It would be an understatement to state that the trip did not disappoint. Fantastic snow (the 18″ earlier in the week + cold temperatures helped), perfect weather, gorgeous views, a great crew, and a chopper (piloted by the veteran maverick Seamus) to take you wherever you pleased are hard to beat.

JJ and I did the 5 hour drive on Wednesday afternoon, and our advance scout Peter took one for the team by learning firsthand and warning us exactly where a cop might happen to be. I’d feel bad if I didn’t get a ticket in Montana the previous week!

Upon arrival, we chilled in the luxury mountain cabin at the Freestone Inn, enjoyed some wine and fine beers before resting up for the start of the adventure.

Thursday morning, we awoke bright and early. Breakfast, weigh-in, avalanche and helicopter safety briefings. After signing our lives and future earnings away, we geared up, and hit the slopes.

Blue skies, fresh powder, and epic views reigned supreme throughout the trip. The North Cascades are a really beautiful part of the world. Guide extraordinare and NCH co-owner Ken shepherded us through some great terrain throughout the day.

Thursday night, we headed down to Winthrop for some pizza, retired to the condo for some beverages and to watch some Olympics, but we all passed out pretty early. We did, however, learn the benefits of aerating PBR beforehand for optimal drinking pleasure. Peter and JJ also invented a new cocktail, the Flaming Adirondack Chair, the wonders of which the world will have to await (perhaps the next heliskiing trip).

Friday – more of the same, this time led by Scott. There were a few hiccups getting going in the morning, and we had a mid-morning problem with the starter on the helicopter that left us in limbo for an hour while the backup chopper flew in the “Auxiliary Power Unit”. Fortunately, we had a little advance warning so we stopped in a sunny spot, and JJ and Scott had the brilliant idea to dig a snow pit so we could learn a little more about snow safety.

Turns out, there was a moderate weak layer about 18″ below the snowpack, which Tim had the misfortune to set off later in the day on a boulder drop.

Apres was a fantastic group dinner at the Swann abode, with more than enough food and wine, etc, to go around.

Starting Saturday morning, team JJ, Joe, and Peter had used up 19 of our allotted 21 heli-drops, but we weren’t going to let that get in the way of fun. Joined by Tim, guided by Michelle, we rode till we dropped, racking up a total of 30 runs for the 3 days. Play now, pay later.

Saturday evening, we hit up the restaurant at the Freestone Inn, rested the legs and fueled up on food and spirits. After dinner, we hit up the other house for some post-dinner relaxation. Everyone was in a decidedly more mellow post-skiing mood.

Descending back to reality, on Sunday we packed up and made the beautiful return drive back to Seattle.

Thanks to our awesome guides, Ken, Scott, and Michelle; to Seamus for being able to put down the beastly machine time and again; to Matt and crew for organizing the trip and inviting us along; to Peter and JJ for being a great riding team and for taking top billing in the total run count for the trip; and to everyone else for a great time.

Fantastic trip, one I hope I am lucky enough to repeat.

My Pictures (Smugmug): http://nofriday.smugmug.com/Travel/North-Cascades-Heliskiing/

My Videos (YouTube): http://www.youtube.com/user/nofriday1#p/c/999497F88D843B9F

We spent the weekend in Portland. Meagan wanted to get away from the books for a while, and with no tests on the horizon, this weekend proved opportune. It’s also been a while since we’ve seen my cousin Becky, her husband Jay, and their adorable toddler Abby. The need to put together a small portfolio for my photography class was the final impetus, so on Friday night after work, we ventured south.

The drive to Oregon was miserable. It was raining, heavily at times, most of the way. We had hoped to get a nice dinner in Portland, but with traffic and the weather looking ominous, we instead opted for burritos from World Wraps. We’ll have to save our list of fine establishments that we accumulated for next time.

We woke up late on Saturday and walked to Mother’s, a local bistro and bar, for breakfast. The line was pretty long, but we were seated in about twenty minutes. The Stumptown mocha was delcious, as was Meagan’s “corn off the cob” omelette and my peach Belgian waffle (with bacon on the side). We also polished off a sticky bun.

Fueled for the morning, we walked a few blocks north to an outdoor market. Lots of crafts, food, and hippies on display. The highlight was probably the unicycling bagpiper. Unfortunately, I didn’t really get a shot of him in action.

We then continued west towards 23rd and the Alphabet District, a fun neighborhood with lots of nice shops. After walking down the boulevard, we parked it at Cafe Reese for a little while, enjoying some more caffeine.

Around mid-afternoon, we headed back towards the center of town to catch the train to Beaverton, where Becky and Jay live. Jay met us at the station and drove us the mile to their house. We relaxed for a while, with Abby providing plenty of entertainment. She had a bit of a cold, and although we did our best to contain our juvenile laughter at her baby snot-filled sneezes, we largely failed. In order to save my second cousin’s dignity, I refrained from taking those pictures. I did get a few cuter ones though.

We then walked about a mile into down for a dinner at a local Italian restaurant. Abby continued to amuse by roaming around the seating area while we ate. After dinner, we returned to the house, and munched on some Voodoo donuts we had picked up.

Finally, we took the train back to Portland. We tried to have a nightcap at the Oregon Wines on Broadway wine bar. But apparently it closes at eight. Eight? Come on.

Today, Sunday, we needed to leave early as Meagan had a to work at a local clinic. The Starbucks next to our hotel was cleaned out of pastries due to the runners competing in the Portland marathon. Luckily, we stumbled upon a much better option, the Pearl Bakery, on our way out of town.

The drive home was a lot easier, though still rainy. Once back in town, I winnowed the photos down to the twenty required for my class portfolio.

Thanks for a great weekend, Becky, Jay, and Abby!

Pictures from the weekend (Smugmug)

Check it out here.

I’ll hurry up and get back to writing stories of wrestling lions on the open savannah of the Serengeti soon.

We narrowed it down to a continent, but we were immediately overwhelmed by the possibilities therein, and the wide range of costs. We knew the trip wasn’t going to be cheap, but some of the options were mind blowing. Many times, we came close to throwing in the towel on the African trip, but we couldn’t quite let go. Probably, it was I who couldn’t quite let go. Meagan did accuse me of attempting “honeymoon one-upsmanship”, in trying to pick some place “cooler” than others we know had chosen. Maybe.

In the early days of our research, we went to World Wide Books in Wallingford (an awesome travel bookstore in Seattle), and picked up Lonely Planet East Africa. Kenya and Tanzania were on the short list. After perusing the book, and doing more internet research, the idea of a safari adventure followed by bumming on the beach seemed like the perfect recipe – and Tanzania, with a wide variety of National Parks (including the Serengeti) and the island of Zanzibar, gained ground as the leading contender.

But we were still finding it difficult to keep costs down. With gas prices at record highs, decent airfares to the dark continent weren’t easy to come by, and while some safari prices seemed reasonable, given the range of price for what seemed to be similar offerings, it was hard to tell if we were getting our money’s worth.

We were making progress, though, and I was starting to get a better feel for where your money goes on a safari. Lodging is a large part of the cost (especially for some of the camps in the middle of nowhere!), but you’re also paying for vehicle transportation, a safari guide, meals, and national park fees.

Several of the tour companies we contacted gave me good information, but one stood out. Africa Travel Resource, which was listed in Lonely Planet and is based out of England. I had a lot of back and forth conversations with Rob. What really struck me was that they really tried to understand your travel goals and budget and build out an customized itinerary based on what you want, instead of just giving you a few standard packages. The itinerary was also super-itemized, which allowed you to dial aspects of your trip up or down, depending on your preference and budget. In our case, for example, we chose to spend more money to get our own 4×4, but chose some less extravagant lodging choices, especially on Zanzibar.

The trip was still daunting. The thing that probably put us over the edge was knowing that we’d have a local connection to rural Africa. My good buddy Tim (who you can see dancing at our wedding with his wife here) has a good friend from college, Greg, who had lived in Tanzania for some time, working with local projects via a Canadian NGO, CACHA (Canadian Africa Community Health Alliance). I had only met him once (at Tim’s wedding), but it just so happened that a few years back I agreed to host his website, dedicated to his work: mzungudays.com. Greg was super helpful in giving us travel advice and went out of his way to offer to show us around, since he was going to be back in Tanzania while there.

The offer proved too difficult to pass up, and in May, a little more than two months before the target departure date, we pulled the trigger and reserved the safari and airfare. And in retrospect, we couldn’t have been happier. Over the next few posts, I’ll try to recount the adventure.

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The Posts

• Part 1: The Prelude
• Part 2: The Ride
• Part 3: The BBQ
  
• Part 4: The ER
• Part 5: The Ceremony
• Part 6: The Reception
• Part 7: The Farewell

The Pictures

• Daria and Andy’s Slideshow
• Daria and Andy’s Pictures
• Joe’s Pictures (including some from my mom) (Smugmug)
• Andy and Sara’s Pictures
• Aunt Vikki’s Pictures
• Amar’s Pictures

Sunday, our first full day as a married couple.

We had a farewell breakfast at our cottage, so we arose fairly early to say our goodbyes to everyone. Meagan’s mom Jayne continued to help us in so many ways, this time cleaning up our place from the weekend partying and preparing food and coffee.

After most of our friends and family had left, we started cleaning up and packing up the car. Even though I was still a bit hobbled, I wanted to have one last walk around the Inn before we left.

Finally, early in the afternoon, as mountain bikers were arriving to tear up the Kingdom Trails, we departed East Burke. We were bound for the Mountain View Grand in Whitefield, NH, about an hour east, for a smaller post-wedding gathering at a hotel and resort that the Dodge family owned for many years.

We arrived after most of the Dodges and my parents, who were already out on the patio of the main hotel, enjoying a cocktail. We quickly checked in, put our bags in the room, and then joined them.

Early in the evening, we drove a short ride down the road to the home of Meagan’s great uncle John and his wife Lore, who were graciously hosting us. We enjoyed a few glasses of wine and some pre-dinner appetizers, while admiring the views of the Presidential Range of the White Mountains and listening intently to John’s stories of the history of the house, the area, and the Mountain View Grand.

After cocktails, we returned to the hotel for a private family dinner. It was a true “Downeast” Lobster Bake, with clam chowder, boiled potatoes, steamers, mussels, corn on the cob, and of course, lobster. Few things go together as well as good food and great family, and we were blessed with plenty of both the entire weekend. It was also a bit easier to relax with the smaller family group.

John continued to regale us with stories of the Inn and of the Dodge family, and after dinner, we were able to tour the wine cellar below. Afterwards, we once again relaxed on the patio, and enjoyed a few glasses of Meagan’s dad’s favorite wine, Silver Oak. Finally, we retired for the evening.

Monday was bittersweet. We were sad in knowing that our amazing weekend in Vermont (and New Hampshire) was over. But, mostly we were happy that we had such a great time and that we had many happy days ahead, not the least of which was the upcoming excursion to Tanzania. We said goodbye to my parents, who were returning home to Pennsylvania, and to Meagan’s dad, who was heading north on a motorcycle trip to Prince Edward Island.

And finally, Meagan, her mom, and I packed in the car one last time, and headed south on I-93 to Boston to get ready for the next big adventure.

The night, of course, was just beginning.

After the ceremony, most headed back to the barn for some cocktails. Meagan and I stayed behind for some more photos, including the Dartmouth and Middlebury group shots. The clouds were starting to increase, which made for some great late afternoon light for the pictures. We had fun with our silly and romantic poses, but we were eventually getting eager to join the fun going on at the barn. When we returned closer to the activity, we posed for a few more family group shots in front of the barn, and then joined the party, right as cocktail hour was wrapping up. Fortunately, the wait staff kindly saved some appetizer plates for me and Meagan.

The rest of the night, from the moment we entered the barn, passed so quickly. But we had so much fun. The old barn was awesome, and all of our family and friends were in fine form.  My brother delivered a near-perfect best man speech. He had me cringing to the point that I almost wanted to grab the microphone, and then reigned it in and had me and a few others a little teary. The food was amazing – I didn’t get to sample any of the awesome-looking desserts since we were too busy talking and dancing. Oh well…

I’ve never seen some of my relatives let loose on the dance floor – I am sure Daria and Andy got a lot of great pictures, but I couldn’t help taking a few myself. And I’m glad I did.

In addition, we wanted to pass on a few words of thanks to those who helped make the reception so much fun. Newton and Aaron from Peak DJ did an awesome job keeping the floor packed and the staff at the Inn at Mountain View Farm were fantastic the whole evening. And, of course, Chris Willy’s food was the best.

Thanks to everyone for the energy they brought to the barn – we had a blast and we’ll never forget it.

Next: Farewell

I knew that the hour was drawing near when our photographers Daria and Andy showed up around 2 pm. We met Daria a few months earlier during our “engagement session”, and we couldn’t have been more thrilled with her – Andy was just as much fun – we’re looking forward to a return trip to Vermont so we can hang out without the wedding stress and maybe go for a mountain bike ride.

I was starting to feel hopeful that the injured foot wasn’t going to be as crippling as I thought. A few hours of rest and habitual pill-popping had brought me to the point where I could walk around pretty easily without pain, without crutches, and with only a slight limp, a major improvement from the morning.

Around three or so, I was getting the hint that I should start making myself scarce around Meagan, as it was time for her to get ready. I grabbed my clothes and headed to my brother’s room in the other building, and then proceeded to hang out in the living room of the Inn. Soon, my groomsmen began to show up one by one, and we relaxed for a while with Andy, and he took some pre-wedding casual shots.

We decided to do some of the formal photos before the wedding, in order to accelerate our arrival at cocktail hour post-wedding. A few of those (courtesy of my mom – the offical ones are still being processed) are below. Daria and Andy had me facing away from Meagan as she and her bride’s maids proceeded to join us. I’ll never forget seeing for the first time my beautiful wife-to-be in her wedding dress. It was the start of a wonderful and emotional afternoon.

The barn and old farm equipment provided ample colorful photographic possibilities, and we had a lot of fun prancing around the barn, being silly. The highlight was Meagan’s young cousin Olivia, who was absolutely adorable as the flower girl.

While we were posing for Daria and Andy, guests began arriving en masse. Many I had seen the night before, but there were still quite a few who couldn’t arrive until Saturday and who I was excited to see. When the hour closed in on five, we began to make our way to the hillside. Walking out there would be one of two main challenges for the injured foot – the other being the first dance.

Fortunately, the foot complied, as did the weather. We were a bit worried about the forecast, and considered using one of our backup locations, but we decided to go for it, and the slight cloud cover provided some cool relief without diminishing the beauty of our mountain location.

The ceremony itself was as perfect as I could imagine. Words can’t really describe the love, happiness, and other emotions I felt in being able to promise myself to Meagan, such a beautiful girl in so many ways, forever. To do in such an amazing place, with so many loved ones, I really find myself lucky and in awe. We were honored that so many traveled so far to join us.

There are too many people to thank for their contributions, without whom we wouldn’t have been able to have such a special day. A few deserve special mention. My parents: for everything. Meagan’s parents: for welcoming me into the family wholeheartedly. My brother: for being there for me in ways he doesn’t realize. JJ, John, Will, and Bill: for being great friends (and of course looking magnificent). Susan, Maryleen, Angela, Lisa, Heather, and Lindsey, for looking almost as beautiful as Meagan. Olivia: for being the best flower girl ever! Aunt Marie and Auntie Sue: For reading with such gusto. Grandpop: for rocking the bagpipes. Reverend Michael: For understanding us and creating a ceremony that meant so much to both of us. Daria and Andy: For taking such great photos and for being even more amazing people. And to everyone else who helped in ways I can’t imagine – thank you.

And then it was off to the reception!

Our wedding day, like most, started with a trip to the ER.

I didn’t exactly plan on starting off our Saturday with a trip to Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital, but sometimes things just work out that way. I am not quite sure what happened, but I think I hurt my foot a few days earlier when I was wearing flip flops, slipped on a wet wooden walkway, and barely and awkwardly regained my balance. I didn’t think much of it at the time. But towards the end of the party on Friday night, my foot was starting to get pretty sore, to the point that I decided to elevate it and ice it. Maybe the earlier Friday bike ride triggered it? I didn’t really know.

The act of icing my foot was apparently noteworthy to Meagan, since I am not really known for eagerly seeking medical attention. Someday, in a later post, I will go into why it’s somewhat amazing that someone who will one day be an awesome doctor even agreed to date me after dealing with me when I had a cold. But, suffice it to say that her instincts were dead on – I wasn’t feeling so hot but was stoically trying to soldier on. I tried keeping ice on my foot in bed, but that was a bit difficult and not really working, and when I got up at around 5:30 am, I could barely walk at all. This wasn’t a particularly good time for not being able to walk. With my fidgeting, Meagan couldn’t really sleep either, so she went to the main building to check the internet, confirming her suspicion that you can’t do much for a broken foot – if that was the injury.

But with our trip to Africa and a big day ahead of us, and thinking that a rural ER wouldn’t be too busy at dawn on a Saturday, we decided to venture out and see if we could get it looked at. Fortunately, there was indeed no wait, and the staff at the hospital couldn’t have been more helpful. I couldn’t help but laugh when the nurse taking my information commented “This isn’t a good way to start a weekend, is it?”. “You have no idea.” I told her what day it was, and the staff did get a laugh later when they asked who my next of kin was, and I replied: “She is. In about 10 hours.”

We proceeded through the routine, first the examination, followed by the X-rays, and then the ER doctor took a look. He examined the joint, checking for pain and sensitivity, and pondered for a while. I was a little confused, thinking, it’s either broken or it’s sprained. The x-rays revealed it wasn’t broken, making me think that I was a bit of a wimp for even being in the ER with a “sore toe”, but I think there’s a reason that “turf toe” is a debilitating injury in football – you don’t realize how much a pain-free big toe contributes to a pleasant ambulatory experience. But, apparently the doctor was pondering whether the joint had gout. Apparently that can be onset by an increase in food and alcohol consumption (he correctly guessed that that might have been going on).

He wasn’t sure whether it was gout or a sprain – only a joint fluid test can confirm for sure – and he didn’t want to that on wedding day. But he prescribed me some steroids for gout for the Africa trip just in case, but otherwise he just advised me to take what, judging by what a regular dosage of Motrin is, an unholy amount of ibuprofen. He also gave me crutches to help keep the weight off. Millions of thoughts were going through my head. I really wasn’t thrilled about being on crutches during the ceremony or reception.

We left the ER, stopped by the pharmacy, and returned to the Inn. I decided the best thing was to get as much rest during the day, which unfortunately meant foregoing some water fun at the beautiful Lake Willoughby. I took a nap, continued to ice it, and popped pills like, well, like someone who really liked Motrin. I helped Meagan with some of the last minute stuff, but mostly, I stayed out of the way and relaxed on the Adirondack chair outside the Inn.

The pain did seem to be mellowing.

Here are a few photos from the afternoon:

Next: The Ceremony

Friday evening was the wedding rehearsal and BBQ. Chris Willy’s catering staff was busy getting ready, and the food was already smelling fantastic.

Family and friends were gradually trickling in to the Inn, and around five most of our wedding party had arrived. Reverend Michael and his wife joined us, and we made the longish walk to the ceremony location around the back of the farm. The view, which you’ll see from the photos of the actual event, was awesome, and the weather on Friday couldn’t have been better, and was much appreciated after the Wednesday and Thursday deluges. We hoped it would continue through the weekend, although the forecast was looking iffy for game time on Saturday.

Meagan and I had most of the important details for the ceremony taken care of, but we were a little laid back with some specifics, and the rehearsal revealed why it was a good idea to rehearse. We didn’t really think too much about details like what order people should go in, where to stand, when the music would be played, etc. Fortunately, Reverend Michael took charge and was able to sort everything out quickly.

We returned to the Inn, where more guests had arrived, and even more were on their way. We were also privileged that Reverend Michael and his lovely wife Marlena could join us. It was unbelievable to have so many of your friends and family in one place at one time, and I’m grateful to both our parents to have been able to have had such a great weekend. It was also a little overwhelming, too – I snuck off for a few minutes to catch my breath – and take a few sunset photos of the Inn…

The food, the weather, and the people were wonderful, and Meagan and I mentioned often how lucky we were for everything. We’d only see each other in waves throughout the evening, as we were each busy catching up with friends and family throughout the night. But we were together in spirit. The food was amazing – ribs, chicken, corn, and smores and Ben and Jerry’s ice cream for dessert.

I apparently missed the best part, which was a grilled eggplant dish, which many were raving about. Oh well – I had little to complain about. I was also happy that the Vermont beers we had chosen: Magic Hat No. 9 (collegiate favorite for the Dartmouth and Middlebury crew), Otter Creek (brewed in Middlebury, Meagan’s alma mater) Summer Ale, and the Trout River Rainbow Red (brewed down the road) were big hits. I think we exhausted most of the Magic Hat on the first night, and I think both our parents commented that the weekend was within budget, “except for the alcohol”. Of course.

After the food and bar shut down, the party continued at our cottage, which we had stocked with refreshments earlier that day. The pictures largely speak for themselves. The place resembled a junior high boy/girl party, except that instead of male and female factions, Meagan’s mostly Middlebury contingent was in the kitchen, while my crew was in the living room. Everyone was having a good time regardless, and we eventually shut things down around one, to get ready for the big day.

Next: Wedding Day