The Honeymooners

Now that Vivian and I have tied the knot, it's time for our getaway. We flew out on the Sunday after our wedding to spend a long, romantic week together in New England, exploring the countryside in Maine for the sole reason that we'd never been to that part of the country before.

On Monday, We flew into Manchester and drove up to Mount Desert Island, home of Bar Harbor, Acadia National Park, and our home for the honeymoon, on Monday. It was about a five hour drive, so we got to enjoy the New England scenery on the way, which included loads of trees, Dunkin Donuts, and a pretty city called Belfast. Our home for the week was the Lighthouse Inn, a lovely bed and breakfast in Seal Harbor. It was a lovely little place far away from the crowds of tourists in Bar Harbor. By the way, as soon as we arrived in town, Vivian and I had bisque. It was very good, to say the least.

On Tuesday, Vivian got her lighthouse fix by visiting the Bass Harbor lighthouse. We weren't allowed to go inside, but Vivian was able to get right up next to the beacon and give it a good hug. It wasn't easy getting a picture of the structure without a boat, either. We had to clamber out on some rocks before you could see it standing proudly on the side of the cliff. We had lunch at a "lobster pound" in Trenton, one of those little eateries where they let you pick out a live lobster that they'll cook for you in their outdoor ovens. It the first time Vivian and I had eaten a whole lobster before, and it was quite the experience, particularly when Vivian cracked it open and got to see its insides, colorful guts and all.

That afternoon, Vivian and I climbed to the top of Bubble Rock, enjoying some of the gorgeous scenery, fresh mountain air, and ample opportunities to roll boulders down the hill onto passing tourists' cars. Back in town, we had the best clam chowder ever, and then enjoyed seeing the local comedy group Improv Arcadia perform while having blueberry soda and a blueberry martini. Blueberries are apparently the thing up in Maine.

On Wednesday, Vivian and I took a trip down to Sand Beach so we could get in some swimming. It was the first time Vivian had seen the Atlantic Ocean before, and it was a brisk 55 degrees. We still enjoyed the water and throwing seaweed at each other, but wound up getting some pretty bad sunburn. Afterward, we took a trip up to the top of Cadillac Mountain, the highest point in Maine and anywhere else along the Atlantic Coast. You could see all of Bar Harbor from up there, though it was very windy and too cold to stay for long without a hoodie.

On Thursday, the sunshine made way for some fog that rolled in around noon. We stopped by Jordan's Pond to have popovers at the restaurant, and then went outside to pick some wild blueberries growing in the gardens. Blueberries seem to be very popular in Maine, where you can get blueberry pie, blueberry soap, blueberry tea, blueberry wine, and just about anything you can imagine.

Later on, we stopped by the Thunder Hole at high tide. It's a crevice in the rocks where the waves crashing can shoot up hundreds of feet in the air. They were pretty calm this afternoon, however, so we didn't stay long. We had scheduled a sunset cruise that was unfortunately canceled due to the weather, so instead we had a "lobster feast" at a local church and then finished off the evening playing miniature golf.

Vivian and I had signed up to go on a nature cruise on Friday. There was some pretty heavy fog, but the cruise was apparently still on. We got to see a few homes of the rich and famous from the turn of the century, and also a bald eagle before the captain decided that the fog was just too thick and turned back. We got our money back, fortunately. We had a late lunch at the Thurston lobster pound, feasting on steamed clams and crab cakes. Back in Bar Harbor, we got to do a little dancing, a long-standing Friday-night tradition for the two of us. A local guy was doing salsa lessons, so we took a lesson and then got to do a few swing moves for the crowd of five couples that joined us at Carmen Veranda that night.

The next morning, Vivian and I got up early to watch the sun rise on the top of Cadillac Mountain. This happened around 5:12 in the morning, and we were among the first in the country to see the sunrise. It was a beautiful sight. There was plenty of thick fog down below that scared away many of the would-be tourists, but from the top of the mountain it gave one the impression of standing on top of the sky.

We drove back down to Manchester afterward, stopping by a Dunkin Donuts to grab a bite to eat in Augusta. We don't have any of these things in Nebraska, but they were all over the place in New England. It was nice to stop at one as our last meal in Maine before heading home to corn country.

You can see all of our honeymoon pictures here.

Our honeymoon video