The Ritz-Carlton, Half Moon Bay
Photo Courtesy of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company LLC
Fall is quickly coming in full force and with it, autumn colors and Halloween celebrations around the world. Here are a few of our favorite excuses to hop on a plane for a short holiday this month.
Half Moon Bay, California
Where better to celebrate the fall harvest and autumn colors than the “World Pumpkin Capital”? This October, head on over to the northern California coast to Half Moon Bay where 3,000 tons of pumpkins are grown every year by local farmers. On October 18-19, the 44th Half Moon Bay Art & Pumpkin Festival celebrates the community with pumpkin weigh-offs, haunted houses, carving contests and more. Over at Forbes Travel Guide Four-Star The Ritz-Carlton, Half Moon Bay, the Great Pumpkin celebration takes place all monthlong with pumpkin cooking classes, pumpkin-infused spa treatments (Half Moon Bay pumpkin facial, anyone?) and, of course, seasonal dishes on the menu such as smoked pumpkin ravioli and pumpkin-spiced espresso trifle.
The Lodge at Sea Island Golf Club, Photo Courtesy of Sea Island Company
Somewhere between Savannah and Jacksonville in Georgia’s Golden Isles, Sea Island offers a luxurious vacation retreat on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean that’s surrounded by picturesque marshland. This October 20-26, Sea Island will be hosting The McGladrey Classic at the Sea Island Golf Club for the fifth year. The official PGA Tour golf tournament is hosted by famed player Davis Love III on behalf of the Davis Love Foundation and is expected to draw top talents such as Matt Kuchar, Zach Johnson and Chris Kirk. Alongside the big tournament, youth clinics, a charity putting event and a live concert by Darius Rucker are all part of the week’s exciting festivities. Should The McGladrey Classic not present enough personal time for you with Love III, the resort has a one-of-a-kind guy trip for you and two golf mates that includes a round with the PGA legend, four nights at Five-Star The Lodge at Sea Island Golf Club, lessons, new sets of custom-fit clubs, in-room massages, meals, $500 in apparel and much more for $100,000.
Run – don’t walk – to the Windy City this October for the Bank of America Chicago Marathon. Welcoming athletes and runners from all 50 states and more than 100 countries, the sold-out big race takes place on October 12, and will draw 45,000 participants and an estimated 1.7 million spectators. Beginning and finishing in Grant Park, the race winds through the streets of Chicago, and is expected to raise millions of dollars for a variety of charitable causes. If you’re looking to catch a piece of the action from the sidelines, the Four-Star Park Hyatt Chicago offers exceptional accommodations only a short walk from Grant Park, not to mention reinvigorating spa treatments such as the Lake Stone massage for those après-run legs.
Four Seasons’ Food Truck Fun, Photo Courtesy of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts
The Eastern Seaboard
Through November 11, the Four Seasons is gathering the best in culinary and street food talent on the East Coast for its second annual Food Truck tour. (Lucky diners along the West Coast were treated to the hotel’s epicurean adventure last fall.) By the time the last guest is fed this time around, the tour will have visited nine cities (the truck stopped by Boston, Philadelphia and New York in September), where local Four Seasons culinary teams will serve specially created street food menus for folks on lunch or a long weekend escape, inspired by their destination. In Atlanta, for instance, expect downhome favorites such as boiled p-nuts or Savannah crab cake sandwiches. The food truck will stop in Baltimore (October 6-11); Washington, D.C. (October 13-18); Atlanta (October 20-25); Orlando (October 27-28); Palm Beach, Florida (October 30-November 4); and Miami (November 6-11). Best of all, a portion of all the sales will be donated to an area charity.
New York
Get away for an idyllic weekend retreat in October, care of Forbes Travel Guide-Recommended The Surrey and the Bedford Post Inn. The Uptown to Upstate package includes a one-night stay in The Surrey’s comfortable Upper East Side digs, a couples massage at Cornelia Spa, dinner at the Forbes Travel Guide Recommended Café Boulud, a complimentary ride on vintage Bobbin bicycles and more. The next day, a private car service will take you upstate to Westchester County, getting you out of the city for a chance to admire the fall foliage and bask in an evening at the Bedford Post Inn. The stay comes with a seasonal tasting menu at The Barn, and a relaxing stretch session at the inn’s Yoga Loft. Finish off the splendid weekend with one last night back at The Surrey before getting back to real life.
