And it just keeps getting better and better....

It was seven years ago today that my lovely bride literally became "my bride" and said "I do" in front of the minister in Carmel-by-the-Sea, Ca.  It was a wonderful destination wedding for the two of us....we didn't tell anyone else until the deed was done.

Our trip began rather ominously when our airplane couldn't take off from Dallas due to a flat tire.  They finally found a jack big enough to lift a fully-loaded 767 and we departed for San Francisco. 

It was a beautiful drive down to the Monterrey Peninsula and our accommodations at the Tickle Pink Inn.  (Don't laugh, it is a VERY nice place high on a hillside overlooking the Pacific.)  

We did all the usual sightseeing....Pebble Beach, San Simeon, Big Sur, enjoyed a spirited drive down the winding Pacific Coast Hwy (I enjoyed it, K turned green), etc, but discovered that just sitting at a sidewalk cafe was pretty much the height of leisurely enjoyment. 

Being the architecture aficionado I am I enjoyed seeing all the storybook homes in town (thanks for indulging me, K), and walking down Carmel's Main St, which was all decorated for Christmas, was a joy.  (Did I just say looking at Christmas decorations was a joy?  *snap out of it Dude!*)

Now here we are seven years later and she's still talking to me, and actually even seems to enjoy it. She's certainly more than I deserve.  

I doubt life can get any better.  

I love you Kelly.  Happy Anniversary.  :)

S

Our wedding day, December 14, 2006

This time of year most people are laser-focused on the holidays, but at the Lowandslow household we have something a bit more personal to celebrate, too.  It was six years ago today that K and I said our "I-do's".  And like 'ol Blue Eyes sang, "We did it our way".

K and I met by extreme chance online back in Ought Six.  That's when I signed up for my free Journal Space account.  Not really understanding what I had, I started surfing it to take a look around.  That's where I saw a picture posted by dkmcb (male? female?) of a dandelion.  dkmcb asked what it was as they were coming up all over dkmcb's yard.  I answered and told said person how to control them.  (Yes, "Better living through chemistry".)

A few days later I found another post by dkmcb saying a painting project was planned and asking how to keep brush marks from showing in fresh enamel?  I answered that, too.  (Penetrol)  Said dkmcb contacted me asking how I knew these things?  (As a homeowner for 30+ years I'd pretty much seen it all.)

Think about it....if I'd logged on to Journal Space a few seconds earlier or later I probably would not have seen dkmcb's dandelion photo.  Now THAT'S fate!

Correspondence revealed dkmcb was a female from near Ft. Worth, Texas, temporarily trapped in the frozen north of Minnesnowta, her move back south approaching.   We became "smit" through JS.  It soon became obvious to us both there was "something" there.

Fast forward to autumn 2006.  We were together by then, and as patience had never been a virtue either of us possessed, we decided to make "us" permanent.  Both of us are very private people uncomfortable being the center of attention.  Hoping friends and family would understand, we decided to just take off for a romantic destination and get married.

Finalists were picturesque places near Jackson Hole, WY and Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA.  Turns out that by our chosen date, December 14, the Jackson Hole destination was closed for the winter, but further research showed Carmel would be perfect.

K-the-online-shopper found our hotel....The Tickle Pink Inn.  Huh?  "That sounds like some kind of sleazy 'No-Tell Motel'".  (Turns out the original property was owned by the Tickle family.)  We flew into San Francisco, picked up our rental chariot for the week (a mighty Ford Taurus), and headed south to the Monterrey Peninsula.

Once we found the semi-hidden turnoff and climbed the long winding road up to the top of the hill, we found the Tickle Pink Inn to be truly special.  WOW!  What a view!  (See it here if you like.)  Our very nice room had an intimate balcony overlooking the Pacific Ocean.  We spent many hours sitting out there listening to the waves crashing on the rocks below.  We'd even leave the sliding door open a little at night to hear it then, too.  It was the perfect "white noise" to go to sleep to.  The staff was gracious, our room service breakfast delicious, and the evening "wine and cheese socials" were nice, too.

We took day trips down the Pacific Coast Highway to Big Sur and the Hearst Castle at San Simeon, and of course enjoyed all the sights in/around Pebble Beach.  We found several quaint little cafes where we'd sit for hours at sidewalk tables eating and drinking....so nice!  

And Carmel-by-the-Sea....what a story-book place!  (This was the town where Clint Eastwood was mayor, before he took to talking to empty chairs. :)  The town was all decorated up beautifully for Christmas and the temps were comfortably cool but not really cold.  

And there was an entire area near downtown filled with whimsical little houses like these, much appreciated by an architecture aficionado like myself.

Our big day finally arrived.  We had an appointment with a non-denominational minister at "The Chapel in the Woods".  It turns out it was more like "The Building With Some Trees Around it Right Next Door to the Strip Shopping Center."  K saw it the day before when we made a dry run and was devastated.  I told her to find some place else....it was OK with me.  But the minister (a lady) seemed nice, so we (K) stuck with our original plan.  As things turned out the inside was decorated beautifully with lots of Christmas cheer.  All turned out well.

A funny moment:  As we were getting back in our car to leave the minister ran out yelling to us, "Oh Scott and Kelly....THANK YOU...THANK YOU...THANK YOU!!"  It seems the $100 gratuity she just found in her envelope over-and-above the normal fee was apparently not customary in California.

All things considered, it was a perfect, private ceremony, and a perfect way to launch a perfect new life with a perfect new mate. 

Six years later and things just get better and better.  Life is very good!  I love you K.  Happy Anniversary.  :)

S

"Goin' to the chapel, and we're gonna get married..."

That's the song K and I were singing 5 years ago today.  We met online in the spring of 2006, one of the many Journal Space romances, and by December were ready to make ours a "forever" thing.  I suggested we say our "I do's" on California's Monterrey peninsula, and with a little more research we decided on Carmel by the Sea.  Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?  ~Carmel by the Sea~

We made reservations for five days at the Tickle Pink Inn, a beautiful Inn high up on a hillside overlooking the Pacific Ocean.  Yes, the sunsets were spectacular!  We spent more than a little time on our terrace, sipping an adult beverage, marveling at the view and listening to the waves crashing onto the rocks below.  We took day-trips south to Big Sur and on to San Simeon.  Just the drive along the Pacific Coast Highway was pleasurable...for me at least.  I was driving rather "enthusiastically" while K was turning various shades of green.  Oops.

The architecture in Carmel is unique, with storeybook houses everywhere, most beautifully maintained as a tribute to the town's beginnings as an artist's colony:

We learned our way around town easily enough and found several nice bistros where we became regulars.  (We slept late and had our breakfasts brought in.)  Just walking down Main Street in the evenings, looking in all the quaint shops (shoppes?) at their Christmas decorations, was a nice diversion.  And of course we learned every twist and turn in the road while driving all over/around Pebble Beach.  Our big day finally arrived and we found that our little chapel in the woods wasn't exactly like we pictured it.  Oh well....

Here we are five years later (June, 2011), happily enjoying a casual meal al fresco in Aspen, Colorado:

Thank you, Ms P, for putting up with me these 5 years.  I hope you'll see fit to hold my hand for another....um....100!  :)

S