Here, There, and Everywhere: a quirky Conn. hotel to a lightweight umbrella
CONNECTICUT HOTEL WHERE QUIRKY MEETS HIGH TECH
Step into the lobby of The J House Greenwich in Connecticut and you will see artwork projecting onto the walls, manikin legs perched on the edge of a table, and a lounge with a glass-enclosed fireplace. Wander out of the lobby past the Chocolate Lab, where you can buy homemade chocolate, ice cream, and gelato, and then get comfy in your high-tech hotel room, which has a flat-screen TV that doubles as a mirrored wall unit, loaner iPads, and toilets that automatically open as you approach and heat up with the push of a button. The 86-room modern boutique hotel, with easy access to Interstate 95, the airport, and the trains, opened this summer. Don’t miss its new farm-to-table restaurant, eleven14 Kitchen, where the chef cooks seasonal American cuisine in an open wood-fired hearth in full view so guests can watch. 203-698-6980, www.jhousegreenwich.com
AN APP TO LOCATE
NEW ENGLAND LODGING
Download the free New England Inns and Resorts mobile app and you can search through more than 200 properties to find the perfect place to lay your head, wherever you are in New England. Search by state and town, or use the map feature and your device’s internal GPS to find properties close to your current location. The easy-to-use app also highlights last-minute lodging deals. Each listing includes Book Now, Call Now, and Share Now features, a short description of the property and its rooms, any special packages available, and brief info on area attractions. It’s available for Android and Apple users.
603-964-6689, www.newenglandinnsandresorts.com/app
UP CLOSE
AT THE DENVER ZOO
Next time you visit Colorado, wander around a new 10- acre exhibit at the Denver Zoo that is home to Asian elephants, Malayan tapirs, and greater one-horned rhinos. At Toyota Elephant Passage, you can see these animals up close as they move along corridors that connect different yards. Village Outpost, another section of the exhibit, explores the conflict between humans and animals. In the Chang Pa Wildlife Preserve, gibbons swing overhead with no barriers between you and them. The exhibit also includes otters, flying foxes, leopards, and bats with four-foot wing spans. 303-376-4800, www.denverzoo.org
TRAILS TO ERUPTING VOLCANO REOPEN
For the first time in over four years, you can wander along Crater Rim Drive, from an area near the Devastation Trail parking lot to Keanakako‘i Crater in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on Hawaii’s Big Island. Then walk across the road to another overlook that provides stunning views of Halema‘u-ma‘u Crater and Mauna Loa. The 8/10 mile stretch of paved road was closed to hikers and vehicles in March 2008, after Halema‘uma‘u began to erupt and the fumes degraded the air quality. The park has also reopened about
7/10 mile of the Crater Rim Trail from the Chain of Craters Road just north of Lua Manu Crater. Halema‘uma‘u continues to erupt, and the section of Crater Rim Drive directly in its plume remains closed. 808-985-6000, www.nps.gov/havo
IMMERSE YOURSELF IN CIVIL WAR HISTORY
Step back in time at Pamplin Historical Park in Petersburg, Va., for its Civil War Adventure Camp. The 18-hour immersion experience, which is offered four times a year, gives visitors age 8 and older a chance to learn about Civil War life and sleep in re-created huts and bunkhouses on the actual Breakthrough battlefield of April 2, 1865. Choose a Union or Confederate uniform, and then learn how to fire a rifle-musket, march with other soldiers, perform guard duty, and practice field medicine. Enjoy beef stew, fresh hardtack, fruit, and doughnuts for dinner. Take your breakfast rations on the march, and experience a skirmish on the Breakthrough battlefield. Sept. 15-16, Oct. 13-14, 3:30 p.m. to 10 a.m., $70 per person. 877-726-7546, www.civilwaradventurecamp
.org
FUEL YOUR GADGETS ON THE GO
My Innergie PocketCell portable charger has refueled my cellphone and GPS and my daughter’s iPod countless times while on the road, even when we’ve been making phone calls, trying to locate the airport, or watching Marlin find his son Nemo. The gadget comes with mini USB, micro USB, and Apple connectors that clip together at the end of the short cord, so you always have the right plug handy. The slim, 2.5-ounce PocketCell stores enough energy to recharge a smartphone several times and a tablet or e-reader up to 50 percent before it needs recharging. Fuel up the PocketCell by plugging it into your computer’s USB port or a wall plug. It sells for $68 at Amazon.com. Or contact Innergie. 887-988-6388, www.myinner
gie.com
PRACTICAL, WINDPROOF RAIN PROTECTION
Don’t ditch your umbrella just to save weight and luggage space. New York-based Davek has released an umbrella that weighs less than a pound and packs down to 7 inches, yet provides 38 inches of overhead protection. The Davek Mini has a solid steel shaft and rustproof frame, and it comes with Davek’s unconditional lifetime guarantee, so if your half-shell dome turns into a dish en route, you get a free repair or a replacement upon return. Davek also provides loss protection. If you leave your umbrella on the plane or in your hotel room, you get a one-time replacement for 25 percent off. The mini comes in black, yellow, deep red, and turquoise. It sells for $49. 212-749-8746, www.davekny.com
KARI BODNARCHUK
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