Weather
Bright Future
Aug 17th
I’m out of the heat and humidity of Houston and back to the humidity of New York City! As summer begins to wind down, the travel industry is heating up with optimism and increased travel. Last week at NBTA, we learned of new announcements and partnerships, like LAN teaming with Visa. Programs like these help increase frequent flyers and travelers throughout the entire LAN network. Not to mention, it helps keep traffic in the sky.
This week, LAN also announced the pending merger with TAM. While the carriers plan to continue operating under their own names, they will now share the same parent company.
Other exciting news for the fall? The Emirates A380 is returning to NYC on Oct. 31. Lufthansa will re-launch WiFi service on board this year, and next year the Lufthansa A380 will enter North America.
We’re not out of the woods yet, but personally I can’t wait to leave behind the humidity and usher in the fall travel and business season.
– Alex Young, vice president and associate publisher
Time Off
Aug 8th
Yesterday my husband and I arrived at Eagle Crest Resort just outside of Redmond, Ore. We’re here for a week of relaxation and fun. Most of this summer has been busy, with only quick weekend trips up to Portland and lots of company at our house, so we’re ready for a little extended quiet time. As a school administrator, Harry finds August to be one of the busiest times of the year, so this is his opportunity to take a nice deep breath and chill out before things get hectic. For me, although we’re coming up on deadline for the September issue of Global Traveler, it means I can attend to my work and then not think about gardening or housekeeping chores.
The resort is located in an area very popular with outdoor enthusiasts. Located on the eastern (and, therefore, the dry) side of the Cascade Mountains in Central Oregon, it is blessed with over 300 days of sunshine a year, and while summer temperatures can be very warm, the nights often cool off nicely. There are rivers for fishing, whitewater rafting and kayaking; mountains for rock climbing and hiking (and skiing in the winter); and plenty of golf courses (the resort here alone boasts three).
I’ve already decided to take a few classes (yoga, aqua aerobics) at the sports center, do a little rafting and learn to paddle a kayak. I may sample the resort’s spa offerings and will definitely plan some time by the pool. I’m not a golfer, but I’ve enjoyed Eagle Crest’s very challenging 18-hole putting course in the past and look forward to tackling it again. Yep, it’s going to be a great week!
– Patty Vanikiotis, associate editor/copy editor
My Own Mini Staycation
Jul 17th
We’ve been having some pretty hot weather the last few weeks (highs in the 90s to 100 degrees) in my neck of the woods. It has meant that I’ve had to increase the watering time on the lawn and garden, and the air conditioning is on a lot more in the house. Don’t get me wrong, though, because I’m not complaining. After an usually cool, wet spring that stretched into June, the heat has finally spurred the vegetable garden to take off. The tomato plants that didn’t seem to grow at all for two weeks are growing tall and full with lots of small green fruits promising caprese salads in a month or so. The melons and squash are likewise making up for lost time, as are the beans and eggplants.
Last year at this time, having been in our new home for only a few months, we looked out on dry earth and weeds. Now, with the infusion of a lot of hard work and more than a few dollars and a whole lot of plants, our back yard is a lovely sight to behold. Nearly everything we planted last fall survived the winter freezes, and while there are spots where young plants still need to grow into their spaces or where I haven’t yet found the right specimen for that location, overall I am pleased with how my vision has become a colorful reality. The climbing roses are starting to cover those broad stretches of bare fence; echinachea, Shasta daisies and agastache have filled one flower bed with bee-enticing blooms; and the herb garden offers fresh flavors for tonight’s dinner.
Even following the hottest days, by 7:30 or 8:00 p.m. the sun has slid far enough to the west for shadows to stretch across the lawn and allow our patio to become a comfortable platform from which to drink in the scents, sounds and sights of a summer evening. Swallows dip and dart across the sky, snapping up insects for their supper, while mourning doves and yellow finches stop by the birdbath for sips of cool water. Our small fountain provides a soothing murmur accompanied by the mellow tones softly tolling from our wind chime as a slight breeze coaxes an occasional note from it. Now and then we’ve spotted a long-eared jackrabbit slip under the fence and meander in and out among the shrubs until the awareness of our presence sends him frantically bounding off to the field next door.
Such evenings are a welcome and restful conclusion to long, hot and sometimes hectic days. At such times I am as content and happy in my own little retreat as I would be on a terrace in Sicily, a taverna on Santorini or a beach in Hawaii. I’ve enjoyed my rambles to such far-flung and lovely spots, but it’s nice to know I don’t have to hop a plane to enjoy such peace and beauty.
Even if you can’t get away for a much-needed vacation soon, I hope you can find a quiet, pleasant niche in your own corner of the world for a little R & R after a long, hot day.
– Patty Vanikiotis, associate editor/copy editor
A Summer Drive
Jul 10th
While the East Coast has been sweltering under triple-digit temperatures and sticky humidity this week, the Pacific Northwest has experienced its own heat wave. Most of Oregon and Washington have seen highs around the century mark, though without the high humidity in the East. Even the normally cool coast reached 93 on Thursday, beating the old record high by nearly 20 degrees. Facing a four-hour drive from my home in Southern Oregon to Portland on Friday, I decided I should leave early in the morning to avoid driving during the hottest part of the day.
What with attending to some last-minute work projects, watering all the plants thoroughly and dealing with a few unexpected interruptions and chores, I found myself finally rolling out of the driveway at noon. So much for my missing-the-heat plan; it was already nearly 90. Nevertheless, I decided to begin my trip with the windows down and the A.C. off. I cranked up the volumn on the Classic Vinyl station on Sirius radio and headed north on I-5. Zipping along at 70-plus miles per hour, I found the wind blowing through the windows kept me comfortable enough, and I was able to enjoy not only the sights but the smells of a beautiful if toasty summer day.
Some of my favorites:
 – The peppery-dry aroma of sun-baked pines as I climbed from the valley floor towards the first pass
– The sweet, fresh smell of new-mown hay
– The sharp, woodsy scent of bark and sap as I passed enormous piles of logs being soaked down by huge sprinklers in a sawmill lot
– The mossy, damp-earth smell of markedly cooler air as the road passed over several rivers along the way
 All these complemented iconic sights of a midsummer day:
– Broad-winged hawks coasting the thermals over the fields
– Heaps of round hay bales (“toilet-paper hay,” so dubbed by my daughters years ago because they do resemble large, tawny-colored rolls of t.p.) scattered across gently sloping hills
– Rippling fields of grain ripening to gold contrasted against dark-green stands of trees
– Piles of thunderheads heaping up against the Cascades in towering billows of white, purple and gray
I have to admit that by two o’clock — when I reached Eugene, traffic slowed to 60 mph and the temperature neared 100 – I closed up the windows and let the air conditioning bathe me in cool comfort. My favorite part of the drive, though, was certainly those first two hours, when all the sights and smells of summer surrounded me and jogged memories of past summer days. I hope you’ll have the chance to enjoy some summer driving this season, with the windows down, the tunes cranked up and the sun high in the sky.
–Â Patty Vanikiotis, associate editor/copy editorÂ
