Getting Married

Dawn breaks over the Northwest Islands and pierces into the children’s attic where I am sleeping. All of the kiddos are still asleep (thank God).  It is an odd sensation on the morning of my wedding day as it feels like any other day. I amble downstairs where the adults are congregating around hot cups of coffee, and Ben and Pamela are cracking eggs for breakfast. Greeted by a hearty, “there he is!”, the whole family turns and welcomes me in to the breakfast table.  Outside the bay windows, the day looks perfect; calm and steady waters and sunny with not a cloud in the sky. This balmy weather is what makes the Northwest America’s greatest secret. The house begins to wake up with the smell of eggs, and pounding of children feet. Soon everyone is awake and it reminds me of that Christmas scene in Home Alone where the giant family is climbing all over each other. Again, people keep asking if I am nervous, but I feel cool as a cucumber.  Emily had texted me roughly 1000 times to make sure I shaved for the wedding. After a thorough shower and shave followed by a frantic search for my fedora (the everlasting ADD child) Ben and I set out for the park. 

I have to give a big shout out to our wedding coordinator Rhianna because (as I’m sure everyone who knows me/is reading this knows) I knew nothing about the details of the wedding (Afterwards Emily laughed at all of the calls made to the women’s house from the men’s house asking about details, directions, and check-ins). Ben, the photographer, and I arrived at the men’s cabin early, he pulled out a mini-Heineken keg and a bottle of great scotch. We toasted to the day and slowly started to dress.  Ben had been cursing me a bit because I made my groomsmen wear/learn how to tie bow-ties while I wore a regular tie. To tell you the truth I knew, deep down, that Ben would learn how to tie them and then teach everyone else. The time ticked by and my late-as-usual groomsmen slowly trickled in to the cabin. We all dressed, drank, made fun of each other and were generally merry. I sent a letter to Emily via my niece Stella and received one in return. It was filled with elegant words, and loving thoughts. The photographer came to retrieve me for the “first look”.  This was it, the moment I would get to see my bride in all of her glory. After receiving a multitude of slaps on the back, last minute ball-and-chain remarks, and manly hugs I followed the photographer who had jokingly mentioned, "I'm taking you into the woods to shoot you...". As I approached the bride's cabin the lookouts giggled. I was left in a corner of the woods on my own. The anticipation was intense. 

It was a surreal feeling standing there in the woods waiting to see my bride-to-be. I first heard my infamous nieces/train carriers giggling and then I heard her voice. As I slowly turned around I saw her in her full glory. There, in the Northwest forest I saw the woman of my dreams, illuminated by soft rays of sunshine piercing through the trees. Her dress...wow. It was a spectacular spectacular. We laughed together as she snapped my suspenders and we updated each other on the whirlwind of getting ready. After some obligatory photos we met up with the rest of the wedding party for more photos. After the photos there was some down time where I got to hang out with some Peace Corps peeps and remark on Kelly Sleight's uncanny wilderness tour and how she describes each tree's "feelings".  

Then the moment came, Rihanna frantically herded all the cats together for the ceremony. Again, everyone up until this point had asked me if I was nervous and I really wasn't. Though, it wasn't until my mother and I were lining up and she looked like a nervous wreck. At that point, I thought, "mom is nervous. Should I be nervous? Oh god, now I'm nervous!" And as the heart palpitations set in the ceremonial music began. Heart pounding and with my parents at my side I walked down the isle. What a sight. Trent was standing underneath a wooden handcrafted archway with the ocean lit by a setting sun and the Olympic mountain range as a backdrop. Friends and family were all seated and smiling. The wedding party followed and I received hugs, handshakes and high fives. Then the bride came , to the tune of La Vie en Rose. Coyly smiling, and flanked by her parents. The ceremony was a blur for me except for a few key moments. First off, Trent was amazing in giving the whole thing off the cuff. He is a true orator, people laughed, cried, and stood accidentally as he forgot to tell them to sit (shout out to Anna who saved the guests from standing for the whole ceremony). Emily and I held hands the whole time, laughing, passing secret squeezes and mouthing to each other. I thought I would get away without a tear until her father started speaking. He started to cry and as we were mouthing to one another, "don't you do it..." she asked it he was crying and as I nodded yes we both started tearing. Then we were wed! Cheers and applause as we returned down the isle as husband and wife. 

The best part of the wedding, for me, came next. We were instructed to wait behind the lodge until our guests were seated. It was just Emily and I, alone for 30mins except for the waiters with appetizers and drinks who would walk around occasionally. We laughed together and the moment was completely ours as husband and wife. Then Rihanna came and grabbed us for our grand entrance. As we walked in, the lodge erupted! 

What can I say, it was the best wedding I had ever been to. 

With an array of spectacular Northwest food including; grilled fresh caught salmon, berry pies, and superb wines. Due to the genius of our planner we ate first.  Though, to be honest neither of us were hungry.  Once people sat to eat we made our rounds.  No one had told us that weddings were a lot of work for the new couple.  We shook hands, whispered the names and facts about obscure family members to each other, and repeated many of the same stories and greetings at nauseum. It was fantastic seeing old friends and touching base with extended family. Both Ben and Anna gave great speeches which were a blur as we headed towards starting up the dance floor and general merriment for the rest of the evening. Key moments included the Horah where not only were Emily and I hoisted (me with significant effort from my groomsmen) but our parents too.  Both of our mothers were whooping and cheering as the everyone shouted and danced in circles. The evening ended with one of the most spectacular sunsets over the Olympic mountain range. With friends and family gleefully inebriated and holding each other, a sun slowly dying in the western sky in a blaze of brilliantly colorful glory, and a warm forestry perfumed breeze gently blanketing everyone, we ended our big event!

Pre-Weddingness

Pre-Wedding Fun

What a whorl-wind weekend. After settling our tabs at work Emily and I finally set off for the west best coast to get hitched. We were full of smiles and giggles the whole way. Emily didn't mind getting to the airport early for our flight where we even had extra time for a pre-pre-wedding cocktail or two. We were inseparable, ringed hands clinched in unbeatable excitement the whole way to Seattle. Though, not entirely without complications; we seemed to have boarded the Chucky-cheese of airplanes as the children nearly out numbered the adults. Between screaming babies and pooping toddlers we lovingly/bloodshot-eyed stared at each other muttering, "two and DONE" under our exasperated breaths.

Once in Seattle we were met by the grand-master of our wedding ceremony, Emily's mother, who through unparalleled loving patience, had single-handedly organized, arranged, carried, created, afforded, setup, and completed our entire wedding. Blood, sweat, tears, crafts, inspirations, email flurries, and suppliers were painstakingly poured in to the creation and production of what would be one of the most spectacular days of our lives. Both of her parents were beaming as they picked us up with a picnic of salmon sandwiches. That night was filled with wine, fine dining, and family. We spent time with Emily's baby niece Sophia, made powerful cocktails, and proceeded to solve, yet again, the troubles of the world. 

The next day, the exhausted medical residents slept in and had a relaxing day of pedicures, massages, and some playful times with the Rosen-hogan clan at Pikes Market.

For a while, my closest (married) friends would often ask, "has it set in yet?" And to be honest, between working, planning and sleeping the concept of being married had not set in completely. It wasn't until we were on the ferry towards Bainbridge Island that it hit me. I remember it well. It was late afternoon on a warm sunny day in Seattle. The temperature was balmy, the air was electrified, and we were both utterly contented. Emily was standing towards the front of the ferry with the wind whipping through her long hair, her golden shoulders warm under the sun she looked very Titanic-movie-esk. Standing there gorgeous and happy with an adventurous aura about her, It wasn't what I had expected. In that moment I felt gut-punched, excited, terrified, overwhelming joy, and my eye welled up with tears as I saw my radiant future standing in front of me, the universe had definitely conspired to bring us together. Holding her in my arms we watched the regal Seattle skyline disappearing behind us and the beautiful Northwest forests of the Olympic islands welcoming us.

We drove to the 'Casa de Rosenfeld' a colossal VRBO that my awe inspiring brother had secured for our family. It was a 20 bedroom mansion set upon a cliff overlooking the ocean with a fire pit, wrap around porch, and an enormous attic built for kiddos.

We were greeted by Ben, Pamela, and Miche who promptly ensured that we had drinks in our hands. The rest of the family filtered to the house until it was nearly busting at the seams. The air was thick with children's laughter, clinking glasses, and lively conversation. Smells of the ocean mixed with the huge family style pizzas we gorged ourselves on. Ben, the ever-so-organizer of the family had lit a campfire outside and setup chairs for everyone. We migrated out and huddled around the fire under a great Maple tree looking out at the starry sky over the ocean. With the kiddos as our drink/food servers we settled in to our seats preparing for the alcohol-induced philosophical debauchery to commence. Laughing, arguing, debating, crying, yelling, and toasting dominated the remainder of the night.

Again, I found myself sitting back and taking in the moment. Surrounded by the people I love, whose faces aglow in the firelight, clucking like happy chickens in the crisp night air as the ocean waves crashed indifferently in the murky blackness outside our joyous circle.  Emily and I occasionally squeezing each other's hands to the intermittent corky family moments or just to silently say, "I love you". The night had its wild moments as many Rosenfeld nights do but we all made it to bed and Emily and I realized this was the last time we would be together alone and unmarried. 

The next morning was also pleasantly lazy. We chatted with family over eggs and bushels of berries while drinking coffees infused with Baileys. We then set off to change for the Rehearsal dinner of a lifetime. This was our only stressed moment during the entire week. We had set out 2 hours early to get in a much needed nap before changing for dinner. The trip was a mere 2 miles. We hit traffic... apparently there is a draw bridge which, "may shut down traffic spontaneously for hours at a time" said a blinking sign in front of us. That 2 mile trip took 90 minutes. Let's just say we were less than thrilled at the prospect of our guests potentially running into the same issue on our wedding day.  But we made it to 'Casa de Eck' with time to dress but not nap. I met some of Emily's extended family and had a funny moment when I went to get a iron I was told it was in the forbidden dress room so one of Emily's cousins volunteered to run up the stairs and grab it. Standing at the foot of the stairs I saw his disgusted face as he opened the door to the dress room, coyly he shouted down to me, "man! That is one short and very pink dress!" Seeing my concerned face he quickly retrieved the iron and while patting my back with a big grin he mumbles, "good luck...".  We got dressed and headed to the Paulsbo Yacht  Club. 

Now I have been hearing about this dinner for a long time. Expectations were high as my mother had undertaken this project herself. She didn't disappoint. We roll up to a stunning building with a giant personal banner out front. As we were walking in, the nautical themes enveloped us. What touched me the most right away were the cookies. 

(For those of you that do not know about my mother's famous cookies, these are a staple in my life. Ever since leaving home after high school my mother has sent me cookies once a month. Not just regular cookies but true culinary and esthetic masterpieces.

She has her own cookie wrapping station to not only individually wrap her cookies but she has a custom label she adds while filling her packages with the theme of the month. Whether I was in collage, the peace corps, or trekking the world, her cookies found me each month. They were the saving grace of my frat brothers, Salvadoran communities members, exhausted medical school colleagues, even more exhausted co-residents, and anyone I have ever worked with.)

The room was dressed to the nines in blues and yellows with nautical pieces strategically positioned everywhere.

Each place setting had napkins folded into boats,  special settings for the kiddos, and my mother pleasantly greeting and directing everyone. She hugged Emily and I and took us over the bar for Moscow Mules in copper mugs which we were told were for the guests to take home! Then the appetizers... she had engaged the Unlikely Spaniard, for a Northwest-Latin fusion extravaganza.  Shrimp and crab ceviches presented on spoons, and various other delectable tapas. Emily and I snuck bites where we could between schmoozing with guests and family. The Raines came and I was their, "honorary nephew" so we could use their club membership for the venue.

We chatted all afternoon, it was overcast but it reminded me of home with all of the boats bobbing un-emphatically in the marina and the Olympic mountains as a back drop. The head chef called everyone's attention to the Paella for presentation. This knocked our socks off.  This vibrant, colorful paella was an outstanding blend of white and dark chicken, pork ribs, prawns, squid, clams, mussels, artichokes, and green beans. It came out on a 6 foot diameter cast iron paella skillet and the room was instantly saturated with the aroma of Latin seafood and the heat from the paella itself. It was so spectacular that people applauded the entrance. The dish was radiating deep spicy yellows and reds.

The sheer magnitude of the presentation was only matched by the flavors and taste of the dish itself. Gustatory explosions of peppers, seafood, and chilies filled our mouths. Once our senses recovered our fathers started speaking. Again, this was very purposeful. As Emily and I embark on our great adventure I wanted a major theme of our wedding to be about our parents and their successful unions. My father spoke powerfully about our family's history, escaping the holocaust, and forging a life in the United States. It was touching to see nearly my entire family in one room at the same time. Emily's father introduced his family both relatives from near and far away. After the parents we had our friends speak and if you weren't there then I am truly sorry but their words touched our hearts, made us laugh, cry, and filled us with unimaginable pride at the people we have in our lives. Then the slide show put together by Miche. It was surreal witnessing the evolution of Emily as she grew up, you could tell by some of the snickering that there were timeless stories behind most of our photos (I know mine had some). We enjoyed another fantastic dessert and then said our goodbyes as we hit the after party. Meeting up with even more of our friends we had the privileged of witnessing the joining of friends from all aspects of our lives in one place. Stories were shared, dancing occurred, and we even snuck in a little beer pong before I kissed my bride-to-be goodnight.

That night I returned to the house on the cliff and sat out alone on the porch. It was pitch black but warm, silent except for the occasional crashing wave in the distance. I was calm and certain giving myself any chance for doubt, cold feet, or nervousness to arise, but they never did.  I was confident and I was ready. I crawled up to the attic and wrapped myself in the only available fitted sheet around and slept peacefully. 

Ruins and Cenotes

Today was action packed! Emily has wanted to see a sunrise since we arrived but I have been too nervous to awaken the Crak'n in the early hours despite some spectacular vistas. But this morning I braved it using one of my more adorable moves. All 200++ lbs of me rolled on top of her and, just like Elsa from Frozen throw my arms apart I exclaimed, "the sky's awake so I'm awake! Wanna go see the sunrise?" She giggled tiredly then ambled out of our fairy-tail white curtained bed and followed me to the beach. The sky was interesting, everywhere was clear except where the sunrise was going to happen. Firefly I front of us was an isolated thunderstorm no more that 0.5 miles in diameter  and sure enough at 6am just as the sun began to rise a torrential downpour engulfed us.  Warm rain instantly soaked us and we sought shelter under a nearby bamboo but, laughing. Emily, in her wet puppy dog face stared at me and smoothly asked, "'wanna see a sunrise?' or get soaked?!" It was still a sight to behold, radiant colors mischievous cloud formations and a relentless ocean. 

We set out towards Chitsa Nisa and the famous Mayan temple. The bus ride was long and we chatted away while practicing Spades (Emily is getting better everyday). When we arrived it was a smorgasbord of venders but the ruins we impressive. The central Mayan temple was HUGE.

It towered over us like an ancient alien skyscraper. I got goosebumps when I imagined explores stumbling upon this place in the midst of the jungle. We explored around for several hours taking in the massive and ancient stone structures, rows and rows of weather worn columns that looked straight out of Tomb Raiders. There were enormous iguanas sunbathing and people watching. We were a bit enamored with the local artisans for sale a made a few purchases.
With the sun having waged war on our bleached hospitalized skin we opted to trek towards It Kil, Mexico's famous Cenote. A cenote is a natural pit, or sinkhole, resulting from the collapse of limestone bedrock that exposes groundwater underneath. This was one of the images that drew us to the part of the world and it did not disappoint. As we approached this massive hole in the ground surrounded by thick luscious jungle we could here the echoing of hidden cascading water from the roots of the surrounding trees.  Once we reached the edge we peered down into the murky green water 90 feet below. Quickly we stripped down to our suits and followed the manmade cave to the waters below. Emily and I each started this adventure by diving from the highest perch into the cool water and floating on our backs to taken the pure splendor.

 I wish I was a better writer but I cannot adequately describe how incredible this place was in words. The edges of this underground cavern were lined with rope so you could sit in the water and take in the massive tree roots stretching down towards the aged below with mini-waterfalls draining from the soaked jungle up above. Occasionally the sun would brake through the clouds illuminating the cavern enough that you could see all the fish swimming with you. We were dumbstruck. Finally we pulled ourselves away after a few for cliff dives and had a booze riddled dinner laughing about our adventures and the tenacity of the venders near the ruins.  

The bus ride back was filled with sleep and a never ending thunderstorm. When we arrived tired but happy late into the night Emily was surprised by a romantic candlelit bottle of champaign waiting for her with rose peddles sprinkled throughout the room. We smiled, kissed, drank, and let the night slip away into pure bliss. 

A Mexican Paradise

Mexico here we come! In a last minute Hail Mary Emily booked us for Tulum, Mexico. I had just finished a spectacular week-long conference in Orlando and I could not wait to see her. As my plane was deboarding so was her's, serendipitously and we met at baggage claim in Cancun and made our way through customs. As we sat waiting for a taxi I opted for 2 giant margaritas which seemed to incite the very essence of our location. The drinks took a bit longer than anticipated and the taxi driver (with a van full of tourists) stated, " [in Spanish] margaritas are as important as punctuality" as he made everyone wait until our delicious concoctions arrived. Through the van windows the views were of well manicured landscapes, American businesses, and the westernization of a whole culture. Emily's parents had surprised us with reservations at their 5 star timeshare! Excited, I sat back sipping on my margarita and watching the city melt away into beautiful hotels along a turquoise Caribbean coast.  Our hotel Casa Maya was impressive, though the minute we entered they began their sales pitches.

But after sitting through a mini timeshare presentation and some free drinks we were rewarded with our room key and promptly suited up and headed out to the beach where a table was setup for us on the sand with fresh ceviche and cool cocktails. Now this is a vacation! We ate and drank merrily letting all of our residency woes melt away into the sunset. 

And so it begins... Wedding log entry #1

So I crushed the proposal. Absolutely nailed it. Though, after announcing this to the whole world nobody seemed to notice the spark, that initial amazing spark that lit this 5 alarm proposal fire. Nope, I received the obligatory congratulations which was immediately followed by, "when's the date?" The date? I thought incredulously!?! After hunting down/buying the perfect ring, designing a romantic proposal, and managing to get her to say "yes" I figured it would be all champaign and caviar dreams for a couple of months/years, you know, smooth sailing.  But no, that insesent nursery rhythm began  echoing in my mind, "first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes the baby in the baby carriage." The wedding date questions inundated us. Not that I am opposed to getting married, obviously, but this pace was unexpected. And.. nearly all of my remaining single undergraduate friends all got engaged within 2-3 weeks of my own proposal. But Emily, being of strong character, determined our date and set out looking for sweet locations.  We both truly wanted an Alaskan wedding.  What marvels, magic, and misadventures we planned to share with our guests in the last frontier.  However, it turns out that my little town is just that, a little town that is too small to support the splendor that we imagined our wedding to be. So we decided that a Northwest wedding would be our spectacle, our ode to our upbringings, and a glimpse to our friends and family of the environment we envision living.  We chose Kitsap Memorial State Park. The park offers beautiful natural surroundings of 300 foot trees, sweeping views of Hood Canal, and a rustic CCC lodge from the early 1930's.  But here is where the story really begins....

As with any wedding venue, we were not the only ones wanting a summer wedding at this site, but being on the other side of the country presented a slight problem for securing a date. Luckily we had Sam and Mary Jo Eck on the case. After exhaustive research they discovered that on the specific opening registration date we could call in our request but in-person requests were always honored first. The ranger cabin opened at 8am.  So the Eck clan set out the day before and lo and behold there were already other power couples/parents milling around looking to obtain their magical dates too. That evening a ranger came out and literally shoo'd everyone away from the ranger office stating that, "we can't allow non-campers to be hanging around this station waiting to get wedding dates." Begrudgingly, the Ecks, a mountain climbing couple, a world class running fiancee, a bridezilla, and several other competitors slinked cautiously away from the cabin and hovered at the minimum allowable distance waiting to pounce. At one point the bridezilla turned to Mary Jo and while glaring she stated, "I'm going to get first in line even if I have to throw some elbows". The day dragged on slowly, poor Mary Jo needed a recharge and sought refuge behind a dumpster for a quick power nap. The ranger, sensing the tension in the air, casually inform the bloodthirsty participants that he would be clocking out at 10pm, at which time the attendants could form the, "official line". Just as the ranger made his way out of the office around 10pm, climbed into his white pickup truck and cast one last furtive glance at the conspicuous group of solicitors attempting to look as inconspicuous as possible, before starting his car and driving out of the park. As soon as his taillights disappeared around the bend; It. Was. On.  Full grown, educated, and normally pleasant adults devolved to a childlike state as the made an all-out dash for the ranger cabin.  Mary Jo, bridezilla, the mountain climbing couple, and the world class runner were in the lead.  Though the sprint lasted mere seconds across the small parking lot, time seemed to standstill. It was an all out war; tripping, tackling, biting, and various other means were utilized to gain ground towards the those few golden front-of-the-line positions. Bridezilla Nancy Kerrigan'd the world class runner early which slowed her down just enough for Mary Jo and the young 20-something-year-old to take the lead.  Long legs churning furiously, Mary Jo was head-to-head with this double iron-man olympic athlete. But his many years of training and stretch-armstrong-like arms paid dividends in the final legs of the race as he threw himself in a kamikaze-like manner forwards snatching victory merely nanoseconds ahead of Mary Jo who arrived for the silver place. Nearly collapsing with exhaustion and with sweat pouring from her brow Mary Jo was met by Sam who sauntered up with his lawn chair, and plopped down next to her to further stake their claim.  Sam came well prepared, he wore layers and brought stacks of sophisticated literature to past the time. I believe it was the coldest night, for that specific date, in recorded history. Mary Jo found shelter in her Prius while Sam endured the elements all night.  The following morning Sam still sitting vigilantly, shook off the frosted morning dew and stood to greet the refreshed looking ranger as he walked towards the motley crew shaking his head in knowing exasperation. Needless to say, we got our wedding date set.

2016 Annual Rafting Trip

And so we find ourselves back on the water for the 2nd annual Rafting Trip! This year's crew consists of a spectacular bunch of idealists and adventurers including; yours truly, the famous Mateo, the infamous Missy, Hannah (rhymes with banana and Mateo's better half), and Hannah #2 (rhymes with fauna), one of America's foremost authorities on clean air and green living. Unfortunately,  Delaware had a surge in sexuality 9 months ago which means Dr. Eck's services were required on the, ever so busy, Labor & Delivery floor. So instead of standing in knee high raging river she was standing in knee high amniotic, blood, and other fluids. She was sorely missed.

Our first night was every thing I had hoped. We all arrived in the dark and with superb efficiency we set up camp to the sound of gleefully screaming children in the surrounding campsites. Next, after much overdue salutations we proceeded to have our opening ceremonies which incorporated imbibing intoxicating concoctions while solving vitally important 'would you rather' issues around a crackling campfire with the sweet smoky perfume hanging in the air. With the night spent, we all cuddled up in a mansion-sized tent under a blanket of twinkling stars.

After a satisfying slumber we awoke bright and early for our rafting foray. I must admit, opening my eyes to blue skies and looming trees forming the ceiling view to our tent was mesmerizing.  We arrived at the rafting place with the gittiness of of high schoolers arriving at their first dance. Our river guides were a pack of young bearded men who looked as if the summer had began to take its toll, after repeated daily rafting trips and wrangling the Oswald's-family-type tourists who often behave like herds of cats.  We were briefed on the rules of the river and piled excitedly into pristinely yellow school buses. After a short bouncy trip with full bladders we arrived at the launch site. One by one we were corralled into our own boats.  I thought the lead guide was going to have a coronary as Hannah waded through the waters towards our boat with one fastener amiss on her life jacket. "What the hell are you doing?!" boom the Chris Farley like voice, "we are on the RIVER! This is the most dangerous part of the trip (wading through tepid water)! Fasten your.." The words trailed off as the raft he was anchoring jolted forward knocking him off his feet and sending him flailing backwards into the icy water. Trying hard not to laugh out loud we clambered into our orange vessel declaring Missy our captain. Oh, by the way, Missy in her infinite wisdom has joined our motley crew with an avulsed tendon fracture in her thumb requiring a 24 hour splint (this is her 3rd one as little-miss-action-star has destroyed her previous two).

We were titans on the water. Pure braun and power strokes pouring from the boys with decisive and cunning maneuvering from the girls.  We were unstoppable. The first few hours of the trip were filled with boisterous renditions of famous musicals while spinning backwards, forwards, and sideways over death-defying rapids. The day was warm and sunny and the water was cool and swift.  The heavy humidity was rot with smells of the surrounding forest, and our boat was filled with laugher and smiles. But that all changed...

As we rounded a corner our captain noted some jagged metal railroad pieces off to our right and had began to steer us away but we observed that some of the other, less coordinated boats, did not follow suit. We watched in horror as, not one, but two boats smashed against the unforgiving metal tearing into their hulls amidst a loud 'hiss' and an unnatural collapsing of part of the boats. Without hesitation our crew locked in and charged valiantly towards the closest distressed boat. It was filled to the brim with a very pleasant, yet terrified, Indian family. We offered our services and wild-eyed men and women stampeded into our raft. Two remained and we floated away from a jagged metal towards the opposite shore to await instructions from our guides who were flirting with girls from another rafting company. Bret, our favorite guide was the first to arrive, "are there any able-bodied rafters who would be willing to take whats left of this raft over the next few rapids?" he barked. My powerful raised hand was matched by Missy's splinted hand and before anyone could object we had climbed into the sinking boat and headed out into the rushing waters. Braving the monstrous waves, and with one of us injured we heroically conducted the injured raft through the mighty rapids despite having one of their crew with us who refused to paddle (most likely paralyzed with fear). Finally, we arrived at the midway section and stopped for food. We hobbled our semblance of a raft over towards our old boat and preceded to make formal introductions with the Indian family who were all courteous and doctors. We traded PB&J sandwiches for spectacular Indian cuisine that tasted of generations of family recipes culminating into a gustatory explosion of sweet spicy splendor. This food alone made the whole ordeal more than worth any extra inconvenience. Hannah#2 was learning Hindi phrases and asking, "how do you say 'refund' in Hindi." Much to our chagrin, one of the elderly women comically responded, "there is no such work in India, any exchange is followed by 'thank you come again'" she recited in her heaviest Indian accent.

Our guides shuffled the boats around leaving ours intact and deflated the damaged vessels. The remainder of the rafting trip was a game of how ridiculous we could approach rapids.  The annual tradition of someone falling out of the raft was maintained by Missy as we struck a boulder head on and she went sailing out the back. Exhausted and smiling we hauled our raft out of the water at the end of the trip and boarded he buses home. That night we ate, drank, Spaded, and watched blue fire as we continued to solve riddles and brain teasers alike. As with all aging professionals we crashed exhausted at ~10pm.

Our final glorious day was equally action packed as we decided to hike towards a seemingly accessible waterfall. After an interesting dining experience with the locals we set out, Tomb-Raider-style. The Hannahs had done some pre-emptive research by reading a blog, which described a much more adventurous route towards these mystic waterfalls.  The day continued to be warm and sunny and tourists were milling around various trailheads with an air of happy-to-be-alive wafting through the valley. We approached an ostensibly recognizable path, however less traveled, and began our epic journey towards these mysterious waterfalls. The once vary plausible trail began to whither and wane into a discernible nothingness. Soon we were scrambling over boulders the size of houses, edging around perilous cliff faces, bush whacking through thick brush filled with monstrously enormous spiders. Hours into our hike, maybe days, we continue to beguile ourselves at every turn believing that a broken branch or some uncovered moss meant a path towards glory. It wasn't until Hannah#2 after careful deliberation with Hannah and their phones discovered that there were NO trails on our side of the stream and that we had been aimlessly charging through mountainous terrain like our courageous ancestors before us. Just as we were all about to turn around the forest gave way to the precipice of our coveted waterfall.  Tired, worn, disheveled, and incredibly badass we emerged from the Pennsylvania jungle triumphantly.  Standing at the waterfalls edge staring out across the valley made the entire ordeal worth it.

What a weekend...

The Lap of Luxury

You know? I'm going to miss this sleeping in till 9am business. This morning I opened my eyes to the thatched roof overhead and the sound of ocean waves competing with my new best friend, the fan in our room. Emily was pleasantly snoozing beside me (no pug snores this am). A few geckos were milling about on the walls and the temperature was beginning to assert itself.

During quiet moments like these I like to reflect on my life and so far it has be perfect. Amazing and caring family, supportive friends, and a drop dead gorgeously intelligent fiancé (thank you spell check), I am not well read but I'm sure great writers have aspired to depict such utter perfection and bliss in a multitude of famous novels/poetry. I can't help but smile at my 31 spectacular years on this planet.   But the moment was short lived, the 20-something-year-old have risen from their prior night of drunken misadventures and are just as rambunctious this morning.

We saunter towards breakfast and grumble over the poor internet.  Today we'll venture out in search of new quarters. Elated I'm going to splurge for the last time and shoot for overwhelming decadence at half the US price. We checked out and each hopped on the back of motorcycles without helmets and zoom off towards new luxury. After a lengthy trip into the boonies we found a gorgeous spot.  

We arrive at Aite which has luxury resort of the year award for 2015 on the wall. It's pricey but also our last night. This place blew our minds. (See pictures). Huge property with a villa-like terrace structure overlooking everything and sitting above the trees.

Below is a beachside pool with bungalows looking out over teal waves. The property is dotted with palm trees and exotic birds. We gush our engagement in front of the staff and they ate it up. I spoke in rapid Spanish so Emily couldn't follow and told them to make the room special if they could, and they did.  The owner came out and was super excited we chose her place for our post engagement stay (yes, we neglected to mention it was 2 days ago). We lounged around the pool by the beach sipping Coco-locos and margaritas. The owner called us to lunch with pan fried red snapper over coconut rice and fried plantains.

Emily had jumbo prawns in Tamarindo sauce with mashed yuca. The owner came out with glasses of wine on the house. Our special set table was out on the Terrance of the restaurant over looking everything. Perfect. We made some calls then lounged awhile.
And by awhile I mean I woke up 2 hours later in a blissful fit stretching out in the heat fully relaxed. Emily decided we should hike to the famous Palomino river only a 1.5 hour round trip hike along the beach at sunset. Romantic, aside from the copious amounts of sweat we both produced. It was still sticky hot out. We finished the night with a candlelit dinner on the terrace balcony. Perfect. We eventually retired to our personal porch/balcony sipping from our bottle of white Cali wine and reminiscing about our trip.

Emily has read all of her books and is now moving on to mine. She read it aloud for a bit before we turned in for the night. All the while, toads scamper over well cut grass, a well fed Rot sits guarding/surveying his territory (though sweet as a teddy bear), and the stars fight for attention through the thin clouds. Again, what a trip. Emily fell asleep admiring her ring. Nailed it!