We weren't very clever when my husband and I chose our wedding song -- Louis Armstong's "Kiss to Build a Dream On," but we could not escape its allure. Still can't. If Satchmo is your thing, you may want to look into the wonderful "A Tribute to Louis Armstrong'' at the Portland Symphony Orchestra this weekend, Nov. 14-15. World-renowned trumpet virtuoso Byron Stripling will play and sing in the style of Satchmo with the orchestra as his big band. The Merrill Auditorium delivers an intimate venue for the tribute. Shows are 7:30 p.m. on Saturday and 2:30 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets range from $26-70 and can be purchased online.

Every December, the Country Inns in the White Mountains, hosts an Inn to Inn Christmas Cookie Tour, and trust me, it's a delicious event. Fueled by butter and sugar and cider and tea, you can nibble your way through the Mount Washington Valley, touring 14 New Hampshire inns and one Maine inn, all of which are dripping with garland and ribbons, wrapped-up for the season like holiday presents.

Now family recipes deliver cookies with a story, but if you want easy-to-make, crowd-pleasing goodies, ask the pros: New England’s innkeepers. Welcoming guests with cookies and a warm drink is part of the New England hospitality tradition. It’s a tradition that goes hand-in-mitt with Christmas.

For the best deal, book a package at a participating inn. Packages include two event tickets, lodging, and breakfast. Some also include dinner.

If you just want to make a day trip, event-only tickets are $27. Advance purchase is available Dec. 1-8, 2009, by calling 800-233-8309 or 603-383-9339. Any unreserved tickets available (they are limited) can be purchased the day of the event, see website for details.

Return to the days of old when if you didn’t own a horse and buggy, on the southern coast of Maine you relied on the Atlantic Shore Line’s electric trolleys to get from here to there. Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport closed for the season at the end of October, but as a special treat, this year, for the first time, they'll reopen to participate in the town's Christmas Prelude weekends, Dec. 4-6 and 11-13.

Prelude visitors can ride in heated, restored electric trolleys on what was the Kennebunkport to Biddeford portion of the Atlantic Shore Line. The historic railway operated from 1904 to 1927, when it was essential transportation for tourists and commuters.

Rides will be offered on Friday from 1 to 3:30 p.m. and on Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. during the two weekends. Refreshments will be available and the museum's gift shop will be open with a selection of rail-related gifts for all ages. Admission to the museum store and visitors center is free. Tickets are $4 per ride, per person (all ages).

Founded in 1939, the nonprofit Seashore Trolley Museum is the oldest and largest museum of its type in the world. It's located at 195 Log Cabin Road, Kennebunkport (3 miles north of Dock Square). Info at 207-967-2800 or online.


Posted by Janet Mendelsohn, Globe correspondent

Photo courtesy of Seashore Trolley Museum

Boyne Resorts has really made its frequent skier card an attractive option heading into this season.

For the same price as last year’s card ($89), skiers and riders can save $25 on midweek, non-holiday, and $15 on weekend and holiday tickets at Sunday River, Sugarloaf, and Loon Mountain. This season, however, the card includes a lift ticket good at one of the resorts. Consider that a regular season lift ticket at Sugarloaf is $75 ($77 at Sunday River; Loon has yet to announce its rates this season), and that can add up to big savings at the window.

The cards can be purchased online, or you can simply upgrade your one-day lift ticket purchase at the ticket window.

Hungering for a Maine culinary adventure? Craving a taste of Maine in fall? Make plans now to attend the Edible Island Conference and Fund-raising Dinner, on Oct. 9-10.

The program opens Oct. 9 with a spectacular five-course dinner with wine pairings, prepared by celebrity chefs.

Sunday River and Sugarloaf have teamed up with three smaller Maine ski areas to launch a unique – and what we expect to be wildly successful – way to encourage and create new skiers and riders this winter.

The new "Maine Learn to Ski and Ride Card" will allow novices the opportunity to experience skiing or snowboarding over a two-day period at one of the state’s less-intimidating mountains - Lost Valley, Titcomb, or Camden Snow Bowl - before graduating for a day at one of Maine’s larger resorts, Sunday River or Sugarloaf. At $89, for three days of skiing, rentals, and a lesson, it’s a great deal.

The card will provide the following:

Day 1: Ticket, rental, and lesson at Titcomb, Lost Valley, or Camden Snow Bowl

Day 2: Ticket and rental at Titcomb, Lost Valley, or Camden Snow Bowl

Day 3: Ticket and rental at either Sugarloaf or Sunday River.

The cards will be available for purchase at Camden Snow Bowl, Titcomb or Lost Valley. For more information, visit www.sugarloaf.com or www.sundayriver.com.

After you've witnessed sunrise from the summit of Cadillac Mountain, in Acadia National Park, continue the panoramic views with breakfast at The Looking Glass, the (almost) hilltop restaurant at Bar Harbor's appropriately named Wonder View Hotel. The glass-walled dining room overlooks Bar Harbor, the Porcupine Islands and out into Frenchman Bay. Gorgeous anytime, but spectacular during foliage season.

What to order? Why the Cadillac Mountain Sunrise ($8.95, two eggs any style, with bacon or sausage, home fries and toast), of course. But if you're up for a splurge, consider the Maine Coast omelet (market price), made with lobster, sauteed sweet peppers, onions, and smoked gouda.

Well respected Bangor chef Arturo Montes is in the kitchen here nightly (except Tues.). His oysters Rockefeller are alone worth an evening visit. Another plus for dinner is that afterward, you can stroll over to the adjacent Bluenose Hotel and listen to pianist Bill Trowell tickle the keyboards in The Great Room lounge. He's so good that most folks treat it as a concert, but there's no entry fee.

One of the best-kept secrets in midcoast Maine is Point Lookout, topping Ducktrap Mountain, in Lincolnville, just north of Camden. This exclusive compound was created as an exclusive retreat for former credit card giant MBNA, but new ownership has unlocked the gates and hung out the welcome sign, inviting anyone to drive up to the summit for the expansive views over island-salted Penobscot Bay.

But think about lingering. For starters, the well-equipped and 106 comfy one- to three-bedroom cabins are a steal for these parts, with rates beginning at $155 per cabin. But there's a heckuva lot more than cabins here.

On the premises are Wellness Center with a truly state-of-the-art health facility, where you can get a complete fitness evaluation, right down to your driving abilities (car, and probably golf, too), along with a personal program to rehab any weaknesses. Now add virtual golf. And a full-sized gymnasium. And racquetball and squash courts. And a bowling alley. And a video arcade. And an artificial turf soccer field. And a regulation softball field. And tennis courts.

After you've worked up an appetite, head to the Copper Pine, an order-at-the-counter restaurant where the chef-prepared-to-order fare far exceeds the casualness.

Now about those cabins. They're scattered in the woods on the hillside, linked by roads and hiking trails. All have at least expanded wet-bar areas, many have full kitchens, all have screened porches, TVs, Wi-fi, nice linens, and a Maine-woods chic decor (pine interiors, leather chairs and sofas, fireplaces).

Photo of Point Lookout by Hilary Nangle for The Boston Globe

You’d never know it by the sober front of the Amtrak.com website, or the big-city promotions splashed all over the Amtrakvacations.com site, but there’s a quiet bargain available for traveling between Boston and Portland on the Downeaster: a genuine two-for-one sale. Admittedly, trains are limited to a few of the morning and early evening trains, but if you time it right, you can leave North Station in the morning, get to Portland well before lunch, visit the Museum of Fine Arts, shop, and come home after an early supper. Here’s the URL for that nearly hidden page.

Posted by Patricia Harris, Globe Correspondent

My Maine connections have been on my case ever since my article about eating hot lobster rolls in Connecticut appeared in the July 26 Globe. This month is almost a third over, but today I was notified that Maine has declared August as Maine Lobster Month. That might have something to do with supply outstripping demand and driving down prices. This time of year, the bugs are soft-shell and too fragile to ship well. But for those of us who’d rather eat lobster closer to the source, that’s good news. The shacks and pounds all along the Maine coast are brimming with the sweetest of all crustaceans. And following Governor Balducci’s proclamation on August 10, the state tourism board’s web site has a handy guide to devouring lobster: http://www.visitmaine.com/restaurants/maine_seafood/the_only_place_for_fresh_maine_lobster/

Posted by David Lyon, Globe Correspondent

Maine Office of Tourism handout

Blink… Blink… Blink…day and night, in rain, sunshine, snow and especially fog…mariners depend on lighthouses and tourists flock to their scenic locations, cameras at the ready. Except when the light station is remote or off-limits. But on Saturday, Sept. 12, you can explore 52 of the 68 iconic landmarks in the State of Maine during the nation’s largest -- and Maine’s first - - Open Lighthouse Day.

From 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., the light stations will be open to the public, including several normally seen only by boat or from a distance, including Matinicus Rock, Franklin Island, Egg Rock and Boon Island in York. Or visit easier to reach lighthouses that dot the coast from Portland Head Light to Dice Head in Castine and West Quoddy Head Light in Lubec, near Canada.

The event is coordinated by the US Coast Guard, Maine Office of Tourism, and the American Lighthouse Foundation. Surrounding communities will celebrate their maritime heritage with stories of life on isolated rocky islands, shipwrecks and ghosts. (Folks swear the lighthouses are haunted at Woods Island in Biddeford, Hendricks Head in West Southport and Owls Head near Rockland.) Museums and visitor centers at Pemaquid Point, Marshall Point (Port Clyde), Grindle Point and other popular destinations will be open so you can pore over historic memorabilia and learn about what it took to man a lighthouse and how keepers and their families lived in less than romantic conditions. Today all but one of of New England’s lighthouses are automated but that doesn’t make them any less attractive.

Beginning 52 days before Maine Open Lighthouse Day, one light per day is featured at www.lighthouseday.com alongside information on which lights will be open to the public and how to reach them.

Posted by Janet Mendelsohn, Globe Correspondent

File photo of Portland Head Light by Mark Wilson/Globe Staff

The Bangor Daily News is reporting that Delta has decided to drop its twice daily service from Boston to Bangor, Maine, beginning Dec. 1. because the carrier has decided that the flights are no longer profitable.
Amid the recession and airline industry slump, all the airlines are aggressively scrutinizing their schedules for underperforming routes and trimming service or simply eliminating them. Hardest hit have been secondary airports like Bangor.

The ’09 boating season may be off to a slow start but sailors and power boaters hungering to get back on the water will find kindred spirits and perhaps their next vessel at the 7th Annual Maine Boats, Homes & Harbors Show, August 7-9, in Rockland, Maine. The state’s only in-water boat and home show will feature more than 70 boats afloat and 150 exhibitors on shore. Participating will be many of Maine’s finest artists, architects, boat builders, craftsmen, designers, furniture makers, marine gear vendors, and musicians. This year a new area is planned exploring alternative energy sources and building practices, energy audits, and sustainability. Returning faves include a model yacht pond, live music, a marine activities area for kids. Naturally there will be plenty of tasty Maine food.

The 7th Annual World Championship Boatyard Dog Trials on Sunday Aug. 9 at 10:30 a.m. gives contestants and their people a chance to show off skills to the amusement of one and all. The 2008 World Champ, a bloodhound named Truman, aka Special Agent K-9 entered by the Humane Society of Knox Count, was trained by local teens. Truman performed nearly the equal of 007 as he leaped from a tippy dinghy, kissed a femme fatale, disarmed special agents, responded to commands in multiple languages, knocked a villain off the dock and then slipped back under cover as a family dog. Soon after last year’s show, he adopted into a loving home. Registration is now closed but still this is a great event for families and dog lovers (and likers).
You’ll also want to catch the Great Pen Bay Zucchini Boat Regatta on Saturday at 2 p.m.
Tradition Shapes Innovation, the show’s theme, captures the true spirit of today’s Maine. Admission: $10 adults, under 12 free. Gates open at 10 a.m. daily. Harbor and Buoy parks, Rockland, Maine, on Penobscot Bay. No pets allowed. Info and directions: 800-565-4951 or www.maineboats.com.

Posted by Janet Mendelsohn, Globe Correspondent

Do you remember where you were when it happened?

I am speaking, of course, of Saturday afternoon's successful attempt to set a Guinness world record for skinny dipping -- it's pretty safe to assume a record was set since there wasn't one before.

The event, which took place at 3 p.m. "Eastern Nudist Time'' at more than 135 locations around the country, was sponsored by the Florida-based American Association for Nude Recreation and was intended to serve as a finale to their Nude Recreation Week.

Carolyn Hawkins, a AANR spokeswoman, said that the group had not completed compiling numbers but they know that more than 8,000 participated and they are hoping the final count will reach 20,000.

Most of the gatherings took place at AANR clubs, but there were some public clothing-optional beaches, such as Gunnison Beach on the Jersey Shore and Haulover in Miami.

OK, so it sounds like you missed it. If you would like a running start at the next attempt, the folks at About.com have compiled a list of 10 resorts, campgrounds, and clubs in the New England where you can kick the tires on a clothing-free "nakation.''

Alan Berner/The Seattle Times via AP
Skinny-dippers crowd the pool at FS Family Nudist Park in Issaquah, Wash., on Saturday.

Looking for something to do this weekend? Wiggle your way down to Castine, a gem of a town on the Blue Hill Peninsula, for Celebrate Castine. This three-day festival, July 10-12, 2009, is a home-grown good time: street fair, art exhibits, boat trips, dining events, tours of Maine Maritime Academy's State of Maine training ship, wine receptions, paddles, hikes, a walking tour, canine entertainment, and a big band night. Better yet, most events are free.

Never been to Castine? All the more reason to go. Few towns have as rich a history as now serene Castine. Strategically located on the tip of a cape, surrounded by water on three sides, including the entrance to the Penobscot River, it was fought over by France, Britain, and Holland for centuries. Historical markers throughout town bring those squabbles to life, and make it especially enriching for a an easy-going walk or pedal.

Castine is also architecturally rich, with beautifully restored and maintained Federal and Georgian homes and a splendid Queen Anne inn (the Pentagoet, have a drink with Jack in Passports Pub, definitely make reservations for dinner, and snag a room, if you can). It's also home to the Wilson Museum, (filled with eclectic treasures), a handful of forts, Dyce's Lighthouse, and Maine Maritime Academy.

Photo by Hilary Nangle for The Boston Globe

If you think Maine is all about the coast, you need to venture inland and discover the lakes, rivers, woods, and peaks that define the region between Bethel and Millinocket. Not only does this region rival the coast for natural beauty, it's also wildlife rich. You won't see a puffin, but your chances of spotting a moose are high.

Making that easy is the new Maine Woods Discovery program, a collaborative venture by Alpine resorts Sunday River, Sugarloaf, and Saddleback Maine; the rustic lodges and nature-based programs of the Appalachian Mountain Club and Maine Huts & Trails; and rafting and recreation outfitters Northern Outdoors, and New England Outdoor Center.

These entities have put together seven one- to three-day packages, each combining accommodations with activities and some meals, with rates beginning at $75 per person. Packages include geocaching, hiking, biking, paddling, rock-hounding, and craft-making. Read on for details.

If your favorite tweets come from feathered creatures, the Maine Birding Trail is for you.

Along with this spring’s official launch of the online trail, there’s a just-published companion guidebook, Maine Birding Trail (Down East Books, 2009) by Bob Duchesne, a Maine state representative, avid birder, and Maine Audubon guide who founded and has worked on the trail website since 2003. Duchesne says the project will continually change as birding sites are upgraded or protected according to the need for habitat protection. It’s his labor of love, developed in collaboration with Maine state government, Maine Audubon, and local birders.

The book identifies more than 260 accessible sites, dozens of other locations that are not part of the official trail and additional bird-watching venues in nearby Campobello and Grand Manan islands in Canada.

The book is not a guide to birds. In fact, there are no photos, no flight pattern charts or any of the other usual birding tools. It’s a travel guide to places throughout Maine from the southern beaches to Aroostook County, identifying which species you’re likely to see where. Chapters correspond to Maine’s official tourism regions rather than habitat zones.

In addition to driving directions and local maps, Duchesne gives visitors a heads-up on terrain. In Washington County, a Down East locale of undeveloped lakes where he says the tiny village of Grand Lake Stream has been the center of a robust hunting and fishing tradition since the 19th century, traditional sporting camps and lodges are marvelous places. Nearby, “the Little Mayberry Cove Trail begins at the outlet dam and follows the shoreline for 2 ½ miles through mature hemlock forest. Black-throated Blue Warblers, Scarlet Tanagers, and Eastern Wood-Peewees are common among the many songbirds found along the trail.” The Pocumcus Lake Trail is good for Ruffed Grouse and “judging by the abundance of moose droppings, it’s also a pretty good corridor for wildlife in the thick woods.”

Posted by Janet Mendelsohn, Globe correspondent

Lobster College sounds like a hungry Mainiac’s dream: all lobster, all the time. Ah, but it’s real, if only for one weekend, Sept. 17-20. In past years, Lobster College has attracted folks from as near as Maine, as far as Illinois, Michigan, Florida, and Australia. Along with retirees and other curious fans of the crustacean, there have been restaurant owners and students of marine science for whom this is a serious hands-on learning experience.
Instructors are University of Maine faculty and lobster fishermen and dealers who serve up generous lessons on lobster biology and ecology, stock management, branding and marketing, and related environmental issues. Students learn to bait traps and go out on a working lobster boat. They hear about lobster products and taste recipes at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Last year they ate at least ten lobster dishes in four days.
The program is run by the Lobster Institute, a coalition of University of Maine faculty and those working in the industry, focused on research and education outreach to protect, conserve and enhance a healthy lobster fishery as a resource, and lobstering as both an industry and a way of life. Lobster College is also a fundraiser for the institute. Sessions takes place in and around Boothbay Harbor, among the prettiest sections along Midcoast Maine’s rocky coast. Participants stay at Kenniston Hill Inn Bed & Breakfast in Boothbay. The charming shipbuilder’s mansion was built in 1786.
Enrollment is limited to 20; the deadline is August 31. Tuition is $575 per person, including all lobster meals, plus room rates which range from $450-$570 for the weekend. Details are at www.lobsterinstitute.org or call 207-581-2751 or 207-581-1443.

Posted by Janet Mendelsohn, Globe Correspondent

Photo by Suzanne Kreiter/Globe Staff

If you're a birder — neophyte or experienced—make plans now to attend the Acadia Birding Festival, June 11-14, 2009, on Mt. Desert Island. No less an authority than Roger Tory Peterson called the island, home to Acadia National Park, "the Warbler capital of the world."

Festival organizer Michael Good, of Downeast Nature Tours, took the former Warblers and Wildflowers festival and relaunched it as Acadia Birding a couple of years ago. He's got the street cred to bring in topnotch guests—noted ornithologists, naturalists, biologists, researchers, bird carvers and illustrators, ecologists, etc.— for guided walks and talks. It's a great opportunity to add a few coveted species to your life list.

It's spring, and the fish are biting. The Upper Andro Anglers Alliance in co-operation with Trout Unlimited are hoping to hook families on fishing with a free Family Fishing Festival on Saturday, May 30.

The festival will be held at the Grand Summit Hotel Pond at Sunday River Ski Resort in Newry, Maine, from 9 am to 2 pm, rain or shine.

For those new to the sport, free casting workshops and fly-tying instruction will be available throughout the day. Instruction will include both spin casting and fly casting for older youth and parents.

No need to bring equipment, Maine’s Hooked on Fishing—Not on Drugs Program will supply complimentary rods and reels for festival use.

Get this: the Grand Summit Pond will be stocked with trout courtesy of the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, and participants can take home any catches.

There's even swag: Each young angler will receive a mini-tackle box complete with bobber, sinkers and hook courtesy of the Upper Andro Anglers Alliance. Kids can learn how to tie flies with materials provided by Trout Unlimited and fibers from Sunday River Alpacas. Families participating in the event will be eligible for door prizes from local outfitters and businesses.

Of course, food, too: an outdoor barbecue will feed tired anglers.

Can't make it to Bethel? The weekend of May 30-31 is a free fishing weekend throughout Maine. Resident and Non-resident freshwater fishing licenses are waived each day.

For those families wishing to stay overnight and fish or canoe the Androscoggin River on Sunday, special family packages are available for the weekend at local lodging establishments. Check with the Bethel Area Chamber of Commerce.

Gotta like this one. Sebasco Harbor Resort, a family oriented (and pet-friendly) lodge and cottages smack dab on the ocean in mid-coast Maine, is celebrating its birthday with a budget-friendly 80th Anniversary Weekend package, June 5-7.

Sebasco is located near the tip of the Phippsburg peninsula, south of Bath. Once quite retro, it's slowly and consistently been upgraded and updated (renovated rooms, addition of an oceanfront spa), without losing its charm (candlepin bowling, saltwater pool). There's a nine-hole golf course with one hole that puts meaning into the term water hazard.

Here's the scoop: For $199 per person, you receive two nights lodging in the main lodge, unlimited golf, daily breakfast, Saturday lunch BBQ/lobster bake, Saturday night grand buffet dinner with entertainment, and all kinds of activities.

Details, details:
Friday arrival
• Welcome reception in the Main Lodge
• Family Bon-fire sing along
• Evening entertainment in the Ledges Pub

Saturday
• Champagne buffet breakfast in the Pilot House
• Harborside BBQ Lunch and Lobster bake
• Grand Buffet in the Cornelius Room with music and dancing
• Evening entertainment in the Ledges Pub

Sunday
• Harborside Blueberry Pancake breakfast

Complimentary Activities:
• Hat Parties
• Wooden Horse Races
• Costume Golf
• Relay races in the pool

Other Complimentary Activities:
• Family golf tournament on Lake Course
• Cooking demonstrations
• Treasure/scavenger hunts
• Sebasco Jeopardy
• All American BBQ
• Lakeside Fireworks display
• Wine Tasting

If you can't make it this weekend, through June 18, Sebasco is offering $80 rooms in its main lodge.

Ready for a delicious evening? A dozen of Maine's top chefs, including 2009 James Beard Best Chef in the Northeast winner Rob Evans, of Hugo's, are participating in A Taste of the Nation. This fund-raiser for Share Our Strength Southern Maine will be held in the ocean-front dining room at Southern Maine Community College on June 18.

In addition to Evans, participating chefs are:

• Lee Harding Smith, The Grill Room

• Larry Matthews Jr., Back Bay Grill

• Jeff Landry, Farmer's Table

• David Turin, David's

• Steve Corry, Five Fifty-Five

• Lee Skawinski, Cinque Terre

• Lawrence Klang, Natalie's

• Mitchell Kaldrovic, Sea Glass

• Earl Morse, Eve's at the Garden

• Jay Vilani, Local 188

• Brant Dadaleares, Fore Street

Tickets, $75 and $125, include all food, drink, and live entertainment. Proceeds support organizations such as Preble Street, East End Kids, Cultivating Community, and Maine Equal Justice Partners.

It's clear that most folks who are planning summer travel are looking at more modest options.
Most, I'm guessing are planning trips of a few days to a week by car. Interestingly enough Bloomberg News is just reporting that The Air Transport Association is forecasting that US summer airline travel will fall 7 percent from last year.
Anyway, I just did a spot this morning on NECN offering tips on how to save on trips this summer. You can watch but if you want the shorter summary here it is:

FIRST, do some research on prospective destinations for the availability of cheap or free things to do. Check out AAA guides and family-travel websites to get a feel for the lay of the land: Are there attractions, parks, beaches, places to hike and bike at or near where you plan to be? Also take a look at websites of newspapers in the area along with those of state travel and tourism agencies for calendar listings of events that may be happening while you're in the area.

SECOND, if you’re planning to get away for just a couple of days and you’re looking to cut lodging costs, consider using one of the “opaque’’ travel sites, like Priceline or Hotwire, which let you bid on rooms. The downside is that these sites are “opaque,’’ not transparent. You don’t bid on a room at a specific hotel. Instead you make an offer on a room at a class of hotel -- 2-, 3-, or 4 stars -- in a specific city and you don’t know exactly where you’ll be staying until your bid is accepted. But by using these sites you can score savings of up to 40%-50%, particularly at higher-end properties this year.

THIRD, if you're looking for a more extended vacation, a like a week or more, consider renting a house. This often gets you a lot more space at the same or lower per-night cost of a hotel room and will save you all kinds of money in things like food. There are a number of websites like VRBO, which stands for Vacation Rentals By Owner, and craigslist with vacation home listings.

AND FINALLY, AND THIS IS A GREAT TIP: If you can be flexible about where you go and are willing to wait till the last minute, say, the week before your vacation you can get great deals on unrented vacation houses -- and I expect there to be a fair number of these available this year. In years past I have saved as much as 50% on rentals this way. When you spot last-minute openings, they’ll probably be discounted already but don’t be afraid to make an offer. By taking the last-minute route you may not be able to get a place in that town on the Cape that you usually go to, but it can also be an opportunity to explore another place or perhaps even another state.

Hope this helps. If you have other ideas, please share.

Deer Isle, Maine, is going to the birds. The third annual Wings, Waves & Woods festival of birding and art, sponsored by the Island Heritage Trust, is coming up May 15-17.
Avian-centered events include Introduction to Birding, Warbler Walk, Nesting Eagles and their Neighbors, Puffin Boat Trip to Seal Island, Birding by Ear, and Found-Object Sculpture. Most events are free; boat trips range from $13 to $60 per person (reservations required for some).
On Saturday night, the Local Foods Chowder Supper highlights Dick Bridges' fish chowder, along with homemade biscuits, Nervous Nellie's jams and chutneys, fresh green salad, and the Ice Cream Lady's homemade treat. Yum! This delicious feed, limited to 80 people, costs $12 for the whole shebang.
Plan now to snag boat and supper seats. Need lodging, here's a list. My faves include Boyce's Motel for cheap sleeps, Inn on the Harbor for best location, Pilgrim's Inn for country inn style, The Inn at Ferry Landing for a quiet B & B.

Ocean Wood, one the state’s best private campgrounds for the non-humongo RV set, was recently auctioned, but the lawyer who purchased it is allowing it to operate this summer.
If you’re a camping fan with a tent or a mini, reserve now. You won’t be disappointed. The no-frills, eco-sensitive campground in Birch Harbor, Maine, is on a wooded finger of land projecting eastward from the Schoodic peninsula, near the end of the Schoodic Loop Road. Best sites are the 17 wilderness ones, most oceanfront, reserved for tents.
It is for sale. “If we can fill up the campground with a prosperous summer, perhaps the new owner will be more open to keeping it and enjoying if for what it is,” says Nancy Ragusa, who's been camping here for 17 summers.
Of course, such a spectacular chunk of real estate so close to the Schoodic section of Acadia National Park will command more than chump change. There's hope the new owner might be willing to sell it to a land trust, which would preserve it from development. In the meantime, campers can enjoy one last summer at this gem.