Just Married

Our whirlwind wedding vacation has come to an end. Tomorrow, Kelley returns to work with the county after two weeks off. I go back to the paper having exhausted three weeks (my entire year's) vacation time.

Since we've been off the clock, we've had the time of our lives. We drove halfway across the country and back, camped in Upstate New York, got married in Cape Cod in front of all our best friends and bounced our way through Sleater-Kinney's farewell concert at Lollapalooza. Here are some of our memories.

1. The Taj Mahal of Camping, July 22-24
We set out for New York on the third Saturday morning in July. We arrived at Keuka Lake before dusk in serious need of a drink. Judy (our dog) had grated our nerves by standing up in the back seat of the rental car and blocking the rear view mirror for most of the 10-hour ride. Fortunately, Diane, our hostess, had wine chilling in the fridge of her mobile home (though actually a non-mobile home due to the built-on deck and front room). After a few glasses, we were rocking Blackberry Hill to what became the unofficial song of our road trip, "My Humps" by the Black Eyed Peas. (How can you resist the lyrics, "What are you going to do with all that junk, all that junk down in your trunk? I'm going to g-g-get you drunk, get you love-drunk on my humps".) The bugs were biting, the well water smelled like rotten eggs and a dog with an ear infection slept under my bunk bed. Still, it was awesome. We woke up every morning to the birds chirping and scampered down to the dock so Judy could play in the water. Diane did all the cooking, firing up the grill for turkey burgers one night and then coming back the next day at lunch with TBLTs. (That's turkey bacon for the uninitiated.)

2. Reeling 'em in, July 27
Once we arrived in Cape Cod, deep-sea fishing was on our list of must-dos. Kelley had a bunch of tickets reserved for the morning of the ceremony, but she just couldn't wait. So we went on an all-girl fishing trip Thursday afternoon with Diane (of turkey burger fame), her girlfriend Colleen and my college pal Heather. Loaded up with beer, water and sunscreen, we boarded Cee Jay's fishing boat at 1:30 p.m. with an unnerving number of French-speaking Canadians. I wanted to wear a sarong for this excursion because I was not really committed to catching any fish, but changed into shorts on advice from Kelley. So, it shouldn't come as a surprise that after a minute or two of jigging off the back of the boat that I nonchalantly said, "I think my line is caught on something," and motioned for the skipper to help me disengage myself from what I assumed was the bottom of the boat. I was fussing with my reel when Kelley saw a fish jump out of the water. A fish that somehow attached itself to my line. I had accidentally hooked the first catch of the day. Yeah. So. It got away. Kelley's bluefish was not so lucky. While everyone else was reeling in bottom-feeding sand sharks (including me; I eventually caught on and caught one), my fair maiden hooked a 29-incher. We had it filleted and our innkeepers soaked it in milk and grilled it for their dinner. They said it was tasty.

3. Sea Breeze, July 29
Kelley wore a pair of elegant linen pants with a silk camisole and a linen blouse for the ceremony. The blouse was untucked during the wedding, but she removed it while we took some photos on the beach. Her jaunty pose revealed that her fly was down the entire time.

4. Our Song, July 29
After listening to hundreds of love songs and then putting our top 10 to a vote at the campground, we still were undecided on what would be our first song. The time came for us to dance, and I went into the inn to play DJ. I deferred to Tom, one of the innkeepers, who did not hesitate. He gave us what turned out to be his Dream First Song, "Call Off the Search" by Katie Melua. Google her (she's hot), then download the song (it was No. 1 in Europe). Truly romantic.

5. Paparazzi, July 29
We now have a tiny inclination of what its like to be a celebrity couple. After our ceremony, we commissioned two Provincetown Pedicabs, one for ourselves and one for our photographers. Ours was decked out with a sign -- "Kelley and Kati, Just Hitched" -- and a bunch of cans and streamers. We went on a tour of this tiny, fishing town's main streets. The cans were so noisy, people dining outside had to stop their conversations and tourists were popping their heads out of stores. We were waving and kissing and toasting champagne while the photographers raced behind us and up beside us and in front of us. Strangers were clapping and snapping pictures with their phones. I even had a wardrobe malfunction. The strap of my dress fell down as we raced down a hill (no onlookers here), creating a Janet Jackson-esque shot of me covering my left breast as Kelley looks on.

6. Feels Like Two Years Already, July 30
Kelley was so proud of herself Sunday night. A bunch of us went to Pepe's for dinner and drinks to celebrate my 30th birthday. On the way home, we did some trinket shopping on Commercial Street. I bought the lovely lobster hat featured in some pictures below. Kelley bought two "Just Married" sweatshirts, marked down to $9.99 each. She was all bragging about getting a deal when I pointed out why they were so cheap. In small print it read, "Provincetown 2004".

7. Farewell Tour, Aug. 4
We ended our vacation at Lollapalooza. I had to see Sleater-Kinney's final Midwest performance, and Kelley agreed to be my date. We rushed the stage after a mellow performance by Iron and Wine (us newlyweds snuggled on the concrete with water bottles as pillows during the show) so we could have a spot up front for S-K. What a treat, the DIY band did their own sound check. We got to see Janet yell at roadies about her drums, the placement of speakers, etc. And, to our delight, they played the song we quoted on our invitations, the only S-K song Kelley can understand. The song is "Modern Love", of course. The simple quote, "My baby loves me. I am so happy."