Let's Make a Deal
A state tourism Web site offers some surprising discounts on vacation packages.
By Andrew Vietze
The folks over at the state's tourism office have been working hard to attract visitors, if its Web site -- www.visitmaine.com -- is any indication. It's loaded with information, much of it useful, and perhaps the finest part appears when you click the link entitled "Getaway Packages." Here you'll find literally dozens of hostelries vying for your dollars. Actually, there are hundreds of options, each presented as a vacation package, from the high end to the less so, from the obvious resorts to the little-known cabin complexes. You can search the list by region, price range, or name, or you can simply browse the thirty-six pages. Most of these places to stay are offering discounts of some sort, though there are some that are more substantial than others. For example, a recent search turned up a deal at Weatherby's, the well-known fishing resort in Grand Lake Stream, which is offering four nights in July, meals included, and two days of guided fishing for $900. With the package, kids under fifteen stay for free. This is about $100 in savings, much more depending on how many kids you bring. Some inns throw in gift certificates for dinner at some fine Maine eateries, while others drastically reduce their prices. You can even find package prices for things like rafting trips, schooner vacations, and walking tours. Be forewarned, though: availability is often limited, so a deal you find one day may be gone the next.A Two-Hour Tour
The Marine Environmental Research Institute has kept a fairly low profile since it opened in 2001. Operating out of a sweet old cape in Blue Hill, the non-profit group does scientific studies of the health of the Gulf of Maine -- monitoring water quality, exploring the impact of pollutants on wildlife -- and it rescues stranded animals, has education programs for both adults and kids, hosts conferences, and sponsors eco-cruises every summer. These two-hour tours, shoving off from the town dock at Naskeag Point in Brooklin, are worth checking out. You board the R/V Meri and head out into East Penobscot Bay. A MERI naturalist will be along to talk about issues facing the Gulf, and sightings of seals, porpoises, seabirds, and eagles are common. The trips are offered on Mondays and Wednesdays at 3 p.m. and on Fridays at 9 a.m., 12 p.m., and 3 p.m. For details visit www.meriresearch.org/education/center/program. html or call 207-374-2135.
Schmooze Alert
Anyone interested in doing business in Maine will want to check out the business breakfasts held once a month at Thomas College in Waterville. Sponsored by the Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce, these get-togethers explore a wide range of topics and offer the opportunity to schmooze to your heart's content. Upcoming events include: "How to Improve Maine's Economic Opportunities for Maine Business through Our State Legislature" on April 13; "Advertising Ideas that Sell" on May 4; and "Performance Management: It's Not a Dirty Word" on September 14. The series attracts some really interesting speakers, and for $15 the sessions could go a long way toward improving your business outlook. Find out more at www.midmainechamber.com or ring 207-873-3315.
Take a Seat
There is no better way to explore Maine than from the seat of a bicycle. When you're pedaling you can feel the salt air on your face if you're on the coast, you can smell the pine forests if you're upcountry -- no matter where you go, you're right out among it all. The Pine Tree State has a very active cycling community and many towns and cities have biking lanes or bike paths to cater to the two-wheel set. Some of the biggest advocates of bicycling, oddly, are over at the Maine Department of Transportation. The MDOT has set up a Web site with loads of information on alternative modes of travel, and biking is prominent among them. At www.exploremaine.org/bike, you'll discover all sorts of bike routes mapped out. From Kittery to the County, these self-guided trips take you on short jaunts and long, down the road and off-trail. The site even shows you how many miles you'll travel, whether or not you can do a loop, how difficult the ride is, what the surface is, what you can expect to see, plus other useful bicycling tidbits.
Sun Spot
Beachgoers have always had a difficult time of it in the midcoast. Once you get past the popular-to-the-point-of-overcrowding Reid and Popham Beach state parks in the Bath area, there are few places to lay down your towel until you hit the similarly popular strip of sand at Lincolnville Beach. The state rectified the situation a couple of years ago when it began making improvements at Birch Point State Park in Owls Head. Known locally as Lucia Beach, this strand has been owned by the state since the seventies. It was expanded in 1999, but only recently has it been cleaned up and really taken seriously. In the past few years the state has installed new outhouses, fixed up the road and parking area, and improved signage. All of which is good for sun worshippers. Birch Point can accommodate scads of them, and it is a truly pleasant place with rock arms that wrap around a small cul-de-sac of sand. Those looking for privacy can climb the granite bluffs on either side of the beach and nestle themselves in among the boulders and tidepools; everyone else can simply pick a stretch of pebbly sand and go about their beach business, basking in the sun and the views of Mussel Ridge Channel. Of course, the water is frigid, just like it is at every other midcoast beach, and there are no lifeguards. But it'll beat the heat, and if you play it right, you can beat the crowds. Birch Point State Park opens Memorial Day. Find out more by clicking over to www.maine. gov/doc/parks/programs/db_search/ index.html
On the Waterfront
Spend five minutes on Commercial Street in Portland and you'll quickly understand that the Forest City's waterfront, tourist-friendly though it may be, is very definitely still a working waterfront. Boats constantly come and go in the harbor, trucks filled with fish go here and there, and fishermen are all over the place. The city has had many debates on just how much work should go on down there, and how much tourism infrastructure should be allowed in. Angela Clark offers a cool inside look at the fishing and shipping industries in Portland in her Working Waterfront Walking Tours. These hour-long jaunts start right at the heart of things in the Portland Fish Exchange and then take you on to the docks where the action happens. She stops at Maine Lobster Direct, Portland Pilots, Inc., a pair of bait dealers, and Portland Traps, the only lobster trap makers in the city these days. Clark explores the history of the wharves, lobster biology, the state of the fisheries, and the development pressures facing the waterfront. "It's really the working waterfront past, present, and future," she says. "There's a lot to see." The tours are $10 for adults, $7 for kids, and can be arranged by calling 207-415-0765.
