Museums in the Rain

Rob and I awoke to an overcast sky and slight rain the next day.  Enough to be annoying, but not prohibiting outside time.  After all of our walking yesterday though, we opted for the bus to take us over to Golden Gate Park, San Francisco's Green Space.  We purchased the City Pass which includes tickets to many of the city's popular attractions, one of which being the California Academy of Sciences. 

When we arrived to the museum, we noticed a long line outside and wondered if we got the times mixed up for when they opened.  As we approached, we found out, no, they opened at the normal time (30 min-an hour before), but that is was in fact the third Wednesday of the month and so today was a free day at the museum.  So we shoved our City Passes back in our jackets and joined the hordes of people already inside. 

The California Academy of Sciences is like a blend of an aquarium, and the Natural History Museum at the Smithsonian.  Their most famous animal on site is an albino alligator.  He didn't move the entire time we were there, so hard to say if he's "real".  :P

We wandered where there looked like there were the fewest people, but seeings how they were everywhere, we just hoped for the best.  We got tickets to see the Planetarium for 1pm entrance.  It was currently 11am and we weren't sure we would make until then.  We made our way to their roof top to look at their green space.  They planted trees and plants on the top of the building.  After about 5 minutes of that, we heard this robotic voice say, "Do not use the elevator, please use the stairs".  I thought this was rather odd and no one was near the elevator.  Turns out the museum was being evacuated for reasons not totally disclosed, but I have a feeling they got too many people in the building. 

View of The California Academy of Sciences from the 9th floor of the De  Young Museum

Most people left the building and stayed right outside the entrance, but Rob and I had to inside scoop on where to go.  When we got our tickets to the Planetarium, the guy told us that the 9th floor Observation Tower of the De Young Museum was free as well as the entire bottom floor.  So we booked it across the lawn and went straight to the 9th floor.  It was kind of cloudy and rainy still to the view wasn't super great, but it was still nice to be out of the weather and looking around the Park with far fewer people.  After about 20 minutes up there we could tell they were letting people back in across the street, but we decided we had seen enough and did not go back.

Crowds trying to get back in

Instead we opted to see what was happening on the first floor which was also free.  Imagine our luck when we found out they are displaying flower arrangements as art pieces.  Win!  Far better than looking at stuffed lions. 

My favorite

After we had spent some time stopping to smell the flowers, we ventured onward to our next stop, The Japanese Tea Garden also located in the Golden Gate Park.  This was like a little oasis from the busy city.  Well worth the stop.

Rob at the gate to the Japanese Tea Garden

From there we hoped a bus back towards Fishermans Wharf for a ride on the trolley.  If you are in San Francisco it's required you take a ride on one.  :)  We figured we would take the long way to dinner that night by taking a trolley into the city and then walking a few blocks.  It was very interesting watching them work the trolley.

Trolley comes in, passengers get off, the "conductors" have to turn it around to go back the other way.

It's done manually with grunt force.  Talk about getting a good work out on the job.

They push it back into place to get it ready for people to board.

Rob and I were pretty excited to ride along.  There are only 3 cable car lines still in operation today.  I hope they never get rid of them because they are so cool.  They add something to the city.

Rob on the outside of the trolley

Clever camera angle allowed me to take a shot of the levers without being in the way.  They are pretty strict about their space, as the should be.  They need to work those levers to make the trolley stop.  Again, 100% manual operation.

Like a real city girl.

We ended the evening with a couple of cupcakes from a bakery in Ghirhadelli Square.

City Walking Tour

Day 2 of our honeymoon involved a lot of walking.  We set out from our hotel, grabbed a quick breakfast at Starbucks and headed over to the Exploratorium.  We thought it didn't look to far on the map, but we were mistaken.  That was quite a walk! 

A few blocks into our journey was the Hyde Street Pier that has a lot of neat ships parked along it that you can tour.  Normally the admission is $5 a person for browsing, but it was National Park Week when we were out there, so it was free.  We figured hey, why not. The joys of having no agenda/itinerary.  :)

We got some decent views off the masted ship.  Technically that day was supposed to be rainy, but it worked out to be quite nice with just a quick afternoon shower.  So we enjoyed some photos with blue skies.

 

We finally arrived at the Exploratorium to let our inner 5 year old selves out to play.  This is a hands on science museum so we geeked out for the better part of 4 hours with a break from lunch in the middle somewhere.  The food wasn't too bad for museum food.  :)

The buildings around the Exploratorium

After we were done playing we decided to walk over to Crissy Field, which is nothing more than a small piece of "beach" (sandy shore) that apparently a lot of wind surfers use to set sail from.  It was like 50 degrees out and I am sure the water was even colder, but the bay still had people out there on the water.  They were all in wet suits of course, but it just seemed nuts to me.

Sarah at Crissy Field

Then we popped over to the Wave Organ which is out on a tiny outcrop of land out in the water.  It's made up of a bunch of tubes that go down to where the water level meets the ground and when the waves move around it sounds like deep organ-ish tunes.  It was pretty neat, but not a show stopper.

Rob at the Wave Organ

Hello California!

The day after the wedding, we checked out of the house, ate lunch with friends, and hit the road to the airport.  Our travels west were very smooth, no lost baggage, and we even landed in San Francisco a little early.  We grabbed a taxi and went straight to Fisherman's Wharf to our hotel.  We were greeted by friendly staff at the hotel and had our bags taken to our room where we promptly passed out.  :P  What a start to the honeymoon.

Our first real day in San Francisco, we started out at Boundin Bakery for sourdough french toast and some coffee which was very yummy.  We then wandered over to the famous Pier 39 to talk to some sea lions.

They look like their singing, but they were fighting to win the platform rights.

After we had enough fun with the sea lions we decided to try our luck at getting a cruise over to Alcatraz.  Our luck held and we got a seat on the next boat over.

Rob on the boat over

The ride over was fun and a little bumpy and a little windy.  I didn't realize that the island has really become more of a bird sanctuary than anything.  The instructions you get when you get off the boat are to not disturb the birds.  We went during mating season when they are apparently very territorial.  The park rangers told us, we will know you are where you aren't supposed to be because they will swarm you and dive bomb you.  Fair enough.  :)

Alcatraz!

These are the showers, not the ones shown in The Rock.  I have to say, I was a little sad about that.

Rob in solitary confinement :)

The mating territorial bird - the new camera has an amazing zoom.  :)

Rob and I on The Rock!

After spending a few hours on the island, we went back to the pier for lunch.  We ate at a place called Wipe Out and had some very delicious food.  From there we wondered around the pier and areas nearby.

My favorite store on the whole trip!

It's basically required that you stop by Lombard Street when you are staying 3 blocks from it.  It is a very crooked street.  I don't know how I would feel living on a street like this.  Too many people. 

 

To end our day, we of course, had to stop by the famed Ghirahdelli Square for some over priced chocolate you can get anywhere in the US now.  :) 

The Big Day!

*** The main reason for the delay of this post was I assumed we would be getting our photos from our photographer sooner than we did and I am posting now without her photos because she hasn't mailed them to us yet.  Once she does, I will highlight them in their own blog post.  Of course a move, temp housing, and new job haven't helped with finding time to do these things either.  :)

The long awaited day had finally arrived!  Rob and I had decided that we were not going to see each other the day of the wedding, so it made it a little interesting moving around the house.  My sister and brother-in-law made breakfast for the whole house on Friday, so we got quite a buffet of delicious foods to choose from including sausages, baked sweet breads, fruit, and mimosas. I grabbed a good plate of things and sat out on my private balcony sipping my mimosa and eating fruit in the bright sunshine.  Melissa and Joanna and Annie came to visit me and we played and enjoyed the weather. 

It came time to get to the salon for our hair dos and what not so we all piled into my sisters van and went to Hairoics for some pampering.  We brought a tray of chow and more champagne to sip on at the salon.

How it begins

The salon with everyone getting ready

Almost done with the hair

The finished product :)

From there we picked up the flowers from Harris Teeter which were just fabulous.  I couldn't have asked for nicer flowers that really fit our wedding.  We wanted simple but pretty bouquets and he nailed it perfectly.  The gals went back to the house and ate our lunch before getting ready for the ceremony. 

From that point on it was a bit of a whirlwind of activity.  The girls were getting ready upstairs, the boys took over the downstairs and there were people everywhere.  Our photographer showed up and started dancing between the floors to capture everything.  (She did a spectacular job)  Once we were set, we made out way over to the ceremony site. 

Getting some last minute instructions before heading down the aisle

Dad and I make our way down the beach

Rob and I see each other for the first time that day

Rob smiling :)

Exchanging vows

You may now kiss the bride

On our way to happily ever after

Fun bridal party poses

I feel like this is the appropriate place to give a huge thank you to the wonderful individuals that married us.  Meredith and Brantley put together such a beautiful ceremony and homily.  It was personal and it was lovely.  We are truly grateful to know such wonderful people.

Also, I would like to give a lot of thanks to Mr. Dave Hauver who filmed our ceremony and through miracles of modern technology was able to stream it live over the internet for people who couldn't make it.  We heard scattered reports of success, so we were pretty pleased we had the ability to share our day them. 

After the ceremony and pictures, we were whisked away to do some of our individual and couple portraits which turned out fabulous!  I can't wait to share them with you.  Before we knew it, we were running late to be at the reception to get the party under way!

Hiding on the back porch to be announced in with the rest of the bridal party

Our first dance - Lucky by Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillat

Father Daughter dance - Just The Way You Are by Billy Joel

Mother Son dance - The Man You've Become by Molly Pasutti

Our DJ did a great job getting people out on the dance floor and just having a great time.  It was the most fun I have had in a long time.  Of course being surrounded by friends and family and celebrating one of the biggest moments in your life probably had something to do with it.  Rob and I were absolutely overjoyed by how wonderful everything went and really happy to see everyone.  We wouldn't have changed a single thing about our wedding and would do it all over again in a heart beat.

Places People!

Rehearsals are often needed to make sure that important events go as planned. Usually they are associated with live drama or music or dance, but someone along the way thought they would be good for weddings too.

On Friday, after most people had arrived, we headed over to the ceremony location to get our practice on. The weather was holding out pretty well and we kicked off the sandals and went to get the game plan together.


Meredith and Brantley were our fabulous officiants who provided the general outline of the ceremony and when to move where. After everyone figured out who there exit buddy was, we did a test run to make sure we really knew what we were doing. Since everyone has been in at least a wedding or attended one in the last 2-3 years, we knew the drill.

I had a bouquet that was part of the Jack N' Jill bridal shower contest and then one from my shower. My sister and all her creativeness blended the two for the gianormous monster I am seen holding below. After we had left for our honeymoon, I began to wonder where on earth that thing have wondered off to. The last time I saw it was in Colleen and Bruce's trunk. When we got back, it was piled on the stack of boxes in our apartment. *shurgs* I have no clue who got it back.

From the rehearsal part of the night, we went to the dinner part of the night. This was most exciting because we were hungry and going to one of our favorite places to eat; The Black Pelican. Dinner was delicious and even came when some entertainment from Bill the Best Man.


A brief welcome was said by Rob's dad and then a small speech from my dad. We followed with our bridal party gifts. The boys got engraved pocket knives and the girls got an engraved jewelry box along with a necklace that they could wear the day of the wedding. My step mom made those and they were very nice. Then it was time to get some rest for the big day ahead. ;)

Arrival to the OBX

In the week leading up to the wedding, there was a lot going on. Lists were getting checked off left and right and we were packing fools. Not only did we need to get everything for the wedding, we needed all of our stuff for our honeymoon as well. In all the craziness I also got a wicked head cold which added a whole new layer of fun to the already stressful week.

We managed to make it to the airport and got down to Norfolk without too much trouble. One the second leg of the flight though, my head felt like it was going to explode. That was the first time I had flown with a head cold and I have decided I really don't like it.

Our trip down to the Outer Banks was much shorter than all our previous trips down. It was kind of refreshing and felt like we were cheating by being in the car for only 2 hours. We managed to make it down in time to drop our stuff at our house and meet Rob's family for dinner at one of our favorite places, Tortuga's Lie.

After dinner, Rob and I explored our newly remodeled house. When we rented it, the scheme for the decor was kind of kitchy beach/border line tacky if it weren't at the beach. The week before we arrived, they updated the website with the new photos. I thought I had saved the wrong website at first, but then realized they totally overhauled the place. It looked much more updated modern beach. Very classy. It turned out that we were the first people to rent the house after it's renovations. What a super bonus.

On Thursday we took care of some of the errands we could before everyone got to the beach. I went to Hairoics for my trial hair run. It was nice to have someone play with my hair for a while. :)


After the hair shop, I met up with Rob (he was picking up his tux) and we picked up our rings from Diamonds and Dunes. My favorite jewelry store. We grabbed some chow and headed back to the house to relax for a bit.

Given the beautiful weather, I went to the beach to take in the awesome views and just have a zen moment. Just a wonderful reminder why we chose this as the place to get married.


Thursday night we got a hold of everyone we knew that was in the area and went to Jockey's Ridge to watch the sunset. It was nice to share a very Outer Banks thing with so many people who haven't been there before. Jumping down the dunes after the sun had set was a huge hit, especially with Grandma Smith who was laughing so hard and releasing her inner 12 year old.



Then back to the house for much needed rest to try and kick that cold.

Filling the Gaps

This is an abridged version of the events that happened in between the bridal shower and our arrival on the Outer Banks.

Bachelorette/Bachelor Party - Rob and I had our respective parties with our best gals/guys. I had mine in DC with all the DC gals. We had a great dinner that Amanda cooked for us and we enjoyed some cocktails while hanging around. The following day a smaller contingent of us went wine tasting. It was a lot of fun. As for what the boys did, Bruce came and took Rob and they went to Boston. They attended some of PAX East,went to a comedy show, went on some brewery tours, and did a lot of drinking.

Easter - For the first time in about 10 years, I made it to our family gathering for Easter. This was the first time that Rob really was introduced to the rest of my family (those that were present). He has met a few here and there, but this was the first official family function he attended. He met about 60% of them, so that was good. They held an Easter Egg hunt for the younger kids and enjoyed the very warm weather. It was quite nice.

So that's the events leading up to the wedding that happened between the shower and when we arrived at the beach. Stay tuned! I am an updating fool now!