here
MANCHESTER’S NEW LUXURY PENTHOUSE
Book New Hampshire’s new Penthouse in the Sky and you’ll enjoy 12,000 square feet of high-end luxury, with your own indoor garden, private concierge, and game room from your perch 17 stories above Manchester. The two-story penthouse, once home to a local industrialist and philanthropist, has three spacious bedrooms, a Jacuzzi that overlooks the city, windows that soar more than 22 feet high, and a commercial kitchen with a pizza oven, steam oven, and dual dishwashers. It even comes with a private theater. When you’re not luxuriating in your swanky digs, you can take a chauffeured daytrip to Boston, the White Mountains, or a private lake house on Lake Winnipesaukee. Rates start at $750 per person, double occupancy, for the three-bedroom, five-bathroom penthouse, which sleeps up to six guests. 603-623-6700, www.thepenthouseinthesky.com.
RIVER PADDLING IN NORTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE
Take a guided sunset paddling tour on New Hampshire’s Androscoggin River Aug. 12-13. On each tour, run by Great Glen Trails in Pinkham Notch, you will kayak six miles down a calm and pristine section of the river while keeping an eye out for moose, bears, bald eagles, and osprey as the sun dips. Paddlers meet at the Great Glen Trail Outdoor Center at 5 p.m., get fit for gear and boats, and then enjoy a lazy paddle and a snack until sunset, returning to the center by 10 p.m. Some paddling experience is recommended; reservations required. Rate: $80 per person (save $5 if you book online). 603-466-2333, www.greatglentrails.com/summer/sunset-tours-on-the-andro.
there
EXPLORE CLASSIC OLD TOYS
IN SEATTLE
Remember Lite-Brite, Weebles, bikes with banana seats, and Texas Instrument’s Speak & Spell? Or how about Spill and Spell, Spirograph, Big Wheels, and the Hungry Hungry Hippo game? Visit Seattle’s Museum of History and Industry through Sept. 25 to see the wonderfully nostalgic exhibit “Toys of the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s.’’ Toss around Nerf balls, race your Slinky down a set of steps, watch classic toy commercials on old-school televisions, and marvel at many of the “innovative’’ toys from decades ago. The playful hands-on exhibit showcases hundreds of toys. It includes one garage and three living rooms settings, multimedia presentations, and fascinating insight about the different toys and their inventors and/or impact. Special programs take place Tuesdays throughout the exhibition. Free for children 14 and under, $19.95 for adults. 206-324-1126, www.mohai.org.
ENJOY LUXURY ADVENTURES AT A COLORADO RANCH
Visit Smith Fork Ranch in Colorado and you can go on a new one-night luxury safari to a camp that sits at 10,000 feet. The ranch — located in a private valley between Aspen and Telluride, and surrounded by thousands of acres of wilderness — welcomes up to 28 guests a week for three- to six-night stays. Attend a glass-blowing class, go foraging by horseback with the resort’s chef, or get a spa treatment in the ranch’s private grotto. Or go on the safari, when a local father/son team will take you to Sink Creek, a luxury camp beside towering Mount Guaro where you will dine in a candlelit tent, stargaze, and hear local stories about the area. Pack mules and horses carry your gear to the camp. Rates start at $2,850 for two people, three nights, and include one half-day guided activity per day; $600 extra per person for safari. 970-921-3454, www.smithforkranch.com.
Everywhere
STAY SAFE AND CONNECTED WHILE DRIVING
Logitech’s new ZeroTouch smart car mount enables you to simply wave your hand over your phone and then make calls, send texts, navigate, and play your favorite tunes without having to take your eyes off the road. Logitech makes two mounts, both for Android devices: one attaches to your air vent and the other firmly suctions onto your dashboard. Stick a magnetic strip onto the back of your phone so it can dock on either magnetic mount, download the free ZeroTouch app, and then connect your phone via Bluetooth. Every time you dock your phone, you trigger the voice-controlled app. Wave your hand over your phone to wake it up, and then ask it to call someone, send a text or read a reply, play your top tunes using Pandora or Spotify, or navigate using Google Maps, Navigon, or Waze — clever, reliable, and safe. $59.99 (air vent mount); $79.99 (dash mount). 646-454-3200, www.logitech.com.
KARI BODNARCHUK
