Larry Mossey I Love New York magazine articles
What’s Hot This Winter Enjoy the Dog Days of Winter New Yorkers are forever finding new ways to zip through the snow. A few years ago, some innovative soul took a look at the family dog and a pair of skis and thought—why not? And skijoring (www.sleddogcentral.com) became the hot new winter sport. Hooking your dog to skis for a tow through the snow is nothing new to Alaskans, who’ve been mushing the family pet for generations, but New England has now adopted skijoring with a passion. Pronounce it (skee-JOR-ing). It’s easy and inexpensive to get started too with many ski areas beginning to offer this sport. Now all you need to do is convince your pet. If Rover isn’t quite up to the task, try dog sledding (www.adirondack.net/dog_sledding). You don’t have to travel to the Yukon to mush a team of muskies; many winter resorts like Mirror Lake’s Golden Arrow (www.golden-arrow.com/the-resort/play-on-mirrorlake) are beginning to offer rides on hand-crafted Adirondack dog sleds pulled by trained dog teams. Local dog sled races are popping up too in places like Winona Forest, Pack Forest in Warrensburg, and the quiet town of Inlet near Raquette Lake. Snowshoeing (www.trails.com/toptrails.aspx?area=12661) has exploded in popularity as an easy to learn sport that requires little equipment and burns calories like there’s no tomorrow. Similar to cross-country skiing, snowshoeing lets you drink in the scenery at a slower pace along countless miles of groomed trails that lace the landscape from the Catskills to the Finger Lakes, including lighted trails for serene evening hikes. Ice skating has been making a comeback too at hundreds of rinks, lakes and ponds. At palatial Mohonk Mountain House (www.mohonk.com), a luxurious Catskills region grand hotel, you can even hit the ice with world champion skaters for special classes as you rub parkas with the sport’s finest athletes. A novel way to reach the Adirondack ski slopes is aboard the Saratoga & North Creek Railway’s Snow Train (www.snccr.com) connecting Saratoga Springs to North Creek and Gore Mountain. After a 50-year silence, the Snow Train is again whisking passengers past breathtaking winter scenery on their way to skiing, shopping and adventuring. Heated vintage coach cars and on-board breakfasts let you skip the icy roads and traffic aboard this blast from the past. Get Your Thrills On Not all roller coasters close down in winter. One of the wildest is Holiday Valley’s Sky High Mountain Coaster (www.holidayvalley.com), a six-minute steel-rail plummet through the woods with lightning twists and dips—don’t worry, you control the speed. Still got some adrenalin left? Why not plummet down Mt. Van Hoevenberg on a ribbon of ice? Lake Placid’s Olympic Complex (www.whiteface.com/activities/bobsledexperience) dares you to challenge their world-class bobsled and luge tracks on a milelong rocket ride that will paste back your ears at up to 5-G speeds, professional driver included. If a chin-scraping luge run is too close for comfort, Hunter Mountain’s Zipline Adventure Tours (www.huntermtn.com) might be your ticket. Only a nylon strap separates you from the scenery at heights up to 600 feet in North America’s longest and highest zipline canopy tour. With five miles of cable, there are custom rides for families and thrillseekers alike. Or blaze your own trails over countless acres of tundra on a snowmobile. Chautauqua Lake Snowmobile Services (www.clsnowmobiles.com) is typical of outfitters across the state offering snowmobile rentals and guided tours, and there are plenty of state parks with snowmobile-approved trails (www.nysparks.com/recreation/snowmobiles). Apres Snow
Larry Mossey I Love New York magazine articles Prefer the Great Indoors? The winter season brings new shows to the stage on Broadway and at local theaters from city to hamlet, and the brightest stars decorate New York’s casinos year-round; like Mr. Vegas himself, Wayne Newton, part of a new season at Seneca Niagara Casino (www.senecaniagaracasino.com/entertainment) that also includes crazed comedian Lewis Black, Earth, Wind & Fire, and the queen of soul, Aretha Franklin. January’s giant New York Times Travel Show (www.nyttravelshow.com) brings adventure to your doorstep, or at least to NYC’s Jacob Javits Center, where you’ll get to check out more than 500 exotic destinations from international hot spots to secret corners of the state. For stress-free vacationing, why not leave the driving to tour experts? Seasoned motor coach tour operators like Onondaga Coach Tours (www.onondagacoach.com) let you travel in carefree comfort to familiar and exotic destinations across the state for a vacation you might never discover on your own. Shopping is always in season At Destiny USA (www.destinyusa.com) in Syracuse, more than 215 luxury outlets and retail stores await the winter shopper, while an indoor go-kart race track, bowling alley, comedy club, and WonderWorks thrill ride amuse the family between bargains. Famouslabel hunters will find plenty of game at outlet malls like the Hudson Valley’s 220-store Woodbury Common Premium Outlets (www.premiumoutlets.com/woodburycommon), Long Island’s Americana Manhasset (www.americanamanhasset.com), and the Fashion Outlets of Niagara Falls (www.fashionoutletsniagara.com), where Prada, Gucci and Chanel are family names.
Larry Mossey I Love New York magazine articles
Spring Fun Nothing stirs the blood like fresh spring air No one understands cabin fever better than a New Yorker, or appreciates that first breath of fresh spring air along our state’s spectacular trails. That’s why we have so many ways to celebrate spring, and mountain biking (www.bikekinetix.com) is among the most popular. New York State offers the most scenic mountain bike trails in the nation. The Adirondack Park, Catskill Mountains, Hudson Valley, and Finger Lakes Canal and Rail Trail systems are all famous for their views along gorges, ravines, pastures and woodlands. For kayakers, Spring arrives with the whitewater. You can practically hear the thunder as mountains release their winter snows to the delight of whitewater enthusiasts across the state. Whether you’re rafting a heart-pounding 17-mile run through the spectacular Hudson River Gorge (www.wildwaters.net) or canoeing down the Delaware River, you’ll feel your pulse race along with the foam. Things are busy just beneath the waves too as spring fishing (www.nyfisherman.net) arrives. When late winter thaws raise stream levels, head to the nearest creek for plenty of famished fish, or shore fish for Finger Lakes trout with Rapalas or bass minnows. In March the trout begin their runs from Lake Ontario and the Finger Lakes, smelt begin to make their way up smaller streams and, as soon as the ice is off, bullheads come looking for a meal. Of course, spring is also maple season. During March Maple weekends (www.nysmaple.com), more than 100 of the state’s finest maple producers open their sugarhouses to demonstrate the making of maple products, from tree-tapping to sap boiling to table-ready syrups and candies. Spring means flowers too at gardens and garden shows everywhere. The streets blossom at Albany’s Tulip Fest (www.albanyevents.org/events/event_detail.cfm?ID=2), an annual celebration where 100,000 tulips decorate downtown’s Washington Park. New York City’s Central Park breaks out in blooms too as cabin-weary visitors flock to walking tours of Conservatory Garden (www.centralparknyc.org/visit/tours).
Larry Mossey I Love New York magazine articles
Farmers’ Markets The best food you can bring home to your family. Time was, the village marketplace was the social center of every community where we bought our food fresh every day and caught up on the gossip. Then came grocery stores and supermarkets, cellophane and TV dinners. But now farmers’ markets are making a big comeback and for all the right reasons. In a state landscaped with farmland from tip to tip, it only makes sense to buy fresh foods direct from the producer. As New Yorkers rediscover this truth, over 600 regularly scheduled farmers’ markets have appeared, interspersed with countless roadside farm stands, filling pantries with ever-expanding varieties of foods including organic fruits, farm-raised meats, jams and honeys, cereals and vegetables of every kind. New York cheeses and wines are well represented, along with maple products and orchard produce. Fall is a big season for farm-to-market, when fresh-picked Hudson Valley apples, Finger Lakes grapes and Adirondack berries share booth space with an abundant harvest of veggies and grains, spices and spirits, often with live entertainment. But winter no longer brings an end to the marketplace. Farmers’ markets are quickly becoming a year-round thing according to Diane Eggert, Executive Director at the Farmers’ Market Federation of New York. She points out that over 100 New York State farmers’ markets are now open all year, both indoors and out. This means that more shoppers are relying on the local greenmarket for food staples such as hearth-baked breads, cheeses, sauces and jams. Crafts and hand-made durable products often accompany the food offerings, and a grocery trip can easily turn into a shopping spree. City shoppers especially love the marketplace, from Buffalo and Syracuse to Lake Placid and Rhinebeck. New York City’s Greenmarket (www.grownyc.org), which began in 1976 on a couple of empty lots, has grown to 54 markets citywide with over 230 participating family farms and providers. Shoppers quickly learn to arrive early for the best selection and bring along bags and coolers to keep things fresh. The advantage of fresher food is clear: it tastes better. But your local farmers’ market is more than a place to buy food; it’s an event you can share with your family and community, where farmer meets consumer face to face, tips are offered, recipes shared, and you can still catch up on the gossip. Discover your nearest marketplace at the Farmers’ Market Federation of New York (www.nyfarmersmarket.com).