America's Most Liveable City and Beyond

Our first stop was in America's most liveable city. Some may claim that it is the WORLD'S most liveable city, but that's purely anecdotal and certainly not a scientific conclusion. With each visit, we're having a harder time disagreeing that Pittsburgh, PA is a damn good place to be.

We hung out with Kristin (kate's best friend from college) and Doug and their awesome dog Molly AND we got to meet Mairin! We instantly fell in love with Mairin...who couldn't fall in love with a super cute baby who smiles upon waking up, who makes fun noises, who sleeps at night on a schedule, and who does yoga? Yeah, we couldn't resist.
______________________________________________________________

Then we drove south to Asheville, NC to see Shaun and Jessie (newlyweds!). We stopped at a winery in West Virginia along the way. When tasting the wine, Kate and I found ourselves using adjectives like "fermented cabbage" and "Kim-chi" and "essence of roasted turds." It was like some terrible joke the winery was playing on us as they didn't have a discard pitcher, so we HAD to drink the tasting. In conclusion, West Virginia should stick with white water.


__________________________________________________________________

Who knew a place like Asheville existed below the Mason-Dixon? A haven of hippies and liberal folk who appreciate a clear sky full of stars and the sound of crickets at night. We had a blast sippin' on the champagne of beers, shootin' the breeze with some great friends, and enjoying the cool summer night.

We're off to Nashville in about a half-hour...

Updates and Cross Country Voyage

Here's a little hint to where the reception will be held. The reception is about a mile or 2 from the ceremony so everything will conveniently be held in downtown Harrisburg.

We are still working on hotels. We have rooms at one hotel already secured, and we're waiting for a contract of some sorts from the second hotel. We were worried about the availability of rooms because we were told by a caterer that we should have blocked off rooms "yesterday." Well, after further research, we discovered that it's actually the slowest time of year for the hotels around here. So there should be plenty of space for everyone.

We had a little disappointment with booking our first-choice for the Friday night dinner venue. We were hoping to have a Pirate or Renaissance-themed feast at a 19th-centure brewery, but someone beat us to it and the venue was unavailable. We tried to convince the manager that we would be way more fun than the other group and she agreed, but her hands were tied (probably by some Renaissance wench or Captain Jack). We'll keep you posted as we figure out dinner details for Friday.

Devin and I leave for our cross-country road trip in about an hour. Our first stop will be in Pittsburgh with updates and photos occurring across the U.S. of A.

Oh, and here is another riddle, just for Paul (aka Nades):

What kind of coat can only be put on when wet?

Riddle Me This

Congrats to Jacquie and Barbara!

Corn on the cob is the answer to the riddle that was posted a couple of days ago. A few words about each of these fantastic people....

Barbara- "Master of practical jokes" this Aunt of Devin can hang with the best. Keep on your toes around her! She plays a mean slot machine, but is nothing but kind and lighthearted.

Jacquie- A woman who knows what she wants and she is not afraid to ask for it, even if it is a pair of your underpants (clean, of course). She has an uncanny ability for nick-naming and a penchant for ducks.

Location, location, location

State Capitol Building - ceremony locale

We have FINALLY figured out the location for the big event on November 24th, 2007. We will be polling the crowd for some help with the details, but generally everything will be happening in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. How do I get to such a place, you ask?? Here are some transportation ideas if you need to fly to the area:

1) Fly into Harrisburg International Airport

2) Fly into Philadelphia Airport. Philly is about a 2-hour drive to Harrisburg. There is also a train that goes directly from Philly to Harrisburg that would take about 2 hours or maybe even less.

3) Fly into Baltimore-Washington International (BWI). It is a 1.5 hour drive from BWI to Harrisburg. There is no mass transit (unfortunately) that travels from BWI to Harrisburg. Oh wait, there IS the Greyhound bus.

We are currently working on hotel information. There will be a dinner on Friday, November 23rd that all guests are invited to attend and that is sure to be a lot of fun. Okay, we can't guarantee it will be fun, but with all of you there, how could it not be?

If any west coasters are interested in having Thanksgiving on the east coast, feel free to make travel arrangements to get into town on Thursday. There will definitely be a place you can stay and eat at no cost to you.

Oh yeah...the pictures. We'll be having our ceremony in the rotunda of the state capitol building. We'll basically be under that big green dome. There are pictures of the inside, too.

Allllmost

We're very very close to making decisions. We just need to contact a couple more places to confirm things and we will post by this evening with plenty of info for everyone!

Big slackers with the blog

Yes, yes, we admit that we have been complete slackers with updating the blog. But alas! We are back and ready to update everyone! The only problem is that we don't have much to update. Here's the scoop...the venue will either be in Harrisburg or in the Poconos. We are going to check out a place in the Poconos this Wednesday and will most likely have a final decision by 4 PM that day (our appt with Merrily at the Mountaintop Inn is at 2 PM). We know it's a plane ticket for some guests so we want to get the information regarding the location to you as soon as possible. We PROMISE that it will be by Wednesday.

In the meantime, here's a riddle to ponder:
You throw away my outside and cook my inside. Then you eat my outside and throw away my inside. What am I?