December day trips bring their own challenges,. The worst one, in my opinion, is that the days are so short it really reduces our range. Fortunately for day-trippers from the Boston area, one of the nicest drives on the Maine Coast is just a half-hour north of Portland. For the foodies among us, there is even a destination wine shop to visit!

Portland, ME, is on Casco Bay. The southern end of Casco Bay is defined by Cape Elizabeth and its famous Portland Head Light. The northern end of Casco Bay is contained by two long points of land: Harpswell Neck and Orr's and Bailey's Islands.

The latter make a particularly fine scenic winter drive, less than an hour from Portland, half an hour from Freeport, and 15 minutes from Brunswick. The roads are hilly and bendy, so you get constantly-changing new views of bayside scenery, lobster boats, tidy rural homes, scenic village centers, and all the things that make the Maine Coast so fun to explore.

Of special interest to the Foodie Pilgrim is the Black Sheep Wine Shop, a truly excellent shop with knowledgeable owners who really "get it" when you describe what you want. They have 650 good wines in stock, including some you rarely see elsewhere, plus an astonishing array of microbrews, some cheeses, and enough crackers and the like to make it possible to build an event around a few star wines that you find there. The Black Sheeo is a destination wine shop in its own right, but the scenic beauty of Harpswell Neck and the Islands make it doubly worth the trip.