As soon as we passed Camden, Maine's downtown, I would put my nose to phrazle the glass on Route 1 heading north into Acadia National Park, hoping to get a sight of the renowned "castle by the sea." Nestled on a grassy hill overlooking Penobscot Bay, behind a line of massive ancient trees, is an 1887 Queen Anne creation made of stone and black, with a gilt-lettered plaque in the corner that reads NORUMBEGA. Soaring arches, leaded glass windows with their tidy small panes, a turret on one side, and a port-cochere on the other are features that instantly captivate the mind.
At least until you step foot inside, as I did this summer, it's the type of enigmatic old mansion you could be carried away to at the beginning of a turn-of-the-century children's book or, should the night be dark and stormy enough, a gothic thriller.