WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH

January 21st, 2021

How to Celebrate National Women’s History Month

March is Women’s History Month – a time to (extra) celebrate the accomplishments of the world’s leading ladies. (Though, let’s be honest, women are historic year-round.) From new tours to dedicated suites, here are inspiring destinations to visit that pay homage to female powerhouses, plus a shoutout to our favorite fearless females.

Nantucket’s Historic Heroines

Throughout the 1800s, Nantucket was home to more history-making women than anywhere else in the country. At the time, American women could not vote, own property or access higher education. Whaling, the island’s isolated location and Quakerism all played a role in championing women’s rights. As a nod to the island’s history-making females, each of the four new suites at the Jared Coffin House, a former whaling merchant’s home, is named after an influential woman from Nantucket. Anna Gardner was instrumental in calling an anti-slavery meeting in 1841 during which Frederick Douglass gave his first speech as an abolitionist speaker. Lucretia Coffin Mott participated in the country’s first meeting about women’s rights in 1848. Maria Mitchell is the first professional female astronomer who opened her own school in 1835 that was desegregated, a controversial move at the time. Mary Coffin Starbuck is recognized for bringing Quakerism to Nantucket in the early 1700s and she ran a trading post that served as the island’s commercial center. The Jared Coffin House will re-open for the season in April 2021. Rates start at $155 per night.

A Guide to Female-Owned Wineries in Napa Valley

Visit Napa Valley announces a new partnership with West Wine Tours to offer a “Women in Wine Country” tasting tour. The privately guided experience will bring groups of up to six guests through the vines of Napa Valley in an Instagram-worthy vintage Volkswagen bus. The journey will include three wineries with women winemakers at the helm. Stops include St. Clair Brown Winery & Brewery by Elaine St. Clair, who is the only woman in the U.S. to hold the commercial title of both winemaker and brewer; and Fantesca Estate & Winery by Heidi Barrett, who is known as “The First Lady of Wine” and is behind California’s most notable cult wines, such as Screaming Eagle, which has a starting price of $700 a bottle. The final stop is Crocker & Starr, owned by founding winemaker, Pam Starr. With a career spanning four decades, she is celebrated for her Sauvignon Blanc and sustainable farming practices. Each stop will include a tasting experience and guests may even get a behind-the-scenes sneak peek with the winemakers themselves. Private transportation for up to six guests, including a driver and lunch costs $650 per bus. Tasting experiences are an additional $240 per person. For more information, visit: https://www.westwinetours.com/.

Who Tours the World? Girls!

Tessa Hempson… is the marine scientist and program manager behind andBeyond’s Ocean Without Borders project in East Africa. Tessa has spent her career exploring and studying oceans around the world, having worked as a helicopter underwater evacuation instructor for the Australian Defense Force; a conservation manager for the Sustainable Seas Trust (SST); and a researcher on the Aldabra Atoll World Heritage Site in the Seychelles. Guests of andBeyond’s three island lodges in Mozambique and Zanzibar can join Tessa in conservation experiences like fish tagging, measuring and monitoring reef systems in the Indian Ocean.

Florence Kuyper …is an expedition leader and naturalist guide on PONANT’s small ship voyages. A self-proclaimed “polar fanatic,” she spends much of the year in 24-hour daylight, splitting her time between navigating the icy waters in the Arctic and Antarctica. But she’s not averse to a bit of heat. She also once crossed the Gobi Desert in Mongolia, walking almost 800 miles alongside a camel caravan. In addition to leading almost 100 expeditions to the Poles, Kuyper also spent five months as a base leader in Port Lockroy, a British station on the Antarctic peninsula. Guests can join her on expeditions that explore Peter I Island - where fewer people have visited than the moon, and Charcot Island - located in the Bellingshausen Sea, which is covered in ice for most of the year making it difficult to reach and virtually unexplored.

 

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