SAMPLE ARTICLES

 Introduction    

Here is a sampling of article ledes, by specialty. Blue headlines are with links to the full article, where available on the web.

TRAVEL

Architect makes earthly delights
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- I didn't understand the concept of urban sprawl until I visited Scottsdale, and I didn't know the antidote for it until I visited Cosanti. I came here seeking Frank Lloyd Wright. I left enamored of Paolo Soleri.

Quebec marketplace a foodie's dream

QUEBEC CITY, Canada – When I come here, I eat. A lot.

I've nibbled my way through chocolateries and maple sugar shacks citywide, but nothing compares with the Marché du Vieux Port, a European-style marketplace hugging the waterfront on the edge of the walled city. The Marché, or market, is a delicious find, a treat for the senses, a tease to the waistline and a wonderful source for taste-full souvenirs.

Little to do but love it all
COOPER ISLAND, British Virgin Islands -- No phone. No TV. No Internet. No air conditioning. No cars. No roads. No crowds. It's surprising how so many nos can add up to one resounding yes.

Playing with lobster can be a chef's Maine course
PORTLAND, Maine -- Around here, getting lobster is easy; getting perfect lobster is not. Lobster joints salt the coast from Kittery to Calais. It seems nearly every village on the ocean side of Route 1 has at least one lobster shack or equivalent, a casual, usually take-out place. ``Everyone wants it, so it's thrown into a pot and not a lot of attention is paid to it," said Rob Evans, chef-owner of Hugo's Restaurant in Portland. That's not the case in the state's nationally acclaimed restaurants, where the tasty crustacean is treated like a celebrity rather than a commodity.

Arts Tour: Coastal Maine Midcoast Ramble
The rolling, pine- and spruce-studded landscape of Maine's Blue Hill Peninsula can't be contained by the mapmaker-challenging coastline. It repeatedly furls and unfurls itself, befuddling drivers and confounding direction mavens. Causeways and bridges connect islands, coves cosset sleepy fishing villages, and blueberry bushes and artists' studios and galleries dot the byways.

Highland Fling
Braveheart and Madonna. Castles and distilleries. Royals and clansmen. Few places weave fantasy and fairytales together so perfectly as Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Here you can be lord and lady of the land, spending your days exploring the countryside and return each evening to your castle to drink and dine from the bounty of the land.

Time Travel on the Dingle Peninsula
In Kilmalkedar, I felt the tug of time. In this aged, yet ageless Irish village, amidst the quiet ruins of an ancient church and an overgrown cemetery, I discovered that the sensuous spirituality of Southwestern Ireland has nothing to do with religion, but everything to do with being in a land that is older than the Himalayan mountains.

Inn-to-Inn Cookie Tour: Over the river and through the White Mountains in search of the best holiday cookies.
Sure, you can spread holiday cheer, enjoy glad tidings and ring in the New Year, but if you want to do so in a way guaranteed to make family and friends smile, ply them with home-baked cookies. Homemade holiday cookies go beyond the usual butter-and-sugar confections, they’re often made with more precious ingredients, and they always include an extra dose of  love. Now family recipes deliver cookies with a story, but if you want easy-to-make, crowd-pleasing goodies, ask the pros: New England’s innkeepers.

New Hampshire’s Grand Winter Secrets
New Hampshire’s historic grand hotels overpower visitors with their sense of place and with their place in history. These sprawling architectural gems dotted the White Mountains in an era when charmed city-folk arrived by train or buckboard carriage to spend the summer, servants and steamer trunks in tow. Fires and neglect have claimed most; but a handful have survived, been renovated and winterized. Now skiers arrive in SUVs, skis and boots in hand.

MAINE

Monhegan Magic
When my workload becomes too much to bear, when I can no longer ignore the Siren Song of summer, I head to Monhegan Island, eager for a mental, spiritual and physical tune-up. This small island off the mid-Maine coast seduces visitors with its rugged build, handsome looks and a Yankee character that seems to hold you at arms’ length while at the same time enveloping you.

Jamming with the Wind
The first thing to go is vanity. That’s what Joe Leidenfrost, First Mate on the schooner Nathaniel Bowditch, says about sailing on a windjammer. “On a six-day trip, by the second day, the guests are asking for a shower; by the fourth or fifth day, they no longer care.”

Thrills and Chills: Finding Magic on Maine’s Kennebec River
Our guide shouted "Both Ahead," and with an urgency edged with fear, our raft of eight responded, digging hard into the frothing blue waters of Maine’s Kennebec River. Ahead, where the river seemed to disappear, was Magic Falls, a roiling drop known to flip rafts and leave rafters gasping for air in the rapids that followed.

Fishing for Folk Arts
Most people go to Grand Lake Stream to fish. Some go relax. I go to shop. That's not easy in a sleepy fishing town that boasts just one tiny general store.

SKIING

Beyond the Yikes Zone
Fear is a disease. It gnaws at you, digging its teeth into the pit of your stomach, sucking and nibbling until it devours you from within. Faith is the antidote. Faith that you will succeed, heal or rise to the occasion, despite what your gut, your doctor, your so-called friends tell you. I discovered just how fine that line between fear and faith is during a women’s ski clinic at Jackson Hole, Wyo.

Simple Pleasures: Searching for the Soul of  Skiing on a Tightwad Budget
Contrary to what ski marketers believe, I don’t ski for high-speed thrills. I don’t ski because of fancy lifts. I have zero desire to launch off a cliff. No, I ski for camaraderie: to be outdoors sharing fresh air, sugary slopes and near-frozen smiles with others who prize these simple pleasures. 

Above it All:
It gives meaning to the old cliché, "You can’t get there from here." Sure, Sugarloaf/USA is a bit more remote than most New England resorts. But that—along with its unrivaled terrain, huge vertical and down-to-earth Maine attitude— is what makes it worth the effort. This behemoth is as unpretentious as an L.L. Bean boot.

Eat, Drink and Ski Merry: the flavor of skiing in eastern Quebec
I thought I understood skiing. Be on line when lifts open. Ski hard until they close. Grab lunch on the fly. Hot tub. Dinner. Party. Sleep. Get up, repeat. Silly me, I had it all wrong.

Contact Hilary Nangle