Wonderful Weekend

Once Jake finally made it to Nashville (6 hours late at 2 a.m.!) we headed up to Danville for a highly anticipated weekend of wedding planning activities and Centre homecoming fun.

We first met with Rev. Stuart to discuss an extensive questionnaire that Jake and I each filled out. We weren't allowed to discuss it before the meeting, so Jake was very excited to see the results. I was just nervous he would declare us incompatible! Luckily, we're a pretty good couple, and it's great to have people like Rev. Stewart and Dr. Axtell to discuss the common marital issues with.

The we headed out to Harrodsburg for the first look at our reception venue, Devine's Farm. The Devines have a huge corn maze and pumpkin festival each fall, so it was a busy time for them and we were grateful they took the time to show us around. The farm is beautiful, and the pavilion will be perfect for the eating, dancing and general merriment we expect at the reception. There's even a fire pit for late-night s'mores!

It will take about 15 minutes to get there from the church. I'll include some directions closer to the event.

Then it was back to Danville to stay at Hotel Roy Lee and relive our wonderful college years. We were able to check out the new student center and see so many of our very best friends. I tried to do "the worm" for the first and last time, but maybe Brian will grace us with his version at the reception. A big thanks to Roy Lee for his fabulous hospitality!

ACL Mud Fest

Last weekend, I met Jake in Austin for the Austin City Limits Music Festival. When we arrived on Friday, the grass in Zilker Park looked like a country club fairway. They had closed the park for an entire year to install an irrigation system and re-sod it. But on Saturday, it rained all day, and by Sunday the grass was replaced with an inch of mud. Luckily I have high-performance footwear...

This was taken when we finally got to sit down to watch Ben Sollee on the only dry patch in the park. (It been protected by a huge tent.)

Luckily, I also brought a rain jacket. Others in our party had to be more resourceful...

The music was great, the company was even better. We rented a house with fellow Teachers for America and significant others. Mornings consisted of feasts of eggs, bacon, sausage and biscuits and gravy, then a delightful bike ride to the park. Then it was hours and hours of music!

Photos by Joe

One of my coworkers, Joe Howell, will be taking the wedding photos, and I couldn't be happier. Mostly I'm excited because I know Joe and will be comfortable with him following me around all day. An added bonus is that he's a fabulous photographer.

He's a photojournalist who has worked for many newspapers and taught classes. He's a marine and has literally travelled the world (much to my envy). As you can see below, he takes incredible photos, and every one has a great story behind it (especially the colonial settler with the cell phone).

I really got to know Joe when we trekked out to the trailer of Jon "Trailerpark" Jackson for a story I was writing. He didn't even have to look through the lens to take one of my all-time favorites:

He hates to pose things, and is great at capturing moments and expressions. Just how I want to remember the wedding!

Hitting the Links

I headed down to Texas for the Labor Day holiday and had a wonderful weekend of sand, surf, sun and plenty of golf. On Saturday, Jake and I faced off against his friends Lake & Laura and Nate & Martha in a couples golf scramble. We won with an amazing three over par. I couldn't out-drive Jake, but I did put it on the green for us twice from about 120 yards out!

On Sunday, we headed for the beach at South Padre Island with a posse of other Teachers for America and significant others. I was in heaven with the fluffy white sand and perfectly warm ocean water. Someone had a bright idea to bring clubs and play golf on the beach, but it was only a good idea in theory. There's a reason you try to avoid sand traps.

On Monday, we headed to "Fun Zone," McAllen's premiere entertainment venue for a round of putt putt. Jake beat me by one stroke and even managed a hole-in-one.

Post-Wedding Vacation

For some inexplicable reason, I have an aversion to the term "honeymoon." There's just something about it that I simply don't like. Thus, I'm attempting to avoid calling the six nights that Leslie and I will be spending in Colorado after our wedding a honeymoon, although that's really what it is.

Anyway, I made arrangements for Leslie and I to spend the week after our wedding in the Rockies. We're flying from Lexington to Montrose, CO the day after the wedding, renting a car, and spending three nights at Dunton Hot Springs. What a few years ago was the dead shell of an old mining town is now a small (fewer than 50 people at a time) all-inclusive luxury resort with 12 refurbished cabins. We'll be staying in the Echo, pictured below.



In addition to relaxing in the natural hot springs and doing some self-guided hiking, I'm hoping we can take a guide out for a day of fly fishing. Dunton has exclusive rights on nine miles of the Delores River and June is supposed to be a good time for trout.

After leaving the springs, we're going to Telluride for a couple of nights. While based in Telluride, we're hoping to do some sort of river riding (either kayaking or rafting), a bit of climbing, and perhaps a mountain bike ride.

Our last night will be back in Montrose before an early departure to ensure we'll make it back to our friend Gulu's wedding on the 26th.

I'm totally stoked--it's going to be the best week ever.

Vacation Report

Alas, the vacation is over. We put over a thousand miles on the trusty Civic and got to see many sights and many friends.

This is Jake breaking one of the commandments of water skiing (don't bend your arms) and suffering the consequences. Others include "keep your tips up," "stay in a ball," and the number-one cited piece of advice: "let the boat pull you up."

I was skeptical that Jake would be able to ski, but he surprised us all when he popped right out of the water. Then he made all my dreams come true by double skiing with me. As I've always said, a couple that skis together, stays together.

The next leg of our journey was Chicago for some big-city food and fun. We saw the incredible Harry Potter exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry (unfortunately, no photos were allowed), and then headed to Wrigley Field. The Cubs lost and it rained the whole time, but we still enjoyed ourselves.

For the third leg of our journey, we met with the wedding officiants in Danville, stayed in Roy Lee's new palace and investigated a few reception venues. Then it was off to Lexington to see college friends and go to Megan and Patrick's wedding. Those photos are trapped in Jake's camera, so you'll just have to imagine how beautiful it was.

Yay for vacation!

Happy Summer!

I just battled the DMV to get an official Tennessee driver's license (it took them three tries to print out the right address), Jake's on a plane from McAllen, and we're ready for summer vacation! We're headed to Kentucky Lake for Independence Day festivities, Chicago for some big city living, and Lexington for a wedding and pre-marital counseling. Let the adventure begin!