Have a favorite travel “something” from the past month? It could be a travel-related book, gadget, destination, article, blog, post, event, anything. I do, and once a month — on the fourth Friday of the month — I’ll post my favorite and explain my pick.

So what’s your travel fave for January? Comment here, on Traveler Writes’ Facebook page and/or post on Twitter with the hashtag #4FTF.

Sundance at the Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor

Fourth Friday Travel Fave: Sundance USA in Ann Arbor
The Sundance Film Festival takes place every January in Park City, Utah. One night during the event, the Festival also screens Sundance films in nine other cities around the United States. One of those is Ann Arbor.

Not only does the festival send a film to each city; the filmmakers tag along. And sometimes the screenwriter and an actor. This year — last night, in fact — Ann Arbor got to see “For a Good Time Call…” I’ll leave the reviewing to the professionals but I found it hilarious and raunchy (in a good way) and touching. The Michigan Theater was packed with an enthusiastic audience — 1,700 people — that got to ask questions during a post-film Q&A with director Jamie Travis, screenwriters Lauren Miller and Katie Anne Naylon, and Michigan native and U-M alum James Wolk, who played Charlie.

This was my third year attending Sundance USA at the Michigan Theater. Last year, “Win-Win” and “Cedar Rapids” came to Ann Arbor; in 2010 it was “Cyrus.” Jonah Hill flew in from Park City, along with the Duplass brothers, who wrote and directed.

In my opinion, Sundance USA is an amazing program, a great way to involve a wider swath of film lovers in the Sundance Film Festival. I doubt I’m alone in saying that I’d love to attend the full festival in Park City, but…that’s probably not in the cards (budget) anytime soon. So, Sundance USA, please keep coming to Ann Arbor.

Mozartkugeln: The objects of my affection

I’ve long liked to shop at World Market, but now the store has earned a place in my heart. Before the holidays, Mr. TW stopped there to pick up some gifts for friends and came home with a present for me: Mozartkugeln, or truffle-sized spheres of deliciousness, with a nougat center surrounded by marzipan and crushed pistachios, then coated in dark chocolate. The original formulation seems to have come from a chocolatier in Austria. Several companies now make their own versions.

I tried Mozartkugeln while visiting Germany a couple of years ago–they were my lunch on the days we spent touring castles in the Neckar river valley and hiking through Bavaria, the Black Forest and along rocky ridges in the Alps. I didn’t expect to find them back home in the States, so I didn’t bother to look.

Having polished off yet another bag now, I have to admit that while they’re still delicious and one of my most favorite edible souvenirs, they don’t taste quite as fantastic as they did in Germany. But I suspect that probably has to do more with circumstance than with quality. So…that I may eat my Mozartkugeln in the style to which I’ve become accustomed, maybe World Market will need to start carrying castles.

This recipe from delicious:days looks beyond my abilities as a confectioner, but I thought I’d link to it in case you’re game.

What’s your favorite edible souvenir? Does it taste the same back home?

Late on New Year’s Eve, Mr. TW fired up the laptop so we could watch Dinner for One, a (roughly) 10-minute British comedy sketch also known as Der 90 Geburtstag, German for The 90^th Birthday. Watching the predictable and repetitive, but nevertheless funny, skit from the 60s has become a popular tradition in Germany as well as other parts of Europe and Scandinavia. Mr. TW recalls watching it as a kid with his family and, later, with friends at parties. Pretty much, no matter what people are up to in Germany on New Year’s Eve, they work in Dinner for One. Now he and I watch it here each year, too, and we show it to friends and family. They probably think we’re a little odd, but still, they inevitably laugh when they see it.

Since there are worse ways to spend 10 minutes, take a look if you haven’t seen it yet. Watch it again next December 31st and, in the meantime, have a happy, healthy new year!

Image courtesy of Phillip Pessar via flickr

I hadn’t expected to be blogging about Miami, but I was channel surfing in the Travel Channel neighborhood last night, and I caught a glimpse of the pastel, Art Deco streetscape that is unmistakably South Beach. Anthony Bourdain was behind the wheel of a mid-life-crisis-red Ferrari on his new show, The Layover.

I’d been curious to see the show and, having just come in from walking the border collie in 25 degree temps, was drawn to the palm trees and surf I saw on-screen. Bourdain’s time in Miami brought back memories of my own visits there when I was a kid (relatives used to own a motel in Miami Beach) and while I lived in Fort Lauderdale.

Bourdain had food covered during his whirl through the city, but a friend who recently visited and I have a few more items to add to the list of things to do:

Swim

Bourdain said he’s not a beach bum, and neither am I. (I’m sweating and getting red just thinking about roasting in that intense South Florida sun.) Instead, he mentioned two pools–one at The Raleigh, the hotel where he stayed, and the huge (really huge) pool at the Biltmore Hotel. You can practically picture the synchronized swimmers at the Biltmore. The hotel also is known for its Sunday champagne brunch; About.com guide Renee Chapple writes that the Biltmore “puts out a great spread; it’s the place to be seen on Sunday mornings in Coral Gables.” (It’s also $75 a head.)

Another option is The Venetian Pool in Coral Gables, a neat and unusual place–really one of those so-called “hidden gems.” The pool is spring-fed (read, alternately: “refreshing” or “Cold,” depending on your personal thermostat) and was built in the 1920s out of a limestone quarry. It’s the only pool on the National Register of Historic Places. You’ll find waterfalls, grottos, a bridge and lookout towers, as well as a collection of historic photos in the entry room. It’s generally open to the public ($11 for non-residents of Coral Gables), although it’s closed in December 2011 and January 2012.

Eat

Bourdain mentioned Joe’s Stone Crab. It’s popular and can get busy, but you can bypass the wait for a table and get your claws (and more) to go at Joe’s Take Away.

Crustaceans not your thing? There’s homemade ravioli and other pasta at Spiga. “Amazing gnocchi,” says my friend.

Sleep

I learned about Hotel St. Michel,  a boutiquey, European-style hotel in Coral Gables, while working as a location scout for an event, and it’s lovely. Elegant and about as far from “cookie-cutter” as you can get.

Bourdain chose The Raleigh in SoBe; my friend chose the Eden Roc. Here’s what she said:

I’m not usually a fan of art deco or retro/007 décor, but this place IS cool & charming (“I Love Lucy” episodes projected nightly on this big glass wall in the atrium of the hotel bar). You can see this projection from the pools/beach, which is kind of entertaining.

Wander

I toured Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden a few years ago, when I visited during a Chihuly glass exhibit, and was seriously impressed. Fairchild is home to the International Mango Festival and the International Chocolate Festival (January 20-22, 2012) among other events. The organization also puts on some pretty major art exhibits–often, like Chihuly’s glass works, integrated into the lush, tropical landscape.

Wander…but Don’t Feed

You can always head to the ‘glades and Everglades National Park in search of alligators, crocodiles, dolphins, birds, panthers and other rare and endangered animals–many of which have sharp teeth and dangerous venom. The National Park Service offers a video series on planning your visit.

Wander…into the Wee Hours

Not tired yet? Here’s Frommer’s nightlife listing. (I have nothing to add here; I’m getting old.)

Ride

The city has several public transportation options.

There’s DecoBike, the City of Miami Beach’s bike rental and sharing program as well as a number of other bike rental places.

There’s the Metrobus, the Metromover and Metrorail–with info on all of them here.

And there’s the South Beach Local, with rides costing a whopping $.25 (why is there no cent sign on my keyboard?!).

What are your Miami picks? Please share here, on Facebook, or tweet to me — @travelerwrites — and I’ll post your ideas.

Image courtesy of Pewabic Pottery

Still Christmas shopping? Trying to find the right (and very last minute) Hanukkah present? Building on last year’s Gifts from the Mitt post, here are few more made-in-Michigan gift ideas:

Achatz Handmade Pie Co. – I wasn’t much of a fruit pie sort of gal until I moved to the Midwest and tasted an Achatz (rhymes with ‘jackets’) pie, specifically the Michigan 4-Berry. Not overly sweet like so many other pies, with big chunks of fruit, flaky dough and crunchy crumbs on top. It was perfect; I was hooked. With only a couple of exceptions, the pies are vegan, and the company tries to use locally grown fruit. I was seriously geeked when I found out they recently opened a store in Ann Arbor. The company does mail order, and prices listed on the website include shipping.

The Cherry Hut – In keeping with the pie theme, The Cherry Hut started out in the early 1920s as a roadside stand along the north shore of Crystal Lake, where the Kraker family sold homemade cherry pies and jams made from their orchards’ fruit. The company has expanded since then, and its store–and seasonal restaurant–on US 31 in Benzonia sells jams, dried cherries and souvenirs in addition to its pies (with the signature “Cherry Jerry” face carved into the crust). The Cherry Hut doesn’t ship the pies, but it does mail its other items.

Detroit Spice Co. – Detroit-themed spice blends that pay homage to the city’s melting pot and a line of hot sauces that will make your eyes water.

Pewabic Pottery – Arts & Crafts ceramic tiles and other items with distinct iridescent glazes from a historic, nonprofit pottery. The pottery was founded in 1903 by artist Mary Stratton, who also helped establish the Detroit Arts & Crafts Society and the ceramics department at the University of Michigan. Pewabic is holding an Earthy Treasures Holiday Show through December 30th, 2011, and it’s open on Christmas eve from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Ugly Dog Distillery – Vodka distilled from Michigan grain, by hand, in small batches in Chelsea. Owner Jon Dyer named the company for his own “ugly dog,” Ruger, a German wirehaired pointer who is featured on the bottle labels (and has been a guest on Animal Planet’s “Dogs 101″ show).

Feeling creative? Michigan food blogger Elaine McCardel, who publishes The Italian Dish, offers ideas for great-looking candles and candy cane marshmallows, among others.

Happy Holidays!

Today, the annual travel blogger fundraiser, Passports with Purpose (#PwP), reached the halfway mark toward its $80,000 fundraising goal. The money will be used to build two libraries in Zambia through nonprofit Room To Read. Halfway is great, and $40K is no small piece of change, but…it’s still only halfway.

You still have time to support the cause. Donations must be made by THIS FRIDAY, December 16th. Besides doing a good thing for the world, each $10 you contribute gets you an entry for one of many FANTASTIC prizes.

How fantastic, you ask?

This fantastic:

• a $1,000 voucher for a HomeAway vacation rental, sponsored by Nerd’s Eye View

• an 8-night Thailand bike tour with Beyond Boundaries Travel, sponsored by blogger Lola Akinmade

and

• a 15-day, first class Eurail pass, sponsored by BootsnAll

There are dozens more prizes–everything from a $100 Amazon gift card, Kindle Fire, Tahitian pearl travel necklace to luxury spa and resort stays (Grand Hyatt Kauai, anyone?).

….AND to sweeten the deal, Traveler Writes will donate $10 for each reader of this blog who makes a contribution between now and Friday.

Here’s what to do:

1. Go the Passports with Purpose site and check out the catalog of prizes.

2. Select the prizes you want a shot at, and the number of entries for each prize. Donate $10 for each entry.

3. Click “donate” at the bottom and check out through PayPal.

4. Feel good that all funds raised, less PayPal processing fees, go to Room to Read for two new libraries in Zambia.

5. In addition to the donation I’ve already made, Traveler Writes will match each reader’s contribution with another $10 (up to five readers, or $50). Just tweet about #PwP, let your followers know you donated and encourage them to donate also. Be sure to use the Passports with Purpose hashtag (that’s #PwP or #pwp) and mention @travelerwrites somewhere in your tweet so I know you’re taking me up on the offer. Before midnight on Friday, when the fundraiser ends, I’ll donate another $10 for each of you who contributed and tweeted this way.

Thank you, and thanks to Ben of www.AdventureswithBen.com for inspiring this post.

The fourth annual Passports with Purpose travel blogger fundraiser launched this week and, man, what an amazing effort. In just a few days, more than $15,000 has been donated to this year’s cause: building libraries in Zambia through nonprofit Room to Read.

And the prizes…you’ll be completely blown away by what you can enter to win.

If you haven’t heard about Room to Read through the New York Times, Skoll Foundation or on Oprah, it was founded by a former Microsoft exec who, fried from his busy job, took a few weeks off and traveled to Nepal. He visited a school and saw firsthand the dearth of books for kids (he recalls that the school’s tiny library included a Danielle Steele novel and Lonely Planet guidebook). Fast-forward 10 years and through a longer, and inspiring, story that I’ll let you read for yourself. Let’s just say that in 2015, Room to Read plans–and says it’s on track–to reach 10 million kids.

In short: Room to Read helps boys and girls around the globe discover new worlds, surmount poverty and gain important life skills through literacy. If you love to read, love to travel, want to do something simple and easy toward, quite literally, changing the world AND enter to win some FABULOUS prizes…

1. Go the Passports with Purpose site and check out the catalog of prizes, seriously amazing prizes

2. Select the prizes you want a shot at, and the number of entries. Donate $10 for each entry

3. Click “donate” at the bottom and check out through PayPal

4. Feel good that all funds raised, less PayPal processing fees, go to Room to Read!

Do it before December 16th. Prize winners announced on December 23rd.

Good luck, and thank you!

I began drafting this post before I had learned the extent of the devastation to Ludlow, Vermont, and surrounding areas from Hurricane Irene. I’m posting it now anyway since many of the businesses mentioned have already reopened, and hopefully the others will soon.

If you want to help, consider donating to: Salvation Army, which has provided emergency services in the area, or the Green Mountain chapter of the American Red Cross. The Burlington Free Press has compiled a list of organizations.

Atop Okemo Mountain in Ludlow, Vermont

My Summer Vacation: I went to Ludlow, Vermont, for a surprise birthday party for one of my favorite relatives. After the party, it rained a lot (but nothing like it rained two weeks later during Irene). I read books. One of them was Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shteyngart. Riots raged in the UK. This was eerie after reading the book. I turned off the telly. I tried hard not to look at my äppärät. I took naps and watched water droplets roll down the window panes. The rain stopped. I walked up and down the hilly roads on Okemo Mountain. I hope I burned a lot of calories because during the rest of the trip I ate. A lot.

***

Willy, of Ludlow Cooking Company

While driving along Route 103 South one day, I spotted a hand-painted sign that said “Lobster Rolls.” Screech; u-turn. I was a lobster roll virgin until I met Willy of the Ludlow Cooking Company (no website; 802-228-3080). The roll was everything I thought it would be: flavorful, tender and…simple. Just a light mayo dressing on big chunks of meat, a coupla’ of crunchy lettuce leaves and a toasty bun.

A lobster roll at Ludlow Cooking Company, Ludlow, Vermont

Willy used to live on Long Island and moved to Vermont in the late ’90s. He closes during ski season, so get your roll before the snow flies. (Just spoke to Willy, who says LCC is open.)

From Pleasant Valley Foods in Proctorsville, I happened across some maple-smoked gouda from Taylor Farm. I grabbed it from the case because, frankly–I never thought I’d say this–I was tiring of cheddar. The delicate gouda was a lucky find–soft, sweet and not overly smoky. I shared it with guests; it was gone fast.

I also found The World’s Best Blueberry Pie Ev-ah at Pleasant Valley Foods. I’m not sure if it was made on-site or by a local baker, but it was fantastic, with its crunchy, buttery crumbs on top and tons of fresh berries. I added a scoop of maple cream ice cream from Walpole Creamery. My eyes are welling up just thinking about it. (Unfortunately PVF’s Facebook page says they won’t be reopening after the flooding.)

View from the Green Mountain Sugar House (best taken in with maple creemee in a waffle cone in hand)

Also in the dessert department, we stopped at Green Mountain Sugar House for a “maple creemee”–soft-serve vanilla ice cream with maple syrup. The. Perfect. Summer. Afternoon. Calorie-Splurge. Park it by the picnic table and take in the lake view. (The GMSH website says they’re open.)

In the bins at Singleton’s General Store I found some smoked pepperoni, which I purchased for Mr. TravelerWrites but then ate most of myself. (Singleton’s is open.)

Ever-forgiving, Mr. TW shared with me a hunk of the dry aged sirloin he ordered at Sam’s Steakhouse. Fennel-peppercorn crusted with gorgonzola butter. I’m not a huge carnivore but it was, well, amazingly delicious and melt-in-your-mouth tender. The salad bar at Sam’s also is worth a trip in its own right. (Unfortunately the website says the restaurant currently is closed because of storm damage.)

A few miles away, in Springfield, my uncle turned us on to Black Rock Steakhouse, which opened earlier this year. You cook your own meat at the table on a 700 degree stone. Fun concept and another great salad bar–I didn’t think it was quite as good or varied as Sam’s but it was still solid and fresh. (Facebook page indicates they’re open.)

Last but not least, we had an excellent meal at Coleman Brook Tavern in the Jackson Gore Inn, again thanks to my uncle. I have to admit, on my way into the restaurant I almost cattily whispered “I really hope this is good” to Mr. TW. I had no reason to doubt the place, but I’m skeptical of food quality–and dismayed by often ridiculously high prices–at hotel restaurants. This was a refreshing and lesson-teaching surprise. From the mildly tangy goat cheese on our salads and the woodsy, meaty mushroom tart to the creamy pate (not kind to the poor animal, I know, but it was ordered and I tasted) and the braised beef short ribs–it was all delicious, carefully prepared and nicely presented. The prices weren’t bargain-basement but, given the quality and service, they seemed more than fair. I was impressed. (The tavern is open.)

Goodman’s American Pie came highly recommended for pizza, but it was closed the two nights we wanted to go. (And currently is closed from storm damage; check the FB page for updates.)

Been to or live in the Ludlow/Okemo area of southern Vermont? What are your local favorites?

Finally, many thanks to John of MyVermontVacation for some great food recommendations–and for renting us his lovely home. (John did not pay for this link or cut me a deal on the rental.)

Hazy sky, smudged lens, peeling paint, listing barn. Perfect morning walk.

I took this image before Hurricane Irene tore through southern Vermont. Our thoughts are with everyone there as they begin the recovery and rebuilding process.

Downtown Charlevoix, Michigan

I recently came home from a two-week stay in northern Michigan–Charlevoix to be precise. I was on a self-imposed writing retreat to finish a first draft of a novel. My cottage stay was sponsored, in the form of a birthday present, by Mr. TravelerWrites, who is ever-supportive of my fiction-writing efforts, ever-thoughtful and, just maybe, a little weary of hearing me mutter, Must. Finish. Book.

Note: If you really want to know what it sounds like in our house, insert [expletive] between ‘Finish’ and ‘Book’ above.

I’ll be honest. Charlevoix wouldn’t typically be my first choice of places to spend two weeks. When I lived in Traverse City more than a decade ago, I drove through Charlevoix many times, always on my way somewhere else: Petoskey, to catch the ferry to Mackinac Island, to take the Emerald Isle ferry to Beaver Island. I never felt the tug to stay there; the town had always felt a little too preppy and manicured and yacht-clubby for me. But when planning my writing getaway in northern Michigan, I narrowed the options down on VRBO (that’s the website I used, and no, the company didn’t sponsor my stay in any way), a cozy cottage in Charlvoix fit my criteria. Now that I’ve spent a little time there, I have to admit it’s grown on me.

It was quiet when I was there, still a bit too cool for caretakers to plant the flower beds and too early for summer cottagers to have returned. Pickup trucks and Saturns darted up and down streets lined with stately Victorian, Cape Cod and Craftsman-style homes as local workers prepared cottages for their owners’ arrival: raking winter’s dead leaves and fallen twigs, replacing window panes with screens, touching up the gingerbread.

And maybe all this fixing up is why I felt more comfortable here this time. I saw Charlevoix behind the scenes–the starlet still sitting in the makeup chair, the groom-to-be putting on his cumberbund and straightening his bow-tie before heading down the aisle. The town felt less stuffy and self-conscious; more imperfect and real.

Marina slips sat mostly empty; some of the shops and restaurant signs still said ‘closed.’ The grocery store in town is building an addition and many of the produce shelves were bare. “It’s like shopping in the old Soviet Union,” a man said to me one night, when I laughed and held up a wrinkled, old whiskery yam, the last remaining in the bin.

Lighthouse at Pine River Channel

The waterfront parks were free of crowds and nattily dressed toddlers, the tennis court nets not yet strung, tree buds just beginning to flower. The gorgeous blue-green views of the lakes–Michigan, Round and Charlevoix–were far less interrupted than they will be by the 4^th of July. To be fair, the town also may have grown on me because I was there to do something I love–write–and the pressure was off for anything else. My biggest decision each day was whether to walk by Lake Michigan and hear the surf or soak up the silence along Lake Charlevoix.

John Cross Fisheries

I also had to ponder such weighty issues as whether to buy fresh whitefish or lake trout for dinner from the little fish market on Round Lake. I was heartbroken the shop wasn’t open on my first Sunday there (it will be open Sundays during the summer). And I did have to suffer some locavore guilt when I bought a fish cake made from Maryland crab.

Late one night, my pen ran out and I couldn’t find spares in my backpack. I walked downtown the next (sunny, spring) morning to get a replacement at the drug store. Once I accomplished that, I had to decide whether to write at the kitchen table in my rented light-filled Earl Young cottage, at Sadie and Jake’s art-filled downtown coffeehouse, or at the gorgeous new library, which looks out over a whimsical sculpture garden.

As you can see, life there was hard–very, very hard. But, Charlevoix and I have our imperfections in common, and knowing that helped me muddle through. <wink>