Perfect last-minute gifts

While shopping in downtown Rockland, I found two late additions for my holiday want list that might be perfect for someone on your list, too:

• The gorgeous felted wool hats sold at and made by the staff at the Project Puffin Visitor Center. The hats have images of puffins knitted into them, quite realistic, too. And while you’re here, you might want to adopt a puffin for that impossible-to-buy-for person on your holiday list. Act quickly, the center closes after this weekend and doesn’t reopen untiol May (with the noted exception of the Pie Weekend, in Janaury).

• The chic Maine Bait Bag, designed and made by a woman in Owls Head. These little gems are made from lobster trap parts, but have luxurious silk linings in a rainbow of rich colors. And the metal strap can’t be cut by a grab-and-run thief. Quite ingenious and fashionable, too. Find them at Caravans.

The Cat ferry runs out of lives…

…and government subsidies. The Cat, which ran between Bar Harbor and Yarmouth, N.S., and Portland and Yarmouth, N.S., has made its last run. The Canadian government has pulled funding from the high-speed summer ferry, which it has underwritten since its debut. The Cat made looping through downeast Maine and Maritime Canada easy, cutting endless hours off the drive. It was a fun ride while it lasted.

Sugarloaf’s winter concert schedule

Here’s one (make that four) more reason to visit the Loaf this winter. Little Feat kicks off Sugarloaf’s winter concert series on Saturday, Jan. 16 (and now I’ll have Dixie Chicken playing in the background of mind all day). Others headlining this year’s lineup are:

• Rusted Root, Feb. 6

• Grace Potter, March 13

• Rustic Overtones, March 27

Ticket prices vary with concert, usually $15 or $20 in advance, $20 or $25 at the door, if available.

The Rivah celebrates this weekend

A reminder that Sunday River is celebrating its 50th anniversary season this weekend with all sorts of activities and deals. Given all the recent snow in them thar hills, it should be a must.

The big shindig is Saturday. Expect live entertainment, huge fireworks, and a Viking look-alike contest (would I kid you? Think back, remember the logo from the era pre Les Otten).
Party kicks off Friday night with Orange Crush playing music of the 80s in the Foggy Goggle. It continues Saturday with historic ski tours all day. Saturday night, South Ridge becomes home to the Sunday River Food and Beverage Festival (a fancy name for party), with 10 restaurants and businesses along with specialty drink stations. Tix are $15 adult, $10 ages 6-12, with proceeds benefiting the Maine Community Foundation’s Sunday River Region Charitable Fund, which is dedicated to improving the quality of life in area communities.

Free festivities on Saturday evening include a visit by Santa (that fat man gets around) a mega fireworks show with the PoiStar Fire Dancers (sounds like a hot item), a bonfire, and One Sweet World, a Dave Matthews tribute band, at the Foggy Goggle. Oh yeah, and that Viking God and Goddess costume contest; winner receives a 2010-2011 New England Gold Pass (nice!)

Those able to roll out of bed before 9 a.m. on Sunday can enjoy a pancake breakfast at the Barker Lodge (7-9 a.m.); all you can eat for $7.99. Might be worth braving the hangover, especially if you want to snag some early runs.

207 winter escapes

Looking to escape the holiday craziness? Want to chill and enjoy winter’s chill? Steal away to one of these inns I recommended on the WCSH-TV show 207. Quite a few have special packages, so be sure to check the web sites.

The Crocker Pond House, Bethel: Perfect for those who might want to do some early-season skiing at Sunday River. Lovely, owner/architect designed Shingle-style home in rural woods. Skate on the pond, cross-country ski on the trail by the river, snowshoe the trails from the backyard. Family friendly. $125 two nights, $150 one night, includes full breakfast.

Belfast Bay Inn & Suites, Belfast: Smack downtown, so it’s well situated for browsing Belfast’s boutiques and galleries and for strolling around to admire holiday decorations. Suites are elegantly furnished, and most have near-full kitchens that are well equipped. The owners have thought of everything; they even deliver a full, hot breakfast to your suite in the morning. $158-228

Inn on the Harbor, Stonington: Talk about away from it all! The inn is built over the island-dotted harbor, providing a front-row seat on any boating activity. Wonderful preserves for winter walking, artisans’s studios to visit. In winter, meals are available. $65-$110, $135 for a two-bedroom apartment with full kitchen; includes light breakfast.

West Quoddy Station, Lubec: It might not be the end of the world, but you can see it from here. A once-abandoned Coast Guard Lifesaving Station on West Quoddy Head that’s been renovated into efficiencies and a rental house. Walk the trails, stock up on Monica’s chocolates and Quoddy Mist sea salt. Studios and one-bedroom units: $80-95; four-bedroom house with full kitchen, $200.

Camden Harbour Inn, Camden: A hip, contemporary, luxurious oasis in Camden. Victorian on the outside, chic inside, without a hint of Victorian frou frou. Short stroll to downtown shops and restaurants. $175–$375, including a full champagne breakfast and all-day snacks.

Saving Ocean Wood

Marian Barker, executive director of Saving Ocean Wood, asked me to post this info and video link about the Saving Ocean Wood Trust, which aims to preserve and protect a 150-acre property on the Schoodic Peninsula. The property includes the former Ocean Wood campground and a privately owned compound parcel, in Birch Harbor. If you want to know more, email Barker at savingoceanwood@gmail.com.

Maine Restaurant Week 2010

Mark it on your calendars. The second annual Maine Restaurant Week is scheduled March 1-10, 2010. Restaurants statewide will offer three-course, prix-fixe dinners for $20.10, $30.10 or $40.10. A few also will serve prix fixe lunches for $15.10.

This promo was extremely successful last year, and I expect, as more people learn about it and more restaurants participate, it will be even more so this year. It’s a great opportunity to try new restaurants, or a good excuse to revisit old favorites. And March is ideal: Everyone needs something to look forward to during Mud Season.

Plan ahead for National Pie Day

Oh my, pie! Sweeten up the January doldrums and celebrate National Pie Day, Jan. 24 (who knew? but then, there’s a day for everything, isn’t there).

The Historic Inns of Rockland’s Pies on Parade gives you the chance to nibble your way through Rockland, sampling more than 40 different kinds of pie, with proceeds benefiting the local food pantry. Anyone with a ticket can participate in the inn-to-inn pie tour, which also takes in a number of Rockland businesses and features tastings of everything pie, from slaps of fruit-filled favorites to chicken pot pie to pizza pie. Tickets, which sell out quickly, are $25 adults, $10 kid 10 and younger.

Better yet, make it a weekend.

Two-night Packages (Friday/Saturday or Saturday/Sunday) at participating inns (Granite Inn, Berry Manor, Limerock Inn, Captain Lindsay)  include:

• Two guaranteed tickets to the usually sold-out Pies on Parade
• Two “personal” pies upon check-in
• A copy of INNdulgences, the Historic Inns of Rockland cookbook,
• Commemorative Pies on Parade poster
• $50 in Midcoast Money plus two dessert vouchers
• Exclusive tour of Audubon’s Project Puffin Center featuring “Puff (ed) Pastry Pies”
• Exclusive tour of Maine Lighthouse Museum featuring “Lite Pies”
• Invitation to a “Wine and Pie” tasting at the Wine Seller

Two-Night Package prices range from $315 to $605 single or double occupancy. Add a third night at a 25% discount.

Last hours of NFCT online auction

Bidding ends at 9 tonight (Dec. 4) in the Northern Forest Canoe Trail’s online auction. Plenty of good deals here: canoes, kayaks, guided fly-fishing trips, maps, overnight lodgings, paddling gear, outdoor necessities. And monies raised support the water trail, which extends from New York through Maine.