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Summer-Vacations-With-An-Edge / Active Travel / Cowboy Vacations / Labor-Day-Travel / → All Tags

Summer Vacations With An Edge: White Stallion Ranch

Summer's winding down, but the long Labor Day weekend means there's still time for one last Summer Vacation with an Edge.

Arizona's White Stallion Ranch sprawls across 3,000 acres of wide-open range near the Tucson Mountains and Saguaro National Park, offering the perfect blend of rugged outdoors and relaxation to cap off your summer and ease into fall.

The ranch owns one of the largest herds of horses in the state, and since this is Arizona, that's saying a lot. Expert guides lead rides for everyone from the novice rider to the most experienced, on rocky mountain paths and fast, flat dessert sand. For want-to-be cowboys the ranch even offers team cow penning three times a week.

For those who prefer their feet on the ground instead of in the stirrups, White Stallion's staff leads day-long hikes into the Tucson Mountains. After a day on the range, or in the hills, guests gather for a real southwest BBQ and have dinner under the stars.

Related Stories:
· White Stallion Ranch [Official Site]
· Summer Vacations With An Edge [Jaunted]
· Summer Vacations With An Edge Map [Jaunted]

[Photo: White Stallion Ranch]

Summer-Vacations-With-An-Edge / Caribbean Travel / St. Maarten / Princess Juliana Airport / → All Tags

Summer Vacations With An Edge: Surf Jet Exhaust

Ok, this never gets old. Yes, that's a 747 and no, there's no CGI wizardry involved. Welcome to St. Maarten, home to possibly the only beach where you can catch a wave by the good graces of both Mother Nature and Air France.

The beach in question is right outside the Princess Juliana airport (SXM) on the south side of the island. Pilots consider it a tough spot to land heavier jets as that the bare minimum length runway forces pilots to come in extremely low, about thirty feet over the heads of sunbathers on the strip of sand outside the boundary fence. The effects of arriving jets seems tolerable in the video clip but word has it that departing planes can stir up enough of a sandstorm to clear the beach or, in some cases, enough wake for surfers to catch waves heading out to sea.

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Summer-Vacations-With-An-Edge / Adventure Travel / Outer Banks Travel / → All Tags

Summer Vacations with an Edge: Catch Air in Kitty Hawk

Stifling heat harshing your summer vacation mellow? Why not catch a cool breeze by launching yourself off a cliff? There's no better place to get personally acquainted with flight than in the birthplace of aviation, Kitty Hawk, North Carolina?

Kitty Hawk Kites runs the worlds largest hang gliding school with a lessons available for all levels of experience. Beginners take off for their first taste of the sky from the sand dunes that line the islands of the Outer Banks, channeling--we hope--the good luck of the Wright Brothers.

Kiteboarding, paragliding and kayaking are also offered for those looking for other ways to get their adrenaline fix. Since the Outer Banks aren't exactly a secret, finding that dream beach house can be a bit of a competition. But a bit of advance planning is all it takes to stay cooler than the other side of the pillow.

More Summer Vacations with an Edge are this way.

Related Stories:
· Summer Vacations with an Edge [Jaunted]
· Kitty Hawk Kites [Official Site]

[Photo: The Carey Fam]

Summer-Vacations-With-An-Edge / Amazon Travel / → All Tags

Summer Vacations with an Edge: Backpacking in the Amazon

Sitting on the beach is nice, but Amazon Travel & Tours is more our style. The group takes backpackers on hikes through untamed trails and floats them down winding rainforest streams in a dugout canoe. They trek across the rainforest floor and climb through its canopy, too.

With a wide range of options there's something for everyone, from seven days in the Ecuadorian Amazon to a nine-day biosphere explorer. There are longer 16-day wildlife tours and a 15-day adventures through the Andes and the Amazon.

One traveler had this to say about his tour through the Amazon:

All the guides brought their culture to us by sharing their wealth of knowledge, experience, and other local interactions that helped bring Peru closer to us. Victor had a haunting way of finding things at night in the jungle that was simply amazing. I also came to realize how much trust and comfort there was in his presence as he navigated us through the jungle paths and the waterways. Your guides are the best! Overall, the tour was very good and we will definitely use Adventure Life again for future South American travels.

Sure it's no day on the beach, but according to Amazon's website, there's still plenty of time for lounging.

Related Stories:
·   Brazil Travel [Jaunted]
·   Brazil Hotels [HotelChatter]
·    More Summer Vacations with an Edge [Jaunted]

[Photo: Batcon]

Summer-Vacations-With-An-Edge / Surfing Lessons / → All Tags

Summer Vacations with an Edge: Surf City New Zealand

Who wouldn't love to hang ten like a Kiwi? Well, maybe an Aussie. In any event, there's a five-day trip that will teach you how.

New Zealand Surf `n' Snow Tours coaches beginners and experts alike on their work-week long surfing safari. Equipment is provided and instructors are well-versed in identifying the best waves for a rider's ability.

Small groups lessons, beautiful scenery and gnarly waves are a guarantee. And so are good times with an itinerary like this:

Day 1 - Kia Ora, Welcome. The search begins departing Auckland & heading for the far north. Tonight (Monday) we stay at Shipwreck Bay.
Day 2 - The majority of today's driving is on the beach taking you to secluded surf locations. Shipwreck Bay accommodation.
Day 3 - Start the day with a surf and breakfast. Then the search begins again. Shipwreck Bay accommodation.
Day 4 - More of day 2 and 3, by evening our surf pilgrimage will bring us home to our shipwreckbay accomadation.
Day 5 - Back to Auckland chasing waves on either coast.
We arrive in Auckland late Friday afternoon.

Bonuses: Sunsets, dolphins, whales, wild horses and dune boarding just to name a few.

Registration fees include lessons, accommodations, three square meals, transportation and equipment.

All you need to pack is the SPF.

More Summer Vacations With an Edge are this way.

Related Stories:
·   New Zealand Snow and Surf Tours [Official Site]
·   New Zealand Hotels [Jaunted]
·   New Zealand Travel [Jaunted]

[Photo Credit: SurfPics]

Summer-Vacations-With-An-Edge / Surfing Lessons / Ikumi Beach / → All Tags

Summer Vacations With An Edge: Surfing Ikumi Beach

A bit off the well worn Endless Summer surf track, Ikumi Beach at the southern tip of Japan's Kochi Prefecture nonetheless offers plenty of the aloha spirit and decent breaks for all levels of ability. Wild breaks at Ikumi have hosted international competition while five minutes down the coast offers milder waves more inviting to amateurs looking to get upright on a wave for the first time. Above all, its a welcome respite from the breakneck pace of modern Japan available at countryside prices.

Ikumi blends the rural charms of Japan's least developed island with a local scene filled with metropolitan refugees. Denizens of Shikoku are well-deserving of their reputation for friendliness and laid back hospitality, greeting road weary travelers with a warm smile and a bottle of Kirin be they beach bums or the streams of Buddhist pilgrims that walk through town on the famed 88 Temples Pilgrimage.

The best deal in town is at the Ikumi Guesthouse, offering air conditioned rooms and breakfast for under $40 American. Your host there, lifelong surf enthusiast Ten, can set you up with discount rentals and lessons, introductions to the locals and all the amenities of a home away from home.

The best surf comes with the typhoons and tourists between June and November but the off-season has its charms (and extra elbow room). Be warned though: like many beach towns, most restaurants close up when the crowds go home and lunch may be a choice between a 3 mile walk and whatever can be gleaned from the local konbini (convenience mart).

More Summer Vacations With an Edge are this way.

Related Stories:
· Japan Travel [Jaunted]
· Japan Hotels [HotelChatter]

Summer-Vacations-With-An-Edge / Surfing Lessons / Signature Days / → All Tags

Summer Vacations with an Edge: Newbie Surfers In Jersey

When people talk surfing they usually mean Hawaii, California, or maybe even Miami. But these days newbies can ride the waves in the City of Brotherly Love, too. (Or at least just across the bridge.)

Instructors at Signature Days, a unique travel agency serving several major cities, have been teaching virgin riders to surf for more than a decade. A $110 pass buys two students an hour-long tutorial, from June through early October, in this east coast town about 90 minutes outside Philly.

Surfers may not catch the big kahuna off the shores of Waretown, New Jersey, but hey there is a lot less shame bailing on a wave in Philly then somewhere on the Pacific coast.

More Summer Vacations With An Edge.

Related Stories:
· New Jersey Hotels [HotelChatter]
· Surfing Lessons [Jaunted]

[Photo: Sister72]

Adventure Travel / Prince William Sound / Summer-Vacations-With-An-Edge / → All Tags

Summer Vacations With An Edge: Wild on Alaska

Too often a fishing trip with dad means waking up before sunrise, sitting for too many silent and awkward hours, then coming home empty handed. But Joe Romano, owner of Gas and Time Alaskan Outfitters, pretty much guarantees otherwise.

Romano takes those looking for an outdoor family (or friendly) adventure on three day, two night excursions in the western Prince William Sound. He says it's not fishing. It's catching, and that's because his guests almost always bring home the limit.

Outdoor enthusiasts can stream fish for sockeye salmon and chub for halibut off Romano's no-frills silver boat. Then, after a long day, tuck into camp on a remote island where the expert guide will cook everyone dinner before cleaning the day's catch. Once back to the mainland, Romano's got his guests covered with both shipping and smoking services that insure fish arrive home fresh.

Deep sea fishing and camping in the waters of Alaska may not be for the faint of heart, but Romano does his best to make everyone feel at home.

Related Stories:
· Alaska Travel [Jaunted]
· Alaska Hotels [HotelChatter]

More Summer Vacations With an Edge are this way.

[Photo: Savinca]

Summer-Vacations-With-An-Edge / Motorcycle Travel / → All Tags

Summer Vacations with an Edge: Harley Heaven in South Dakota

South Dakota may be a quiet, dusty state 358 days a year, but next month, from August 6 through 12, engines roar, black leather abounds, and hogs take over.

And no, we're not talking about pork and bacon.

Since 1938, Harley Davidson fanatics from across the country and around the world have been flocking to the unlikely town of Sturgis, South Dakota for one of the largest motorcycle rallies on the globe. It ain't for the faint of heart.

The weeklong wonder includes 12 biker-themed events, like a half-mile race, road tours and hill climbs, with more than 6,000 spectators. World-class tattoo artists line the streets for those looking to get inked, and hundreds of leather and t-shirt stands open for the once-a-year event that takes over all of Sturgis's streets.

Sturgis rally party planners even have lovebirds covered, with Harley-themed wedding packages for the happy day.

Hotel rooms go fast, so it's best to book now. And based on the looks of this crowd, we say it's best to arrive on a Harley, not a Honda.

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Related Stories:
· South Dakota Travel [Jaunted]
· Hotels in South Dakota [HotelChatter]

Adventure Travel / Red Rocks / Summer-Vacations-With-An-Edge / → All Tags

Summer Vacations With an Edge: Red Rocks Climbing in Nevada

If the insufferable desert heat doesn't get you first, then scaling the walls of a canyon in Red Rocks, Nevada might kill you. Or at least test your limits.

Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area has hundreds of climbing courses to which you can hook your rope and carabiner. Thousands pay the entrance fee to scale the rocks, although you will have a less interrupted view of the scenery because so few people brave the rocks in summer.

Climbing sites include the ominously-named "Crimson Chrysalis," "Prince of Darkness," and "Epinephrine." The park is a stone's throw from Vegas, so you can stay at Luxor to gear up for the next day.

More Summer Vacations With An Edge.

Related Stories:
· Hotels in Red Rocks [HotelChatter]

[Photo Credit: Mountain Guy]

Summer-Vacations-With-An-Edge / Adventure Travel / → All Tags

Summer Vacations With an Edge: Zip Lining in Texas

People have done some pretty stupid things when trying to simulate flight. They've stepped off buildings wearing homemade wings, driven cars over ramps, and gone naked skydiving (and no, we're not giving you picture links for that one). Here's a better, safer, and more respectable way to fly through the air: zip lining. Attached by a harness to a wire, you zoom over trees, gigantic ravines and the like.

Now, to bring zip lining to the next level, we recommend Cypress Valley Canopy Tours in Spicewood, Texas (just outside of Austin). Their Canopy Challenge course is so difficult that they require you to undergo a strength test during orientation to make sure you won't, you know, lose your grip and fall to your death. It's totally worth it -- doing the course, we mean, not falling to your death -- but you might want to start doing some push ups now, just in case.

More Summer Vacations With an Edge are this way.

Related Stories:
· Stories About Austin [Jaunted]
· Austin Hotel Reviews [Hotel Chatter]

[Photo: shadowhound]

Summer-Vacations-With-An-Edge / Sharks / Adventure Travel / Mancations / → All Tags

Summer Vacations With an Edge: Swim With the Sharks

Looking for a summer vacation with a bit more -- and excuse us for this -- bite? Try swimming with sharks, sans cage. And we're not talking about just sissy sandsharks. Nope. You'll be in a tank with over 25 different types of flesh-eating sea beasts with only a pair of goggles, a snorkel, and nerves of steel to protect you.

What aquarium is brave enough to send its patrons into shark-infested waters? The Adventure Aquarium, of course. It makes sense, after all, that the attraction is in Camden, N.J., America's fifth most dangerous city. Just make sure you drive there during daylight, or you may be risking life-and-limb before you even get to the aquarium.

Related Stories:
· Philadelphia Field Trip [Jaunted]
· Shark Tourism [Jaunted]

More Summer Vacations With an Edge are this way.

[Photo: Savinca]