Join English professor Greg Hewett for a weekend in Acadia National Park on Mount Desert Island--the first place the sun rises in the United States, over the highest point on the North Atlantic Seaboard. The island, sculpted by glaciers, is split by the only fjord on the East Coast. Known for its fishing villages, artist colonies, and lighthouses, it has long been a summer refuge for East Coast millionaires. Acadia National Park covers much of the island.

Day trips

During the day, you can choose kayaking among islands and bays to view loons, bald eagles, seals, and porpoises; biking along 45 miles of magnificent carriage roads that are included in the National Register of Historic Places, famous for their 16 stone-faced bridges spanning streams and waterfalls; or hiking trails ranging from gentle surfside strolls to challenging routes traversing ladders carved into the mountainside.

Night life

In the evening, Professor Hewett will lead discussions of the literature of New England with an emphasis on Maine, where local poets celebrate both the rocky beauty of the coast and the courage of the people who settled there. Of course, there will be time to enjoy Bar Harbor’s thriving nightlife.

Accommodations

You will stay at the Manor House Inn located in Bar Harbor, a small but lively walking town known for its turn-of-the-century mansions, called “summer cottages” by their wealthy builders. A Victorian mansion turned bed-and-breakfast inn, the Manor House is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places and has been restored to its former glory with period furnishings. A short stroll brings you to the heart of Bar Harbor’s historic shopping district.

Faculty

Greg Hewett, assistant professor of English, has taught creative writing and American literature
at Carleton since 1998. An outdoor enthusiast, Hewett’s interests in hiking and biking were developed on childhood summer vacations in Maine. “I have Boy Scout merit badges in canoeing, rowing, and sailing,” he says. “No kayaking merit badge, though I think I can manage.” Hewett is the author of two collections of poetry: To Collect the Flesh (New Rivers Press, 1996) and Red Suburb (Coffee House Press, 2002).