Heading back to the Faire

Mel and Erich (in newly purchased garb)
Originally uploaded by measi.

It was a lower-key trip to King Richard's Faire this week. More people - Matt, Maria, Tricia, and Kevin joined Erich and me. The weather was beautiful. We had a great time - and seemed to spend a heck of a lot more time eating and drinking this time around.

Tricia and Kevin bought themselves full new outfits, so they are now officially well-garbed for the Faire and Halloween festivities. Erich bought a leather poncho (it's beautiful!!!) that signifies the beginning of his new full Druid idea for the Faire.

I told him that the poncho made him look like a Moonkin from World of Warcraft. (and yes, I did the obligatory Owlbeast waddling run with my elbows slightly pointed out as I called him an Oomkin... fellow WoW players know exactly what I'm talking about... hee!)

But yes - the new garb I bought last weekend was quite comfortable. I kept getting asked by people around the Faire for shopkeep help... apparently I'm now dressed well enough that people think I work at KRF. *snicker*

The rest of the pictures from the two weekends are on my Flickr account (just click on the photo). A lot came out annoyingly dark, though... I need to figure out why I'm so crappy with my camera.

Thursday Thirteen #28: Invading Britain

Since I’m now officially a year away from the Great British Expedition of '08, I’m doing this week’s Thursday Thirteen on things I’d really like to do while I’m across the pond. I know we can’t do them all due to the distance between places. But that’s why there are additional trips in the future, right? :)

1) See Hamlet and Loves Labour Lost at the Royal Shakespeare Company. This is checked off the list. Tickets are bought and have arrived at our house, all shiny and glowing. :)

2) Go to Cardiff and take the obligatory geek shots in front of the water tower, the Millennium Centre overhang, the Torchwood door on the dock, and wherever else my geeky heart needs to do for Doctor Who and Torchwood-itis.

3) Ride the Tube. I have a weird fascination with subways and how I just sink into the crowd and into the population when I’m on a train. It’s stupid, I know – but it gives my heart a fun little flutter.

4) Do the Tower of London tour. I know… tourist-ey to hell, but SOME things just need to be done.

5) Go tour a castle outside of London. We’ll probably go to Warwick Castle, since we’ll be in Stratford-upon-Avon anyway.

6) Have a pint at a pub… and some proper British chips, too.

7) Take Erich up to Crouch End so he can do his fanboy enjoyment of Shaun of the Dead. (Shh... I promise not to be doing any Tennant scoping while we're here. Promise. Well... okay, a little).

8) Go up to Scotland – I’d love to do a tour of the hidden city in Edinburgh if it exists (the underground city that survived for decades). But honestly, I’ll just happily take going to Scotland, getting rained on… because it’s Scotland… and taking in some of the scenery.

9) Go around the Magical Roundabout.

10) Lose myself in something I would have never thought about before getting to Britain.

11) Meet one of the many Brits I’ve been in contact with via penpalling or the internet over the years. That may be for the obligatory pint in #6.

12) Meet the McNulty family that became so close to my grandfather during WWII when he was stationed there. My dad’s side of the family has essentially become extended family. This requires said trip to Scotland (and as such may be for another trip).

13) Take so many pictures and develop so many memories I’ll wear out both my camera and fill a journal of adventures!

Via Thursday Thirteen.


So... any Brits or those who have visited Great Britain - what would you recommend I do? Have any advice?

Shopping at the Faire

With the wedding insanity now over, the first true event to mark that our lives are returning to normal was our trip to King Richard's Faire on Sunday. We went along with Maria and Matt, meeting up with Gina and Gabe, who are two of Erich's college friends, at the faire.

Before the faire, I was dreading the weather report - it said it would be in the upper 70s and sunny. Great normal weather to go anywhere, but when you're decked out in layers of Renaissance period garb? Eh, not so much.

It turned out to be a comfortable overcast day in the mid-60s, although Erich was a little chilly in his modern punk variant of his formal kilt in a t-shirt. :( (he looked fabulous though).

After last year's trip to the faire, I was fully prepared to be seeking out a new bodice for my outfit. The one I've had for eight years is too small for me, and the boning that lines the row of grommits is beginning to poke through the top - so I just can't wear it anymore. I absolutely adore it, too - it's a rust and forest green tartan, with a red reversable lining (that I've never worn on top). Not easy to replace, but I decided that I'd got to my trustworthy Threads of Time, and finally get the bodice that matches what I have. Their prices are fantastic, and the clothes are wonderful and easy to wear. I'm good to go with ideas in hand.

That was before I realized that my overdress from Threads of Time had shrunk last time I washed it, too - and now was sitting a few inches too short in the back. Then again, it also is eight years old.

*sigh*

So now I'm thinking okay- new outfit. I can do this. I'll work around it. I have a new underskirt in basic black that I bought at Threads last year. I just need a new overskirt, and the new bodice, and I'll be set. And because this is the faire, being plus-sized isn't quite as much of a detriment as it can be in other places. Being busty and curvy is a good thing at the faire. :)

So we go to the faire. And we're looking around at the shops. Most of the same folks I recognize from last year, but a few new places. Beautiful things as always... most of which I can't afford.

We head into Moresca, which is the shop that has oodles that I covet, but never can justify purchasing from. And everything always looks too small, so I haven't bothered. Eh, moo.

And then my eyes fall on a particular bodice - deep blues with black accents in rich brocades. (sample of the style here). It's an XL, but the shopkeep assures me that my normal 2X sizing on top will translate to this XL (which does look like it will fit me just fine - but I don't want to deal with the 30 minutes of re-lacing my current bodice post fitting if I can help it). This bodice has lacings on both sides AND the back, so it's quite flexible with sizing.

Have I mentioned how gorgeous this bodice is? Erich loves it too. But it's a Moresca bodice, which means it's about twice what I was planning on paying. I need to sit and think on it over lunch, even though I'm coveting it dearly.

Erich points out over lunch that we do have wedding money, and that I can indulge if I want to. It doesn't take much to twist my arm at all.

Right after lunch, we head right back and I buy it. :)

We collect a couple other things along the way during the day - a new leather belt for me and a

Then I need new skirts to match the color scheme. I find lovely ones in the same deep blue and a pretty moss green (for a brighter top offset) in rough silk at Threads of Time that are just wonderful to the touch. I buy both of those. Nice offset texture, nice soothing colors that I prefer to wear.

And best of all? My outfit's ready for this upcoming weekend's return trip to the Faire.

Rock. :)

(and yes, there will be pics)

Hamlet and Loves Labor Lost

Oh. Yes.

Ordered.

10/14 for Hamlet
10/15 for LLL


And if I'm reading my seating chart of the Courtyard Theatre correctly - holy SHIT we have great seats for both.


I'M GOING TO ENGLAND NEXT AUTUMN!!!!!!!!

I'M GOING TO SEE DAVID TENNANT in BOTH PRODUCTIONS!!!

AND PATRICK STEWART IN HAMLET!!!


AHHHHH.... GEEK EXPLOSION!!!!!

(pop)

The weekend, and the future

14 days. Eep!

The bachelor party was easily survived. I, as planned, spent most of my evening on the couch. I did not, as planned, get anything else done. My brain needed a complete break from all things wedding last night, and so that's what I did. I just shut off the phone, took a break, and had a very needed evening to myself.

The unedited Graham Norton episode had me laughing so hard that I went into a coughing fit (and had to stop watching it for a while). Funny stuff. Sometime around 11:30 or so, I threw in my Blackpool DVD and settled down, fell asleep somewhere into episode 1, and woke up when the guys came home - right as the scene in Funny Girls starts. :)

Erich and the guys returned just a bit after 2 a.m., and amazingly, the party broke up immediately- apparently the guys were just exhausted on the bus on the way back from Foxwoods (and most had sobered up by that time). I guess this is the sign of a bachelor party when the guys are mostly in their 30s! Most of the guys went home. I ended up with only Matt, Jason, and Erich's Dad crashing out at our house.

Got up this morning, had coffee and breakfast, and then just relaxed for a while. Some of the guys came back over to watch the Pats game, play board games, and just hang out and plan out characters for Erich's new d20 game he'll be kicking off at some point.

The last folks left around 7:30. Erich and I have just been relaxing since then - I have some laundry going, but otherwise, we're chilling out. We got a LOT of housework done. Other than the kitchen, the entire downstairs is put together and ready for family to see it. The upstairs just needs some work done in my office, and then we'll be good to go.

One very productive thing for today? We bought our full membership to the Royal Shakespeare Company. So as soon as tickets go on sale online for Hamlet? Oh yes, we shall purchase. :)

Random Sunday Thoughts...

My accomplishments this weekend:

1) Wedding invites are DONE (save two that we need new addresses for). All addressed, all compiled, all stamped. They go out tomorrow.

2) The Linens 'n Things portion of our wedding registry is populated. I feel like such a mooch. But I have to admit to being excited that I may actually get some of these things and finally break free of college decor-itis. Somewhat, anyway.

3) Laundry - ongoing. I'm on load 3. One more load of towels, and then a mini-load of delicates to go.

4) Erich and his dad put together our guest room bed (yes, ... an actual bed. With a headboard and footboard and everything!). Unfortunately, the Queen-sized boxspring will NOT go up our stairs. We removed the back staircase pole. We removed the front staircase ceiling molding. Won't happen. So... if you're in the general southern New England area and need a Queen boxspring (now or in the near future), lemme know. We're going to have to go purchase a split-style boxspring for the Queen bed. Depending on how that goes, we may have a mismatched mattress shortly, too. We can make arrangements somehow.

5) We narrowed our wedding ring decision down to five different bands. We've decided to get matching bands, rather than the newer trend of getting ones that each person likes. Thankfully, we both have similar tastes, so it's been fairly easy. Choices we're down to now are: A, B (possibly in the rose/white combo), C, D, or E (not bicolor).

6) Saw Harry Potter: OotP again today. It was Erich's Dad's 64th birthday today, so we treated him to a heavy breakfast at the Cracker Barrel, followed by the movie.

It was better on second viewing. Still not my favorite, but I did like it better this time around.

7) Attended the wedding of Erich's cousin, Katy, and her (now) husband, David. It was at Sakonnet Vineyards in Little Compton, RI. Lovely place. Definitely a setting I'd recommend to anyone looking for peaceful New England space - near the water, surrounded by the vines. Although it was a bit buggy in the evening (welcome to July). Otherwise, weather was incredible for July - absolutely perfect. I can only hope we have such good weather in September.

8) Went a little snarky with Doctor Who fandom. But I'm better now and moving on.



Good weekend. Definitely can't complain! :)

Street icons

Anyone who has gone to Boston University in the last fifteen years probably has had at least one amusing encounter with some of the mainstays - but completely harmless - street folk around Harvard Avenue, Harvard Square, or Kenmore Square. Some of them are colorful characters that you forget about later, except when a college story of old comes up.

And now one of the better ones has died...

Street icon 'Mr. Butch' dies at 56
Scooter crash claims popular homeless man

By Bryan Marquard, Globe Staff | July 12, 2007

Dreadlocked, homeless, and usually cheerful, Mr. Butch was an iconic presence in Kenmore Square for years before moving his base of operations to Harvard Avenue in Allston a decade ago. Ranting in rhyme with a beer in hand — a tall boy, preferably — he would panhandle one minute and offer to share his take with a friend the next.

‘‘Mr. Butch,’’ whose name was Harold Madison Jr., died yesterday of injuries from an early morning crash when the motor scooter he was driving hit a pole, friends and family said.
The subject of YouTube videos, a MySpace tribute page, and a Wikipedia entry, Mr. Butch may have been the most famous street person in Boston. He was so popular that The Boston Phoenix wrote in April that it was considering changing the criteria of the ‘‘Readers’ Pick: Neighborhood Character’’ category because Mr. Butch won so regularly.
At 56, he had lived on Boston’s streets for about 30 years. In Kenmore Square and his Allston neighborhood — areas rife with college students and people who prefer less traditional approaches to life — some saw in Mr. Butch a latter-day Thoreau, a man who chose a path that didn’t involve taxes, rent, or office cubicles. Instead, he helped the elderly cross streets, joyously played air guitar, philosophized, and sang.
‘‘He’s been in so many local movies, videos, in the Phoenix — he’s like an icon of the neighborhood,’’ said Erin Scott, manager of New England Comics on Harvard Avenue in Allston.

‘‘He was just the sweetest, nicest homeless person — he looked out for people,’’ said Toni Fanning, who owns the Ritual Arts store nearby. ‘‘I’ll tell you, this whole street is just miserable right now. Everybody just doesn’t want to believe it. It’s so hard to talk about Butch in any kind of past tense.’’
In a YouTube video posted on Mr. Butch’s MySpace page, he offered a buoyant view on how to live: ‘‘You got to be articulate every day and keep going on strong and straight and use your heart and all your might and all your weight and all your power. Do what you can, make it last for many hour, ’cause once you’re dead, you’re done, you don’t come back,’’ he rapped, pausing before adding, ‘‘Yeah.’’
Fanning’s favorite encounter with Mr. Butch was on Easter a few years ago. When she left home to visit a friend who was in bad straits, she was depressed about her friend, the day — just everything.
‘‘And I walked outside and there was Butch standing on the corner of Harvard and Comm. Ave. with a big sandwich board that said, ‘I need weed,’’’ Fanning said. ‘‘I started laughing so hard that it got me through that entire day.’’
Mr. Butch was not timid about his pastimes: drinking beer and smoking marijuana. And he could be irascible. He was a tall and slender man, and the stoop of his shoulders signaled his level of intoxication. Unwelcome as Kenmore Square began tidying up its act, Mr. Butch left, telling friends that encounters with police officers had become too frequent.
Allston proved more tolerant.
‘‘I’m just devastated,’’ said Jerry Katz, a lawyer whose offices are along Harvard Avenue. ‘‘Everyone loved Mr. Butch. I loved Mr. Butch.’’
Though thousands of passersby made his acquaintance through the years, few knew much about Mr. Butch’s background. Born in Worcester, he grew up in a large family. His father, Harold Sr., dubbed him Butch.
A talented drummer, he sat in with bands and played with a mentor in the local music scene, picking up the guitar in his midteens and filling a closet with percussion instruments he made from items he found. He did not finish high school and moved to Kenmore Square in the 1970s when Worcester became inhospitable to his frequent drinking.
‘‘I think he was just looking for someplace to be accepted,’’ said his sister Jeannette Madison of Worcester. ‘‘He told us that this was the life that he chose — a street person, happy-go-lucky, panhandler. I guess for him that was easier, and it didn’t take very long for people to understand what he was doing and just take it with a grain of salt.
‘‘People are who they choose to be.’’
In addition to Jeannette, he has four siblings in Worcester — Russell, Phillip, Jeffrey, and Sheila — and a brother, Alphonso Moore, of Henderson, Nev. His mother, Virginia, died in December; his father died in 1974.
Mr. Butch played on the fringe of Boston’s music scene for years. Friends tried to get him into subsidized housing, but he refused to go through the required detoxification treatments. Recently, he lived in a van friends helped him acquire.
Trusted friends became his ‘‘banks,’’ holding onto his money and storing his belongings. Mr. Butch’s thee-quarter-length leather coat, with his name in white and red letters on the back, was displayed last night in the window of Regeneration Tattoo on Harvard Avenue as a tribute.
‘‘It kind of blows my mind that he isn’t here,’’ Scott said. ‘‘I have his guitar in my back room. I have a buck in his bank.’’
Friends plan to meet Monday at 8 p.m. at Regeneration Tattoo and Ritual Arts for a memorial, said Sue Jeiven, owner of Regeneration Tattoo.
‘‘He always wanted a big blowout for his funeral. He said: ‘Blow a lot of money. I want a big party,’’’ she said.
A favorite among many students and professors, Mr. Butch was once asked to speak at Boston College. Proud of the moment, he sent his siblings a photo of himself lecturing in front of the classroom.
‘‘I feel like he had a lot to say and there were a lot of people who actually wanted to listen,’’ his sister said. ‘‘And I thank the Lord for that. And I thank the Lord that Butch is in his hands now.’’

I was so afraid of him for the better part of college - but one night junior year of college, I was storming around Kenmore in a rage one night sometime around 3 or 4 a.m. He followed me, wouldn't let me keep storming around. I don't even remember why I was so angry, but I remember sitting on the stoop at Planet Records with him as the sun came up, just talking with him. I guess he just had the knack to know who needed someone to talk to.

Oddly probably one of the biggest eye-opening nights I had in college about the world around me.

I definitely won't forget him.

Now off Carribean time...

It's coming right for us!
Originally uploaded by measi.

My computer has been annoying for the past two weeks, so photo uploads are slow. I'm not sure what the problem is, but every time I play World of Warcraft, my computer just shuts OFF suddenly. I can start it right back up, but it'll shut off again if I play WoW. I imagine something's overheating. :(

In any case, Erich and I have now moved my computer downstairs to the living room for the summer (with the AC), and I can actually sit here to write entries and do little projects without sweating to death.


So... the Bahamas... are you ready for an all-in-one recap? Looooong reading ahead.... :)

We had a ton of fun. It was a very expensive week, which now Erich and I are seriously in the hole for until... well... at least October. But we had a blast.

The photos for this, by the way, are not at Flickr. I'll be uploading some of my favorites of the trip to Flickr, but I wanted to make sure I didn't use up my entire month's uploading bandwidth right away. The entire set of all photos (that weren't fuzzy) are uploaded on my website here with captions.

My overall feeling of the Bahamas are that they're definitely working toward being a huge tourist spot, but they're not quite there yet as far as the normal vacation services that most Americans expect. I enjoyed myself, but even being laid back about most things, I found restaurant service to be incredibly slow and most things frighteningly overpriced. There literally were no cheap eats places to go. Prices for food were comparable to Boston and NYC, but quality was spotty.

I see the area as definitely up and coming-- it reminds me a lot of Hilton Head in the mid-80s as it was developing its timeshare communities for vacationers. For now, though, it's a bit rough, a bit confusing, and there's definitely a bit of a culture shock as far as attitudes despite only about 100 miles of distance from Miami. But there's a ton of building going on, and it looks like the number of things for tourists to do are increasing.

Ultimately, this vacation was a destination wedding trip. Our friends Seth and Gina had decided to get married at the Sandals Royal Bahamian Resort, and had invited only family and close friends. The friends contingent is a mix of people I've mentioned over the years in some form in my journal as the Boston-turned-Providence crew. Although a few members of the group have sinced moved to other states, everyone else lives in Providence now and is either an alum of Boston University, or the significant other who was brought into the circle. We've all known each other for at least nine years.

To make life easier, the friends contingent decided to stay at the same hotel- the Nassau Beach Hotel. It was located on Cable Beach on the north central region of New Providence island, named for the first underwater communications cable connecting Nassau to Miami. It's an older hotel, definitely dated in decor (it had a matching shell sink to the one in our house), and definitely worn around the edges. Apparently it used to be the swanky place when it was built in the late 60's, but it hasn't aged well. But for the obnoxiously cheap price, our room was clean and provided what it needed to- a place to sleep and a place to shower.

As the week went on, Nassau Beach was dubbed the Adventure Hotel by most of the members of our group of friends. Everyone had some sort of an issue-- although the one Erich and I had was hotel-wide (a broken hot water main). Between obscene waits for check-in, missing towels, and a few room switches due to absolutely gross conditions, it was... an interesting stay. Not a place I'd recommend, even if the beach was fantastic. From what I've heard, though, the hotel is going to be torn down sometime in the next year along with all of the other hotels in that strip to start work on a new huge multi-hotel resort to compete with Atlantis. (more on that place later...)

Erich and I were the first of the crew to arrive, having decided to do a Friday to Thursday trip. We arrived in Nassau around three, got through customs with no trouble at all, and went straight to the hotel. Because we arrived late enough, we didn't have much trouble checking in (although it took a while for them to find keys). We dropped our bags and immediately sought food, thanks to the stupid airline policies these days where if its a three or less hour flight, they don't provide anything. With only thirty minute connections, we hadn't eaten yet that day.

We were pleasantly surprised to find that we didn't need to exchange our currency. Bahamians use their own currency and U.S. currency interchangeably. One US dollar = one Bahamian dollar. That helped tremendously.

We grabbed conch fritters (a local favorite... they taste like fishy hushpuppies) and burgers, our first alcoholic fruity drinks, and then went back to the room for a nap. In the evening, we went out for a swim in the man-made lagoon, where a small ray came swimming right up to us.

The next morning, we got up fairly early and decided to do a bit of area scoping while we waited for the others to start arriving. Rather than take a taxi, we took the local bus (they call it a jitney) downtown-- the trip only took about 10 minutes, and cost a buck.

Almost immediately, we found a little mom-n-pop style breakfast cafe, which would prove to be our cheapest meals on the island. Erich went traditional with his food. I tried, and loved, one of the local favorites- corned beef and grits. The corned beef was chopped hash style, but mixed with tomatoes and onions, giving it almost a goulash type consistency. The grits were nice and thick with butter for flavor. Despite not growing up in the South, I did grow up with grits for breakfast in the instant Cream of Wheat variety. I'm picky- no soupy grits for me, thanks. Mixed with the corned beef, they were heaven.

After breakfast, we wandered downtown a while, looking at shops, popping into the duty free stores to check prices, grabbing hats and the toiletries I'd noticed we hadn't brought enough of to last the week, etc. By 10:30, it was already scorching hot and too uncomfortable to walk around. We headed back to the hotel to beach bum it the rest fo the day.

The ocean water was heavenly. Low to mid 80's in temperature- bath water. But compared to the sun's heat, it was still wonderfully refreshing. Over the course of the day, people arrived and filtered onto the beach.

As a group, we decided to spend the evening at the Junkanoo festival, which was a mini version of Carnival, just down the road from us. The parade was fantastic- just a moving blur of sound, dance, and color. Unfortunately, we found THE wrong place to get food-- it took forever (I think some people waited more than an hour after they'd ordered). But the company was good, and we kept drinking throughout the evening.

Sunday was the day of the Bachelor/-ette parties. We divided off early in the morning. The guys took a speedboat out to an island that apparently had a pack of wild boars on it (discussions of Lord of the Flies and the guys' survival abilities ensued later among the women), and the girls headed off to a more family-style excursion to Rose Island, where we spent the day beaching, swimming, and snorkeling.

My one regret on this trip is not having bought an underwater camera-- the snorkeling blew me away. Rose Island had a reef that was perhaps 50 feet from shore. The water was crystal clear, and the fish were amazing. I saw fish easily a foot across in colors that I couldn't believe existed in nature. At times, I was surrounded by schools of fish. I saw eels and jellyfish. One of the girls in our group saw a small shark. Rose Island was definitely a highlight of the trip. And I'm now hooked on snorkeling. Next vacation to somewhere warm? I'm buying my own to bring along.

That night, the festivities continued, but as time went on, many of us started dropping out from suntime exhaustion. By the end of the night, some of the girls had gone dancing. The guys had ended up in the casino near the hotel, teaching Erich to play blackjack at the ten dollar tables.

Monday was the day of the rehearsal dinner. In the morning, Seth and Gina had to attend to the legal paperwork for their marriage, so we were all on our own until dinner at 6. We all headed back downtown to go shopping at the Straw Market for souvies and such.

The Straw Market was fun. It's been around since after WWII, with numerous tight corridors packed high with just about everything. It reminded me of all of the middle eastern bazaars I always see on TV-- vendors sitting on chairs in front of their wares, trying to entice tourists to buy. Haggling is encouraged. Much of it is actually straw items-- hats, bags, fans, etc. But you can also find knockoff Coach and Kate Spade purses, t-shirts, sarongs, little wooden figurines, jewelry, and even Cuban cigars in there. I did get a bit claustrophobic-- with the exception of one, the rows were tighter than the average supermarket with walls that were ten feet high-- the vendors used poles to get higher stuff down. I walked away with a cute straw hat, two pretty batik sarongs for the beach, and a little Bahama style happy cat figurine for a total cost of $40.

After another ocean dip that day, we headed over to the rehearsal dinner at one of the all-inclusive resorts, Breezes. The food was very good-- a big family-style Italian meal (what IS it with Italian food for rehearsal dinners?). Afterwards some people headed back to the hotel. I stayed with a few of the others, managed to get myself extremely hammered, and had a blast on the dance floor until about 2 a.m., ignoring the fact that other than Gina's aunt, I was probably the oldest person out there. Since the legal age for drinking is 18 in the Bahamas, the nightclub was FULL of recent high school grads. One extremely drunk kid tried to pick me up, and his expression was priceless as I gave him a sarcastically sweet mile and tapped my engagement ring in time with the music.

Heh. It sent him running. Quick.

Anyway... I stumbled home with a couple others around 2. Erich was highly amused. In my now slightly sobering state, I realized that the girls had planned to head over to Sandals the next morning around 10 a.m., per Gina's request. I quickly wrote a note to one of the other girls and walked up to slide it under her door to let them know not to be concerned if I wasn't up on time.

But somehow, I was up-- and sans hangover - with plenty of time to spare the next morning. Some amusement at "who the hell is DrunkenMe(!)? was commented on-- my L wasn't clear at the end of my signature, apparently. In one big pack, we headed over to Sandals.

Now, Sandals is one of those super-exclusive, all-inclusive resorts. If you're not staying there, you can't go in. But as part of their wedding arrangement package, they added day passes for all of us to be able to enjoy the resort for the day (so that we didn't have to just come an hour before the wedding, and leave an hour after the reception ended). Once we were on the resort, purses and wallets went away-- all food, all drinks... everything was included.

And everyone took full advantage of that. :) Particularly with drinks. The drinks started flowing around 11 a.m. as everyone - except Gina, who was getting a massage on the dock - plunked into the pool and made full use of the bar-- that was in the pool (with underwater barstools).

Throughout the early afternoon, all of the girls filtered over to the resort spa for appointments that Gina had helped make. I got my first pedicure (which I loved and now will budget for each month). Afterward, we rushed to one of the empty rooms that Sandals ahd been kind enough to allow us to use to dress in. I was the last one in the shower, and wound up being THAT ONE who was late to the wedding.

As in-- Gina was already standing at the end of the aisle when I arrived with Toni and Jen. For the next several minutes, I was fighting back tears of anger and embarrassment. I'm one of those people who HATES to be late. And to a wedding? Yeah... *sigh* Add to that the fact that my hair was still sopping wet and I just felt completely disheveled and ugly... my mood was NOT good.

Thankfully, the ceremony started nearly immediately, and it helped me calm down for the most part. It was a lovely, simple ceremony, followed by a rip-roaring party. Everyone was dancing. Most people abandoned shoes for the floor. It was a great time. Seth and Gina had not chosen to do a first dance song. That, of course, simply would not stand with the group of characters in the Providence crew-- which happily surprised them with a special dedication... of "Let's Get It On" by Marvin Gaye. (almost all of us were in tears from laughing.. including the newlyweds).

After the reception ended, Seth announced that the celebration would continue in the pool (which was celebrated by all of us-- now extremely hot and sticky from dancing so much). And virtually everyone from the reception (with the exception of the kids, who were not allowed to stay on the grounds because it's a couples-only resort) got in. It was heavenly. We stayed until around midnight, feasting on the romantic Midnight Buffet (which was entirely made of fruit and different styles of chocolate).

After that day, Erich and I agreed that some day, we're saving our money for a couples trip to one of those places. It was incredibly over the top in the Mount Olympus fantasy-style resort. But wonderfully romantic. :)

Wednesday was our last full day there, and we wanted to see the Atlantis resort (which everyone on the island was talking about). We managed to meet up with everyone in the early afternoon, headed over to the resort by a ferry boat (or... the adventure boat. This thing should NOT have been used as a water taxi. We were very thankful to get over in one piece, and decided we'd skip the return ride and just get a real taxi to get home). Atlatnis was again, over the top. Very elegant, very expensive (they have a suite that runs $25,000 a night!!), but fun. We grabbed lunch in the marina village before going into the resort itself. One of the highlights we'd heard about was the aquarium, but it had a $30 entrance fee, and we got mixed reviews from some of the people we'd talked to. We were pleasantly surprised to find a free trail through what was called "The Dig" - a pseudo-archaeological underwater site that had what was considered a smaller collection of fish. But all of us had a blast in there-- there were a bunch of different small display tanks, plus one ongoing portal-view of a huge tank with a variety of different fish. The photo of the manta ray is from that uber-tank. Erich took a ton of photos from the free walkthrough. All of us were impressed and satisfied with The Dig, so we didn't even bother going into the pay aquarium.

The casino tables required a bit too high of a minimum bet for our tastes, so we stopped by the casino bar for a round of very yummy frozen drinks before heading back to our hotel. All in all, we thought Atlantis was quite nifty, but other than the free aquarium, a bit over-rated for the obscene nightly price they asked for rooms (I think the cheapest is around $400 a night-- and not all-inclusive like Sandals was).

We spent the evening low-keying it between the hotel and the casino. Erich again played some blackjack. I had some fun at the slots. I didn't win anything, but had fun being silly with playing one credit per game on the penny slots, and trying my luck at a quarter machine where I'd nearly broke even a couple nights before. An elderly British woman at the machine next to me won over $2,000 on a quarter machine pull.

As the evening went on, the group slowly filtered to bed-- and we said our goodbyes. We finally wrapped things up around midnight, knowing we had to get up and pack to leave the next day.

Our travel back was relatively smooth-- customs was a pain in the ass with about four layers of checking and rechecking before we got on the plane. Our connection was extremely tight in Charlotte, but we made our plane. But by 6 p.m. on Thursday, we were home. Our bags, not having made the connecting flight, arrived home around midnight.

All in all, we had a blast. We're broke, but now know to better prepare for a Carribean trip with additional savings beforehand. It was a needed week off, and we made some wonderful new memories, both as a couple and as the larger group of friends.

Home, sweet home

Erich and I arrived home around 6 tonight. Our bags landed about an hour ago on the later flight, thanks to our need to haul ass to catch our connection in Charlotte.

We're a bit sunburned, quite tired, extremely cat deprived, but we had a great time.

Stories and photos coming over the weekend, once I get through yet another round of unpacking my new cubicle space tomorrow.

:)

- Mel.

Year of Weddings, Take 3

And... we're off again. To a wedding (that is not mine. *grin*)

(hey... I'll get around to it. Really.)

Other than Canada, this will be my first time out of the U.S. I'm quite excited.

Nassau, here we come. One full week in paradise.

Erich and I leave tomorrow morning around 10, and get into the Bahamas around 3-ish. We'll be there a full day earlier than anyone else from the Providence crew of friends (about 10 people total).

I have a new bathing suit-- that actually fits! and looks good! and hides my icky spots (mostly!). For the $85 price tag, it damn well better. :)

Other than the wedding itself and the bachlorette party (a day long catamaran trip to an island for snorkeling, etc.) I have no schedule whatsoever. I plan to relax. A lot.

While I'm gone, however, I propose a challenge to you-- give me topics and questions. I want to have some good mind-chewing fodder to write about next month. Anything. Seriously. :)

I don't know how my access will be over the next week, but if I can't log in while on the trip, I'll see you all on June 30th.

Best,
Mel.

Quick snippets of life...

I've been trying to work through some actual Meaty Post Topics (tm) to write about, rather than some insubstantial drivel about everyday life... not finding a lot these days, which is why my posts haven't been quite as active lately. While I continue to work through said Meaty Post Topics (tm) (which may or may not have to do with actual meat-as-food), I present the stupid thoughts and not necessarily stupid issues swirling around me right now...


Paul Simon is Stalking Me
I'm not sure if "You Can Call Me Al" is just in the middle of its 20th anniversary resurgence, or what.. but I'm ALWAYS hearing it. The Mobil station down the street from us, without fail, is playing it any time I stop there for gas or coffee. (and not always at the same time of day). It's been on the radio more often recently-- much more often than I expect a song from the 80's to be. And then today, I walk into Citizens Bank in Copley Square to use the ATM, and lo and behold, that eight-note brass opener to the song kicks up.

What's worse, is that I immediately get the mental image of the Boston University pep band's horns all moving in proper rhythm while playing it, and then being amused at the piccolo section desperately trying to sound like a unified section during their solo, rather than a jumble of chirping birds in a hockey arena. My brain has permanently infused College Band into my brain.

Seriously, though... I'm hearing the song everywhere. Did Paul re-release it or something? Is Chevy Chase making a comeback?

It's June, the Switch Has Been Thrown
Gosh, who would have thunk... it's June. Therefore, it must instantly become 10 times more humid. Whee-- my least favorite part of summer has returned.

My Cats are Insane
More often than not, Noby has woken me up around 5-6 a.m. desperate for attention. His usual method is to purr around my head standing on my pillow, do a drive-by face rubbing (making sure to let his lips spread open so I get cat drool on my cheek), and then do a brilliantly fluid flop and melting motion down off the pillow onto my neck. When I start to ignore him, he moves and repeats the motion on Erich. When Erich shoos him, he comes back to me. He also pounces movement on the television screen-- especially as I watch "Deadliest Catch."

Colley is considerably less vocal since his tooth extraction (thankfully). However, his new thing is not to cuddle up to my stomach, but to sleep on and gradually spread over my pillow. If Noby hasn't woken me up, chances are I'll wake up with my head entirely off the pillow because Colley has found a way to spread across it.

Gus, now visibly beyond the craziness of kitten-hood, is chunking up a bit and getting some belly hang-down. His thing is to walk all over Erich while we watch TV, then sit down on Erich's stomach, staring at Erich's face and doing this sniffing thing we've termed "wuffelling" into Erich's goatee. He does this several times an evening. He's very needy.

Fizzy continues to be herself- quiet, shy, demure. Except when another cat tries to play with her or pounce her. She then lets out screams and hisses that sound like she's being ripped to shreds.

Elly, who remains tinier than Fizz (amazingly possible), is in a full-out war to be Alpha Female. She goes from this incredibly cute, quiet mild-mannered plush ball suckling on Erich's shoulder to an extremely aggressive lionness out to get Fizzy. She shocked the hell out of me a few nights ago when she blatantly charged Fizzy on the bed. She also has infatuated Gus. There's simply no other reason to explain how she'll go right up to wherever Gus is sprawled, flop on him, give herself a bath, and then simply get up and walk away, leaving him stunned.

Passport? Moo?
Erich's has arrived. I applied for mine on the same day. It's not here yet. Granted, it hasn't been two weeks (that's tomorrow), but still... I'd really like for it to arrive soonish so I don't have to panic.

Me? Panic? Nah...

So... When Are You Getting Married?
The pressure's on, now that my fellow bride-to-be who was annoyed at the whole planning process has arrived at a date. So yeah... I guess it's time to get this whole thing over with and actually plan something already. *sigh* I'm going to tour a potential site once I firm up a time with the coordinator of the site. We've pared our original off-the-top-of-our-heads list of 100 down to about 65, which is honestly much less daunting to me. But it's still wedding planing... so... yeah.

I Won WoW
Other than playing Myst, Riven, and Exile with massive amounts of help from the tip book, I've never actually "won" a computer game before. But on Monday, I reached level 60 in World of Warcraftcrack. I am a mighty Tauren Hunter! Roar! :)

Of course... while my group of friends gets organized, I'm working on character #2... now at level 14.

Counting toward Vacation
Exactly three weeks to the Bahamas... counting... counting...

Work... beh
I'm so ready to find something new. I could definitely go off on a long rant here, but I won't right now, since I actually do have to work the rest of the afternoon.

Mom's 60th

It's been a while since my last post, I know. For some reason, I'm always very quiet in the spring as far as blog writing is concerned. I suppose it's because I have some odd burst of energy that makes me want to go do things... but this year, it's honestly just because my brain is going twenty places at once and I hardly know what day of the week it is.

This past weekend Erich and I did the road trip down to Easton, Pennsylvania to visit my mom. Her 60th birthday was last week, and I promised her that I'd be down to see her as a combined Mother's Day/birthday thing. What she didn't know was that Jim (her boyfriend) had called me a month ago and let me know that there would be a surprise party that weekend, too.

The driving was uneventful. A bit of traffic (what is it with New Haven?!?) and lots of rainshowers, but nothing major. The drive is so much nicer now that we're in Rhode Island-- it took nearly two hours off the trip, just by our highway access.

Two of Mom's close friends from California had flown into town, too. This didn't raise any suspicion since I've often shared trips to PA with them. The house was very cozy-- Erich and I took over Mom's room. Her friends had the other two bedrooms. Mom got comfy down on her new couch, surrounded by cats and the doggie.

The party itself was fantastic. My uncle and Jim had invited nearly 70 people. It was a big, loud house party. My uncle hosted the thing-- he has the perfect house for it-- complete with a beautiful full bar in the basement, pool table, and tons of different nooks to chat with people. He wisely hired a catering service to serve as waitstaff and a bartender.

Erich and I served as designated drivers for the evening. We both had a couple drinks first thing so we didn't feel like we were completely left out, but I'm glad we decided to volunteer. People definitely needed the help home.

We drove back Sunday after helping Jeanne and Dee get to the bus to the Newark airport. But before we left, Erich had to take some yard pictures. I WANT MY MOM'S YARD!!!



Time for bed. More soon!

Last Name, First, Middle

With our next Year of Weddings trip looming in late June, I really needed to be to work late this morning. My first order of business? Getting my passport.

I've never had one before. It's just never been needed in my life. Technically, it's not needed for this trip either (to the Bahamas)... yet. But it will make life so much easier. And given that we're all going to need them to get even into Canada soon, better to just bite the bullet and get it done.

Of course, being the procrastinator that I am, primarly due to fundage this time of year, I was left with only six weeks. So yes, sir... tack on that extra $60 charge. Thank you sir. Got my photos taken-- they're actually not that bad. And the postman taking the photo was kind enough to ask me if I wanted to check my hair before taking care of it. I thanked him, but didn't bother-- my hair does what it wants to do, which is usually hang stick straight down.

The hard part? Surrendering my birth certificate to be submitted.

Ever since I was old enough to really be aware of it, I've felt weird about my birth certificate. My official one was issued 18 months after I was born (but thankfully, since it was filed with the proper authorities two weeks after my birth, I can still use it for the passport application). The official one has my adoptive parents' names on them, not my birth parents. I'm sure the original one is somewhere locked up in a Montana child services vault or wherever they keep those sorts of sealed records. It would literally take me a court case to get them opened. And to be honest, while I'm curious as to "where I come from," I'm not curious enough to have to fly to Helena to go through a legal battle over it. Quite possibly having to open up a second area of the case, since my adoption was finalized in California (where my parents were living at the time they opened the application).

So in reality, I have a modified birth certificate that's amazingly official and legal in all respects. I've never seen Scott's birth certificate -- my brother is also adopted -- so I don't know if this is just the common way they handled closed adoption cases in the 1970's. I'm assuming that it is. After all, this was the era when adoptions were final. There wasn't the current b.s. six months (to two years in some places, I've heard) where the birth parents can "change their minds." Adoption papers signed? It's done. Life moves on. Records get sealed.

My birth certificate has allowed me to get jobs. It's allowed me to get my driver's license. It allowed me to get an education.

But it doesn't have my birth parents' names on it. So I've always felt a bit uneasy about it-- is it really okay? Will something happen down the road where it's considered incorrect?

And now I just submitted it to Big Brother to get my first passport.

My over-reactive nature is setting in, fearing that I'll be refused for some adoption records technicality. (yes, I know I'm over-reacting. It's the current political climate in this country, sorry).

I know I'll feel better when I see that blue-covered flipbook arrive in the mail, with the faded green piece of paper sitting next to it in the envelope.

La Jolla and the Zoo (San Diego, Part 2)

OK... so it takes me a week. Moo. :)

Anyway... I finally got the other photos uploaded from our trip. Not all are great (mostly in the zoo, sadly). But browse and enjoy (pops in new window).

So... for the rest of the weekend's tales, now that the photos are up...

As I mentioned in my last entry, our flights to San Diego were hellish. Part of this was our own fault when we made our reservations. We thought we were taking a 6 a.m. flight, and were psyched that we'd get there around 11 a.m. on Thursday, so we'd have most of the day to play around. But we didn't read things correctly... we were taking the 6 p.m. flight out of Providence. (sigh) Our first flight took us to Minneapolis. Thunderstorms throughout the ride made the trip rather bumpy, but nothing too horrible. We landed about 15 minutes late... and then pulled off to the side of the airstrip as we WAITED for a gate.

oh. joy.

Apparently, the thunderstorms had been bad enough that there was a groundstop in Minneapolis. Flights hadn't been able to leave, other flights were re-rerouted. So it was a big mess all over the place. At 9:15, we finally walked up the jetway into the airport. Our flight to San Diego was to leave at 9:20 originally-- on the opposite corner of the airport (as what always happens when I fly through Minneapolis... WTF?). I had no worries about missing it. We headed into the main mall area to grab a bite to eat-- everything was closed.

Random rant-- WHY do airports do this? Flights get delayed, and NOTHING is open in airports past 9 p.m. Regardless of the fact that the airport is PACKED with people almost on a daily basis from delays. Nothing's open-- no take-out restaurants, no newstands, nothing. It's stupid, people. I don't get this logic, especially in large airports such as Minneapolis, and especially now that airlines have craptastic food policies.

Anyway... we get down to our gate, where there's a McDonalds still open-- but it closes almost immediately after taking our order. Erich waits for food as I check the gate. 11 p.m. departure. Riiight... I didn't believe it would hold. (it didn't). Since I don't want to interrupt potential pre-wedding dining craziness with a phone call, I text Melinda letting her know the situation. At 12:30 a.m. central time, our plane takes off. Erich promptly passes out, and to my amazement, sleeps most of the horrendously bumpy ride there. I maybe get a five minute doze somewhere in the flight. We land at 1:30 a.m. pacific time, have surprisingly no problems with luggage or our rental car (heh... they gave us a complete overkill car-- a Grand Caravan... for two people!), and get on the road-- I text Melinda again to let her know we've arrived and that we'll call in the morning "when we get up... sometime after 10."

We get to the Days Inn in El Cajon about a half-hour later, after some wrong exits and wrong turns. By the time we get to bed, it's 3:30, and I'm griping about how it's LIGHT OUT at home by this time. We sleep... until 10 or so. We do a greasy-spoon breakfast at Denny's next door to the hotel. Because of the weird time shifting, we're pretty zonked all day, but we enjoy the Unrehearsal Dinner with Melinda and Kevin and their friends and family. The Italian food does give us a good dose of strength for the rest of the day.

After the dinner, we headed back to the hotel for a small rest. Erich took a nap while I did some internet touristy surfing. I was looking specifically for beaches where there might be seals or sea lions, so Erich could see them and his first view of the Pacific Ocean. The seals were an important thing for me-- one of my fondest memories with my mom was driving from her home in San Ramon (near San Francisco) down to Monterrey when I was about 13. We climbed along the rocks to a little secluded beach where there were about a dozen sea lions doing their thing. I wanted Erich to get a taste of that memory.

According to all of the tourist descriptions, we wanted to go to La Jolla. Once Erich was up, we headed down, taking a pretty route through the hills. We got to the beach just in time to do some photography and watch the sun go down over the water-- VERY romantic. :) After the sun set, we took advantage of the light skies to go look at the seals over at Children's Beach. Children's Beach was a man-made breakwater designed to give kids a safe place to wade in the Pacific. Due to the rocks, there are some impressive rip currents. Definitely not kid-safe. So this little nook was perfect for kids. Of course... the seals thought it was perfect, too, and moved in. Now they own the beach. No more swimming. :)

As it got too dark out, we walked up the hill to the main drag in La Jolla to find a place to eat. Almost immediately, we noticed a funky place with bonfires out front, and went in. Roppongi was fantastic. We sat at the bar (our exact chairs are in the website photo) and ordered four dishes from the tapas menu. They blew us away. It was definitely the expensive meal of the trip... but worth every penny. We chatted with the bartenders and with "that woman at the bar"-- one of those mid-50's regulars who has a thing for one of the bartenders. Much amusement was to be had once she left and we heard the rest of the story-- how she was downright possessive of the bartenders, and usually nasty to other women who flirted with him. :) Heh. By this time, we were both very tired and headed back to the hotel...

Saturday was the wedding, of course. Before the wedding, the only thing noteworthy was burgers at "In & Out," a California take-out chain. Erich kept snickering and making the obvious line of comments about the name, so we just had to go. Good burgers. Weird, but tasty fries.

On Sunday, per the recommendation of Kevin and his mother, we got up relatively early and headed straight for the San Diego Zoo. Coming from New England, we marvelled at the beauty of the highway heading TO the zoo- everything landscaped, everything lush and green. We arrived at the zoo a bit after 10, were happy that we definitely were on the earlier side-- good, close parking space, and headed inside.

Kevin's mom had recommended we immediately take one of the bus tours around the zoo to get an idea of what was where. After taking the tour, I definitely agree-- if you ever go to the San Diego Zoo, GO STRAIGHT TO THE BUS TOUR. Don't worry about sitting on the top level, either. Honestly, we had the much better views from the bottom level of the bus. The tour took us all around the park. We got our gratuitous elephant and gazelle shots in-- things that are always great to see as a zoo, but we've seen before. But we also got great recommendations of where to go, when to go see things, etc.

Once off the bus, we decided to head immediately to the pandas, since we knew there were two baby pandas at the zoo, and it was bound to be a very busy exhibit with the line of people we saw getting on the bus for the next tour. We ducked into one of the many newer nature paths in the zoo, admiring both the myriad of plants and animals as we made our way to the pandas. Kevin's mom had told me at the wedding that once we were at the zoo, her comment would make sense-- the plants at the zoo are more valuable than the animals in many ways. I could definitely appreciate that statement. We were overwhelmed by the beautiful plants. They came from all around the world, many being included in specifically themed habitats for the animals that live in a certain area.

Per Kevin's recommendation, we had a very good-- and thankfully light-- lunch at Albert's in the center of the zoo. After lunch, we headed back out. We saw polar bears, we saw all of the big cats. I did my girly thing and cooed at the meerkats and at the koalas. We went into the aviaries and were dive-bombed by birds. We walked everywhere until our legs were ready to drop off. By about 3:30, we were exhausted, out of camera space, out of camera battery charge, and so decided to head back to the hotel for a rest. We took advantage of the hotel pool and hot-tub to stretch and relax our sore legs before grabbing dinner.

Dinner that night, we'd decided, was going to be a very low-key, relaxed affair. And given that we were in San Diego, that meant one thing-- dive Mexican food. We decided to just stay around El Cajon and found, after some driving, Pancho's Taco Shop. (heh). We headed inside-- it actually wasn't quite as dive-ey as the name would suggest. BUT... we were definitely the only gringos there. :) The food was very good. Since the menu was in Spanish, we stuck to things we were familiar with. It was very tasty.

We were up very early on Monday morning, since our return flight was at 8:30. I wanted to make sure we allotted plenty of time since we didn't know the morning commute traffic patterns, plus we had to drop off our rental car. We were required to return the car full-- and the closest gas station to the rental place was not yet open when we arrived.

Thus began the Great Gas Search of 2006. Either we were going COMPLETELY the wrong way, but we discovered that all of the roads that looked logical to us had NO gas stations. At all. 45 minutes later, we finally dropped the car off. (this is why I always give myself 2 hours pre-flight at the airport... shit always happens. Always. TSA crap aside.)

Our flights home were much easier than going out west-- we were delayed in Detroit due to a water issue on the plane. But otherwise, things were very smooth. Erich got his first view of the Rockies, still heavily snow-capped this time of year. :) And he saw just how huge the squared off acreage known as the Midwest really is.

It was a wonderful vacation. I miss it already. I definitely will remember it as one of the best I've ever taken.

Melinda & Kevin's wedding (San Diego, pt. 1)

So onto some travel stories... :)

Today, I'm going to talk about the important part of our vacation: Melinda and Kevin's wedding. First and foremost, that's why we went to San Diego, of course. All of the other stuff will wait until tomorrow's entry.

Erich and I have a ton of photos from the weekend. Other than ones that are blurry, I'm just uploading them all. I really can't eliminate any from this. So feel free to browse the wedding photos here (pops in new window). If you can't load them for some reason, leave me a message in the comments with your email, and I'll send you a direct invite to them.

On Friday afternoon, Melinda and Kevin held an "unrehearsal dinner" with family and close friends at a local Italian restaurant that apparently has been the host for many Melinda family events. Both Erich and I were barely functioning due to our horrendouns flights the night before, but with some serious Starbucks therapy, we managed to get ourselves up and dressed. Thankfully the restaurant was literally only about five minutes from our hotel. I met both of their mothers and friends and family of both the bride and groom. And I finally met Mary and her husband, Joe. By sheer table selection, we didn't have much of a chance to talk that day, but promised to catch up at the wedding. We had a lively conversation with everyone at our table, including (now looking back... I'm a bit embarrassed because it wasn't the place) topics on my upcoming wedding. Thankfully everyone had some very reassuring comments to give me to stand my ground on planning.

After stuffing ourselves full of entirely too much great food (oh god, those cannolis), we rolled ourselves outside, saying goodbye to everyone until tomorrow. Erich and I went back to the hotel to rest up and had a very romantic evening to ourselves (again... more on that tomorrow).

The next day, we puttered around for the morning before heading up into the mountains to the small town of Julian for the wedding. We admired the countryside on the hour-long ride up. This trip was Erich's first time west of the Missisippi River, so he was fascinated with how different everything was. (so was I, because it was quite different than the much more familiar terrain of Northern California to my eyes).

Despite some silent worry on my part, we arrived to the B&B with about fifteen minutes to spare before the ceremony. Melinda and Kevin, based on their spiritual and cultural background, had decided up on a Wiccan handfasting for their wedding ritual. The High Priestess was just casting the ritual circle as we arrived. Once she'd completed the circle and opened a spiritual door to allow us to enter, we joined Mary and Joe in the right seating area. We remarked on the beautiful scenery and the picture-perfect weather of the day.

And then the music started... and the ceremony began.

In a word, their wedding was beautiful.

I've been to many weddings in my life. Oddly, however, this was my first handfasting, despite my now thirteen years of following a Pagan path (however lax the past few years have been...). It also was the first wedding I can recall being completely relaxed at. It never felt like a function. It was completely relaxed. And with only about 60 people or so, it was incredibly intimate. During the ceremony there was laughter... and tears... but overall, complete joy from all involved-- including me, who normally is shy about expressing a lot of outward emotion.

As the High Priestess wrapped the wedding cord for the third time around their wrists, binding them together, I just beamed. Kevin and Melinda are married! Yay!

At some point in the afternoon, amid all of the conversation, I realized how strange but wonderful it is that I was celebrating the union of two friends on the other side of the country. Strange because this was actually only the second time I'd spent time with them in person, yet wonderful because despite not spending physical time with them-- I probably have discussed things deeper with them over the past five years than most of the friends I see on a regular basis here at home. Odder yet was meeting Mary and Joe for the first time, yet feeling that it was only the most recent in many times together. I suppose that's one of the joys of taking internet encounters to a more personable level-- after a time, there really isn't a difference between blogging friends and other friends who simply live far away. :)

Does that make sense?

By the end of the afternoon, we were celebrating the glory of the patio heaters. After all, we were more than 4,000 feet above sea level, and by that time we were entirely in the shade. Most of us were huddled in front of them in some form, chatting and laughing.

We ended the afternoon as the sun set over the mountains, giving a beautiful, colorful farewell to the newlywed couple. We said our goodbyes to everyone and made our way back down the mountain to our hotel...

It was a perfect day.

Home, happy, and exhausted

We just arrived back in Rhode Island about an hour ago after a very long day of flying cross-country. Lots of stories to tell, lots of photos to upload... but it will have to wait until tomorrow because we both seriously need to just sit and brain dump for a while.

But to sum up, we had a fantastic time. And we're home safe and sound...

Check back tomorrow for the first-of recap.

~ Mel.

Preparations, preparations....

We head to the airport in about three hours, San Diego-bound. I seriously can't wait. :) The bags are not yet packed (working on that...), but we're doing some of the little chores we need to finish before heading off. Erich's getting the cat stuff under control. I'm currently reclaiming my natural blonde hair (grin). We're finishing the dishes and some of the laundry, petting cats, and getting some bills sent off.

The phones are charged, the camera is charged, and so are we. Wedding or bust...

(see you on Monday night)

~ Mel.