Memories with Andrew

Celebrating fifteen years of marriage this week makes me feel somewhat sappy and nostalgic (you'll forgive me just this once won't you?) I can't help but think about the fun things Andrew and I have done together, our mutual experiences and the interesting places we've visited.

He did say, "Marry me and you'll go places" and he wasn't kidding. Six countries and 32 states later this week's list is about places we've been and the memories we've collected.

1. Maui--March 2006 A trip that couldn't have been more perfect. In this picture above we were waiting for the sun set before driving up the crater of Haleakala to see the stars. My city kids didn't know what real stars looked like before that night, and Andrew and I have commented since then that it was a perfect moment. You could see the band of the Milky Way across the tropical sky.

2. Girdwood, Alaska--June 2004 For our 12th anniversary we drove south to Girdwood and rode the tram at Alyeska ski resort up the mountain to the top. With a beautiful, clear, perfect Alaskan day the paragliders were abundant and we spent the afternoon on the mountain side picnicking and watching the paragliders sail off the mountain into the valley below while I ate cherries. If twenty years down the road there's a grove of cherry trees on the mountain you'll know who to thank.

3. Disneyland--Thanksgiving 1992 Andrew had never been to California until our first Thanksgiving together when we drove out and spent the day at The Happiest Place on Earth. We still talk about the breakfast at IHOP (bacon Belgian waffles), the day at the park and dinner at Marie Callander's that night. I can't help but smile with the flood of happy memories.

4. Kensington, Maryland--spring 1993 We lived in one room of a strange house run by a Haitian woman with arms that went on forever. Jacqueline. It was like a voodoo house with dark wood carvings and blood-red velvet drapes and very suspicious-looking leftovers in the refrigerator. It scared us but we were too busy seeing everything D.C. had to offer to be much bothered and were rarely at home (except for that weekend we got snowed in for four days.) Such a fun time of our lives working and living and seeing everything we could in a place that felt like it was the edge of the world.

5. New York--Valentine's Day 1993 We visited the Empire State Building, Ellis Island, The Statue of Liberty, everything we could that weekend though the thing I remember most vividly was having to pay $30 for a few hours of parking. Nonetheless, a great time.

6. The Badlands and Mount Rushmore--June 1996. Traveling through South Dakota on the way to a wedding required us to stop at Mount Rushmore going down and Wall, South Dakota going back. Haven't been to Wall? If the 250 signs leading up to the town don't convince you to stop and spend some money maybe my guarantee of the World's Largest Mechanical Dinosaur Head a la Jurassic Park might convince you. Grace (age 2) nearly tossed her meager cookies in fright when that thing reared up from behind the fence. Those were lean days where we splurged and stayed in a motel with a pool so we could live high for the night.

7. Turtle River, North Dakota--July 4th, 1996 That Independence Day celebration stands out in my memory surrounded by a rosy glow of happiness and contentment. One of those perfect days where all was right with the world. I watched Andrew and Grace wading in the water while I sat on the stone bridge and thought about how much I loved my little family and how wonderful life was. Have you had those moments too?

8. Vail, Colorado--President's Day 1992 My first chance to meet Andrew's family and on the drive out to Breckinridge we got stuck for six hours at the top of Vail Pass when a diesel truck overturned on the road during a storm. Six hours and we couldn't move. Then when the traffic finally moved my car wouldn't start and we had to jump it backwards down the hill. It was a wonderful trip though, by the time it was over I thought maybe I wanted to marry that guy.

9. Louisville, Kentucky--New Year's Eve 1992 After traveling across the country and eating fast food for seventeen consecutive meals all we wanted to do was have a nice, light salad and sleep for the night. We had salad and bread sticks at the Olive Garden, watched Dial M for Murder and Andrew fell asleep about 10pm while I stayed up to welcome in the New Year. Our first experience with married folks getting old after just six months. We drove from coast to coast and back again and saw purple mountains, fruited plains, amber waves of grain, the whole magnificent enchilada.

10. Minneapolis, Minnesota--President's Day 1997 We drove to Minneapolis for the weekend and went to Mall of America then got trapped for two days when a spring blizzard hit. When we finally could get out of town the temperatures were still below zero and the heater on the Sentra broke and wouldn't work if the car was in "drive." We'd drive with blankets until we were so frozen we'd have to pull over and let the heater warm things up then drive for another half an hour. Funny how you forget the stress and just remember the fun parts of those trips.

11. Harbor Island, Bahamas--June 1992 We were originally supposed to be married in August but moved the date up to June. We honeymooned on Harbor Island, a three-mile island off the coast of Eleuthra, and the week in August we were originally to have been married hurricane Andrew came through and killed four people on Eleuthra. Glad we were honeymooning in June and not August. We drove that scooter all over that island and ate machete-carved pineapple off the back of a pickup truck and discovered that there's a reason the Bahamas isn't known for it's pizza.

12. Seward, Alaska--August 2000 Every year the town of Seward holds a Silver Salmon Derby that brings out the crowds to see who can catch the biggest fish. The first year we went the weather was perfect (unusual for Seward), the fishing was great, and never had I had such fun in Alaska. The chairs on top of the chartered boat folded down so I could soak up the sun and nap, which I did in abundance. I ate cherries and spit the pits off the side of the boat and watched porpoises playing off the bow of the boat. Andrew even led the Derby for the day with his 17.4 pound fish.

13. Belize/Guatemala--Halloween 2006 The best ten days of my life. Period. And if the next fifteen years are as good as the last I can't wait to get older.

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