It has been one steep, at times surprising, always gratifying, glorious year since Lea and I each said, “I do.” Of all of our 6.5 years together so far, none compare to this one. There has been some underlying shift that seems to have happened where everything is starting to fit into place. It started with…

THE PROPOSAL

Thursday, December 19, 2008 was a blustery day in San Francisco. I stepped outside from work during my lunch break and called Lea’s Dad to wish him a happy birthday. But there was a little more to it than that. My heart was racing, my jaw was chattering, and my voice did nothing to disguise my nerves. I’ve waited a long time for the opportunity to ask Don for Lea’s hand, and the time was now! I’m not sure I said anything that sounded remotely coherent, but he must’ve gotten the gist because he gave me his blessing. Phew! From that moment on, things really started to speed up.

For the next night, I had made reservations at about five different restaurants all over the city, all serving different genres of food, but all having one thing in common. Romance. It’s so thick in the air at these places, you can cut it with a knife. She had to know I was up to something BIG.

We decided on Cafe Jacqueline – a tiny restaurant tucked away in a cramped little corner in North Beach. On the menu? Bubbly and souffles. Only souffles. Each made by hand by one little old French woman, with one little old Kitchen Aid mixer. We must’ve sat at that table for 4 hours, and by the end of it I thought that ring was going to burn a hole in my pocket. Now it’s about 11:30PM and somehow I managed to talk Lea into driving up to the Marin Headlands, which overlooks the GG Bridge and the city beyond.

 

I stepped out of the car for a better view, but Lea had no intention of joining me in the cold. This was not to plan. I opened her door and begged her to join me with the promise that the views would be worth it. She was feeling agreeable, and so conceded. Then I slipped the ring over the last digit of my index finger and pointed to something off in the distance. The night was pitch black, and she didn’t see it. I said, “Look down my arm to where I’m pointing.” Nothing. She still didn’t see it, and I didn’t have a Plan B. “OK,” I thought, “I’ll slip it onto her finger.” Just as I took it off my finger, I dropped it. Again, it was pitch black and if she found it before I did (or worse, I couldn’t find it), I knew there were no re-dos for this moment. Then I hear, “Did you spit your gum on me?”

“Um…yes?” Fumbling in the dark, I found it. OK, let’s try this again. I took her finger and slipped on the ring for the very first time. Without saying anything, I waited for her reaction. First a pause, maybe confusion, then a double-take. She looked to me, and I asked the question, “Will you marry me?” The rest, as you may guess, is history. We basked in elation and howled at the moon!

That howling, as it happens, attracted some attention from a local coyote that actually bit my shoe! No joke. I didn’t see him because my world was a buzz, but when I felt the nudge on my toes, it snapped my brain back into focus. He didn’t want any trouble, though. Probably just smelled some of that strawberry soufflé we had for dessert. 🙂

 

ENGAGEMENT

With the big stuff out of the way, now it was time to get down to brass tacks: decide a date, ceremony/reception site, guest list, bridal party, dresses, tuxes, wedding bands, officiant, wedding coordinator, caterer, wedding cake, florist, photographer, music, stationery, rental equipment, gift registries, wedding website, hotel blocks, seating chart, transportation, travel itineraries…am I missing anything? Oh yeah, bridal shower, rehearsal dinner, after-party, day-after brunch, and honeymoon. In 8 months from 1,800 miles away. Let’s do it! Oh, and as long as we’re at it, let’s throw-in a pre-honeymoon to Maui, and both start new jobs. 🙂 Not shabby…

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WEDDING WEEK

When it came time for our wedding week, we had our T’s crossed and I’s dotted; but not without A LOT of help from family and friends. Yet somehow, it felt like a surreal blur and I couldn’t believe this was finally happening.

Rehearsal Dinner

The rehearsal dinner was held at 801 Steak and Chop House, and it was amazing. Not just for the food, which was great, but for the experience. This was the first time we’ve had all of “our people” in one room at the same time. Every face was friendly and familiar, and it was a great kick-off to the main event.

Bridesmaids minus Carla 🙁

Ceremony

Both the ceremony and reception were held outside at Salisbury House in Des Moines. While any outdoor event inherently has some level of risk due to weather – storms, humidity, wind, extreme heat – the conditions on August 16, 2008 were Perfect. Maybe the most temperate August day in Iowa on record. When it came time to stand before God and vow this and that, I was cool as a cucumber.

Standing at the alter (facing all of our guests, mind you) was, again, surreal. Am I actually in this moment right now? Yes, this is really happening. Which brings me to something – Everyone thinks girls are the only ones who think about their wedding day, but it’s not true. I have goals, and this was one of them! It’s been a long term plan of mine to dupe an amazing woman into signing a life long contract to put up with my fits and antics. Not without objection, but to deal with me, none the less. And here’s Lea, the sweetest, most honest, beautiful soul I’ve ever known, and she’s as onboard with the whole idea as much as I am! I know it’s pretty unbelievable, but if there was ever any doubt that this thing is for real, let this settle it!

Then we sealed it with a kiss, and it was time to partaaaaay.

 

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Reception

The decorations inside the tent were impeccable (the girls really know how to dress up a pig). You had to be there to appreciate it, but it was like something out of a fairytale. We even had Lea’s favorite – peanut, avocado sushi rolls! And the wedding coordinators had us double fisting with our signature drink, Kir Royale (sparkling wine, splash of Grand Marnier, raspberry).

After some genuinely heartfelt speeches, Tiny (our not-so-tiny DJ) started scratchin’ records and the night was on like Donkey Kong. Well, that may not actually be a fair description of the night, but the formal stuff was certainly out of the way, and all we had to do know was enjoy our company and have fun with our favorite people in the entire world. I have to thank everyone who attended (including those who were with us in spirit) for making this night the night of our lives.

Grandpa Arnie is a sly dog

My only regret of the entire experience was that I didn’t have enough time to visit with every one of our guests at length. But dammit, I had dancing to do! Old Timbo here looks mean, but the man can tango.

Who’s got two thumbs and dances like a white boy? This guy!

 

Brother and sister at the after-party…

HONEYMOON

Of all of my experiences in life so far, few stand out as fondly to me as the seven days Lea and I spent on our honeymoon in Kauai. I don’t know what it is about looking at these pictures, but it takes me to a place when all was right in the world!

Please note – if you’re trying to read all of this in one shot, look at the scroll-bar on the right side of your screen. You’re not even halfway through yet. Lucky you!

Now, in preparation for this trip, one resource continued to come highly recommended, and I recommend it to you. The Ultimate Kauai Guidebook is just that – the Ultimate. They’ve left no stone unturned, and it’s so worth the time to familiarize yourself with these pages to make the most personalized trip. The theme of our trip? Adventure!

Monday

After a morning brunch on Sunday, we took a flight back to SF to spend the night in our place and swap suitcases for smaller ones filled with swimsuits and flip flops. The flight from SF to Kauai is only a couple hours. And direct! We arrived just after noon into LIH (Lihu’e, Kauai, Hawaii). That was enough time to drop-off our bags and dip in the pool before a 4:00 Sea Salt Glow at the Hotel Spa. It’s officially our honeymoon!

That night we had dinner at Duke’s Canoe Club. It was definitely a fun atmosphere, but once was enough for me (a little touristy for our taste).

Tuesday

We woke up the next morning and dropped the top on the Wrangler to go for a drive around the area to get our bearings. As I remember, we took that day to decompress and adjust to the time change. Our hotel was on Nikoli’i Beach, which is beautiful, but not very swimable due to the crashing waves and Portguese Man of War jellyfish. By night time, however, we were ready for our first adventure! SCUBA.

We hired Fathom Five Dive Shop to take us off the South Shore of the island for what they call a “twilight dive.” You start with one dive before dusk (~7:15PM), then another after the last light in the sky has faded. It’s an extraordinary experience. We went along the same underwater course both times, but they look entirely different. On the first dive we saw lots of bright, colorful fish, some eels and so on. The second dive, however, was when those fish went to sleep and the crustaceans came out. We saw some wild looking crabs and lobster, and when we went through the reef tunnels, we had essentially encroached on the seaturtles’ bedroom. They were all there trying to get a few winks. What a dive!

Wednesday

Wednesday’s main event was an ATV tour! On the way, we drove to Wailua Falls…

We opted for the four hour ATV tour with Kipu Ranch Adventures. The tour is of Kipu Ranch, which has been the site for countless movies, including Jurassic Park and Raiders of the Lost Ark (we’ll come back to that). At the beginning of the day, everyone was feeling a little apprehensive of their ATV driving skills (see Lea’s nervous grin below), but by the end of the day, everyone was ready to sign up for a moto-cross competition.

Remember how I said we’d come back to Raiders of the Lost Ark? Well that rope my wife is swinging off of in the picture is the same one Indiana Jones swung from in the opening scene of that movie!

The water in this river is brackish – meaning fresh water on the bottom, and salt water on top. You can definitely tell where the division is because the water on top is much warmer, and then there’s a sharp drop in temperature at your feet.

Once we were sufficiently soaked, they had us put ‘er into high gear to really whip up the dust on the trail. Water + Dust = Mud city!

Somebody’s looking a little more confident.

We took one last stop by a smaller waterfall before heading in. They told us that the bamboo here grows more than six inches a day!

That night we had dinner at Kintaro, every Local’s favorite sushi. I don’t know about the food OR the ambiance, but this was a Local spot for sure. No tourists in this place!

Thursday

Can you say Zipline?! Our choice of operator today was Princeville Ranch Adventures (3.5 hour tour), mainly for their location. This was our first day spent on the North Shore of the island near the Napali Coast. It was also my first foire into anything that held my tenders so tightly. Safety first!

Love the helmets, by the way. That’s sure to break your fall from a couple hundred feet up… But hey, what a backdrop, huh?

Lea was often praised for her form. Nice tuck, babe!

Want to experience one of these zips from your chair? Well click “Play” below and hold on!

The tour guides told us that the best hamburger on the island was at North Shore Grindz, located in a gas station a few miles down the road. They use grassfed beef from Princeville Ranch (the same meat found at Whole Foods), which is where we spent all morning!

The burgers were, indeed, delish. With full bellies, we were on the hunt for some beautiful beaches. We found Ha’ena Beach, and it was definitely up to snuff. Then again, I make any beach look good. Look out James Bond, I know how to walk out of the ocean, too! Hooo-wee!

Lea’s a little waterbug.

The beach was fun, but we wanted to check out at least one more. We were on the search for “Hideaways,” but found Pu’u Poa Beach, instead. Not that we were disappointed. From here you can see some beautiful views of Hanalei Bay.

Taro

We also timed our trip to the North Shore to coincide with another recommendation – the Thusrday night fish taco special at Hanalei Gourmet. This is an absolute MUST for anyone visiting Kauai. It’s located in an old school, which has been converted into a quaint strip mall. They’ve done an exceptional job, too. It’s the best vibe of any place on the island.

I love this woman!

After dinner we went for a walk around the little town of Hanalei before driving back to our hotel. As we were coming back to the car, we heard music coming from a little place at the edge of town. Jackpot! This night just keeps getting better. The place is called Tahiti Nui, and there’s some local old-timers who play here every night. I haven’t heard great things about the food, but the atmosphere is electric. We made friends with some fellow vacationers, and I really didn’t want to go home. What a day!!!

That’s us on the right dancing to a special tribute for honeymooners. Apparently we weren’t the first ones to have this idea…

Friday

By Friday, my expectations for this trip have been so far exceeded that anything beyond this point is just a bonus. And by this time, we’ve seen the North, East and West sides of the island. What does that leave? You guessed it. We took the Jeep to Polihale Beach, the one place the rental car company said not to drive. That sounds like a challenge!

Waimea Canyon

Yes, we were on a trail no wider than our car, but the GPS told us too! We figured out on the way back that there is a much more direct route.

It’s BIG, and it’s practically deserted.

On the way back we stopped for lunch at Pacific Pizza & Deli.  It was surprisingly good! After, we walked down to Jo Jo’s Clubhouse, which is argued to have the best shave ice on the island. Or that’s what the fliers all over the walls say.

After some well-deserved showers, we went for dinner at Naniwa, a sushi bar in the Poipu Sheraton. It was a sunset for the books.

After dinner we went to Roy’s Poipu Bar & Grill for some molten lava cake and red wine. It was all fine, but the best part was that the guy didn’t even charge us! Score one for the honeymooners.

Saturday

By Saturday, we’ve both been looking forward to a good hike. We found it on Nounou Mountain (a.k.a. Sleeping Giant). This is still one of our favorite hikes, period. Good R/T distance, challenging but comfortable elevation rise, and a view at the top that over-delivers. This picture is at about half-way up.

The trail is littered with Strawberry Guava Trees. They’re sweet, easy to eat, and plentiful.

The top!

I can’t begin to capture this view with our camera, so the best I could do was take this video. Give it a look.

After a fulfilling hike, it was beach time. Wailua Beach was just the spot. Lea got her read on while I annoyed some surfers.

Sunday

On Sunday, we wanted to take it easy and enjoy our last day. Our flight wasn’t until 9:15PM, but we had to be checked-out of our hotel by 11AM, so we booked ourselves for the Lokahi couples massage at Anara Spa in the Hyatt. With the service, we also had use of the grounds for the day. These may be the most beautiful hotel grounds I’ve ever seen. And I haven’t gotten really excited about a pool since I was about 12, but they have outdone themselves.

After a relaxing massage, why not belly-up for a fruity cocktail?

Our last dinner was at Tidepools, also on the hotel grounds. It was the most impressive dinner of the trip by a long shot.

This trip was a fantastic finale to an unforgettable period of our lives. And that, my friends, is all he wrote.

Wait…no it’s not!

FIRST ANNIVERSARY

Happy anniversary, Baby! I love you to bits. You make my life rich in ways that I never could’ve comprehended until you showed me. I promise to dedicate my life to providing you with all the love, support, fun and surprises I possibly can. Surprises? Yes! I hope you like it… (scroll down)

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Surprise!