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.

If you're thinking of getting back to basics for Thanksgiving, head off to Tamworth, N.H., this Saturday, Nov. 14 for Remick Museum and Farm's signature annual event -- a Historic Thanksgiving. Traditional foods such as roasted turkey, bread-sauce stuffing, hearth bread, boiled cider, and Indian pudding will fill the table. Visitors will enjoy a warm fire, story-telling, craft-making, and museum exhibits depicting over 200 years of agricultural life in the state.

There will be horse-drawn wagon rides, a holiday gift preview, and a demonstration on how to properly "dress" a turkey. Admission is $5. Call ahead to register at 603-323-7591.

How can you combine inspiring art, scenic drives, and holiday shopping in one shot? Travel to New Hampshire this weekend, Nov. 7-8, and participate in the statewide N.H. Open Doors. The event is an opportunity to experience the beauty and traditions of the Granite State by visiting its people and places and learning about its products. Visit the Made in NH site to create your own self-guided tour through the state. A map listing the hundreds of participants, including artists, craftspeople, wineries, retail shops, restaurants, lodging establishments, and more, is downloadable and easy to read. For more info call 603-224-3375.

Haunted Acres in Epping, N.H., is one frightful place you will not find me! New Hampshire's largest Halloween attraction is four experiences in one. Haunted Acres is set in an 1860s Western ghost town featuring the Skeleton Saloon & Hotel, the Dark Maze, the 3D Nuclear Accident House, and the Quarter Mile Nightmare Walk. The elaborately decorated scene includes coffins, cemetery, jail, mine shafts, spider web forest, witches' village, and its slayer creature sporting a 20-foot wingspan! Haunted Acres runs through Halloween, and admission is $23. Visit here or call 603-679-1666 (clever number).

Spookyworld and Nightmare New England is in my neck of the woods, in Litchfield, N.H. Last fall, someone handed me coupons for admission while I was shopping for my Princess Lea wig. Like a fool, I called my brother's kids and asked if they were interested. "Ah, Auntie Kim, I don't think you want to go there." Not even my teenage nephews would go to Spookyworld, which translates that if they were too spooked to go, then I would have a stroke and die at the feet of the first eyeless ghoul. Or worse, clowns -- nothing as terrifying as clowns.
My cowardice aside, I realize many of you want more scare, more fright, and more gore, so this one's for you. Now through Halloween, victims will tiptoe through seven horrifying haunts, encountering the creatures that fester below as they are “Buried Alive.” Or dare to enter “Raven’s Claw Cemetery,” where corpses and zombies lurk in the fog among the graves, and look out for the blood thirsty vampires of “Night Feeders.”

Spookyworld is ranked one of the best frights in the U.S., and is listed as one of top 12 eerie elite across the nation for 2009 by America’s Best Haunts. Like I said, this one's for teens and adults, NOT young children, or middle-aged fraidy-cats like me. Cost is $29.99 to $49.99 (perhaps something to scream about as well).

As a followup to our article on traveling green, we note that the White Mountain state is seeing green online, at least with its lodging reservation service at visitnh.gov. New Hampshire claims to be the first state in New England with an interactive booking system to allow users to search and make reservations at “green properties” that meet certain criteria for conserving energy, water, and other resources.

Posted by Patricia Harris and David Lyon, Globe correspondents

There's one more weekend to head north to Cranmore and face the terror that awaits atop their 2,000 foot summit -- the Ghoullog. The spirits of three evil brothers and their victims return to the grounds of Cranmore, where vile and heinous acts were carried out. The tour includes a nighttime stroll through a haunted walkway to the Quad, where after a seven-minute ride to the summit of Cranmore, visitors tour the Ghoullog, where haunted happenings are sure to frighten and surprise the hardiest souls. Visitors can finally begin to relax on the ride down the Quad chairlift with a breathtaking vantage of the Moat Mountains and Mount Washington at night.

Oct. 29 is locals night, while Oct. 30-31 are open to all. Ghoullog runs from 7-10 p.m., with doors opening at 6. The cost is $25.

I would have skipped right over this event, had my neighbor Linda not just gushed about her recent trip to Peterborough, N.H.
Peak into Peterborough this Saturday, Oct. 17, has seemingly perfect timing as the town's foliage is providing a most vibrant palette for leaf peepers. The annual festival welcomes autumn and brings the small town to life. Bring the family and explore Peterborough's rich history and beautiful scenery while enjoying many events such as hayrides, pumpkin painting, pizza tasting, and other activities. For information call 603-924-7234 or visit online.

Some of the 6,000 film lovers who attended last year's New Hampshire Film Festival.

Film and New Hampshire? Ah-yup.
The ninth annual New Hampshire Film Festival combines kicking restaurants, peak foliage, and movie stars from Oct. 15-18 in you-already-knew-it-was picturesque Portsmouth, N.H. The lineup includes the Andover- and Boston-area-shot "Don McKay," starring Thomas Haden Church and Elizabeth Shue. For film industry veterans and students looking to network, the fest also offers bargain-priced workshops. All-Weekend ($70) or VIP passes ($100) are also available. Festival-goers can also snatch up one day passes for $15-$30. When the show's over, after parties at various restaurants and bars are where the hubbub begins. This year's closing film, "Food, Inc.," features a discussion with Stonyfield Farm's Gary Hirshberg. Insider's tip: Students who want to volunteer get free passes. Contact deb@nhfilmfestival.com to volunteer.

Ethan Gilsdorf is the author of FANTASY FREAKS AND GAMING GEEKS: An Epic Quest for Reality Among Role Players, Online Gamers, and Other Dwellers of Imaginary Realms" and is presently on a nationwide tour.

Photo courtesy of New Hampshire Film Festival

Castleberry Fairs organizes the 11th Annual Autumn Craft Festival On The Lake at Mill Falls Marketplace, on Meredith Bay, this weekend, Oct. 3-4. Gorgeous landscapes, great specialty foods, live music, scores of artisans, and lots and lots of shopping opportunities. Come Sunday and also enjoy the area’s scrumptious 
20th Annual Lakes Region Chowderfest! Your Vote Counts! This annual tradition at Hesky Park features local restaurants duking it out for the exclusive bragging rights of saying they have the best chowder on the lake. Hesky Park is located across the street from the Inns. Friends in the area tell me that while foliage is not yet peak, it is dazzling anyhow. 
Show hours each day are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. This is a free event, and outdoors rain or shine. See you there! Visit online for more information.

Photo courtesy Ellis Merrill

The Deerfield Fair, in Deerfield, N.H., is celebrating its impressive 133d year this coming weekend, Oct. 1-4. I'd say progress is starting with a dozen oxen and some old school agriculture, and growing it into the oldest and one of the largest New England family fairs. I've written before in this blog that I am a proud, veteran Deerfield Fair-goer. I have been going to the fair for more than 30 years now, and can offer these tips for a successful trip:
1. Leave at the crack of dawn. Gates open at 8 a.m., so be there between 7-8 a.m. to ensure no admission line, no wait to park, and no parking miles away. By getting there early you will also miss the MILES and MILES of backed-up traffic to get into the fair.
2. If you have kids, and they plan to take the midway rides, do that first. The crowds around the rides get crazy, and who wants to spend their day this way? If there is time later, go back. But get that angst over with.
2a. Friday and Sunday are wrist bands days which means for $20 your kid can ride as much as they want all day. This is the way to go if you've got thrill-seekers on board.
3. Look at the map online, figure out what is most important to you, and get there early. I like the pigs and sheep. So if I don't want to fight to see them, we head there first. If I like the ox pull, I get there early, and so on.
4. The ATM is not convenient. Bring cash.
5. Donuts the size of your head are available when you arrive early. Hand-made heaven. One donut fills your yearly quota of this treat. Lines go 50 deep easy, so again, mark your map and be efficient!

As for everything else, it's the regular fair stuff going on, but in mass quantities. The Deerfield Fair has it all. Take a peek online and see for yourself. Heed my warning about the traffic. I have known people to think it won't be "that bad," they leave at 10 a.m. and don't see the inside of the gates for hours on end. This fair stuff .... is serious stuff, ya know.

Photo courtesy Kimberly Sherman

LINCOLN, N.H. – It’s a little jarring to realize something you thought had been around forever is actually younger than you. But the Kancamagus Highway, a 34 and ½-mile stretch of scenic roadway with a plethora of panoramic views dotting much of it, turns 50 this year, coming to life in 1959 – some six years after I did.
A two-day celebration, Aug. 14-15, is planned to mark the road’s birthday, said Jayne O’Connor, president of White Mountains Attractions in North Woodstock, which along with the U.S. Forest Service is coordinating the celebration.
On Aug. 14 from 9 a.m. to noon there will be interpretive programs at the Lincoln Woods Visitors Center, the Discovery Trail, the Pemigewasset Overlook, the C.L. Graham Wangan Ground Overlook, the Albany Covered Bridge and the Blackberry Crossing Campground.
From 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. that day, there will also be exhibits and historic house tours at the Russell Colbath Historic Site near the halfway point in Albany, which will also be the site of the official celebration ceremony from 2-4 p.m.
The Kanc, as it’s known, is a wickedly wonderful touring road, great for driving briskly and hugging its many twists and turns, and as part of the observance, a “Kruise the Kanc” scenic driving tour of the highway Aug. 15, adding “an historic ambiance in a setting that is largely untouched since the first motorists passed over the road,” O’Connor said. For more info, visit thekanc.com

Before even getting off the ground, JetAmerica, which promised fares as low as $9, said that is suspending operations and plans to refund passengers who have bought tickets.

This is the explanation offered on the company website by CEO John Weikle, who was the founder of now-defunct discount airline Skybus:

"We are reluctantly suspending our public charter operations effective today," said John Weikle, CEO, who has been with the company since April. "Finalizing the slots required to support our charter program at Newark has taken longer than expected and we have decided to suspend our operations in order to refocus on different markets. We still strongly believe that there is an unmet need for affordable air service to secondary markets and we look forward to offering this option again in the near future.

JetAmerica, which had delayed its launch to Aug. 14, planned to initially serve five other cities beside Newark: Toledo, Ohio, Lansing, Mich., South Bend, Ind., Melbourne, Fla., and Minneapolis.

I wrote in May that JetAmerica officials had suggested that they wanted eventually to go to Hartford and that folks at the Portsmouth International Airport were in talks to bring the carrier there.

JetAmerica's business plan mirrored that of Skybus, which filed for Chapter 11 protection in April of last year after a 10-month run. It called for discounted seats, flights out of lower-cost secondary cities, and abundant fees for a variety of extras.

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.

While I have a crush on most berries, there is none more flexible and satisfying than a ripe strawberry. Perhaps I am a bit biased having grown up among countless strawberry picking fields, with a mom and grandmother making the sweetest jams, and the makings for shortcake were always at an arm's reach. June in New England is strawberry picking month, and festivals celebrating the fruit can be found all over. This Saturday, June 20, is Canterbury Shaker Village's 1st Annual Strawberry Jamboree.

Celebrating the onset of summer and the village’s longtime love for strawberries, the jamboree is an open mic musical jam session featuring TJ Wheeler and Patrick “Hatrack” Gallagher, where visitors can sign up to play or simply enjoy the music. A Strawberry Bake-Off with Professional and Home Chef divisions will fill the air with some more sweet music. Visitors can also shop for fun and unique products, take home strawberries and strawberry plants, and enjoy the many children’s activities.

Tickets are $17 for adults, $8 for children ages 6-17, and children 5 and under visit free. In keeping with the times, there is also a $42 family rate. Check online to register for bake-off and other details, or call 603-783-9511.

Just about every February, when my kids are beginning to tire of the snow and cold, they think to summer and immediately ask, "How long until the rib fest?" It's really a strange notion that they look forward to an event featuring a food they really could take or leave, but they do, and year after year, I notice the event getting more kid-friendly, as organizers have taken note that there are more strollers than Carter's got bibs.

Professional 'Ribbers' from the northeast gather to cook-off for the Best Ribs title at the 7th Annual Rock 'N Rib Fest held at the Anheuser Busch Factory in Merrimack, N.H., on June 19-21. Lines get long -- like 30 minutes or more long, so plan to eat whenever you see short lines on off hours. Another obvious hint, is the longer the line, usually the better the food. We take note of who's got the business, wander and roam, and then hit that rib tent when it slows some. Possibly better than the ribs, is the musical line-up this year. Continuous live music on several stages include bands for children, teens and adults. Musical acts playing the main stage throughout the weekend include Brickyard Blues, The James Montgomery Blues Band and special guest J. Geils, Jimmy’s Down, and my personal favorite, Mama Kicks. There is a very popular teen band competition on Friday, with the winner getting a chance to perform Sunday on the main stage. In addition to food and music, there are hot air balloon rides, wildlife encounters and tons of children's activities including jump houses. Tickets are just $5 with children under 8 getting in free, making it a perfect day-long activity for most families.

It's the cusp of summer and that means, for those of you Portsmouth, N.H.-bound (and those of you 21+, that is), Jimmy Juice is in the air.

A lot of dining establishments claim to be on the waterfront, but The Old Ferry Landing at 10 Ceres St. IS the waterfront. Here, you half-expect a Marlon Brando longshoreman type to pass by, whistling a sea chantey. Perch yourself on The Ferry Landing's outdoor deck, and you can practically toss your clam or mussel shells at the tugboats moored nearby (but please don't). The building was once a ferryboat terminal, back from the days when a boat was the only way to cross the Piscataqua River to Badger's Island in Kittery, Maine. Today, the river views remain, and further upstream, the Route 1 bypass and I-95 bridges loom in the distance.

The solid, no-frills seafood may fill the empty stomach, but people come to the cramped outdoor bar for drinks. If you dare to sample the famous Jimmy Juice, it's best to arrive having already eaten. The bartenders won't reveal the ingredients of this tall and powerful elixir, but it is fruity, it goes down quickly, and it's rumored to contain three varieties of rum. Maybe rocket fuel, too. As my sister Jessica says, nothing good ever came after two Jimmy Juices. Beware and enjoy ...

********************************************

Ethan Gilsdorf, a Globe correspondent, is the author of "Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks: An Epic Quest for Reality Among Role Players, Online Gamers, and Other Dwellers of Imaginary Realms," due out in September.

Photo by Jayson Walls for The Boston Globe

A new carrier announced plans this week to launch service out of six US cities in the next few months. The start-up said that it would offer discount fares, beginning at $9 a seat, and keep prices down by flying out of secondary cities, with most of the profit expected to come from fees for a variety of extras (think checked bags, pillows, etc,) and food and merchandise sales.
Sound familiar? It should. The man behind JetAmerica, John Weikle, was the founder of Skybus -- they of the $10 seats and abundant fees -- which went under in April of last year. Weikle left Skybus in 2007.
JetAmerica says its initial cities will be Newark, N.J., Toledo, Ohio, Lansing, Mich., South Bend, Ind., Melbourne, Fla., and Minneapolis.
Even though JetAmerica, which technically is running as a charter with planes from Miami Air International, has yet to make a single flight, it already seems to have expansion plans, which could involve New England. Weikel told his hometown paper, The Charleson Gazette, that he hopes to add Charleston and seven other "focus cities'' in the next 18 months. And JetAmerica officials told The Toledo Blade that in the next couple of years the carrier may head to Hartford, Conn., Baltimore, and Chicago's Midway Airport.
The Portsmouth Herald has reported Pease Development Authority officials are in talks to bring JetAmerica to Portsmouth International Airport, which hasn't had any regular passenger service since Skybus filed for bankruptcy.
The folks in New Hampshire aren't the only ones in the region eyeing up JetAmerica. Officials at Burlington International in Vermont say they haven't had any talks with the start-up but are keeping tabs on the the carrier's progress.
The airport is looking to make sales pitches to a dozen carriers next week in an attempt to lure more routes in the wake of a decision by AirTran to scale back service there, according to the Burlington Free Press.
It's no surprise that as the bigger airlines are trimming schedules that smaller and medium-size airports, which are losing flights, should be scrambling to bring in more business.
While the JetAmerica launch has drawn significant interest from airports, it has also turned the spotlight on the project's major investor. The Columbus Dispatch has reported that Steven Schoen, chairman of Sun America, "left [Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport] on the hook for more than $50,000 from a previous airline venture and alienated the major area casinos that help subsidize air service to Gulfport.''
Schoen was an investor in Casino Airlink and Southeast Airlines, both of which flew to Gulfport, Miss. JetAmerica spokesman Bryan Glazer told the Dispatch:

Schoen "became a victim of the abrupt financial difficulties incurred by Southeast." He said Schoen's situation "is not unlike the financial problems of many Americans who have lost their life savings and retirement funds in the stock market and independent investments."

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

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.

Long before TV celebrity chefs, home kitchens were the main stage. Since Colonial times, its where families and servants acted out dramas, told stories, tried new technology, experimented with ingredients, fed bellies and comforted souls. Declaring 2009 the Year of the Kitchen, Historic New England has planned house tours and special events at their properties in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut and Rhode Island. Spanning centuries, they range from the Coffin House, c.1678, in Newbury to Gropius House, c.1938, the first architectural commission in America designed by German Bauhaus movement founder Walter Gropius, in Lincoln.
House tours are open on a regular schedule. Special programs include wine tastings, hearth cooking and an afternoon tea. Late April, stock up at an Herb Sale at Lyman House Greenhouses, Waltham. In June, learn about New England Victorian Cookery at Castle Tucker, Wiscasset, Maine. America’s Kitchens, a new exhibit with vignettes and interactive experiences, opens June 11 at the New Hampshire Historical Society museum in Concord, N.H., then travels in 2010 to Long Island and, in 2011, to Cape Cod. There’s also a new America’s Kitchens book.

Posted by Janet Mendelsohn, Globe correspondent

Trade card for Pure Refined Paraffine by the Standard Oil Company. Collection of Historic New England

For those who are dreaming of more snow next winter, Vermont’s Pico Mountain is offering an adult (ages 19-64) My Pico Pass for 2009-10 for $299 if bought by April 30. Pay in advance, instead of on a payment plan, and ski the rest of the current season for free. The price reflects a 28 percent cut in the current season’s prices. My Pico Pass Youth (6-18) and Senior (65+) passes are $199, a 42 percent reduction off current prices.
Visit www.picomountain.com, call 800-887-3257, or stop in at the ticket office.

Posted by Richard P. Carpenter, Globe correspondent

If you can't find a way to embrace what you're handed, then please move on. New Hampshire is a fantastic example of doing just that with their infamous Mud Season that follows every winter, and begins every Spring. Mount Washington Valley offers many deals and events to enjoy the area during this 5th Season. The following list is compiled by the Mount Washington Chamber of Commerce, and is just a sampling of all good things to find during Mud Season:
"PARTAKE IN THE 1785 Inn’s FLAMING COCOA LAVA DRINK – They call this “warm mud to take the chill off of a cool spring evening," the 1785’s signature flaming Cocoa Lava is sure to leave you smiley clean! This drink features a flaming concoction of peppermint schnapps, hot chocolate, and Bailey’s Irish Cream all topped off with whipped cream and cinnamon (for that dirty look!). The glasses are rimmed with caramelized cinnamon sugar, just to add to the filthy goodness of this drink. Info: 800-421-1785.

ZEB’S GENERAL STORE FEATURES MAINE MUD CHOCOLATE PRODUCTS AND MUDSLIDE COFFEE - Walk into Zeb’s General Store, and the old-fashioned penny-candy counter takes you back in time. Zeb’s is the largest purveyor of New England-made products in the country, and features such wonderful Mud Season offerings as White Mountain Mudslide Coffee. In the height of the mud season, you’ll find Hogwash soaps, perfect for groveling in the mud for the ultimate in a clean complexion. Info: 800-676-9294.

MUD BOOTS AND RAIN GEAR FOR FIDO AND FIFI - We all know the best way to protect floors is to take off our boots when we come in the mud room, but what about our four-legged friends? Four Your Paws Only offers a full range of pet gifts, supplies and gear for inclement weather, including reflective dog boots and yellow doggie slickers. Info: 800-327-5957.

MUD MASKS AND SOAPS - Garden Dreams, a locally-based purveyor of fine soaps and spa products offers a Mud Mask with roots in French Green Clay and Oatmeal. It’s a wonderful product to awaken the body to spring and good clean mud. The instructions suggest covering the entire body in the mud mask, and once dried to run into the freshly melted lake during mud season for the ultimate in refreshing tingle. Of course, for the less adventurous, a warm shower will offer equal cleanliness but no where nearly the tingle. Info: 603-367-9913, www.gardendreams.org. Also, Fields of Ambrosia, in North Conway Village offers a new Dead Sea Mud collection for revitalizing and purifying skin. The collection includes a Black Mud Mask to tighten pores and Mud Grain Exfoliating Soap with Dead Sea mud grains combined with cosmetic grade clays to help exfoliate and mineralize the skin. Info: 800-355-9975.

RED PARKA PUB MUDSLIDE DRINKS AND PIES - Just to get into the mud-mood, order the 16-ounce Mason Jar Mudslide at the Red Parka Pub, one of Mt. Washington Valley’s après- mud fun institutions. Follow that up with the Mud Pie – a generous concoction of Oreo cookies, nuts, coffee liqueur, in between mounds of coffee ice cream, syrup and whipped cream, and you’ll be sure you’ve just landed in mud-heaven. Info: 603-383-4344.

MOUNTAIN VIEW GRAND RESORT & SPA MUD MASKS AND WRAPS: At this spa, mud means deep cleansing. Wrap yourself in a Moore Mud Wrap and Mud Masque as you luxuriate in a massage and European Deep Cleansing facial, both incorporating mud as the main ingredient. Info: 866-484-3843."

For more information on visiting during Mud Season or beyond in Mt. Washington Valley, visit online or call 800-DO-SEE-NH (800-367-3364) to request a free vacation planner loaded with ideas and offerings.

Photo credit by Jamie Gemmiti, Conway Daily Sun.

With Maple Syrup season in full swing, New Hampshire is coming up with some unique ways to experience our liquid gold. Using the syrup to lure you here to some of the region's best B&B's, visitors can participate on two levels with the Inn to Inn Maple Tour, March 27-29.

Option One for the low maintenance, self-directed visitor: Take a self-guided tour of participating inns within Mt. Washington Valley, where ticket holders will sample maple selections at various inns and shops and receive a booklet of participating inns with maple recipes.

Option Two for the wanting-to-be-more-involved visitor: Take part in a unique scavenger hunt in addition to participating in Option One. Gather "points" toward winning prizes by traveling on a specific route guided by directions "riddled with clues." Prizes include a stay at your favorite participating inn, a carriage or sleigh ride for two at the Farm by the River and other gifts from participating partners.

Inns participating include: Buttonwood Inn, Cabernet Inn, Covered Bridge House, The Farm by the River, Mt. Washington B&B, The Notchland Inn, Cranmore Mountain Lodge, Nereledge Inn B&B, Oxford House Inn and Spruce Moose Lodge. Visitors staying at any of these locations the weekend of March 28th and 29th will receive March Maple Madness tickets as part of their stay package, along with breakfast each morning and additional enticements ranging from maple candy to a maple-themed five-course dinner. Both options are open to non-inn guests for $15/person/ticket. Call for more info: 603-356-2694. Check online for details, or reservations.

If you've got money to travel this summer, things are looking good.
Southwest has just launched an online summer fare sale with one-way fares as low as $49 between cities across the nation for travel through Aug. 14 and the move nearly immediately rippled through the industry on competing routes.
The Southwest sale is good through April 6, and a 14-day advance purchase is required. Travel on Fridays and Sundays is excluded, and there are blackout dates. Here is the fine print.
The discount carrier, which will launch service at Logan in fall, offers daily nonstop service to eight cities on 27 flights out of Manchester, N.H., and to nine on 31 flights out of Providence. It also offers connecting service to dozens of other destinations from both cities.
Some sample one-way sale fares: From either Manchester or Providence to Baltimore or Philly $49, to Orlando or Fort Lauderdale $79, Chicago $89, and Vegas $99.
Bloomberg News has now reported that American, Continental, and US Airways say they matched the reductions.
This is, I think, just the beginning. The airlines are still facing tremendous softness in business and many are planning further cuts in schedules, but it doesn't appear as if many of those will fully be in place till fall so expect to see competitive fares for this summer.