ALOHA

 

Christy and I spent most of July on our honeymoon in Hawaii.  Why Hawaii?  Well, we needed a place that was tropical and had some luxuries (Christy’s requirements), as well as prime backpacking destinations (mine).  I first read about the marvels of backpacking on the Na Pali Coast several years ago.  The trail there clings to sheer cliffs high above the Pacific, before arriving at a secluded beach.  I knew then that I’d have to go there some day.  What better occasion could there be than my honeymoon?  In August, I mailed in a permit application for camping reservations.  Although I made the request 11 months in advance, the quota for campers there was already full.  Luckily, I was able to alter our dates and reserve 4 nights on the Na Pali Coast.

 

Our next decision was to pick our islands.  We had three weeks, but to keep costs down we had to restrict the trip to two islands.  The Na Pali Coast is on Kauai, so I knew we had to go there.  For the other, we considered several options.  Maui is certainly very popular, and the lack of development on Lanai and Molokai sounded appealing.  Ultimately though, the prospect of seeing flowing lava convinced us to visit the Big Island.

 

How in the world could we afford 3 weeks in Hawaii?  It was pretty easy.  6 nights backpacking, 4 nights car camping, and 5 nights roughing it at the Marriott resort (thanks to a wedding gift from my father), meant only having to pay for four nights of accommodations.  Don’t worry though; we didn’t have any trouble spending all the money we saved.  Read on to find out how…

 

NO TURNING BACK

 

I can hardly write about our honeymoon without mentioning the wedding.  By June 30^th, all we hard to worry about was getting ourselves and our luggage to Pennsylvania.  Well, that and the decorating.  And the tuxedos, and the dress, and the flowers, and a whole list of other things Christy was constantly waiving around.  Anyway, I packed the car Tuesday night, and Christy picked me up at work Wednesday afternoon.  We left Charlotte, and began what turned out to be a nightmare drive.  Our first problem was that it was the 30^th, meaning that there were even more trucks on the road than normal on I-81.  Heavy rain contributed to two of them jackknifing on the highway south of Roanoke.  We ended up driving numerous back roads to avoid the traffic jams, and got to see far too much of Radford, Christiansburg, and Salem for our efforts.

 

The real debacle occurred late that night.  We finally made it into Pennsylvania shortly before midnight, and I dozed off.  Luckily, Christy was driving at the time.  I woke up later, just in time for Christy to tell me that we’d just missed our exit.  Where were we?  Oh yeah, the turnpike.  The turnpike!  I had just enough time to mumble something about wondering how far it was to the next exit, when we passed a sign.  36 miles.  It was 36 miles to the next exit, and we were going the wrong direction.  A concrete wall in the median eliminated any thoughts of a U-Turn.  To make matters worse, the road was under construction, and the late hour hadn’t diminished the truck traffic at all.  As a final insult, when we finally got off the exit at Somerset (where, you ask?  Suburban Pittsburgh, I think), we had to pay a $3 toll for our trouble.  If we had gotten off at the normal exit, it would’ve been free.

 

The idea of backtracking 36 miles down that lousy road wasn’t appealing, so I improvised a route.  I took over the driving, and we headed up through Johnstown and western Pennsylvania’s coal country.  At first we were on a good road, but eventually it ended.  The rest of the route wound through an endless series of small coal towns.  Fortunately, there was no traffic at 2AM, so I ignored all of those 25 MPH speed limit signs.  Finally, after crossing 83 sets of railroad tracks, we headed through Curwensville and on to Christy’s parent’s house in Clearfield.

 

We were able to sleep in a little on Thursday, and spent the rest of the day taking care of last minute items and checking them off Christy’s list.  On Friday morning, we dropped Saucony off at the kennels, which are located on scenic hillside overlooking a strip mine.  Saucony didn’t seem to notice.  Then it was on to Clarion, to decorate the reception hall at Anchor Village.  Anchor Village is, of all things, an historic, restored oil refinery.  It hardly sounds like a likely place for a wedding, but the building was ideal for the reception, and the grounds are beautiful.  We worked all day, and by late that afternoon we declared it finished and headed back to the hotel. 

 

We returned that evening for the rehearsal.  The best part of Friday was seeing friends and family.  My best man, Eric, had arrived from Greensboro earlier that afternoon. The other groomsmen, Dave and Brian, were there as well.  Brian had come all the way from Boulder, Colorado, bringing the whole family in their motor home.  Christy’s sister, Megan, had helped us the whole day, and her 6-year old son, Nathan, was there as the ring bearer and honorary groomsman.  The other bridesmaids included Jackie, who had recently moved from Charlotte to New Jersey, Christy’s cousin Melanie, and Chantelle, a friend of Christy’s from college. 

 

My mother, my sister, and her 1 year-old daughter were there as well.  My father and his wife arrived, and we were relieved to see that Rocky made it up from Asheville.  Rocky was my church youth group leader in college, and he would be doing the ceremony for us.  Rocky had introduced me to hiking and backpacking when I was a college freshman, so it seemed appropriate for him to do the ceremony for us.  We were thrilled that he agreed to make the journey.

 

After the rehearsal we had a great dinner in a private room at Captain Loomis in downtown Clarion.  Clarion is a cute, small college town that turned out to be perfect for the wedding.  After dinner, the bridal party stayed at the bar next door, where Christy and I were finally able to relax.  After months of preparations, it was almost over!  I could hardly wait.

 

Brian, Jill, and family joined Dave, Eric, Rocky, and I for breakfast Saturday at Perkins.  Then, the guys helped me set up chairs for the ceremony.  The wedding was at Anchor Village, too, but outside under massive hemlocks.  When Christy and I were searching for a place to have the wedding, Anchor Village really jumped out at us because of the trees.  It seemed like a very appropriate place for us to get married.  Luckily, we inquired over a year in advance, because they only had 2 weekends that weren’t booked over the entire summer!

 

We returned to the hotel with time to kill.  The wedding was scheduled for 4:30, so I had nothing to do but sit around and get nervous.  I thought about taking a nap, but knew that would never happen.  Briefly, I considered driving up to Cook’s Forest and taking a short hike.  No, that would probably be a bad idea.  The best man might think I was trying to bolt.  Plus, it was really too hot out anyway.  Finally, Dave came up with the best idea of the entire day.  Ice Cream!

 

So we stopped at Dairy Queen on the way to the ceremony.  Let me tell you, there’s nothing better than a chocolate chip cookie dough blizzard on your wedding day!  The photographer got a classy photo of us digging in.  At least we weren’t in our tuxedos yet!

 

Brian and the family arrived a few minutes later in the motor home.  We used the RV as a portable, and more importantly, air conditioned, changing room.  It was sunny and hot outside, so it was nice that we didn’t have to wait in one of the stifling outbuildings.  I was dressed in an all white tuxedo, with a pink tie.  I thought it looked ok, except the pants looked like part of a softball uniform.  I liked the groomsmen’s tuxedos better – black pants, gray vests, and white jackets.  Once we were dressed, there was nothing left to do but watch time pass.  The closer it got to 4:30, the slower the hands on the clock moved.  At one point, I actually saw them go backwards!

 

Finally, Dave and Brian left to start seating people.  A few minutes later, Rocky, Eric, and I were sneaking around the side of the reception hall, to wait behind a small outbuilding for our cue.  Then, it was time to walk.  This was rather exciting, as the lawn between us and the gazebo was full of treacherous holes.  We all stared at our feet the entire way, as a broken ankle would’ve put a real damper on the festivities.

 

The wait at the gazebo seemed eternal, but Christy finally came out.  I may have gotten a little choked up as she came down the aisle, but nobody knew, because they weren’t looking at me!  Fortunately, I pulled myself together by the time she reached the gazebo.  Then, things started to move fast.  Before I knew it we were speaking our vows.  Then, we were lighting the unity candle, while a meaningful song for us; “All of these dreams”, by Phish, played in the background.  Before I knew it, the ceremony was over and we were walking back up the aisle.  How did a day that started so slow end in such a rush?

 

After an hour of photos, it was time to eat.  We went to the reception hall; where we enjoyed a nice meal of stuffed chicken, roast beef, vegetables, and wine.  I was still so worked up I could hardly taste any of it, but that was ok.  After dinner, there was dancing and drinking, though the dancing was rather subdued thanks to the lingering heat.  The best part of the evening was visiting with distant relatives and friends.  I saw Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins, and even some family friends that I hadn’t seen in at least 10 years.  It was strange, but that morning I had only wanted to get the whole thing over with.  By that evening, I found that I was actually enjoying myself.

 

The evening ended with us walking out through a tunnel of sparklers.  Well, it was almost July 4^th, and what’s a wedding without fireworks?  It brought a unique ending to a day I’ll never forget.

 

 

“ALL OF THESE DREAMS”

 

There is a place on the mountain nearby

Deep in a cave, but it’s up rather high

There in the darkness are safely concealed

All of the dreams that you never revealed

And if you go there, and after you do

All of these dreams would be yours to pursue

The rest of your lifetime devoid of a care

If you keep your eyes open you may find yourself there

 

Such is the promise, such is the curse

You could just live your life better or worse

Knowing the cache of dreams up on that hill

Beckons and sways but won’t bend to your will

You might find a river under a mountain

That feeds a remote subterranean fountain

Drink from this, taste just a hint of a dream

That somehow leaked into the underground stream

 

 

                                                                                                   Lyrics by Anastasio, Marshall, and Herman