Category: Fitness

Hike and Flight: St. Mary’s Glacier in Idaho Springs

3/3/2022

By John Roberts
The Hike: St. Mary's Glacier in the Arapaho National Forest
The Flight: Craft ciders at Clear Creek Cidery & Eatery in Idaho Springs
St. Mary's Glacier is a signature day hike in Colorado and a wonderful outing for both visitors and residents in the state. The trailhead is located at: St. Mary's Glacier Trailhead, St. Mary's Drive, Idaho Springs. This is located just over an hour from Denver and up a switchback road to a well-marked parking lot just before that trailhead, which begins at 10,400 feet in elevation.
There is a $5 parking fee (self-pay in a provided envelope and mail slot). The route climbs to just past 11,000 feet once you reach the glacier. St. Mary's Glacier might not be technically a glacier these days as it is not flowing under its own weight any more. Instead, it's a semi-permanent ice field and still an impressive sight once you get there. I loved scaling the steep hill to the ice field and soaking in the 360-degree views on a sunny day when I first hiked it on March 1, 2022.
The hike is about 2.5 miles out and back. The first scenic location is at 1 mile into the hike at St. Mary's Lake. This is a great spot to rest because the route is a steep uphill at the start until you get to the lake.
This is a wonderful place for a picnic, and you can even go in for a swim during warmer months. A path to the right of the lake brings you around to the hill that you climb to get to the ice field.
You can cross-country ski, enjoy snowshoeing and even go sledding or snowboarding down from the ice field.
This hike is combined well with a lunch at flight at Clear Creek Cidery & Eatery, located about 20 minutes away in the historic town of Idaho Springs. Clear Creek has a nice menu filled with comfort foods, including a great cheeseburger. You can choose from about nine ciders on tap to build a flight.
I had the Lavender Lemonade, Agave Peach, Cherry Glider and Alma (apples and honey).
Check out our Colorado Craft Brewery Guide to find more great craft beer spots around the state.

Thanks for reading.
Happy hiking and sipping!
JR

St. Mary's Lake

A view from the glacier.

My lunch and flight at Clear Creek Cidery & Eatery.

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Cruising with SeaDream: Six Ways to Stay Active on SeaDream II

2/25/2022

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Colleen and I loved the outdoor dining on SeaDream II. Plus, the food all week was amazing!

By John Roberts
Over the years, many friends I have met while cruising on other lines have mentioned SeaDream Yacht Club, consistently raving about how these small-ship voyages were among their favorite travel experiences.
These conversations made me eager to take a trip with SeaDream, and I finally sailed one of the line's two ships, SeaDream II, cruising in the Bahamas and to the Dominican Republic for a winter getaway in early 2022. The weather in January makes the conditions a little cooler in the Caribbean, so we faced days of choppy sailing and rain that limited some of the activities that we would have loved to try.
However, the service and cuisine stood out, and Colleen and I quickly realized why our friends love cruising with SeaDream Yacht Club. Within in moments of walking up the gangway to board the 112-passenger ship, Capt. Michael Macleod grabbed our luggage and said he would make sure it was delivered to our cabin. (Yes, the captain!)
Then, as we settled in for a drink in the ship's lounge while we waited our turn to check in, Frank, the sommelier and an 18-year veteran on SeaDream, joined to welcome us aboard and ask whether there was anything he could do for us -- like maybe have him give us a personal tour of the ship he called home.
This is how it went all week, with all staffers greeting us every day with smiles and fabulous service, never failing to make every effort to grant any and all requests. We saw it happening throughout SeaDream II for all of our fellow passengers, too.
Bartenders Gareth and Byron kept our glasses filled and passengers laughing with friendly banter and tales of their home country, South Africa. Hotel manager Jamie made a special run while ashore in the Bahamas to grab a batch of island brews -- Kalik -- for us after learning we were interested in a different variety of beers during the sailing.

In addition, Chef Alistair and his crew in the galley crafted the most incredible menus for our daily meals. Breakfasts, lunches and dinners all had a diverse array of flavorful cuisine, and it truly was hard to choose from all the fantastic options.
It's a good thing that we could indulge a bit during our voyage without feeling too guilty. This is because the ship also features multiple ways to stay active and work out during your cruise.
That means SeaDream Yacht Club fits perfectly with our travel style, offering the ideal mix of food, fun and active adventures.
Here are six ways you can earn your extra calories on a SeaDream cruise:

The water sports marina sits at the back of SeaDream II.

Marina Sports
Several cruise lines offer ships with a water sports marina that opens at the back of the vessel to allow cruisers to get on the water for sports like swimming, kayaking and paddleboarding. However, SeaDream Yacht Club has the most-impressive lineup of activities we've ever seen.
We sailed in the Caribbean and would have loved to try all the toys that SeaDream II carries, but the choppy seas throughout our week meant that the activities team couldn't open the marina.
Here's what they offer, though. In addition to kayaks and paddleboards, you can go sailing on the ship's Hobie Cat catamaran, jet skiing, tubing, water skiing, take banana boat rides and use the floating trampoline, as well as swimming and snorkeling.

Fitness Center
SeaDream II has a big gym. It's especially large, I think, for a ship that carries just more than 100 passengers. We were able to do everything in this fitness center that we could do at our gym back home. It's equipped with an elliptical machine, spin bike (we used our Peloton app to take a class), treadmills and a nice batch of resistance equipment.
We used the universal machine and dumbbells, as well as the kettle bells, yoga mats and foam rollers to get well-rounded daily workouts.
Tai Chi and Yoga Sessions
The daily program includes morning yoga or Tai Chi classes. Members of the spa team are self-taught in yoga and Tai Chi and lead these informal sessions for passengers outdoors on deck when the weather is nice (or inside when it's too chilly or raining), and these classes are a wonderful way to get the blood flowing and your mind right for another fun day of your voyage.

Beach Running
Though rough at sea, the weather was ideal for runs and hiking while ashore in the Bahamas (we visited Nassau, San Salvador Island and Compass Cay) and the Dominican Republic (Puerto Plata and Isla Saona). During the stop at Compass Cay, we went on a long hike and run along a beautiful and secluded sandy beach. This warmed us up nicely for a swim in the blue waters to cool off.
At San Salvador Island, we took a run to a beach, where again we were alone except for a couple fishermen. SeaDream Yacht Club sails to stunning small ports where you don't have to deal with crowds and can easily blend into the fabric of the daily life of the residents.
So, if you are an avid jogger, hiker or walker, there are brilliant opportunities to go out and explore on your own this way at your port stops.

Biking
SeaDream ships carry a fleet of about 10 bikes, so you can also check these out for rides around town. Some ports will be better for this than others. You can imagine riding along the waterside on well-developed paths in Europe, for example.

Snorkeling and Swimming
While you can jump in and splash around off the back of the ship when the marina is open at certain port calls, you also get excellent opportunities to swim and snorkel when you cruise with SeaDream Yacht Club.
We went swimming from the beach almost every day of our trip, and the ships stock snorkel equipment that you cab to use on your own whenever you get the urge to spend some of your time snorkeling at your destination.

We had a special time on our mid-winter trip, but there was no way to do it all. Now, we'll plan to get back on for another sailing to enjoy everything a SeaDream cruise has to offer.

Thanks for reading,
JR

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Luxury Cruise Line Silversea Reveals Innovative Wellness Program

10/20/2021

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Images courtesy of Silversea Cruises

By John Roberts
Silversea Cruises, one of the world's top luxury travel experiences, announced what we think is a fascinating new wellness program, Otium. The program will launch on Silversea's new ship Silver Dawn, which debuts in spring 2022.
Otium takes inspiration from the leisurely nature of the ancient Roman lifestyle, and the experience on Silver Dawn serves as a sort of tribute to the cruise line's Italian heritage. In Roman culture, Otium -- the opposite of negotium, the absence of leisure -- was a period of time dedicated to wellness and relaxation, in which people bathed, conversed, sung, theorized, ate and drank.
Several cruise lines offer some type of wellness programs, but Otium encourages balanced indulgence, pampering and pleasure over sacrifice and delayed gratification. Otium is built on the principles that wellness should be a natural, enjoyable part of the day; that living well and being well are not mutually exclusive; and that wellness need not be a solitary, silent experience but rather a social pursuit best enjoyed with fellow cruisers.
"Silversea has long excelled at enabling guests to travel deeper in luxury" says Barbara Muckermann, chief commercial officer of Silversea Cruises. "While the immersive aspect of our offering is easy to convey, the luxuriousness of our product can often seem intangible: guests really need to see it -- to live it -- to fully appreciate it.
"Otium is unlike any other wellness program . . . and will weave a tapestry of unprecedented comfort around our guests. It will revolve around instant gratification, extending the luxurious pampering for which Silversea is famous to different areas of the ship, from guests' suites to the redesigned spa area and beyond. Otium will transform the way guests relax and enjoy their personal space. It will be an elevation of our already high levels of comfort."
The program provides a customized wellness journey throughout Silver Dawn, including in some of the most spacious suites at sea. It features a curated range of treatments in the reimagined spa. Let's have a look at some of the top experiences you can expect from Otium on Silver Dawn:

Otium Sleeping
Cruisers spend at least a third of their time in bed, so the Otium wellness program begins with a great night's sleep. You get the finest Egyptian cotton linens, produced in Italy by ambassadors of premium artisanship. Aboard Silver Dawn, passengers in every suite category will also benefit from a special mattress, designed exclusively for Silversea for the ultimate sleep experience. The pillow menu has been expanded to include customizable down and feather blends, memory foam, firm down and improved down alternatives.

Otium Balcony
The program features the first dedicated balcony experience at sea. Otium encourages travelers to slow down and enjoy the breathtaking views of the calming seas, the beautiful horizon and everything cruising offers. You can tailor the experience to match the climate, whether cruising in cold- or warm-water regions. In cool conditions -- such as Antarctica, the Arctic or the Russian Far East -- Silversea offers a warm cashmere blanket, a selection of delectable appetizers and the first hot chocolate menu at sea. When sunbathing in warmer climates -- from the Caribbean to the Mediterranean and beyond --you'll stay cool with refreshing body mists, luxurious sun creams, delicious cocktails and gourmet bites.

Otium Comfort Food
Silversea's culinary offering already is among the most luxurious at sea, with a range of fine restaurants on each ship, sustainable caviar, Champagne on-demand 24/7, one of the largest complimentary wine lists at sea and a vast range of signature delicacies. With Otium, Silversea is enhancing its food and drink offerings. Perhaps the most enriching aspect of the program is the addition of an in-suite comfort food menu, available 24 hours. Signature dishes on the comfort food menu range from lobster and caviar in brioche rolls to a selection of gourmet popcorn and other options that incorporate premium ingredients.

Otium Bathing
Otium even extends to suite bathrooms. Every suite category on Silver Dawn will offer you the use of both a walk-in shower and a bath, in some of the most spacious bathrooms at sea. The bathing experience, prepared by Silversea's butlers, allows cruisers to indulge in a multisensory soak for complete relaxation. The experience includes plush Otium bathrobes, exclusive bath salts and soothing candle lights. You can unwind to the playlist of your choice from a curated music menu, all while savoring a range of delicacies, including caviar canapes, chocolate truffles and champagne.

Otium Spa
Silver Dawn features a diverse menu of treatments, designed by wellness experts for optimum relaxation. As well as enjoying relaxing massages and a range of other treatments, you can unwind and socialize in the spa's thermal areas with a glass of Champagne or signature snacks -- enriched with trademark ingredients, from caviar to truffles.

Sounds like an amazing experience and just the type of luxurious and relaxing cruise to rejuvenate the soul. What do you think about it? Is this something that appeals to you?
Let us know in the comments section below.

Thanks for reading.
Travel fit! Travel happy! Travel often!
JR

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Hike and Flight: St. Mary’s Glacier in Idaho Springs

Cruising with SeaDream: Six Ways to Stay Active on SeaDream II

Luxury Cruise Line Silversea Reveals Innovative Wellness Program

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