceless.

It's also relaxing and a whole lot of fun.

La Renaissance

European Waterways provided my introduction to this specialized form of travel with accommodations aboard La Renaissance's first "voyage" of the season. There were four passengers on the eight-passenger hotel barge that is the largest of all on the 373-year-old Briare Canal, our comfort, captain's challenge.

Adieu Court, Fountainebleau

Over six nights we went from Montargis, the Venice of France, to Chatillon-Sur-Loire; visited three castles - Fountainebleau, Sully and La Bussiere, where we met the Duchess de Sully working in her beloved garden.

The medieval village of Moret Sur Loing

We strolled through two markets, several medieval villages, a faience factory, countless churches and cathedrals and a winery in the Sancerre region.

Rapeseed crop

We listened to birdsong, admired large fields of brilliant yellow rapeseed and marveled at the French knack for getting trees to grow the same height and hedges to fill densely and grow squarely.

Plane trees

We chatted with locals, tasted the finest foods and wines of the area and transited Gustave Eiffel's remarkable creation, a canal bridged over the Loire River.

Barge along a canal over the Loire River, thanks to Gustave Eiffel.

It was a compelling argument for seeing a little bit thoroughly over speeding through a large area and really seeing nothing.

For a day-to-day look at my barge trip, look for "Aboard Renaissance" at www.allthingscruise.com