Best Spring and Summer Music Festivals

Vacations have become thematic. No longer do we trudge off to the beach for the sake of applying lotion to the small of our backs so we don’t carry a burn for the evening's feedbag buffet. Our getaways involve cooking, fitness or art. We are emboldened by the possibilities.

Bermuda benefits from the Gulf Stream, so it's tropical and exotic without the bank account-depleting price tag of the Caribbean.

Bermuda: The Other Tropics

It’s easy to forget Bermuda is closer to D.C. than South Beach. And while Florida’s Land of Fabulosity might beckon for a quick getaway this spring or summer, consider the island just 640 miles off the coast of Cape Hatteras. It’s tropical. It’s fairly affordable. And the locals have glorious accents that are a hybrid of clipped British and Caribbean cool.

A few myths worth debunking:

It’ll cost a fortune to get there.

Osceola Park, spring-training home of the Houston Astros, in Kissimmee, Fla.

6 Tips for Spring Training

The Boys of Spring

Full disclosure. I belong to the Church of Baseball. I’ve been a disciple since my dad slapped a Rawlings Roberto Clemente mitt on my hand and told me to cover my face and inhale.

“Smells good, right kid?” he said. Well, yes, it did—and it still does. Olfactory memory is a powerful thing.

The St. Lawrence Maret in Toronto now offers cooking classes in a new school tucked into the food pavilion.

5 Cooking Vacations for Spring

My kitchen skills are limited to the holy triumvirate of stirring boiling pasta, properly setting oven temperatures for frozen pizzas and always knowing when to order out. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to learn.

In fact, my recent travels have taken me into the realm usually reserved for people who DVR cooking shows and culinary throw-downs. And I’ve come away genuinely impressed and perhaps even a little wiser inside the always-thorny kitchen triangle.

Want a weekend getaway—or an extended trip—that revolves around food? Here are five wonderful options. 

Try a couples spa in February at the Mandarin Oriental.

6 Spots for Love in February

Romance skates from us in the chilly months, as layers of wool, slushy insoles and intermittent wheezing prevent couples from, well…coupling.

But salvation, in the form of the almighty getaway, tends to make us forget the gray and remember the flesh. Not to worry. I won’t dive headlong into sonnets from Lord Byron. Instead, I offer places where you can retreat in the middle of February, when the promise of romance—or at the very least, an early spring—waits.

Bermuda Race Weekend kicks off a year of vacation-races for beginners and hardcore runners alike.

Vacations on the Run

Everyone loves you in Bermuda, especially if you’re running up a hill in nearly triple-digit humidity on a Saturday morning.

Which is what I experienced last weekend during the Bermuda Race Weekend (bermudaraceweekend.com), a 30-year tradition that includes “the Bermuda Triangle Challenge”: a 1-mile run (Friday night), a 10K (Saturday) and your choice of a half marathon or marathon on Sunday. There were lots of takers from the States.

The beachfront El Taj in Playa del Carmen, Mexico

3 Great Travel Bets for 2012

Baseball fans gleefully work the so-called “hot stove” this time of year. Gardeners peruse seed catalogues and circle the dates in February and March for marrying seeds to soil for incubation indoors. And for chronic or casual travelers—this is our time to plan the next trip or three.

We all have our lists and budget requirements. Throughout 2012, I’ll pass along gems worth considering. Here are three for your first batch of vacation-planning folders.

Mid-Atlantic Winter Getaway Ideas

Remember those "agony of defeat" moments from ABC's Wide World of Sports?

I'm the guy hurdling down a snowy hill like a plastic bag in a wind storm. And while I'm not a particularly solid skier, the Mid-Atlantic slopes beckon, and every winter I answer, broken bones and all. Here are the angles I'll pay attention to as the season approaches.

The Value-Added Ski Resort Experience

Handmade hot pretzel and brew at Stone Brewery in San Diego

Beer Heaven in San Diego

In the category of other places I would live outside of D.C., San Diego—mellow, smart and offering a hybrid of San Fran hip and L.A. style—would be near the top of my list. I hadn’t visited the city in several years, so a trip last week was long overdue.

I wasn’t disappointed. We’ll roll out more details about my trip in the weeks ahead via video and print, but here’s a sneak peek at the scene that now greets visitors to the city.

Brew Hop Tours

DreamWorks "Merry Madagascar" graces the Gaylord National through early January.

3 Great "Staycations" in DC This Winter

Yes, the Cayman Islands would feel glorious in December, and so would the slopes of Copper Mountain, Colo. But if you’d like to be a tourist in your own town, there are some solid hotel options for quick “getaways” in town.

Staycations are nothing new, of course. But in a town like Washington, they can be repeated so often—and in different venues around the city, depending on the occasion—each trip will feel new.

Three spots I like this winter for family, romance and the almighty long weekend.

Family—Gaylord National