Wedding Memories

The true joys in life make great stories... and this is definately one of my favorites!

Nothing seemed to go right for weeks leading up to the wedding but the "icing on the cake" was Thursday night when I picked Erin and Connie up from the airport. The flight they booked had them landing at Hobby (the old airport all the way across Houston) instead of IAH. I had never been to that airport before and was running a bit late. Erin called after their plane landed and told me not to rush - that Connie had gotten sick on the plane and now the paramedics were checking her out to see if she was alright. I arrived at the airport a few minutes later and found Erin and an airline rep waiting in baggage claim... without Connie. The airline rep told me that the paramedics took connie to Southwest Memorial Hospital and gave me directions to get there.

On the way to the hospital Erin told me that Connie had been puking for nearly the whole flight (still hasn't gotten past the morning sickness) and was dehydrated and felt like she was going to pass out. They let Connie decide if she wanted them to take her to the hospital or not and she decided to go just to make sure everything was o.k. with the baby. I then realized that Stephen and my house full of guests were probably expecting me home soon. I no more than dialed the number on my cell phone when I looked in my mirror to see flashing lights. I couldn't believe it - I was being pulled over by a Trooper! I hadn't been speeding, my registration was up to date, what in the world did I do?!? He asked me to step out of my car and I handed Erin the phone to explain to my mother what was going on.

The state trooper walked me back to the rear of my truck and explained that as of September 2004 it is illegal to cover any part of the word "TEXAS" on your licence plate. The plate frame that was put on the truck when Stephen purchased it in 2002 was covering the top 1/4" of the word. I looked at him and used all of my willpower to hold back from saying "You've got to be kidding me! You pulled me over for that?!?!" I walked back to the driver's side of the truck to retrieve my driver's license for him and briefly explained to Erin what was going on.

After returning to the rear of the truck and handing the trooper my license he explained that he wasn't going to give me a ticket, just a written warning. Then, noticing that I was from The Woodlands while writing out the citation, he made the fatal mistake - he asked me where I was headed. Erin watched from the truck as my arms waved and hands gestured and I ranted about my day...

"I was just at the airport to pick up a friend only to find out that my other friend was taken from the airport to the emergency room so now I'm on my way to a hospital that I have no idea where it is at and I haven't gotten a hold of anyone at home to tell them what is going on and I'm getting married on Saturday so you pulling me over was just the icing on the cake!"
Fortunately, he just handed me the written warning, smiled and let me go on my way.

BUT... the fun was not to end there. We finally made it to the hospital and I told the emergency room receptionist that my friend was just brought there from the airport. She said, "oh yes, she's in room 12" and rattled off directions on how to find that room. After following the lefts and rights we found room 12 and I approached without hesitation. Afterall, it was Connie - I didn't care if she was sleeping, puking or naked, I just wanted to see if she was alright. I reached for the curtain and walked through only to find a nurse tending to a half-naked, fat, hairy old guy. Either that definately wasn't Connie or she had a worse flight experience than I had imagined. I apologized and quickly backed out of the room.

A different nurse directed us to room 6. I paused this time before opening the curtain and said "Connie?". We were in luck - Connie this time, just as I had remembered her, skinny and not so hairy. Relieved to see that she was o.k. I sat down and we all had a good laugh.

Oh, and as a special bonus, the doctor gave her a couple fancy puke bags before we left incase she needed them during the car ride. Those puke bags quickly became my "something blue" for the wedding.

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Hawaii 2005

Things we learned in Hawaii:

• Walking on a black sand beach is a suitable substitute for a cheap pedicure.
• Sea turtles are not always friendly
• Warming up next to a steam vent will make you smell like rotten eggs.
• "Do not drive rental car on this road" is merely a suggestion.

Kona Airport
The Kona airport is the most unusual airport I have ever seen. The entire airport is nothing but a series of huts - one for the gift shop, one for baggage claim, one for ticketing, etc. There are no gates or skyways - you walk directly from the plane down steps to the ground.




Initial Impressions
The first thing you notice when you leave the airport is the sparse landscape - nothing but lava rock as far as the eye can see. The monotony is quickly broken by a series of coral graffiti. Visitors and locals have gathered white coral stones from the beach and composed messages to leave their mark in the miles of black lava.




The Fairmont Orchid
With the exception of a room assignment hassle, a very nice home away from home.





Volcano National Park
(http://www.nps.gov/havo/home.htm)
We made two trips to Volcano National Park and unfortunately encountered overcast and rainy weather each day. The views and massive area of Kilauea are much more awe-inspiring than the photos portray.



Kilauea Summit - Halema'uma'u Overlook and steam vents


Pu'uloa Petroglyph Field (http://www.nps.gov/havo/history/archeology/puuloa.htm)




Snorkeling Trip
A chartered boat took us on a morning snorkeling trip to Kealakekua Bay near the Captain Cook monument. The scenery was gorgeous and the water was crystal clear. We saw hundreds of fish and even a family of dolphins with a very playful young one.




Akaka Falls
After days of looking at lava, the tropical side of the island was a very welcome sight.




South Point
The southern-most point of the United States.




Helicopter Tour
After going through the safety briefing and seating assignments, we found out that our volcano helicopter tour had been canceled due to the weather. Though disappointed, Stephen still had fun flaunting his stylish, yellow fanny-pack flotation device.




Punalu'u Black Sand Beach
After stopping to collect a few shells and some sand to add to my Hawaii collection, we found the first sea turtles of our trip at the black sand beach. The black sand in these photos looks much softer than it actually is. Walking barefoot on this beach was about as enjoyable as jogging barefoot on a gravel road.




Sea Turtles
My quest to find sea turtles on this trip was best fulfilled right at our resort. The turtles spent hours resting on the rocky shore and swam into the bay to feed on the reef. The day we left we decided to snorkel in the bay just off shore from the resort in hopes of seeing a turtle in the distance. Or, if we were lucky, having one swim close enough to touch it. This innocent snorkeling adventure turned into a close encounter of the turtle-kind.

After just a few minutes in the bay, I looked up to see Stephen frantically pointing behind me. I turned just in time to find a sea turtle swimming onto my back. Now, keep in mind, this is no small turtle. The shell on this turtle was about three feet long and its flipper feet are much stronger than one would think! I tried to swim away from the turtle, but no matter which way I turned he continued to swim up on top of me. I finally decided to just stop moving in hopes that the turtle would swim by. No such luck. I must have looked pretty tasty to that turtle because as soon as I stopped moving he promptly bit down on my arm. The turtle then swam away.

After getting past the initial shock of "a turtle just bit me" I went back to snorkeling. I assumed that was the last I would see of that evil turtle. I was wrong. As soon as I put my head back in the water I looked over to see the same turtle swimming full-force straight at me! After a quick game of cat and mouse, the turtle finally gave up and swam off to eat something more inline with his diet. We watch a few other turtles feed on the coral for about another hour. I managed to stay away from the head end of the turtles and avoided any further confrontations. Guess this just goes to prove that you should be careful of what you wish for. I wanted to swim with the turtles and I definitely got that chance... and more!





The Sunset
There are no sunsets quite as beautiful as those I've seen in Hawaii.