Maine's dive-in theater

It sounded kind of corny. But for someone who took scuba lessons and never advanced past the deep end of a swimming pool, it sounded enticing. And it involved a boat. In Maine. In summer.

So, on a weekend in June, my husband and I bury our skepticism and book our reservations for a quirky opportunity to view the underwater world of our home state.

The first thing we discover on crawling through the traffic to Bar Harbor with our three young children is that the village has changed in the two years since we last roamed its gift-store-lined streets. It has become harder than ever to push a stroller up its jam-packed sidewalks. The lower end of West Street is being built into a massive, medieval-looking resort. And T-shirt shops outnumber boats in the harbor by about 2-to-1.

But there, at the end of the waterfront, tied to a wooden dock below the curving balconies of the Bar Harbor Inn is what we have come for: a rather modest fishing boat with a lime-green top and "Seal" painted on the side. Compared with the triple-decker cruise ships and the four-masted Windjammer tied nearby, it looks like a country girl at a debutante ball.

After taking a couple of hours to unwind in the harborside park with a home-packed picnic, 3-month-old Lydia is sufficiently fed and relaxed, while Judah, 6, and Gabriel, 3, are ready and wound up to meet Monat, a.k.a. "Diver Ed." So down the grassy slope toward the gangplank we go, baby carrier, diaper bag, and children in tow.

"Come on down," we are greeted by a mop-haired man with the full-throttle enthusiasm of a game-show host and his two huge Newfoundland dogs, Sasha and Radar.

Monat, 37, is a former lobsterman, College of the Atlantic graduate, marine ecologist, and special education teacher whose passion is to proclaim the wonders of the sea. For years he carted rubber tubs full of sea creatures to libraries and classrooms around the region. Then, four years ago, after doing some underwater video work, he launched this venture.

"I was just trying to figure out a way to be in the water all the time, teach people, and have fun," Monat said.