So You Want to Live in ... Pine Island

A slice of Old Florida "country" still thrives on this lush, green isle.

When she saw two shirtless, shoeless boys gliding over a dirt trail on bikes with their arms outstretched like wings, Lisa Benton knew she had found a home on Pine Island, Florida: "I said, 'This is Mayberry.'"

In truth, it's four Mayberries. Located northwest of Fort Myers and connected to the mainland by a causeway, the island includes the communities of Matlacha, St. James City, Bokeelia, and Pineland. It's a place with no traffic lights, where you can visit your neighbors by boat. Although the island has few beaches, several exist on nearby uninhabited islands. Residents love the neighborliness, nature trails, and renowned fishing. Relaxing, they say, can keep you busy here.

Candy-color fisherman's shacks in Matlacha (that's mat-luh-SHAY) hold galleries, restaurants, and bars where it feels like everyone knows you even if you've never met before. Locals wear "Pine Island Reeboks"—white, rubber shrimpers' boots—and call the span over Matlacha Pass "The World's Fishingest Bridge."

Overlooking the flat-water sound and mangrove islands, Pineland harbors the vintage Tarpon Lodge, where most come for fishing, food, and sunsets. But not office manager Nancy Glickman. "I'm an amateur astronomer. I was looking for stars," she says. "When the conditions are right, the skies are some of the finest anywhere."

St. James City has streets named for exotic fruit such as Cherimoya and Carambola, and mailboxes covered with shells and painted pelicans. Folks can get groceries at the St. James General Store, eat breakfast at Jackie's Family Restaurant, and share what attracted bookstore owner Liz Lutzi: "The feeling of not really being in a city." Cynthia Welch lives in St. James City and works in Bokeelia because of the "peace, serenity, and sunsets," she says. With a 15-year-old daughter, she adds, "It's a great place for teenagers. You can get on your bike and ride to your neighbor's house and mothers don't panic. That's small-town America, and you don't find that everywhere."

This "close-knit community" feeling is a powerful lure for transplants, and a hook holding locals. "They say it takes a village to raise a child," says Mel Meo, who's lived here almost 40 years. "But really it takes an island to raise a child."

That means everybody. Customers at Olde Fish House Marina Restaurant hold baby Stephen while his grandmother brings their orders. Stephen's mom, Jessi Skorupski, says her menu reflects the islanders' bond. "When I opened up, a lot of the old island women came and gave me recipes." Macy Romero left the hurry and hubbub of Miami Beach to raise her 2-year-old daughter here, among the marsh rabbits and manatees. "The nature drew us here, to spend our lives outdoors," she says. That's Pine Island's magnetism, Mel says: "We live in paradise, so there's no reason to go anywhere else."

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Back to basics in Baja

As the thatched roof on the airport suggests, a visit to Loreto entails a change in attitude as well as latitude. The sunny little fishing port on the Gulf of California retains the slow pace and small-town warmth that have all but vanished from a certain booming resort zone at the tip of the Baja California peninsula. Think of this as the anti-Cabo.
The spectacular surroundings are the main attraction in Loreto.

Don't expect luxury hotels or riotous nightlife. People (including a surprising number of Europeans) come here to unwind and to drink in Baja's stark beauty -- a salt-rimmed cocktail of desert, mountains and sea. Set against the high, jagged Sierra de la Giganta, Loreto looks out on blue water dotted with arid islands straight from a Magritte painting.

Most of the panorama falls within Loreto Bay National Park, which protects a wealth of whales, dolphins, manta rays, and other marine life. Exploring this aquatic playground should be part of any trip, but you'll also find memorable sights ashore.

Founded by Jesuit explorers in 1697, Loreto served as the original capital of Spanish California, which stretched to the Oregon border. The territory's first successful mission endures as Our Lady of Loreto church. It echoes the colonial past with a handsome bell tower, cloistered courtyard, and engaging museum. A short stroll leads to the zócalo, a plaza with shady benches and a gazebo bandstand.

"Loreto was the first civilized place in Spanish California," says local tour operator Cecilia Haugen. The isolated outpost always had a strong link to the sea (some residents trace their Anglo surnames to English pirates).

Today, joggers and couples holding hands enjoy the waterfront promenade that parallels Calle de la Playa (Beach Street). The road runs from one playa to another, past a marina that harbors a flock of bright, blue-and-white motorboats called pangas.

On and off shore, rock cliffs plunge into the sea -- and so should you. Try the highly rated scuba diving and sportfishing; venture out to the islands to hike, picnic and snorkel in turquoise coves; or laze on an empty crescent of white sand.

Whether you go through a tour operator, hire a panga and skipper, or rent a kayak and paddle out, the islands offer splendid solitude. Watch for pelicans hurtling from the sky to scoop up fish, or a pod of dolphins playing leapfrog. And, of course, the whales. Loreto makes a fine base for day trips to Magdalena Bay, one of three lagoons on Baja's Pacific coast where gray whales come to give birth. For a close encounter, time your trip when they're in residence, from late December to early March.

A rental car or guided tour will take you from Loreto to tiny San Javier, known for its stone mission church. The rutted, 18-mile route, part of the historic Camino Real (Royal Road) linking California's missions, passes pre-Hispanic rock paintings and the odd oasis. After returning from this dusty trip, you'll be ready to dispense with modern transport.

"It's easy to walk anywhere you want to go here," says the receptionist at Posada de las Flores. Sure enough, within a block or two of this inn, you'll find craft shops and art galleries, plus restaurants such as 1697 and Pachamamma, with savory food and patio dining.

Two wonderful away-from-town accommodations are surrounded by nature, the número uno attraction. The beachfront Inn at Loreto Bay, a few miles south, features a modern-hacienda design and a pool with obligatory swim-up bar. (Beside it spreads a golf course and a fast-growing development of stylish villas.)

For an off-the-grid getaway, go farther south to Danzante eco-resort. The guest quarters come with hammock-strung decks, stunning ocean views and tasty meals in a separate dining hall. Activities range from swimming and kayaking to horseback riding and hiking spring-fed canyons. "People come here thinking they'll get bored," says co-owner Lauren Farley. "Then they're always sorry to leave."

In town, at the Giggling Dolphin's bar, a few snowbirds sample Baja Fogs --longneck beers topped off with tequila -- and discuss the run-up of local real estate. "Loreto's changing," declares a repeat visitor from Canada. "But it's still a sweet place."

Don't wait too long to experience it for yourself.

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Colorado ski season off to slow start

DENVER, Colorado (AP) -- Balmy and dry fall weather could put the Colorado ski industry's two-year string of record snowrider numbers in danger, and most of the West isn't in any better shape.
Last year, despite getting less snow than the season before, Colorado numbers were still up 6.7 percent in the first half of the season.

But this year it is even warmer and some major resorts weren't open for Thanksgiving, usually the first big revenue producer of the season. Telluride and Steamboat still aren't open. Hundreds of millions of dollars spent on snowmaking has made it possible for some resorts to open, but if they use the water now they might not have it if they need it later in the year.

Veteran skiers will bring out their rock skis.

During Thanksgiving week, after four straight weeks of temperatures in the 50s and 60s, Telluride got 11 inches, the Telluride Daily Planet reported. "This is a great kickoff to the season. With Mother Nature helping out and the extensive mountain improvements, we're looking forward to a great year," said Telluride CEO Dave Riley. However, the resort will not open until November 30.

Also unlike last year, some of the state's biggest competitors have plenty of snow. Whistler-Blackcomb, which contends with Vail frequently for the No. 1 rank of ski magazines, has 37 inches. Vail has 18. Stowe, in Vermont, has 49 inches on its upper mountain.

"... for the best and earliest snowfall of the season, head north to Whistler-Blackcomb in British Columbia," says Outside Online.

"We've had lots of early snowfall, 110 centimeters (44 inches). It has been great up here. Sunny but cold so the snow stayed and it is light and fluffy," said Ryan Proctor, public relations coordinator Whistler-Blackcomb. Thirteen lifts are open.

Two exceptions in the Rockies were Big Sky in Montana and Grand Targhee near Jackson, Wyoming.

"We got pasted with a perfect storm early in Thanksgiving week, followed by days of ideal snowmaking temperatures for the lower mountain," said sales and marketing director, Meg O'Leary. "Black diamond powder skiing in November, what else can go right."

Big Sky opened November 23 with the second-most skiable acreage in the Rockies with 854 acres of advanced, expert, intermediate and beginner terrain. Only Grand Targhee down the road to the south has more terrain open in the Rocky Mountain range from New Mexico to Montana, said O'Leary.

Eldora, one of Colorado's smaller resorts, has the deepest base in the state, 24 inches.

Wolf Creek, which often has the most snow in the state, has 10 inches, and most of that came Thanksgiving week.

Fortunately, Utah and California resorts also have little snow.

Joan Christensen, industry expert, said some people have already made reservations and will come anyway. "Next year they will punish the industry," she said.
Resorts initially had some trouble making snow until temperatures cooled down to the mid-20s for extended periods. Ski resorts in Colorado have banded together to try to fight climate change.

Meanwhile, resorts in several other areas of North America, hurt by a lack of early snow last year, are doing much better this year.

The long-range forecast for much of the Rockies is for dry weather, possibly leading to drought in some areas next year. The Pacific Northwest, home to Whistler, is expected to be wetter than normal.

The dry weather puts extra pressure on Colorado's resorts because they have sold hundreds of thousands of ski passes. That can bring high numbers of visitors that quickly overwhelm the terrain and lifts that are open.

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