The Grand Synopsis

So, I'm back from the honeymoon. Mike and I had a blast. We drove over 2,000 miles, about half of which was coastal highway. It was very beautiful. The wedding was brief. At least, it felt that way. By the time I was ready to actually sit down and enjoy the reception, almost everyone was gone and there was no more food! I guess that's how it goes, though. At my first wedding I didn't eat a whole lot, either.

Everything was beautiful, from the hotel room that my bridesmaids and I got ready in to the cake and reception flowers. I felt really taken care of, too. People did everything for me. I didn't have to worry about a thing. Well, I did have to worry about not crying. Michael and I were pretty shaky saying our vows to each other. All the bridesmaids and groomsmen were crying or fighting crying, too. It was pretty emotional.

After the ceremony, Michael and I headed to the Anniversary Inn where we stayed in the 'Fire & Ice' room. It was like our own personal love igloo. I won't go into too much detail, but there was a snow cave jacuzzi and canopy bed covered in furs (not real). Pretty romantic.

From there, Mike and I drove to Reno and stayed at the Sands Regency. The room we had reserved was a $50, pet and smoking friendly room. It reeked of urine and awfulness. I sprayed the whole room with deodorant, opened the windows, and we went down to look at all the awesome cars from Hot August Nights and go to Circus Circus. Still, by the time we got back to the room, it was still unbearable. So, we talked to the front desk and they moved us to the only other room available (a room that didn't have so many friends). So, we're in a different tower, top floor of the building, counting our way down to our room number when we come across double doors. Yea, a hotel room with double doors. The Presidential Suite. This room had a guest bathroom. For guests. Like, if were going to entertain in our hotel room. It had a dining room, living room, bar, kitchen, and a master bedroom (which was as big as our first room) which included a jacuzzi. All at no additional cost. The view from this room made Reno look bearable.

Then, we headed west to Monterey. We stayed at Lovers Point Inn in Pacific Grove. It was a nice enough room, but pretty average in comparison to what we had been lucky enough to stay in. Until the women working the front desk came giggling up to the third floor with a tray of local gourmet chocolates and sparkling cider. They essential doorbell ditched us. They put the tray on the ground, went downstairs, and then called the room telling us not to trip on our way out the door. So cute. We went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, which was crowded, but still awesome. Then, we were on our way.

Next stop, San Francisco. We stayed at Greenwich Inn. Perfect location, very small room. The only thing of note that we did was eat at Mama's. That's no small feat, by the way. We waited in line 45 minutes to get a table. The next day, on our way out of town, we wanted to go again, but the line was three times as long and we would've had to go back and pay for parking again. Apparently, it's like that every day up until they close at 3:00 pm. The food was excellent. Well worth the wait, believe it or not.

We spent the night in Crescent City where the lady at the Taco Bell gave me a free strawberry Frutista Freeze because Michael was nice to her over the speaker. That was the most exciting thing that happened.

Yachats was exactly the way I remembered it. We got to stay at the Adobe Resort with an ocean view. We spent hours clamoring over giant rock beaches and picking up all sorts of sea creatures. We drove into Newport to go to Mo's and had a blast at the Ripley's Believe It Or Not Museum. Campy, but surprisingly fun. We went to the Oregon Coast Aquarium and the place I always used to get fudge. Both were awesome. Then we left.

I had never been to Cannon Beach, but Michael had gone there in his childhood and loved it. The sand 'sings' if you slide your feet through it. We stayed at Shaw's Bed & Breakfast, which was so awesome. The Shaw's are unbelievably hospitable. Michael and I boogie boarded for about an hour, until we were bright pink with cold. Once the sun set, we watched Babe on VHS. I love that movie and Michael was a big baby and almost cried. I can't blame him, though. That song is powerful.

Once the movie was over, things started to unravel. I had been nursing a sore throat for a few days, but it hit full force during the night. I was so congested I couldn't breathe, became feverish, started panicking. I was up all night, miserable. I was so sick that we decided to skip our last destination, Portland, and just drive straight home. We had to cut the honeymoon short one day, but we were both ok with it. We had such a great time, one day didn't seem like too much to sacrifice.

I've been congested and weak since, but I'm doing echinacea like it's going out of style. I feel tons better. I've been opening gifts, finding places for them, and slowly setting up a system for Michael and I. Just today we went shopping for groceries for a whole week at a time. That sounds small, but it's a big deal for us. I am so happy that we're together and that my home is his home. It's a great feeling.

For anyone who was at the wedding, thank you so much for sharing that day with me. It means a lot to me. I've got to go to sleep now, it's late and I have to go change my driver's license tomorrow.