Monthly Archives: November 2013

It’s official – we’re married!

 

November 16, 2013

November 16, 2013

We had a small ceremony in Deep Creek, Maryland, where we rented a vacation home and gathered with our closest family and friends.  Our ceremony was short and sweet, and the highlight was this video we made telling our story so far.

We ate cake.

Our wedding cake and homemade toppers

Our wedding cake and homemade toppers

And we posed for pictures.

Cyclists at our wedding pretend to ride bikes.

Cyclists at our wedding pretend to ride bikes.

 

 

 

 

 

Do you see the beautiful arch in background?  Daisy refused to have real flowers (being named after a flower made her avoid the real thing).  Instead, her mother organized the guests and together we made tissue flowers to decorate the arch we got married under.  It was lovely.

Our friend Derek got ordained online and officiated the ceremony.

A friend got ordained online to officiate.  He was great!

A friend got ordained online to officiate. He was great!

Jason's grandmother was an honored guest.

Jason’s grandmother was an honored guest.

Daisy’s best friend from childhood (And also her senior prom date!) played music for us all evening.

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Once the fun was done, we somehow had to fit all the leftover food back in our subcompact car… along with us and Daisy’s parents.

How much can we fit in a tiny car?

How much can we fit in a tiny car?

It was a tight fit!

We had to pile more stuff around the passengers to fit it all.

We had to pile stuff around the passengers to fit it all.

In all, the wedding was more successful than we had dared to hope.  We fed 20 people for four meals, we made our own wedding dinner, and put our own twist on time-honored traditions.  Daisy’s wedding dress?  A sport dress made in her hometown – we’ll dye it a different color and take it on tour with us.  Jason’s wedding outfit?  Thank goodness for Amazon prime!  Also, it turns out that ‘slim fit’ is not slim enough – we had to have his shirt and vest both taken in.  In the end, it was memorable and fun.  There was almost no drama, but probably because the house rule was to listen to bridezilla… er…  Daisy.

We’ll be taking our ‘honeymoon’ next week in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, on our new touring bikes.  We’ll keep updating to let you know how the gear holds up and where we stay when all the campgrounds are closed for the season.

 

The happy couple ready for the next adventure.

The happy couple ready for the next adventure.

P.S. – For those of you who knew Hamlet, the service dog we trained this last year, you’ll be pleased to know that we are welcoming another trainee after the honeymoon!

 

 

 

 

 

 

First S24HO on the new bikes

S24HO is bike slang for Sub-24-Hour-Overnight.  It’s like a mini-vacation on your bike that makes the weekend seem about twice as long.  This weekend was our fist overnight with the new bicycles, and they did not disappoint!

We left the house at nearly 4:00 in the afternoon, bundled up against the cold.  Part of the goal for this mini-trip was to see how prepared we were for cold conditions.

Leaving the apartment for our first overnight on the new bicycles

Leaving the apartment for our first overnight on the new bicycles

Within moments of leaving the parking lot we realized we had forgotten the bicycle pump and had to return for it.  We were laughing at the ridiculousness of it, but there was no way we would venture into the Pennsylvania forest without it!

The ride out was pleasant, and we soon were on dirt and gravel roads in the nearby state forest.  We climbed over a ridge very slowly, enjoying the low gears on our bikes.  At the top we met another cyclist as we pulled all our gear back on for the descent.  He warned us of a porcupine in the middle of the road ahead, but by the time we got there it had gone.  Awaiting us was an even better surprise: a fantastic sunset framed by the valley ahead.

A beautiful sunset was our reward for the climb.

A beautiful sunset was our reward for the climb.

In the waning light we hurried to our designated campsite – a picnic table and firepit in a small field.  There are lots of hidden (and free!) sites like this in the State Forests.  Technically, you should call ahead and get a permit, but no one is crazy enough to use them in November, so we didn’t bother to.  We quickly got a fire going and started cooking our dinner.  The fire was slow to light, but surprised us with its vigor once we got it going!  It was certainly worth it to have hauled the firewood all the way in…

The fire roared to life, surprising us with its ferocity.

The fire roared to life, surprising us with its ferocity.

I only lit the picnic table on fire for a brief moment as I prepped the stove for dinner.  Oops!

Jason, the bikes, and the tent in the early morning.

Jason, the bikes, and the tent in the early morning.

We were in the tent early, and our 20 degree down bags were more than adequate.  Plus, we

All our tent items packed up and ready for the bikes.

All our tent items packed up and ready for the bikes.

were both wearing two pairs of pants, hats, and multiple shirts.  The morning seemed almost warm despite being in the low forties.  We rode out of the valley and through the lovely late autumn woods before climbing back out of the ridge and then descending quickly into State College.  It turns out that our 30 mile S24HO had 2,350 feet of elevation gain!  Not too shabby for the first time on our loaded bikes.  We are already looking forward to our next excursion.

Jason enjoys the nearly car-free forest roads

Jason enjoys the nearly car-free forest roads

A gradual climb helps wake me up!

A gradual climb helps wake me up!

Live your dreams

Puppies are inspiring.  They live their dreams everyday.

Puppies are inspiring. They live their dreams everyday.

Jason and I have both been in college for over 10 years.  As you can guess, this is enough to make anyone a little nutty.  The assumed next step for both of us is to move immediately into long-term careers and settle down, but during the last 10+ years we’ve had too much time to dream of what we would rather be doing.  We have both dreamed of escaping the ivory tower, of finding adventure, and of being self-sufficient, independent and free of 9 to 5 obligations.

My academic advisers thought I was crazy… at first.  Now, they are among the most vocal of our supporters.  One of Jason’s supervisors had a similar dream before starting his career: to travel Europe for a year with his wife.  He didn’t do it though, the lure of a job too tempting, and he’s regretted it ever since.  We refuse to live with that regret – we are going to take our dream tour!

A dream fulfilled - biking in Yosemite Valley

A dream fulfilled – biking in Yosemite Valley

The truth is, if not now, when?  The other truth is, anytime.   Too often, we make decisions based on what we’re supposed to do and what career path we’re supposed to take, always saving dreams for “later”.  In the past year we’ve decided not to wait, and to trust that somehow things will work out when we return.  We’ve been saving money for the past year, and even on graduate student salaries we have enough to fund the tour and to survive for a few months after the tour concludes.

Our goal is to craft a worthy story, and hiding out in an ivory tower has narrow appeal. We’re taking to the streets!  Hopefully, we’ll inspire at least a few people to try something new they never considered before. At the very least, we’ll have an interesting bullet point on our resumes when we get back.

A beautiful moment on the Camino de Santiago.

A beautiful moment on the Camino de Santiago.

Jason hiking unencumbered in Northern Spain.

Jason hiking unencumbered in Northern Spain.