Early in the morning before sunrise, the last stars shine on the blue-black back of Lake Superior. To paddle on such a morning among the Apostle Islands is to kayak among the constellations. By Jeff Rennicke

From June through early October, these 21 islands sprinkled like stars off Wisconsin’s north coast (a 90-minute to two-hour drive from Duluth, Minn., are rainbowed with colorful kayaks. Sandy beaches, black bears and bald eagles, and the lee shores of wild islands, make this one of the best freshwater sea-kayaking destinations in the country. Paddling the islands can be a connect-the-dots affair. A good nautical chart is a must. You can find one online at the Office of Coast Survey site. GPS and compass skills are helpful.

The most popular paddle is a day trip to the Mawikwe Sea Caves, a mile-long maze of burnt orange cliffs carved by the waves, with some caves as big as cathedrals, others as small as a kayak.

Farther out, lighthouses—the largest collection in any national park—and wilderness beckon. Trips to the outer islands are overnight ventures, ranging from a half-day to two weeks—14 days is the camping limit set by the National Park Service (NPS).

 At Raspberry Island you can step back in time as you tour the island’s lighthouse with a National Park Service ranger . Tour the historic Manitou Island fish camp, or walk the silent hallways of old brownstone quarries.

Outer Island, Devil’s Island and some of the more distant destinations sport big waves, wild shores and a designation as national wilderness areas. Still, there are trips suitable for any skill level. Paddling alone beyond the inner islands is best done by moderately experienced paddlers. Those with less skill can go safely with a guide.

Local adventure companies such as Living Adventure offer equipment rental packages with everything you need, including kayaks, life jackets, paddles and paddling instruction. Rental packages start at $32 for eight hours, depending on the type and size of the boat.

Guided trips range from half-day excursions starting at $59 per person to overnight adventures starting at $294.

Campers on the islands will find varying accommodations, from the developed sites of Stockton Island, complete with picnic tables and fire pits with grills to primitive back-country sites (camping permits and a fee required; contact the NPS). But from any camp among the Apostle Islands, paddlers can slip their boats into the early morning waters, silently push off and, with barely a ripple, find themselves paddling among the stars.

Kayaker and photographer Jeff Rennicke is the author of Jewels on the Water: Lake Superior’s Apostle Islands. www.jeffrennicke.com

Somehow, after 60 years, The Dunes Golf and Beach Club remains one of the best-kept secrets in golf. Not only is it the premier course in Myrtle Beach, it is part of golf history. In 1948, when the legendary Robert Trent Jones Sr. designed it, he was not yet legendary, and there were only two other courses in Myrtle Beach. But what set The Dunes apart was the 13th hole, the first “signature hole” in golf. Today, this term has become commonplace, and almost every course is designed with the idea that one hole will be worthy of reproduction on magazine covers, but when Jones’ firm began advertising with the slogan “Give your course a signature,” he was making history.

The 575-yard par-5 has been alternatively described as a boomerang, U-turn or horseshoe. It is more accurately thought of as a “V” with water in the middle. When you stand on the tee the green is off to your right, almost at a right angle. The line of play would be right at the green, but the lake is too wide to carry here, so you play down the fairway, away from the green. The options are to hit your tee shot down the right, as close to the water’s edge as possible, then play across the narrower end of the lake to get within a hundred yards of the green; or to play safely to the center, then around the bend on the second shot, and face a much longer approach with the water along the right. An amazing hole, it broke new ground for the use of water hazards. The short par-5, one that can be reached in two shots, has been around for more than 500 years, but Jones added a new wrinkle. Most reachable fives had the risk on the second shot, so the player could hit his or her drive and then decide whether to go for the green based on the result. Jones’ signature hole at The Dunes (and many after it) takes a completely different tack. Players who want to go for it in two must decide before they hit their tee shots and play as close to the water’s edge as they dare.

The Dunes is more than just a one-hole wonder. The variety is staggering, with short forced carries over water on two holes, a heroic risk/reward carry choice on another, and a pond in front of the green on the par-5 18th. The second hole doglegs so severely that to have a decent chance of reaching the green in two, the tee shot must be played over the tall trees of the corner, a shot rarely demanded in golf.

After a round at The Dunes, make sure to drop by Greg Norman’s Australian Grille, one of the first fine dining restaurants in the nation owned by a golf legend, for dinner or a selection from the lengthy wine list.

Golf writer Larry Olmsted is the author of Golf Travel By Design and has appeared as a golf expert on NBC television, ESPN and CBS radio, and MSN.com.

Here’s where to go for the perfect fit:

TaylorMade: This technology was once available only to the company’s touring pros, but TaylorMade now offers it to everyone at the following locations:

Park Hyatt Aviara Golf Club — North San Diego

Reynolds Plantation — Greensboro, Georgia

Grand Cypress Academy of Golf at the Grand Cypress Resort — Orlando, Florida

Olympia Fields Country Club —  Chicago

JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort — Palm Desert, California

The International — Bolton, Massachusetts

Fancourt Hotel and Country Club Estate — South Africa

Al Badia Golf Club by InterContinental — Dubai

Ping: More than 10,000 golfers visit Ping’s factory in Phoenix each year for factory fittings. Ping was the first large clubmaker to specialize in custom fitting, and today the majority of its sales are made to order.

Callaway: The company offers fully computerized factory fittings at its Carlsbad, California headquarters, and its Performance Centers in London; Tokyo; Seoul; Victoria, Australia; Ontario; Golf Academy St. Andrews in Scotland; and Gothenburg, Sweden.

Most teaching pros recommend custom clubs for players of every ability. Golfers spend huge amounts of time and money on lessons, so if you could improve your game in just
a half-hour fitting, why wouldn’t you?

Larry Olmsted is the founder of The Golf Insider and writes the weekly “Life on Vacation” column for USA Today.

Although travel is a rewarding and fun experience, jet lag, exotic foods, and long hours sitting on a plane or cooped up in business meetings can take their toll. Clearly, this is not the time to stint on exercise. But exercising in the summer heat, especially in an unfamiliar climate, requires special vigilance. Here are some guidelines.  By Phyllis McIntosh.

Go slow
It takes three to five days to adapt to a hotter environment, whether you are vacationing in warmer climes or simply spending more time outdoors instead of in an air-conditioned home and office, says Dr. William O. Roberts, professor at the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health at the University of Minnesota and former president of the American College of Sports Medicine. Exercising in the heat puts added stress on the heart, which must not only supply blood and oxygen to the muscles but also shunt blood to the skin where it can be cooled.

Know the heat index
Consider the combination of heat and humidity when deciding whether it is safe to exercise outdoors. Avoid it when the dew point approaches 80 or the heat index rises above 90. A good rule of thumb, says Roberts, is to avoid or limit exercise when heat (measured in degrees Fahrenheit) and humidity (in percentage points), combined, total 140 to 160.

Minimize heat exposure
By exercising in the shade, early in the morning or in the evening, you can cut down on your heat exposure. Activities such as cycling or in-line skating that provide good airflow, and thus increase the evaporation of sweat, are good alternatives to running in hot weather. When in the sun, always wear a hat and sunscreen; sunburn limits the body’s ability to cool itself.

Stay hydrated
The goal is to drink enough fluid to replace what you sweat out. Ignore recommendations that specify drinking a certain amount every 15 minutes or so, “because there’s a huge individual variability in fluid loss,” Roberts says, “and drinking too much can upset your sodium balance.” He advises drinking “as soon as you start to feel thirsty and as long as you still feel thirsty.” Water is usually the best choice; sports drinks add unnecessary—and expensive—calories. Roberts cautions that you can become dehydrated even when exercising in water, so be sure to maintain fluid intake during brisk swim workouts. Travel and exercise do go together, even in warm weather, as long as you use common sense, listen to your body—and the weather forecast—and keep the water bottle close by.

Author Bio: Phyllis McIntosh has 30 years of experience writing on health-related topics.

BOSTON
The Histrionic Academy’s Path to Independence tour follows the Freedom Trail through downtown Boston. And your guides go beyond simply dressing in costume; they perform in character. You’ll be led by the likes of Cpl. Jonathan Hoyt and Capt. David Hawkins, sharing the latest Revolutionary War developments.  

NEW YORK
Chances are good that even if you’ve never been to Central Park, you have an idea of what it looks like from the scores of movies shot there. On Location Tours’ Central Park movie sites tour takes you to the places where scenes from some popular favorites were filmed, such as The Boathouse Cafe in When Harry Met Sally.  

TORONTO
A Taste of the World’s Kensington Foodies Roots Walk gives you a chance to combine two passions, walking and food. Toronto’s multi-ethnic heritage is on display with aromatic tea from the Middle East, South Asian snacks, and Belgian chocolates and truffles. Be sure to skip breakfast so you can enjoy all the treats.

CHICAGO
The Chicago Architecture Foundation’s Frank Lloyd Wright in Oak Park tour takes you through a neighborhood where the influential architect once lived and worked. Today, the blocks near his house contain many examples of his Prairie Style design. Combine your tour with a visit to his home and studio for a day with all the Wright stuff.

SAN FRANCISCO
Sure, there are lots of tours of Chinatown, but how many are guided by a comic?
Foot! Comedy Walking Tours’ Chasing the Dragon tour will give you a look inside this neighborhood and keep you entertained along the way. Your stand-up will lead you to Chinese herb shops, dim sum restaurants and—of course—a fortune-cookie factory.

Try a few walking tours, and you may just get hooked. They are the perfect way to get to know a city, providing a little fresh air and exercise in the bargain.

 “I always read when I’m on a flight, usually a novel or something biographical,” Parrillo says. “It’s the only time I sit in one place without being distracted. Reading blocks out my surroundings—an added benefit, aside from the joy of reading something good.”

READ
According to a Harris Interactive telephone poll, reading beats out TV watching, spending time with family and going to the movies when it comes to leisure time activities. When asked their favorite pastimes, 35 percent of the 1,014 adults surveyed made reading their top choice.

“We see a continued enthusiasm for reading,” says Leslie Burger, president
of the American Library Association. “Library visits have more than doubled in the past decade, with circulation of books and other resources now past the 2 billion mark. Add the increased number of communitywide reading programs, and reading is clearly a popular pastime.”

For business travelers, reading provides a distraction from less-than-ideal conditions. According to Dr. Thomas H. Crook, author of The Memory Advantage, reading is a way to give yourself space, especially when traveling in unknown territory with strangers sitting all around you. “Reading affects your mood and can impact your memory of the experience,” he says. “It takes our minds off the problems of today.”

To get the most out of reading on the road, author April Masini finds that wearing noise-canceling headphones reduces distractions and keeps her seatmate from chatting. She also carries a pair of non-prescription readers with her to reduce eyestrain. A book light is another way to protect your eyes from strain. And as much as she might be tempted to read work-related materials, she doesn’t.

The principle applies to children too, according to attorney Barbara Shaffer, who often travels with her 5-year-old, Anabel. “She’s just starting to learn to read, but we bring a lot of books and read to her,” Shaffer says. “Reading takes her mind off her surroundings, especially if we’re waiting in airports, and puts her mind into the story. And since it keeps her occupied and quiet, it benefits everybody.”

Sleep
Travel provides a nice change in your daily rhythm, which can be both beneficial and stimulating. However, it can also take a toll on your sleeping patterns, jarring your internal clock and causing you to feel—yawn—less than your best.

At home, stress levels and performance expectations on the job can make eight hours of sleep per night seem like a luxury. Studies suggest, however, that restful sleep is not an extra that we can live without. A good night’s sleep, or the lack of it, can have a tremendous impact on work life, memory, coordination, mood and health.

Shakespeare had a point when he called sleep the “chief nourisher in life’s feast.” The problems that arise from sleep deprivation are well-known. Lack of sleep reduces reaction time, impairs motor skills and impedes simple recall of newly learned information.

So what’s the good news? Sleep can truly be nourishing and restorative. Your body heals itself while you sleep, repairing cellular damage and cleansing impurities from your system. Blood pressure is lowered, and the body secretes cortisol and melatonin, hormones that can help the body fight off age-related illnesses and even cancer.

Now that you know what sleep means to your health and well-being, can you make up for lost time? Absolutely. You can begin to reap the benefits of good sleep habits by making a few simple changes:

•   Sleep on a schedule, allowing your body to set its internal clock.
• Get regular exercise, though not right before bedtime, to deepen sleep.
• Maintain a healthy diet that won’t leave you either hungry or too full before bed.
• Create a comfortable sleep environment, including a bed that conforms to your body and provides optimum support for your spine.

Whether you are at home or on the road, the wholesome effects of a good night’s sleep enhance everything you do.

Developed for the 1988 Winter Olympic Games, the Canmore Nordic Centre (Spray Lakes Road; 403-678-2400) is a world-class cross-country skiing facility with 42 miles of groomed trails radiating from a day lodge, where visitors can pick up a trail map and warm themselves with a hot drink. The trails are geared for every ability level, from an easy riverside loop to an experts-only descent through the wooded lower slopes of Mount Rundle. The staff at Trail Sports will set you up for a day of skiing with rentals for all ages and levels. Rent snowshoes and you can leave the marked trails behind.

If driving a dog team sounds like something you’d like to try, book a trip with Snowy Owl Dog Sled Tours. Guests have the choice of sitting back and letting an experienced guide lead, or taking the reins themselves.

For anglers from southern latitudes, ice fishing is another winter experience to remember. Employing a guide from Wapiti Sports has many advantages—local knowledge, equipment supply and more—but none will be more appreciated than the use of this company’s heated hut that sits atop a private fishing hole drilled through the ice of Spray Lake.

INSIDER’S TIP:

When the sun sets on a day of snowy sports, enjoy a drink in front of the fireplace at the non-smoking Miner’s Lamp Pub (1101 Bow Valley Trail; 403-678-3439), then head to Zona’s http://zonascanmore.com/ for creative cooking in a funky setting. Still feeling energetic? Bands play at the Drake Pub http://www.thedrakepub.com/ most nights.

Deer Valley Resort is a luxury mountain with immaculate grooming and the best on-mountain cuisine in the industry, but it allows only skiers, so don’t bring your snowboard. Beginners, intermediates and those who love perfect corduroy conditions flock to the resort, which added a new lift, 75 acres and 1,000 feet of vertical drop for this winter.

The Canyons Ski Resort is the newest of the trio and the largest in Utah, with modern lifts, minimal lift lines and maximum terrain. Park City Mountain Resort  bridges the gap with plenty of terrain for all abilities. It is also the closest to Main Street with a town lift, but all three are linked by a network of free shuttle buses.

Park City also has a lot of unique off-slope experiences for winter sports fans. The public facilities at the Utah Olympic Park are the nation’s best: You can try half-day camps in luge, skeleton or even ski jumping. When your heartbeat settles down, tour the Alf Engen Ski Museum.  Advanced intermediate and expert skiers should not miss the Ski Utah Interconnect Adventure Tour, a guided back-country excursion that departs from Deer Valley four days a week and links runs at six alpine resorts in a day, all connected by hiking and traverses on alpine equipment. Whichever activity you choose, at the end of the day you may find yourself on Main Street, perhaps starting with a beer at the Wasatch Brew Pub, followed by a visit back in time to Shanghai’s decadent 1930s at Wahso, which replicates the setting and has innovative Asian fusion cuisine.

INSIDER’S TIP:
Park City is home to the Sundance Film Festival, the U.S. answer to Cannes. With A-list celebs filling the town the last week of January, many come for the Hollywood star sightings and industry atmosphere. But the secret is to pop in the day after the festival ends, when the winning films are shown for free and the slopes are virtually empty.

Download adventure

Want to create your own sports-focused getaway? Whether it’s kayaking in Europe or golfing in Mexico, these sites offer tips, equipment and information on places to play around the world. Check them out and ski, dive, bike, surf, hike, paddle and swing your way to your next vacation.

• Global Surfers http://globalsurfers.com
• Dive Travel Information Network http://www.divetravel.info/
• International Mountain Bicycling Association https://www.imba.com/
• Great Outdoor Recreation Pages http://gorp.away.com/gorp/activity/hiking.htm 
• World Golf.com http://www.worldgolf.com/ 
• Playak.com http://playak.com
• Ski Central http://www.skicentral.com/

Traveling through the area last spring, I checked with the experts at the Elk River Touring Center in Slatyfork for advice on where to go. Gil Willis, owner and operator of the mountain bike center, steered me to a one-day, self-guided tour of the Greenbrier River Trail. “The Greenbrier is a perfect blend of wildness and rural civilization,” he assured me, “as welcoming a trail as any biker can hope to find.”

Formerly a part of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad, this 75-mile-long trail crosses 35 bridges and two tunnels on its way through the Green-brier River Valley. Much of the route is next to the Monongahela National Forest and is surrounded by summits of the Allegheny Mountains, but the trail itself is level, making it perfect for the whole family, or in my case, a solo getaway.

One great section for a ride is accessible from the historic logging town of Cass. As I made my way south to Marlinton, 25 miles away, I passed by steep bluffs and through hardwood forests—home to deer, wild turkeys, hawks and a variety of songbirds. My rented mountain bike was the perfect steed from which to admire the countryside.

Old water towers, depots and trestles of the steam-driven locomotive era dot the trail. During my ride, I skirted abandoned little towns from the big-timber days, like Clover Lick. And about five miles south of Clover Lick, I came upon Sharp’s Tunnel and bridge. The tunnel is 511 feet long, dark and spooky inside, and the bridge spans 229 feet. A couple of teenage riders I met thought the tunnel was “way cool.” I did, too—especially when I emerged on the other side.

The Engine That Could

The town of Cass is also home to Cass Scenic Railroad State Park, the site of a recreated logging train.

The restored Shay steam locomotives pull old flatcars made into passenger coaches to nearby Bald Knob, elevation 4,842 feet. 

Writer, photographer and outdoor enthusiast Larry Rice has traveled to seven continents from his home in Buena Vista, Colorado.

May is Better Sleep Month. The Better Sleep Council recommends getting a good night’s sleep and taking control of your sleep environment to reduce stress and improve your quality of life at home or on the road.

While you can’t take your bed with you, there are things you can do to make it a little easier to get some real rest.

Create a Sleep-Friendly Environment

• Ask for a room away from typically noisy areas like elevators, stairs and vending areas.
• Set the thermostat between 65 and 70 degrees. If the room is too hot or too cold, it will be hard to get comfortable enough to sleep.
• Use the “fan only” setting on the air conditioner to create a steady hum that masks unwanted noise.
• Test the hotel’s pillows. You can exchange them if they’re not to your liking.

 Test and Set the Alarm Clock

• Make sure the alarm time has the right a.m./p.m. designation.
• Check the alarm or radio sound level to make sure it’s loud enough to wake you.
• If you’re worried about the alarm not going off, put your mind at ease by asking for a wake-up call.

 Diet and Exercise

• Always avoid a heavy or spicy meal before bedtime. An overfull or upset stomach can keep you awake.
• Try to avoid caffeine after 2 p.m.
• If you work out, it’s best to do it at least several hours before bedtime. Exercising right before going to bed will make falling asleep more difficult.

 One tip from the Better Sleep Council is to evaluate your mattress. That’s easy to do at home, but what about when you’re traveling? With some hotels, you never know what kind of mattress you’re going to get. When booking a room, always ask about mattress quality. Some hotels do offer premium mattresses.

 The next time you travel, take a few simple steps toward better sleep — you’ll be glad you did.