The Weddingmoon

It's funny; usually I don't update because nothing really interesting has happened. But now, so much has and I don't know where to begin. I guess I'll start at the beginning and when I get to the end, I'll stop. As you may or may not have know, my fiancee and I were recently married. We decided to shake the dust of this town from our feet and hit the open sea. We boarded a Carnival cruise ship with just our immediate family and sailed to the east Caribbean. Ahhhh.... Just what we needed. It was such a good time. And the best part was that the people we care the most for were there with us. Our first stop- Nassau. Exactly what you would expect of the Bahamas. We didn't get much time to visit so we made our way to the beach to take a quick dip in the ocean. Oh, by the way, it was hot. And at one point, when we finally reached the beach, there was a dumpster we had to walk past. And if you can imagine what hot garbage smells like wafting through the afternoon sun- Balarf! But that was only for a moment; I just remember vividly how it smelled, uhg. The beach was beautiful though. Until. Until the giant sea monster appeared and began destroying the city! I was unable to assist, as I was knocked unconscious by debris while pushing terror-paralyzed tourist out of harm's way. But Sarah knew what to do! She went straight for it, landing blow after fish-jelly jiggling blow! Finally it relented, giving everyone time to escape, but not before landing a blow of it's own across Sarah's foot.












We boarded the ship and made a hasty getaway...


Ok, maybe not so speedy. But regardless, we were safe. I can imagine the face you're making. Ok, Ok, the real story is that we were swimming and Sarah got stung by a jellyfish. There. Are you happy? Personally, I liked the other story better. We hit the ocean again for a day at sea. Side note- being from Kansas, I've never seen blue water before. The river and lakes here are brown, and even the Pacific I've seen while visiting California was green. Never any blue until now. And damn if it wasn't BLUE. No photo editing; it really was this blue.Obviously I was enamoured with the color of the water. But that wasn't all. Michael and I also spotted flying fish while sitting out on the balcony. And even Jubei, the Ninja Bear that always stows away on our trips, got into the action:





How does he always get into our suitcases? Damn ninjas...



I think he enjoyed the balcony as much as I did. After dinner and before bed, I grabbed my ipod and made my way to the balcony after it was dark. It was eerie and awesome, all at the same time. I sat outside for hours and watched the boat pass a small island and a few tankers in the dark. White seabirds were illuminated against the black sky by the lighting of out boat. It was great.

Eventually, we found our way to our destination: St Thomas. This is where Sarah and I had been planning for a year to get married. And it didn't disappoint.It was a beautiful ceremony, and we were were able to keep it light hearted, which is what we wanted. *

It was perfect.And then we came home, that's it, end of story.

Ok, that wasn't all. We also stopped in St Maarten the next day. We booked an excursion aboard a catamaran and went out into the ocean. I was aware there would be snorkeling, but not out in the ocean. OK, first off, I've only ever swam in swimming pools. Having said that, I'm also not a very strong swimmer. In fact, I wouldn't even say I can swim. But nonetheless, I decided I would try. And try I did. It was one of the most terrifying events of my life. But I did it. After that harrowing experience, we pulled anchor and cruised around the island to the French side. And yes, there were boobies. Everyone, youngsters and oldies, men and women, were checking them out. But what would you honestly expect? Clothing optional = bugging eyes and wagging tongues. Well, most of the time. I also forgot to mention that when we dropped anchor, we were still in about fifteen feet of water. Experienced swimmers may not bat an eyelash at that but keep in mind that I am not experienced and fifteen feet of water to me is an abyss. So I began my swim to shore, with only a noodle to keep me afloat. I swam, doggy-paddled and drifted for what seemed like an eternity. I began to get scared that I would never make it as waves continuously pushed me further from where I wanted to land. Every few moments as I closed on the beach, my foot would swipe the sand and I would think I was in water I could stand in. But when I would try to put my feet down, the land I was so desperately trying to cling to disappeared. But I fought on, and was rewarded with the joy of continuing to live and a view of well enhanced chesticles (I hate that word, but it sounds funny). I didn't make the swim back. I jumped in the little boat and rode back without any shame. I can flip and do handstands and generally roll and jump around but swimming is still something I'll have to work on. After that it was just a cruise back to the dock. You may be wondering about all this I, I, I and where Sarah was in all this: Out of the sun. With such porcelain skin, she can't handle the sun's abuse the way my black ass can. It got to the point that not only hers, but also everyone else's sun screen she tried to use burned her face. So while we were having a great time on the deck, trying to stand up while the boat was hitting large waves, she was down below, enjoying the nauseating roll of the ocean. She did get to swim at the beach though, at which point we pointed out the fake boobs and commented on how well they performed against gravity.

After the islands, we sailed the rest of the way home. Well not literally home. But while at sea we did get a taste of home. A good, ol' fashioned thunderstorm. And of course, as with all other situations that should require a camera, mine was safely downstairs in our room. I did manage to get a few shots after we had come out the other side.

What was so great and terrible about it was that it was right on top of us. It was like you could just reach your hand up and touch the clouds. Or get struck by lightning, whichever comes first.
This was a great experience. We got to go on a cruise with our family, see distant islands and their people, eat non-stop (and I mean non-stop. Anyone else up for another slice of pizza?) not to mention eat food like lobster, sushi, salmon and duck; Sarah also tried lamb, all in the same week, see an illusionist that Gob Bluth could have been inspired by, laugh at a couple of hilarious comedians, watch a magician, survive the wildlife and natural wonders of a foreign land, ogle boobs, watch the people above us feed the seagulls from their balcony and start a feeding frenzy (mine, mine!) and watch the sun come up over the Atlantic (or Caribbean Sea, whichever).

But best of all, this:*Then we came home and rocked the party with our reception we held this past weekend. I think we were a little disappointed with the attendance, not so much as the people that showed but with how many left after the dinner. But that's cool and not unexpected. The people that needed to stay for the dancing did, and worked it out! It was a nice little dance party, and even though nobody did the worm, there was plenty of the running man, courtesy of myself. But once again, the camera is MIA, so no pictures... again. So I'll leave you with this last one on the trip:


* Starred pictures courtesy of Weddings The Island Way