OUTDOORS: Make sure you check your travel to-do list

Well, guess what’s fast approaching! Hint ? this year it’s happening a week later than usual.It’s the official opening of the summer, the Memorial Day three-day weekend. Have you got your weekend planned yet? Will it be attending a Memorial Day parade to honor veterans followed up by a family cookout?This is one of the most traveled weekends of the summer. Whether you’re heading North and South next Friday evening, you’ll have plenty of company on the roads. If you are planning on pulling a summer toy that involves a trailer, I hope you did a trailer tune up in your backyard.Avoid being one of the cars in the breakdown lane attempting to do there trailer repairs on the side of a busy highway. There are a few basics maintenance “do’s” before hitting the road. Use the following checklist. First and foremost check out the condition of your trailer tires. Do they have cracks in the side walls? Are they inflated to the correct poundage? Are the lug nuts tight? Do you have a spare tire and is it filled with air? When was the last time you checked your wheel bearings? Did you grease your bearings? Have you checked light connections to make sure your trailer light are all working properly? What shape are the trailer chains in? So before you head out on the road check these components so that you don’t become stranded on the highway.About three years ago, I was heading North on a long weekend and saw a family on the side of the highway. They were stranded, with the kids, the dog, and pulling a boat trailer. Fortunately, I carry a toolkit I set up with anything a person might need to do roadside repairs for trailers. I pulled over to help them and found that the wheel bearings had seized. I had a complete spare hub assembly with wheel bearings attached that happened to fit their trailer. It saved the day for them.uLooking for a great birthday gift for the special woman in your life? Maybe you and some women friends or family members want to try a woman’s weekend get-away. If so, consider the 14th Annual Massachusetts Becoming an Outdoorswoman Program (BOW) at the Chimney Corners YMCA Camp in Becket on June 4-6. This exciting weekend workshop is designed for women 18 and older who want to try new outdoor skills in a supportive environment.Engage in activities such as archery, kayaking, wild edible plants, nature photography, fly fishing, or shooting. New offerings this year include wildlife wood carving, insect tracks and signs, forest land management, and tree stand safety. Partial scholarships are available. This beautiful facility is situated on the banks of two lakes which offer wonderful fishing, boating and other outdoor activities. Call Sue Fritze at (508) 389-6329 for additional information.uIf you enjoy trolling New Hampshire water as I do you might want to attend a public hearing on Wednesday, June 16, at 6:30 p.m., at the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, 11 Hazen Drive, Concord, where the 2011 N.H. fishing rule proposals will be discussed.One of special interest to me is allowing only one artificial bait, one fly, one tandem fly or one bait to be used when trolling. In other words you will only be able to troll with one rod! The complete 2011 fishing rulemaking notice, with original and proposed rule language, can be viewed on the Fish and Game website. Written comments can be sent but must be received by June 28, 2010. Send to: [email protected]. (use subject line “Comments on 2011 Fishing Rules”); or write to Executive Director, N.H. Fish and Game Department, 11 Hazen Drive, Concord, NH 03301; or fax to (603) 271-1438.uOn the salt water fishing front, flounders, stripers, codfish and mackerel have move into the usual areas around the North Shore and Boston Harbor area. Worms, cut bait, and clams are the best menu choice.uIn closing this week if you haven’t been fishing for years and are thinking about getting back into it and don’t want to spend the money for a license until you are sure you want to start again