Thursday, June 21, 2007

Memories with Andrew

Maui, HawaiiCelebrating 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.

Kensington, Maryland4. 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.

Wall Drug, South Dakota6. 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.

Turtle River, North Dakota7. 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.

Harbor Island, The Bahamas11. 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.

Seward Silver Salmon Derby, Alaska12. 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.

Bannister Caye, Belize13. 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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45 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow... What an adventerous time you've had together! How fun all those places must have been!

Heffalump said...

Happy Anniversary! Hope you have many more adventures in the next 15 years and beyond.

Anonymous said...

Happy Anniversary!
Those are some amazing places to have visited. You've both made some wonderful memories.
Here's to the next 15 years.

la bellina mammina said...

Happy Anniversary. Such priceless memories...

Mrs. O said...

I've got to get my passport renewed. Guatemala/Beliz - did you tour ancient American sites?

It's always neat to look back and see the amazing way marriage (& children)impacts your life.

Congrats.

Unknown said...

What a lovely idea for a Thursday Thirteen. Boy, you've really seen a lot of the continental USA. I'm jealous.

Many blessings for a long life together!

Mary Alice said...

Ahhh...what a beautiful list. I should do a Thursday Thirteen about the thirteen times I've moved. Anyway, Happy Anniversary and may you and your sweetie see all the rest of the states too - it is a great adventure.

Stephanie Appleton said...

What a wonderful list! Isn't it funny how looking back at "hard times" also are some of the most heart warming times. Of course good times in exotic places are heart warming too! :)

Anonymous said...

Oh Michelle!

What a beautiful and romantic post. It wasn't sappy at all. If every marriage and family where this together and happy, the world would be...well... a happier place!

Happiness like that is worth celebrating and sharing :)

Happy Anniversary!

Megan@SortaCrunchy said...

Oh, how gorgeous! What an amazing list! Love the pictures, too.

Happy anniversary!

Deb said...

What a fun list. Congratulations on 15.
"...we had to jump it backwards down the hill." Too funny. I am impressed that at your ages you knew to do that because it is a mostly forgotten skill. The funniest part was the reference to "the hill."

Lissete said...

First of all, Happy Anniversary! What do you have planned for the next 15 years???

I would not have slept in no voodoo house! Scaaary!

Anonymous said...

Very nice photos and memories. Happy Anniversary.

Marie N. said...

Happy Anniversary! Thanks for sharing your amazing memories.

Anonymous said...

Wow, what wonderful memories! Happy Anniversary!

Unknown said...

I am so honored that nightmarish Vail Pass would make your list. Long life Colorado (and a wonderful marriage to your honey!)

Marie said...

So much travel! Lucky to get to see so many sites!

Kaainaath said...

I guess I am a bit late but Happy Anniversary! Wish you success and happiness throughout the year!

Sound like a lot of fun!

I might sound promoting, but i can't help this... if you are up to a memorable holiday, you have to come to my home land (if you can afford it) ever heard of Maldives? Tom Cruise Honeymoon?

http://www.visitmaldives.com/

Take Care!

Ice Cream said...

Happy Anniversary. You are so dang lucky! Keep enjoying all the adventures and remembering only the good parts =)

Anonymous said...

Happy Anniversary! What a great post idea to chronicle your travels together. I really enjoyed reading.

Take Care,

Trixie

Anonymous said...

What fun adventures!!!
Happy Anniversary!

Anonymous said...

What an amazing list! I truly enjoyed reading it. I need to go to Belize. :) Happy Anniversary!

Daisy said...

I sense a theme here. Blizzard, snowed in, snowed in, just missed the hurricane...

TeaMouse said...

The last one looks the best - but those waffles at IHOP sound pretty good too!

R said...

I wish you and Andrew the happiest of anniversaries and continued travels!

Anonymous said...

Happy anniversary! What a fun way to observe it. I haven't been to many of the places you have but I HAVE been to Alyeska -- now I'm having fun remembering that trip.

Susan Helene Gottfried said...

Man, I envy you. I love to travel and have adventures. But in this case, the Tour Manager is poorly named. He doesn't like to tour the way I do.

I keep swearing that I'll just book a vacation and inform him of it when the bills show up... Maybe I ought to put up or shut up already.

Crissybug said...

Happy Anniversary! You guys really have had alot of fun over the years. I will have to add some of your adventures to my list of places to see.

Erica Douglas said...

Congratulations

Mercy's Maid said...

Happy anniversary! Looks like you've had some great experiences together. I hope you have a million more.

P.S--Your chicken marinade recipe is wonderful.

Robin said...

What a wonderful glimpse down your memory lane. We're coming up on 16 years in August, and I think I may have to steal, err, I mean borrow, this idea. You sure do seem to have a lot of "trapped by weather" stories though.

Joyful Days said...

Wonderful memories, very Happy Anniversary wishes. We have #15 coming up in the fall. It's gone so fast.

~Blessings~

Sofiana said...

My husband and I just celebrated our 19th on the 17th. Happy Anniversary to you.

Darla said...

This sounds wonderful! Congratulations! Any ideas on where to go in the next 15 years?

JAM said...

Wonderful list. Happy Anniversary to you both. You're well traveled too. I haven't done much myself.

I love how lean times magnify every little luxury. They're much more meaningful than when you pretty much already have everything.

Anonymous said...

Happy Anniversary...You have been some very awesome places!!!!

Carina said...

One of my few regrets is that my husband and I didn't take advantage of our three years without kids to do some travelling...of course, we were living on love, at the time, but we could've swung it. We didn't even have a honeymoon, really. =(

eve said...

seriously that's the most romantic proposal I could ever hope for!Happy anniversary!

Jen said...

What a great list. Happy Anniversary!

K T Cat said...

I've been to Maui many times, but never thought of doing Haleakala at night. I've got to try that. The rest of your stories made me smile.

God bless you and your family. Congratulations.

my4kids said...

Wow you really have been everywhere! I've been a few places but not that many!

Anonymous said...

I really enjoyed this. :) You've inspired me to do something similar in honor of my own anniversary in Aug. Here's to many more travels for you two (and family) in the years to come! What's happening with your plans to go to India?

Mymsie said...

Very sweet and sounds like y'all have had a ball!

Scribbit said...

Oh we're still planning on going in two years' time. My parents left for Bangalore this Monday morning though they're not going to be there until early July, they're making a few stops along the way. I'm really looking forward to visiting them.

Susan from Food Blogga said...

Forgive you?! I thank you. This is a lovely, thoughtful post. We recently celebrated our 12th anniversary, so I understand your desire to take a walk down memory lane. You and Andrew are so fortunate to have one another. Happy anniversary to you both!