Ka'anapali, Maui, Hawaii

We arrived to Maui! Thanks frequent flier points for the free flight and car. As we step off the plane, a sweet Hawaiian air fills our lungs. Our bags arrive perfectly in tact, our rental car is upgraded to a Mustang convertible, our hotel room has a full kitchen and two bathrooms.... hello... two bathrooms! If we are trying to set a precedent for a “backpackers journey” this is a weird start. The grass is manicured perfectly. The ocean is crystal blue with sea turtles and dolphins swimming near the snorkelers. The drinks are strong and fruity. Everyone is chill -- it’s Maui time. Have you ever visited somewhere that’s too perfect? The beach chairs are perfectly lined up, the surfers have the perfect tan, and the palm trees sway together ever so gently in the sunset? Well, I’ve found it and it’s called Maui...

Leaving California

We departed San Francisco on a Thursday. Invigorating and emotional at the same time, we have amazing friends in the Bay Area who were hard to leave. We left our P90x to a friend: “I’ll be buff when you return,” he said. We left our plants in the hands of another: “I’ll try not to kill them all,” he said. We left our itinerary with them all: “Maybe we can meet you somewhere,” they all said. We took over / under bets on the lot: who would get engaged, who would move, who would have babies, would anyone really come meet us? The conversation migrated to us, where would we be in a year? Who would we be? The beauty of the trip is that we don’t want to know where we’ll be or how we will change. Who knows, maybe our plants will still be alive.

Getting ready to leave

It took us a few days to recover from the wedding festivities -- about two days in exhausted “mummy mode” and then we could re-enter functioning society. We decided to rent our house while we are away. We left most of our big furniture for them to use, but boxed up our closets, cabinets, and drawers. This process was a shocker to us, not because of its difficulty, but because of the excess we had acquired (and this was only months after we’d consolidated our belongings and given half of our stuff to Goodwill). Seriously, who needs 36 ties, 12 bottles of perfume, 10 suits, a bin of extra sheets, and 30 old towels (just in case we need them)? It feels great to simplify and giving to Goodwill is a cleansing experience. Everyone can benefit from spring cleaning, even if it’s July.

I Do...

Let’s get this blog started...

WE GOT MARRIED!!!!

Hill and I arrived in Yosemite on Tuesday July 12th and met up with our parents and a few close friends for dinner at our favorite bar, the Iron Door Saloon (oldest bar in California).  Our waitress was patient enough to deal with our “unique little family” -- we were beaming with excitement for the upcoming events.

Wednesday we each got a massage at the lodge and then we biked up to Hetch Hetchy, a water reservoir which serves northern California.  After a 5 mile bike ride, Hill and I threw our bikes down and climbed up on a huge rock/cliff which gave us the perfect vantage point to see the breathtaking valley and waterfalls that the Hetch Hetchy Valley offers.  That evening the real party started -- about a third of our friends and family arrived and with each arrival we became overwhelmed with the excitement of seeing our guests.  It was an adrenalin high to say the least; after not seeing many of our friends and family members for years, here they were right in front of us ready to celebrate.

Thursday July 14th we split up: river rafting for the men and yoga/hiking for the women.  Yosemite had higher than average rainfall for the year, so the river was raging.  The women did yoga in an outdoor meadow and hiking along a nearby river proved to be a relaxing afternoon.  Hillary and some of her friends had a bachelorette style party in a friend’s cabin complete with some debauchery of course.  The guys sat around the campfire, drinking beer, and reminiscing on the dirty jokes the raft guide told. 

By Friday almost all our guests had arrived; the majority of us drove into Yosemite Valley to hike Vernal Falls.  It was a breathtaking assent up a steep rock staircase with a waterfall immediately to our left.  They called it the Mist Trail because we were soaked with the spray from the waterfall.  Hill and I barely made it to the peak so I refuse to believe that it was properly classified as only a “moderate” hike.  Anywho, we loved it!  

Friday night we had a short wedding rehearsal followed by a huge BBQ buffet for all our guests.  We started with some story telling (of course all embarrassing from our earlier days) and then a Ken and Barbie game between the two of us (it was intended to see how well we knew the other).  We agreed Ken controls the TV remote, Barbie is always on time, and both Ken and Barbie have a tendency to speed.  One question was who uses the most hot water: we both answered our friend Pauravi uses more hot water than the two of us combined!  (She didn't seem amused with all the attention).  After the speeches and games we moved onto the latter half of the evening which consisted of drippy s’mores on the campfire and Flip Cup (a drinking game involving lots of beer and flipping plastic cups).  This game is a deadly combo, well for me it was. My bro got me out of there by 12:30am; yikes lesson learned - I don’t think I would have made it to my own wedding.  I'll never forget to rub it in that the California team beat the Wisconsin team in a fierce battle of Flip Cup on the eve of my wedding.

Saturday July 16th was the big day.  We started the morning shooting artsy outdoor pictures around the natural beauty of the area.  We took a lunch break and then did all assortments of family pictures.  Hillary looked amazing and it took everything in my power not to tear up under that chuppah as I read my vows.  Thank goodness Collen my 4 year old nephew provided comic relief just minutes before as the flower boy.  He was given strict instructions to drop only a peddle or two at a time and well, let’s just say he followed the rules literally.  My uncle Jack did an amazing job officiating the wedding (how often can you get a strict Jew to become a minister?) and introducing Ken and Hillary Altmann into the world!!!  

At the reception, we did our first dance “Ken and Hill style” check it out here  http://youtu.be/YMqw2n6UBTc

The toasts by our guests, the dancing til dawn, and the food and cupcakes were magical.  Our DJ rocked the house so much we even had wedding crashers dancing on the sidelines.  Hill and I could not have asked for more -- it was an experience that we will cherish always and never forget.  Thanks to my parents Sheila and Roy, and Chuck and Donna for hosting Friday and being so supportive and of course thanks to Hill’s parents Theresa and John, and Hans and Cheryl.  Special shout out to Theresa, if you ever need a wedding coordinator she is the best.  We know we’re biased, but it was the best wedding event ever!!!