Easy-Get-Away. Now

Need a romantic weekend but don't know where to start? Go online before you get moving

Mark Moring

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Will it be Wuthering Heights or Romeo and Juliet? I hate these difficult decisions. And I'm not talking about movies or old books. I'm talking about rooms—specifically, guest rooms at the Hearthside Bed & Breakfast, a Victorian home in scenic Bar Harbor, Maine. The Wuthering Heights room is tempting, with a fireplace, love seat for two and that cornflower blue, cream and rose color scheme. But then there's the Romeo and Juliet room, the one I'm looking at on my computer screen, which has a fancy brass bed with lace canopy and a whirlpool tub. I know how much my wife loves whirlpools, so which one will it be?

I hear Microsoft asking, "Where do you want to go today?" But it's not today I'm thinking about. I'm looking ahead to October, when I'd like to enjoy a romantic weekend getaway with my wife. I turned to the Internet for some assistance, and I was able to find out everything I needed to know—air fares, car rental fees, accommodations, local restaurants and must-see sights. It's easy to plan a weekend getaway on the Net. Just point, click and go.

The Maine Event

I knew we'd enjoy a weekend in New England, especially when the fall foliage reaches its peak color. I had heard good things about Bar Harbor and the surrounding Acadia National Park, so I figured I'd look into that. And I knew we'd prefer a bed & breakfast.

So I went online, dropped by Yahoo! (www.yahoo.com)—one of my favorite Web search engines—and typed in "bed and breakfast." Among the results was The Bed & Breakfast Channel (sabre.bbchannel.com), which includes listings of more than 20,000 B&Bs worldwide.

On the B&B Channel, I clicked on "Maine," then "Bar Harbor," and got a list of some 50 options—including Hearthside and its nine guest rooms. I clicked the Hearthside link and ended up learning all I needed to know about the place—including complete descriptions and prices ($90 to $135 per night) of all the named guest rooms, which also included Canterbury Court and Emily Dickinson. I couldn't make online reservations at Hearthside (most B&Bs require a phone call for that), but I could make an informed decision as to my room preference. (I decided Romeo's whirlpool beat out the Wuthering Heights love seat any day.)

Then I had to choose a weekend. I went to a Maine tourism site (www.mainesunshine.com), where I clicked "Seasons in Maine" and learned that Bar Harbor's peak foliage time is typically October 7-12, so I'll shoot for the weekend of October 8-10.

Now that I'd found the place and picked the weekend, I had to make flight arrangements. There are a ton of places online where you can book your own flights, but I typically go to Yahoo!'s "Travel Agent" area (travel.yahoo.com). Once there, I clicked the "Book a Flight" button.

I had learned from the Bar Harbor B&B site that Bangor, 45 miles away, was the closest airport, so I keyed in the Chicago airport, the Bangor airport, the dates I'd be traveling and two passengers—and learned that the best deal on a round trip for two that weekend would set me back $825.26. (You can also book a rental car on any of the travel sites listed in the "How to Get Started" sidebar, p. 64.)

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Originally published in: Marriage Partnership, 1999, Fall

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