A unique new product for those sandy beach holidays mikecohen June 1, 2012 6816 One of the things I look most forward to in the summer is spending time at the beach. Here in Montreal we do not have a lot of options. There is Cap St. Jacques, the Beach Club and Super Aqua Club in Point Calumet and of course the artificial lake at Parc Jean Drapeau. Take a little drive up north and Ste. Agathe, Trout Lake and Mont Tremblant represent other options. When my family selects a summer vacation destination, we try to select a spot with good beaches. Cape Cod, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Chicago, Vancouver, Crystal Beach near Niagara Falls represent some of the locales we have visited in recent years where excellent beaches awaited us. What is the one thing that most of us do not like about the beach? Well, dragging sand into our cars and home indeed tops the list. As a travel journalist I am on a lot of mailing lists. Recently, information about an interesting product called Sand-Off! crossed my desk. Even with water and a towel, sand is very hard to wipe clean. Regardless of your efforts, the sand somehow still manages to end up in the car and often the sheets. I was so curious about Sand-Off! that I sent away for it. The product is now sitting in a room with my beach chairs, beach shoes, beach umbrellas and a boogie board for the youngest member of the family. Soon I will put it into action. This is basically a mitt that has an all-natural, talcum-free patented powder formula infused, so you only use what you need. To use it, one simply claps to release the powder and rubs the soft terry cloth mitt over the skin to easily wipe away the sand. It dispenses the powder formula evenly and gets excellent body coverage. The kids can be cleaned with less fuss and less hassle in no time at all. The Sand-Off! mitt is worn like a glove so that the soft terry side can be wiped across the skin. It is designed to release enough dry body wash to remove sand and grass in a single swipe, even after applying suntan lotion or if the skin is damp. July is almost here, so go online at www.sandoff.com and give this product a try. New air service in Plattsburgh: PenAir, one of Alaska’s largest regional airlines, announced plans for service between Plattsburgh, New York, and Boston’s Logan International Airport. Non-stop flights began on June 15, with two flights per day, Monday through Friday and one flight each Saturday and Sunday. PenAir now operates 11 Saab, 30-passenger aircraft. Its daily service will connect passengers to anywhere in the world via Boston. The airline is a code-share partner with Alaska Airlines and has electronic ticketing agreements with American, Delta, Alaska, USAir, United and several other carriers. Mike Cohen’s email address is [email protected]. Log on his travel advice column at www.sandboxworld.com/travel and follow him on Twitter @mikecohencsl.