honeymooning

After the wedding madness we opted to try and leave on Monday. After getting the car checked out for our California Adventure, new tires were needed. (And other such repairs, that waited until now). On the road in the late afternoon after saying goodbyes to our parents. First stop? Target. For a new camera. On our way to Sequoia. We almost just passed right through due to weather forecasts, but hoped for the best...and the best is what we got. We camped in the lower grounds and crashed as soon as we got in. Woke up on Tuesday to a beautiful morning and we headed out to see some trees and some amazing views. I tried to run up stairs at 7,000ft elevation...didn't work so well 3/4 of the way up. Drove through the park from the South Entrance (where we camped) to the West entrance and headed up to Yosemite.

We arrived right before the sun left the valley and drove in with amazingly clear views of Half Dome, El Cap, the Falls and all the other amazing cliffs/trees/views that Yosemite Valley offers in such a relatively compact area.

The first night was spent at Camp 4. Yes we got a spot and didn't have to be in line at 8:00am! We broke out the tandem for our first adventure ride on the valley floor to the store for some dinner food (romantic mac and cheese). Had a good nights rest and headed out to climb on Wednesday. We got a couple of climbs in and met a fun group of students from Canada who eventually helped us out on our last climb.

We gathered everything and were off to the Ahwahnee Hotel...the famous Yosemite resort. This was going to be the highlight of the trip for us but kind of ended up being a bust. There was construction going on and we weren't really treated like honeymooners. We did enjoy the bar and the El Capatini (yummy martini, first served after the first assent of El Captain) and got some champagne flutes so we could enjoy the bottle we brought. Room service on Thursday morning and we checked out and headed to the stables.

We took a mule ride through the valley to the rock fall area and back. It was a bit slow, but still fun. Kyle's mule kept farting and mine kept nipping at his. It was pretty funny.

Thursday night we headed back to Camp 4 for more fun and even met up with our Canadian friends. Heidi melted cordlette anklets for all of us and we had a good fire, conversation and alcohol flowing in site 30. Yosemite was an amazing place. We hiked to the lower falls and had fun scrambling around.

Friday, we said goodbye to Yosemite and drove west to the coast and to the Monterrey Bay Aquarium. Of course it began to rain but luckily most of the aquarium was indoors. We had fun being kids, loving the sea otters (so freaking cute!), and watching all the fish.

Friday night we drove to Big Sur and unfortunately it was all clouded in. Serious fog...we couldn't see 10ft in front of us. We ate at this amazing place that overlooks the ocean...and you couldn't see the ocean! Dinner was super delicious and we ended up staying in a cabin in a state park so we didn't have to deal with a very wet tent in the morning. We were exhausted, dirty, sick of driving and needed the comfy king size bed again.

Saturday we continued our journey along the famous Hwy 1 along the coast. Beautiful views and windy roads all the way to San Luis Obsibo. We stopped for lunch and then got on the tandem to join the Gran Fondo Ride of SLO. We road into town, "finished" the ride and road right back to the car. It was an adventure and both of us weren't really in biking shape, which made for an interesting "last hill" push. Working together is nice. You can't let your partner down. We pushed on and made it back to enjoy a beer overlooking the sunset on the Ocean.

Continuing on in the car down south to a campsite on the ocean. Sunday morning we woke up and drove to Dana Point to catch the Catalina Express over to the island. It was perfect for napping. Right off the shore of Catalina Island the driver slowed the boat and we all went to look at a killer whale! After arriving on the island and scoping out the hotel scene we found the perfect place.

Rooftop patio and hot tub overlooking the bay. Sold. Dinner at a yummy Mexican place and back to the hotel for some beers on the roof. Monday was spent walking around, lounging around, eating, reading, relaxing, eating, drinking and finding a tattoo artist (randomly!). We met with him in the evening and set up the appointment for Tuesday morning.

Oh boy, bring on the nervous and stressing out. Kyle isn't the biggest fan of needles or small rooms. Fun times ahead. Seeing him truly turn green. Coming as close to passing out without actually doing it. Trying to get the blood flow back to his head. Somehow he survived. He got a 1960s looking futuristic ray gun. He even got a serial number tattooed: 10162010. Our wedding date, which happened to be the same date as his tattoo artist, but 5 years prior. The afternoon was spent mingling around town and playing a game of mini-golf and one of the best courses we've ever played on. (I won). We got on the ferry back and that was it. Honeymoon over.

And in true Navy fashion...he had to go into work at midnight that night. He still had 1 day left of leave, but he got called back. Seriously? We couldn't even enjoy our own bed together. He had to go sleep on the boat for 2 days. That left me to fend for myself with the marriage license, drivers license, social security, etc. Basically a day of standing in line. Without my man. Such is the life of a Navy wife.

I have my dependent card, insurance, car decals...all that's missing is the "I love my sailor" sticker. :)

Kyle and I would like to thank everyone for your support! We had an amazing honeymoon and were able to make it happen thanks to the wedding presents from our guests! We would recommend honeyfund.com to any couple who isn't looking for the usual registries!

Wedding Bells!

Okay not exactly. We opted to skip the church bells and head for the crashing ocean waves. We decided to get married on the cliffs of Sunset Beach with the reception in our backyard. Our mutual friend Dave was our officiant and did a wonderful job with the ceremony. Our siblings, Megan, Megan, and Robby were our musicians. Erin and Steve, our amazing desert friends, made our cake (and boy was it amazing!) My mom and grandma hemmed the boy's shorts. I made the programs. Kyle's mom and stepmother took care of the rehearsal dinner. And my friend Caleb was our photographer. The weather wasn't the greatest, but San Diego has been quite crazy on the weather front this year. We managed to survive with only a tiny bit of sprinkles at the end of the reception.

Here are some of the select photos from our day. October 16, 2010.

 mmm, I loved the bouquets. I showed her a picture and they turned out exactly how I wanted.

 Marriage collage for Kyle, and a collage of our engagement pics. On the fireplace out back.

 Kyle's stepmom Ann made these amazing cookies for the rehearsal dinner! So awesome!!

 getting all tied in.

 Me and my dad. Walking me down and handing me away. :)

 Dave's sermon

 

Kiss

 

Bubbles!

 

The wedding party. Annie, Missy, Megan, me, kyle, Jackson, Dustin, Dean

Thank you all for celebrating in our day!

 

So cute!

I had my Chacos re-webbed with white webbing. I've know that this would be my wedding shoe since I met Kyle in 2006. 

 Waves crashing. We had our engagement pictures taken here as well.

 Kyle's stances in every picture make me laugh.

 Jump!

 Lights! The yard was truly amazing. My vision turned out exactly how I wanted it to look. Thank you so much to my college buddies Gabe, Nick and Phil for getting it done and having fun climbing trees in the process.

 Cake! SOOO Delicious! Thank you so much to Erin and Steve for their countless hours of preparation and taste testing to make sure it was perfect. You guys are awesome!

 First Dance. Music by meg, meg, and rob playing "when you say nothing at all" by allison krause.

Thank you Kyle. For putting up with all that goes along with wedding planning. I'm so glad it turned out perfectly and that we joined our lives together on this day. You mean the world to me and I'm so happy to spend the rest of my life with my best friend, my sherpa, my lover. I promise to always give you a good belay, to cheer you on and to catch you when you fall.

Thank you to our families and friends. Guests of the wedding. Thank you to all who have shaped us into who we are today. To those of you who couldn't be there, thank you for your support. We are having a reception back in my hometown next summer for all of my extended family who couldn't make it out. It'll be a joint reception with my sister and her fiance, Danny, who are getting married in April.

Wedding Info!

Hey Everyone! Almost a week until the big day. Here is the info for the weekend:

Thursday Evening: Bachelorette Party. Meeting at THE HOUSE at 7:00pm

Friday
Morning: Backyard setup/cleanup.
5:00 Rehearsal - Sunset Cliffs
6:00 Rehearsal Dinner - Nick's at the Pier

Saturday
5:00 Wedding! At Sunset Cliffs Blvd and Osprey Rd
Reception Immediately following at our house
3121 Seville St. San Diego, CA 92110

Registered at HoneyFund.com

We are looking forward to celebrating this day with all of you!

Our Wedding Party

Kyle and I are excited to have our family and friends all gathered for our special day. These are the individuals who have helped us become who we are throughout our lives, and who will stand by us during the start of our lives together.

Maid of Honor: Megan Gordon (sister of the bride)
Bridesmaid: Missy Schell (friend of bride)Bridesmaid: Annie Haugen (friend of bride)Best Man: Jackson Loless (friend of groom)
Groomsmen: Dustin Williams (friend of groom)Groomsmen: Dean Olson (friend of groom)

Hotel Info!

So there are many options within 1 mile of the reception location. Here are our suggestions:

America's Best Value Inn

-Cheapest - $60 night (or less)

-Closest - literally 2 blocks from the reception

Courtyard Marriott Liberty Station

-Nicest (by far)

-Furthest from reception (1.3 miles, 4 minutes)

-Most Expensive $129 night (usually $229)

Ask for Gordon Wills Wedding Block
or Visit our block ONLINE

Howard Johnson San Diego

-Mid Price-point

-Close to Reception - 4 blocks (walkable)

California Tandem Adventure

As I said in the last post, we plan on touring around California for our honeymoon by car, tandem and boat! Here's our route:

View Larger Map

We'll head out to Sequoia National Park and stay at the Wuksachi Lodge and tour the park on the tandem. Next we'll head to Yosemite National Park, for what we believe to be the highlight of the trip. We plan on staying one night at the famous Ahwahnee Hotel. "Known for its magnificent facade, and architecture, The Ahwahnee was specifically designed to highlight its natural surroundings, featuring Yosemite Falls, Half Dome, and Glavier Point. The Ahwanee offers a perfect balance of history, hospitality and elegance." - From the National Park website.

The next night we hope to camp at the infamous Camp 4 and maybe meet some climbing legends, while trying to blend in as much as possible. :) As Lance Armstrong said, "It's not {just} about the bike," we'll add in a little climbing on our adventure as well.

Next stop brings us to our first coastal city of Monterey. The Monterey Bay Aquarium is the main attraction here. Next, we'll continue our way down the coast to the town of Santa Barbara. Here we plan to ride tandem to Solvang and back to ride a part of the famous route of the Solvang Century bike ride.

Our last leg of the trip brings us to Dana Point. From there, we will take a ferry to Catalina Island (hopefully with the tandem in tow) and stay at a little bed and breakfast in the town of Avalon.

From then on, it's home sweet home. Back to our at home honeymoon in beautiful San Diego.

Like I said in the previous post, we are registered with honeyfund.com. It's a great site that allows you to select an area and help us with our journey. If you have any suggestions of places to stay in Monterey or Santa Barbara, let us know! (Write a comment below!)

Guest hotel options for the wedding, coming soon!

A tandem for forever

So Kyle and I have opted to skip the usual registries. We have long dreamed about owning a nice touring tandem bicycle. We both enjoy cycling immensely and would love to experience the open roads working together on the same bike. Ask any of our friends; we want a tandem.

We would like to incorporate the tandem into our California Honeymoon. We plan on touring multiple parks, both coastal and inland, during our adventure.

In lieu of a gift, we would prefer a donation towards our tandem bike and honeymoon adventure. We are registered with Honeyfund.com. CLICK HERE to view the registry.

Thanks for your love and support.

Kyle+Rachel