Minimoon 4: Turtle & lobster

For our last day in Acadia, we rented bikes ($16 for a half-day rental) and tried out the network of carriage roads. Gravel isn't my favorite riding surface, but there was a stripe of clay down the middle of the road where the gravel had been worn away, and riding on that was just fine. Due to time constraints, we only rode a simple loop around Witch Hole Pond, but the carriage roads go for miles and miles. The ride was short but well worth it: we saw a good-sized turtle sunning itself, and, at the end, hiked down to Duck Brook from the big stone bridge that crosses it to dip our feet in the rushing water.

After a picnic of lobster rolls and crispy battered fries with malt vinegar (from the Lobster Claw, run by the garrulous and expert Barry), and handmade ice cream (from Ben and Bill's, where we did not try the lobster flavor), we bought our park passes — they're not supposed to be retroactive, but we kept forgetting — and vamoosed. Somewhere around Kennebunk, I finally finished reading Harry Potter 7 to adfamiliares. My mom returned our cat to us in Portsmouth (not without some passive resistance on Gus's part), fed us some hamburgers made with tortilla chips, and showed us corner samples until we found a frame that we liked for the wedding certificate. (Ee!) Then we hauled ourselves the rest of the way home, and here we are.

I confess to dragging my heels about the minimoon, insofar as I felt too harried and exhausted to plan anything ever again after the wedding, but I'm ever so glad adfamiliares browbeat me into it. Acadia is the distillation of wild New England beauty; I'd forgotten how it makes my soul sing. Highly recommended for vacationers, and only about 5.5 hours from Boston.