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.

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

Friday afternoon, the day before the wedding, started off with a Valerio (my mom’s side) family bike ride: Uncle Hal & Aunt Marie, Aunt Louise and Uncle Dan, Uncle Carmen, cousins Lauren, Gina, and Colleen, and my brother Brian. And Meagan’s cousin Michael, who had arrived at the Inn shortly before the bike ride kicked off, and, wisely or unwisely, decided to join us for the adventure.

We drove down the hill to East Burke Sports, the local bike and ski shop, to rent a small army of bicycles. Apparently there was a another even larger group in town (Girl Scouts, I think) who had rented most of the bikes, so we pretty much cleaned them out – in fact Louise and Dan had to head down the road to another shop to pick up a few more. The whole assembly operation, including helmet and water bottle procurement, took the better part of an hour. I was surprised that Uncle Hal remained so patient – he sometimes breaks down if there isn’t an “activity” happening, but amazingly he waited by with zen-like tranquility.

The show finally hit the road, or rather a moderately difficult and uphill mountain bike trail. Michael led the way, with the Valerio girls quickly in tow, but the steep and rooted ascent proved to be a bit too much for a mellow family ride. So, we turned back and opted for a more leisurely road ride. This ended up being quite pleasant. The rural Vermont back roads were very beautiful, with a lot of scenic vistas of the Green mountains, including the Burke Mountain ski area. The riding was flat for a while, until we eventually hit a hill, which was the opposite side of Darling Hill Road. Michael, who led the pack early on, had dropped behind a bit, and we soon found out that the big sandwich he had eaten shortly before the ride was causing a few “problems”. Despite the distress, and the continued effects throughout the ride…he carried on.

We headed up another road towards the Inn, running into my friends Nick and JJ, who had just arrived and who were driving around the area. After a mile or two, we reached the Inn, and paused to say hello to some other family who had arrived, and had some beers. I did mention the ride was leisurely. We eventually returned to the road, and did another loop around Burke, passing the old town hall (and rain backup wedding location), a stream, a few bridges, and more rural Vermont.

The loop finished at the bike shop. After the ride, I stopped across the street at Baileys and Burke general store to get a sandwich. When I returned, I was set to get into an argument with the BMW who had honked at me, which I presumed was because my crossing the street delayed his turn by two seconds, but then I realized it was my friends Bill and Steph. Ha.

We returned to the Inn, where more family was continuing to arrive. Meagan had returned from the nail outing (the “dry” run apparently didn’t go so well), and we relaxed on the patio, and eventually got ready for the rehearsal that evening.

Continued…

The days leading up to wedding weekend have been a blast.

The fun started on Tuesday night when I left Seattle after a furious packing effort (packing for both a wedding and an Africa trip is a bit challenging). One minor glitch was, of course, leaving my suit in the living room when the cab arrived. 1/3 of the way to the airport I realized my gaffe, had the cab turn around, retrieved the bag, then sweated for 20 minutes hoping I’d make the flight I was already cutting a little close. $72 and, fortunately, a slightly delayed flight later, I made it.

I arrived in Boston Wednesday morning. Meagan and I relaxed at her parents’ place and made an afternoon departure for Vermont. We checked into the Inn and settled in. In the evening, we drove through the pouring rain to St. Johnsbury, where we met most of the Valerios – my parents, brother, grandmother, and several aunts and uncles at Elements. The food was fantastic, but even better was spending time with family in the middle of Vermont. It promised to be the start of a great weekend.

Yesterday, we fought through jet lag and had breakfast at the Inn – we had a great kale and spinach omelet with a sweet potato hash and a cinnamon bun. Fred wouldn’t tell me how to make the sweet potato hash, but it’s something I’ll be trying to recreate. More of the Valerios dropped by the Inn on Thursday afternoon. Afterwards, Meagan, her mom, and I headed into town to run some errands, the first of which was to get our marriage license – it was good to get that minor detail out of the way. Afterwards, we loaded up on food, beer, wine, and liquor. When Meagan and her mom were pushing two shopping carts full of supplies from the liquor store, they prompted several “where are you guys going?” comments. Awesome.

After that, we headed to the recently reopened River Garden Cafe in East Burke for dinner. They were closed due to a flood several months ago. The food was delicious – Brian and I were both loving the sweet maple syrup balsamic vinaigrette. Last night’s dinner was just with our immediate families, and it was good to have a smaller gathering before the festivities start in earnest. After dinner, the rest of the Valerio crew joined us at our room, and we had some fun post-dinner festivities.

Today is Friday, we had another great breakfast (waffles with lemon butter and stewed apples today). Meagan and the mothers are off to have their nails done, and I am waiting for my brother, dad, and uncles to pick me up for a bike ride. The weather is finally clearing – it’s been raining since we arrived. Hopefully the sunshine will stay, but if not, I am sure it will be a good time…

[Continued...]