Honeymoon at Acadia National Park, Mt. Desert Island, Maine

We had our Acadia honeymoon in mid-June, which was a happy coincidence. We did not plan to miss mud season, but we managed to arrive at the tail end. We did not plan to precede the throng of Bar Harbor tourists, but we left just as the island started to feel too crowded.

Mt. Desert Island is a wonderfully romantic destination. The breath-taking landscape is very conducive to love. At the turn of the 20th century Mt. Desert Island was where many wealthy vacationers, calling themselves "rusticators", would come to commune with the wildness within and without themselves. The island is much more populated now, and the parks are designed to corral the millions of yearly visitors in order to protect the delicate ecosystem. With a thoughtful system of trails and roads, many of the most inspiring views are accessible to all.

My husband's sister reserved a small, peaceful cottage for us at a place outside the hustle and bustle of downtown Bar Harbor. It was called Barton's and the landlady was an older full-blood Mainer named Joyce. She told us of a nice restaurant close by with a window onto the water. She called it "The Chat Room", and we laughed when what we found was "The ChaRt Room" (emphasis added).

The next afternoon we took a 2 1/2 hour tour aboard Oli's Trolly, which departs from the downtown harbor. It is a wonderful way to be introduced to Acadia Park as a whole. Our driver had a Georgian accent, but even though he was not from Maine, he was well versed in the history of the island. It was a bit misty out, and our host provided paper towels to wipe the windows. There were some views we missed that day, but we learned much of the topography for later exploration on our own. Some examples include: Thunder Hole, where the waves rush into a cave and make a sound like thunder (though that day it was more like a burp); the Carriage Roads, which were once lined with large stones to help guide the horses (automobiles were not allowed on the island until 1913); the Wild Gardens at Sieur de Monts Spring, which was turned by the local garden club into a dense example of botanical diversity after the fire of 1947; the glacial erratic at South Bubble, a giant boulder that balances on the edge of a drop-off; the view from Cadillac Mountain, which can be reach by either hiking trails or automobile; and the Friendship V, which departs from Bar Harbor for a sight-seeing tour of whales and rare shore birds.

We spent a week and a half on Mt. Desert Island. When the weather was too damp for hiking, we found ourselves downtown in the Opera House Internet Café. Located on Cottage Street, it is a cozy nook full of coffees, pastries, computers, and operatic memorabilia. That they use the honor system for making purchases made us feel very welcome.

The Bar Harbor side of the island is designed for tourists. We found employees give excellent service just about everywhere (one attendant even opened the creamers for my coffee), but it is also where you'll find what my husband calls "trappery". This trappery is not for lobsters, but for tourists. The Mt. Desert side of the island is less busy. The two sides actually look like different islands altogether. The east side of the island is deciduous because of the 1947 fire, while the west remains evergreen. Exploring Bass Harbor together, we found a lovely coniferous trail called Wonderland, and an interesting pub called Capt'n Nemo's. At the pub we had a delicious home-made seafood "chowda" with cornbread and Bar Harbor Real Ale on tap.

When the weather was good we camped at Blackwoods Campground south of Bar Harbor. There is firewood for sale in front yards on the way there, and hot showers available close by. We liked lying in our tent together listening to the sounds of families settling in, a squirrel rustling, fires crackling, each other breathing. In the darkness we recounted all the beautiful things we'd seen.