If I Were Going...: New England #4: Acadia

Following our whale watch, we headed off the Cape toward our stop for the night in Plymouth. But, we had one more objective: visiting Betty's cousin, Marge, and her husband, Bob, in Harwich.

Marge and Bob

Betty had fond memories of visiting Marge's family (Marge's mother was Betty's dad's youngest sister) on the Cape when she was young and also of attending the wedding of Marge and Bob's daughter, Gretchen. We had a lovely chat and were joined by Gretchen, Marge and Bob's other daughter, Kristen, and Kristen's daughter.

The family

I snapped a couple of family pics and we headed for Plymouth, where we had a yummy dinner at a cafe called Aroma (the arrancini was fabulous).

Happy lady

We didn't have time to enjoy any of Plymouth's sights, a shame because I had wanted to search for ancestral Plymouth Colony Dunhams in the local graveyard. Maybe on another trip.

The next day, we headed north to Maine. I originally planned to take the scenic route - Rt. 1 - the whole way up. But, it was Saturday and 10 mph got old. So, after a lobster lunch at Mike's Crab Shack, we took the tollway, arriving in the late afternoon in fog and rain.

Most of our time in Acadia was foggy, rainy and, occasionally, sunny but humid

Since it is Maine, it led to dreamy landscapes, but not the dazzling beauty a sunny day can bring. We drove all the roads of Acadia National Park, which is located on Mount Desert Island, the largest island in the U.S. (remember, Martha's Vineyard is #3).

Map: NPS

Acadia is the oldest National Park east of the Mississippi. Inhabited by the Wabanaki people, the area was visited by Samuel de Champlain in 1604.

Rugged glacially carved landscape

Originally dedicated as Sieur de Monts National Monument in 1916, it became Lafayette National Park in honor of the Marquis de Lafayette, an influential French supporter of the American Revolution, in 1919. The name was changed to Acadia National Park in 1929, in honor of the former French colony of Acadia that once included Maine.

The park includes 47,000 acres of mountains ...

... shoreline ...

... lighthouses ...

... woodlands ...

... and lakes

It sits on Mount Desert, Isle au Haut, Baker Island and the Schoodic Peninsula on the mainland. The permanent Park boundary, as established by act of Congress in 1986, includes a number of private buildings as well.

A pretty church

We saw all the major sights …

Porcupine Islands ...

… Sand Beach …

... Thunder Hole (which never thundered) ...

... Echo Lake Beach …

Plus, we visited the nearby towns ...

Seal Harbor

Northeast Harbor

We also stopped at the Dunham School in Seal Harbor where Caty had attended oceanography camp when she was in high school.

Betty Dunham in front of her school

We had been surprised back then that it was named Dunham and assumed that it was somehow related to Scott’s ancestors – Dunhams – who had lived in Acadia. I went it to see if we could find out why the school is named after Dunhams and saw a plaque that referenced Dr. Edward Dunham.

A relative of some sort

Having just filled out the Dunham portion of our family tree, I knew he wasn’t a direct ancestor, but I suspect he was a great-great uncle or cousin x-times removed or in some other way related. One of the instructors invited us in for a tour.

The lab

It hasn’t changed since Caty attended.

Project tanks

We had dinner at the historic Jordan Pond House (not out here where tea is served because it was a bit cool and rainy).

Too wet to eat outside

Yum!

We finished our meal with a delicious sundae made with one of the restaurant's famous popovers.

After dinner, I missed a turn and drove the entire loop road in heavy fog. I should have taken a picture, but I always forget when I am white-knuckle driving.

It was a lovely visit, but somehow I failed to get my picture taken in the National Park (my goal is to get at least one picture).

And, we saw no Moose. Apparently, even though Maine has about 60,000 Moose, they are rare in Acadia.

In fact, we saw few animals. Just tourists …