AWAY FOR THE WEEKEND: NEW ENG

For a memorable weekend getaway any time of the year in Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Massachusetts, did you know you can -- Sign on for a cruise departing from the 'Whale Watching Capital of the World'? -- Watch the Highland games at a Fourth of July Scottish festival? -- Celebrate autumn at the biggest fair in Maine? -- Relive old-fashioned holiday traditions in a colonial town? Or you can canoe down lazy rivers, go gallery-hopping in quaint college towns, or feast on succulent Shaker fare made from authentic recipes. In this revised and updated edition, Eleanor Berman offers fifty-two itineraries for year-round 'mini-vacations' that open up a world of dunes and marsh-side blueberry patches, of covered bridges, and of tiny towns all but untouched by time. Each itinerary includes detailed travel directions and a directory listing accommodations and restaurants in every price range. There are also four easy-to-follow maps, and activities especially appealing to children are noted.