A grand stay

i woke up yesturday morning three days into my 2nd week stay in New Jersey, and headed for the shower. My first clue as to the day i was about to have should have been when I couldn't locate the plush bath mat. Removed, but not replaced, I made due with throwing a towel on the floor. No biggy. I hopped in the shower, only to find that my expensive, re-bottled (for 3 oz travel allowance) facial wash was not in the shower, where i had left it the morning before. It had been thrown out by the over-zealous cleaning crew, along with my bar soap. I was furious. This wasn't your $3.00 Suave facial wash. In addition, I now had to wash my face with citrus body soap (so supplied by the hotel) for the next three days, which, as I presummed, has caused a huge breakout on my face and a new location for the US to drill for oil. Out of the shower, I called room service and ordered oatmeal and an english muffin. The time: 7:15 am. I had an 8 am call with my boss and coworkers out in India, and then needed to be at the client site by 8:45 am. I quickly got dressed in shorts and a t-shirt, anticipating a knock on my door. I pulled out my outfit for the day...it was wrinkled as expected. I headed for the closet to pull out the ironing board and iron. To my utter annoyance, there was no pad on the ironing board. Now, i'm no suzy homemaker, but i'm pretty sure that i need some sort of covering on the metal ironing board so that i can iron my clothes. So I call the front desk and ask for another ironing board. In the meantime, I realize that the time is dangerously close to 8 am. And still no breakfast. i make another call to the front desk. "oh my god, you haven't got your breakfast yet?". We'll get it to you in 20 minutes". hmmm. i don't think so. "actually", i say, "i need my breakfast in 5 minutes so i can eat it before i have to head out for the day." 5 minutes later, there's a knock on my door. it's my....ironing board. yeah! i get on the phone with india and struggle through 40 minutes of conversation i can't understand. in the meantime, i iron my outfit for the day, and my breakfast finally arrives. to the utter dismay of the nicest room service server, he can't believe i've waited 1.25 hours for my breakfast. he apologizes profusely as i scramble to put my headset on mute so India doesn't hear him. i sign the slip and tip him well...it isn't his fault, i know. so as i'm on mute, i try to inhale my breakfast. it's now 8:25 am and i am still not dressed. my oatmeal is cold, not surprisingly. however, it gets weirder. i turn over my english muffin so i can add jelly to it, and lying in between both halfs, no lie, is a tie wrap. Those wire things with paper on them, that are used to close the bag of english muffins. this tie wrap is browned, like my english muffin. How does this happen? How does a tie wrap get toasted with my english muffin without being noticed? only me. i swear only these weird things happen to me. my call finally ends at 8:40 am. i race to change my clothes, brush my teeth, put some makeup on, though i have to skip a few steps due to time, and run out the door. But in case you thought that was it, i'll list the rest for good posterity: my dinner that night turned up without cole slaw, my burger burnt to a crisp. i skipped breakfast the next morning to keep my sanity, but my dinner arrived over an hour late, with the wrong dressing, and the wrong side dish. a stay to remember for sure.

pros and cons of working for...

So my latest gig is working for a company, in which i will not name, based in New Jersey (per previous post). The building i am in is awesome. it's difficult to describe, but here goes: though the company logo is a predominent symbol everywhere you look, and its (the logo) color takes a predominence in each conference room and office space, there's not one area in this building that doesn't shout unique. There is money in a building that can afford to buy 12 different types of carpeting and 15 different styles of large tile (both glossy and matte finishes) and then lay them down in a quiltwork pattern, interchangeably across every floor in the building. There are 5 conference rooms down stairs, each named a different letter for an acronym that stands for one of their main "power" words for the company. There are 10 conference rooms upstairs, each with a "power" word attached to the door, such as "Innovation" or "Culture". Each of these 15 rooms has a different patter of the 12 types of carpeting. Carpetting cut into squares and triangles and rectangles and layed out with an indifference to coordination or matching. Purples next to dark blues next to red next to turquoise next to yellows. Mostly bright colors that make you a bit dizzy. Some carpetting is patterned even. There is no rhyme or reason to the wall colors, the room shape and size, the texture on the walls, or how the areas are divided. it is a maze of color and design techniques and it took me a few days before i didn't get lost finding the restrooms. If you are scheduled to meet in a conference room upstairs, you get free drinks and treats. If you are downstairs, you must purchase drinks and snacks out of vending machines, like most companies. However, there is one thing that does not deviate from the rule. All members of this company dress in business suits, each wearing the company insignia pin on the left lapel of their suit jacket and when the owner shows up for a visit, you can be sure that no one is caught snaking, drinks are put on the floor, and suit jackets are doned and buttoned. it seems military-eque to me, but it's nice to see that they take care of their workspace, they care enough about their customers to present themselves professionally and there is a true sense of respect for the work they do. They have definitely made the work week fly by with their humor and kindness.

Travel, not for fun

So it's less than 3 weeks from honeymoon bliss and I'm already apart from my hunny. It's work calling me to New Jersey for 2 weeks. A flight to Philly, a rental car drive to Mount Laurel, and a long stay at a bare minimum hotel. Yippee! Week one came and went in a blur of long meetings, bad sleep on a springy bed, late late dinners, and way too much typing. It is now the middle of week two, and i have no idea why i am typing this out now...i have been typing since 8 am this morning, and other than lunch break and dinner, i haven't stopped working on my laption for 12 hours. Week two is better because i am at Marriott. Newer beds, softer, comfy bedding, clean bathrooms, and ROOM SERVICE are required amenities when you live in a hotel. I am lucky that I had Saturday and Sunday with Scott back at home. But with a delayed flight on Friday night, and arriving home at midnight, Saturday morning was lazy and uneventful. We did manage to play golf, using my new (used) set of woman's clubs!!!, and scott using his new (new!) set of men's clubs. and we played a full-sized course, and walked it! it was gorgeous weather out. I spent the rest of saturday in a blur of tv, napping, and catching up on emails. I was a zombie. The work week in New Jersey had finally caught up with me. Sunday we visited Brian and Yelena's new home (NOT a town house!!!) and i dreamed of dark hard wood floors, real kitchen cabinets and LOTS of countertop space! Then we had Holly and Matt over for steak and corn on the cob, compliments of chef Scott. Matt brought over the DVD of our wedding and reception and i relived my favorite day! Thanks MATT! Then, as we wrapped up our game of Pitch, I got a surprise call from US Airways. My flight to NJ the following morning at 7 am had been canceled (due to "scheduling conflicts with the flight crew!!!). I, like 200 other Monday morning commuters, called US Airways in hopes of getting onto the 5:30 am flight from Hartford to Philly. No luck! There were NO flights for any airline either Sunday night or Monday morning. The earliest they could offer me was a flight at 3:40 pm on Monday afternoon. What a joke! My meetings started at 10 am! So, what do you do when you have no flight options? You hop in your car at 4:45 am and hope like hell that the George Washington bridge isn't backed up at 6:30 am, and you don't get lost driving through NYC the first time ever. I was extremely lucky I will admit. I got to my destination in NJ 45 minutes ahead of Mapquest time, and 2 hours before my meetings even started. And due to driving, i was able to bring 4+ ounces of hair gel, facial wash, body lotion, and other such wonderful liquids because my minivan doesn't have TSA limitations. So another 2 days and another 4 hour drive back to CT, and I will be home for what looks like 3 whole days! yeah! I'll be back next week for more New Jersey fun!

Our wedding day

I'm not sure if I can even describe this day. For most of you married folk, you don't need me to describe how I felt, the emotional rollercoaster ride the day took me on, or the complete joy I feel at being married to the most amazing partner in life. I am blessed. I am truly happy. And I love being Jaime Girouard. But for my own selfish reasons, I need to put in words the events and emotions of my wedding day. I actually slept well the night before. From 11 pm until 7 am, I slept soundly. It was the first decent night of sleep in a week. I checked the temperature outside first. Hoping and praying desperately for a temperature somewhere in the 70's, I was surprised to find that the air finally cooled off. The wind was gusty, but refreshing and welcomed. The clouds were dark, almost black, and the sun rising behind the clouds made the sky seem poisonous. It looked like there was a tropical storm breezing in, but to my utter amazement the clouds broke and within an hour the sun was shining and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. The weather was perfect. Windy, but perfect. Ironically, I wasn't nervous at all. I had a schedule and things to get done, and before everyone arrived at 8 am, I needed to get all my stuff packed and ready to go so that Scott and the kids and I would be ready to depart the next day on time. Joy came over to wish me luck and to give me hugs. It was great to see her as this long-time friend of mine and I hardly ever see each other or chat with one another. Mom and I tried desperately to get some quality time in but that didn't happen. Too many things to do, and Dad was off completing his "daddy-do-list" which I created for him the night before. By 8:15 am, my mom's room was buzzing with hairspray, hot rollers, hair pins, and anxiety. I knew my hairdresser was going to die when she noticed my hair was cut short and the up-do we had practiced and agreed upon 2 months earlier just wasn't going to work. But also for the past 2 months, I was worried about my veil. A worry I'm sure not many brides worry about to the length that I did, but well, that's just me. I knew my veil would give me grief and my hairstyle was the one thing that could make or break the annoyance of that 50lb veil. (slight exaggeration, but still, it was heavy) Holly's hair was up in hot rollers quickly and then Teri was in the hot seat. Knowing the photographer would be arriving by 11:30 am, Teri and Holly got into their dresses. So beautiful. I loved the red color of the dresses and all my bridesmaids looked so beautiful, each in a style that fitted them best. Finally, with my hair in a style that suited me best, perfect with pearls that were borrowed and added the perfect touch, I was ready to get into my dress. The morning went by so fast, it's a blur that we were all able to get ready on time. Dad was kicked out of his bedroom, so he got dressed in Todd's old room. Todd came in and got dressed at the house too. It was so wonderful to have Todd there. There are memories in my life that I tuck away in a special place. Having Todd at the house while I was getting ready on my wedding day, was one of those special times. He gave me a sense of calm. He didn't have to say anything, I just felt his brotherly unconditional support, and he'll never fully know how much that meant to me. All of a sudden, it was 11:30. Where did the time go? I had make-up to put on and a bridesmaid literally stuck in the mud. I didn't panic. Thanks to long-time neighbors and close friends of my family, my bridesmaid was saved and on time. Her husband and 4 kids, on the other hand, were left behind to find their way out of the ditch. It was a full house. Devon was perfectly handsome and darn cute holding his ring bearer pillow. Grace. Goodness! She was dropped off at 10 am and was so quiet. Very unusual for Grace! She was bright-eyed and a bit lost in the sea of women, make-up, hair-dos, and lots and lots of dresses! Her hair, 10 inches shorter than I've ever seen it, was so darn cute in curls and a tiara. She couldn't wait to get in her dress. She probably asked me 5 times if she could put it on. But Grace is a dirt magnet, god love her, so we waited until the very last minute. Despite the tropical storm-like winds, we headed outside for pictures. Mom, Dad, Todd, Devon, Grace, and all my bridesmaids. By 12:15 we were done and it was a waiting game. A few sips of water and then it was time to put my veil on and head out. Holly played chauffer as we all hopped into my Aunt and Uncle's new minivan and drove the .25 miles to the church. The butterflies started to stir. We walked into the church and hid in the "bride room" and then the nerves kicked in full force. Holy shit?!?! Was I really getting married? Now? My maid of honor started to cry. I started to cry. I made my Dad start to cry. OK, had to get a hold of myself. Deep breath. The song started and Grace and Devon made their way down the aisle. They were amazing. Devon was so handsome and so well-behaved for a 4-year old. Then Stef, the Leslie, then Katina, then Holly. Slowly, but surely, I was losing all my girl-support. Then Teri was walking down the aisle. It was just Dad and I. I still couldn't quite believe this was my moment in time. I had been waiting for this day, for this moment for a long time and here it was and I still couldn't believe I was here, in my church, getting married. Then my song played. It was time. I grabbed hold of my Dad for dear life and walked down the aisle, determined not to blow a gasket. I saw Scott approaching the alter. His Scottish Tartan pinned to his right shoulder. He was handsome and proud and secure. And he wore his glasses for me. And then, the nerves went right out the door as my organist played and played and played and played. Dad and I were done walking. Dad was waiting for the sign from the priest so he could give me away. Scott was standing to my right, waiting patiently to take my hand. But we were frozen in place as we waited and waited for my organist to finish the song. And we were all watching the priest intently as he kept making small gestures, with his eyes and his head movements, towards the balcony where the organist was. But there was no stopping my organist. It was hilarious! And then finally the music stopped and my Dad gave me away, and my Scott took my hand and led me the rest of the way to the alter. And then the priest welcomed us all to the ceremony. And I was introduced as the "son" of Rudy and Nancy Ouellette. HAHAHA! And so the ceremony went on. Scott and I exchanged our own personal vows. His were SO much better than mine. He even memorized his vows. I, on the other hand, had Teri hold mine for me, and then pass them off to me like a school girl writing notes in study hall. And yes, I will admit this only once, Scott completely "out-wrote" me. His vows were thoughtful, compassionate, sincere and genuine. Then we exchanged rings and I forgot all the words I had to say. HAHAHA! Then Grace, Austin, Scott and I all lighted the Unity Candle together. It was a wonderful moment. And then Scott kissed the bride. yeah!The rest of the ceremony I barely remember. A few more great songs, some prayers, and a wonderful homily by Fr. Roland, in which he blessed Scott and I with a beautiful Crucifix. A few more kisses and then the mass was over. I wanted to Jig down the aisle, but I contained myself.

MR & MRS SCOTT GIROUARD!!

Our reception was great. At least Scott and I enjoyed ourselves. Our song, "Feels like Home", by Chantal Kreviazuk was how I felt at that moment, and every moment I have with Scott. He calms me. He balances me. He supports me. I am blessed to be married to him.

The day before our wedding

Friday. The day before the most wonderful day. It was 98 degrees in Van Buren Maine. Literally crushing the record high temp for that time of year. Of course. This is NOT good news for Scott and I. My digestive system does not do well in these types of temperatures, so i was mostly a mess on Friday. But luckily, the reception hall which we had to decorate was air conditioned. A true blessing. Another early morning fury of showers, breakfast and running around. Luckily, timing was perfect and at 8 am we got a call from our neighbor, Mrs. Ouellette. Her
husband graciously charged up the battery to their grandsons' battery-powered Jeep so that Grace and Austin could enjoy. And for an hour, enjoy they did. Grace was a maniac. She somehow managed to do a 180...it was hilarious...i almost peed my pants. What a riot she is. Even Austin came inside after 15 minutes or so and said, "Grace wore me out". HAHAHA!

By 9 am we were off and running. In Van Buren, there's really only once place to have a wedding reception...the good old American Legion. To make it a bit more elegant, I chose to rent round tables and white linens. The rental company were supposed to arrive at 9 am at the Legion so we all made plans to meet there. While the tables showed up 2 hours late, my friends and family didn't disappoint. I had quite the crowd of helpers bright-eyed and bushy-tailed ready to be directed, ready to wash vases, pack up and store the 30+ rectangular tables, and then unload and set up 28 round tables. We hustled from 9 until 12:30 and in the end, the reception hall looked wonderful. Tables only housing white linens, a vase with a deep red gerbera daisy sitting on top of a deep red cloth underlay, and favor cards. A few white lights, a few well-situated red gerbera daisies, and a hand-painted sign (an 11th grader in my mom's high school class) that hung above the head table completed the decorations. Simple but elegant. Hard work was rewarded with pizza, and then we all decided some fun was in order, and we headed back to Tastee Food for more ice cream (it was SO hot) and more playground fun for the kids. The play area at Tastee Food is amazing. 2 playsets, a large dollhouse, and a giant-sized chess board were a hit for the kids. Then an hour to just chill until the rehearsal at the church. The rehearsal was quick and efficient, except that Scott and I left the church puzzled as to when we were to "kiss the bride" in our ceremony. Our priest said he doesn't like to plan out that moment in advance, but would let us know when the moment "came to him" in the ceremony. Not really knowing when we should kiss, and not wanting to miss "the" moment, Scott and I ended up kissing 3 times in our wedding ceremony. Leave it to us to bypass our priest and express our love our way. hehehe

The rehearsal dinner was great. Thanks to the hard work of my family, both Ouellettes and Pelletiers, we had a ton of amazing food and service with a smile. It was relaxing and casual and it was Air Conditioned! yeah! The kids had a huge area outside to play and run around. Grace was even "baptised" with a diet coke. You'll have to ask her to explain that to you. Sometimes there's just no explanation for the things kids say. But you can determine the amount of fun kids have by how dirty they are at the end of the day...Grace and Austin had an amazing day!

And so did we! THANK YOU THANK YOU to all of you who were part of making this day so amazing, from start to finish! There was a lot of hard work and a lot of sweating, and Scott and I are very grateful for everything!

Last minute wedding errands

Thursday, May 24: If you remember or read my last post, I mentioned something about "not caring what went wrong for my wedding as long as we had Grace and Austin". Well, that came back to haunt me. But compared to the drama of our honeymoon, the few days leading up to our wedding, and our wedding day were perfect. Busy, hectic, but perfect in comparison.

Thursday was so busy, it was a blur. Waking early after very little sleep, we got the kids fed, showered, and dressed. We'll use the word "fed" lightly here because Grace wanted nothing to do with her cereal because that darn Tootsie roll was baiting her. Finally, after a small bribe with yogurt, I gave in. Half that Tootsie roll was gone in minutes. A girl after my own heart. Then Dad was on grampa duty. Scott and I hurried to the Town Hall to get our marriage license, while he watched Grace and Austin. Most people apply for it early, but we couldn't get to Van Buren to do this, so as per usual, it was last minute hoping and praying. Within minutes, our license was handed to us, unsigned, but ready to go. Then it was off to Caribou. We had a wedding cake to finalize and pay for. Mrs. Hanson was excellent and our cake was going to be great, I was sure. Then, off to the DJ to finalize songs and hopefully teach our DJ the correct way to pronounce Girouard. That trip proved worthless because on our wedding day, Scott's parents were called Mr. and Mrs. Jared. Too funny! At noon, we rushed back to Van Buren so I could have lunch with Mom at school. Grace came along and fell in love with mom's "day care" room...TONS of toys in there. I let Grace play for a while, and then we headed back to the house for much needed naps. Grace was exhausted. A child that could care less about TV or movies, but believe it or not, LOVES the food network and her Emerile. We turned on Emerile and Grace rested for a bit. But as things go, she was too excited to stay still for too long. By late in the afternoon, the weather was starting to kick in hard core. Now for all you heat lovers out there, I know you won't understand where I'm coming from, but 90 degree heat in Van Buren is unthinkable and unbearable. It's humid and sticky and my parents have no form of AC in their house in town. It was hot, and starting to get miserable for Scott and I. We are not huge fans of the humidity that the East Coast can bring. Thursday night brought many travelers into Van Buren. The first being Holly and Matt. They met us for dinner at the Tastee Food. My alma mater ice cream scooping days. We had a great meal and ice cream (who cares about the diet now!) and the kids LOVED the play set. Leslie and John joined us, which was great. After dinner, it was a mad house. First, the Aunts came. We rushed off to Tante Omerine's house to see them all drive in. Tante Rolande, Tante Charleen, Tante Rena. Then Tante Dette, Tante Rob and Tante Georgine. It was so great to see them all! They got to meet Austin and Grace, and even Matt and Holly joined the festivities. Matt was mistaken to be Scott's brother. I guess dark hair and broad shoulders are enough to make two men seem related. It was funny. Scott's real brother Paul couldn't look less like Scott, they are polar opposites. But then, I often thought I didn't look much like my brother either, with his green eyes and olive-toned skin. At least we have the same million dollar smile, right mom and dad!! After a quick round of hugs and introductions, it was off to the motel to check and see if Scott's Mom and Dad had arrived. Timing couldn't have been more perfect. They pulled in the parking lot right in front of me. If I could capture the look on Andy's face when he got out of the car, i would be a millionaire. Priceless! Needless to say, I owe Andy and Janet a few thousand favors for making the long, long journey to Van Buren with Scott's mom and dad. They looked tired and ready to stand, but they arrived in great form and ready to party. They were good sports to say the least. After yet another crazy mishap with the motel's reservations, we got them situated in joining rooms on the second floor. Then, we brought them back to my parents' house for drinks and some chatter. But even at 10 pm, the day was not over. We quickly put the kids to bed, and then ran back to the hotel to meet Scott's father and step-mom Diana at the motel. They had just arrived from a 1500 mile trip, coming from southern Indiana. You can't get more dedicated than that for sure. It was so wonderful to see them again and to have them at our wedding. It meant the world to us and Scott and I will forever cherish that. We got them settled in and then finally, Scott and I returned home and went to bed.

The start of the wedding motorcade

It all started Wednesday, May 23rd. If I’m going to tell this story, I’m going to start from the very beginning, as tedious as it might seem to you. I met my bestest CT friend, Holly, at Green Tangerine spa at 10 am that morning. We were scheduled for mannies and peddies. Nothing about my wedding was typical, starting at my nails. I had tried like hell to grow them long for this very event. But, I’m human and have a few horrid habits, such as biting my nails when I’m nervous. And while this habit is mostly under control now that I’m in my 30s, I was under considerable stress those last few days. So a few nails were missing and my manicurist wasn’t thrill about applying French tips on my non-existent fingernails. But I persuaded her and she did an OK job. In the middle of my manicure, I notice that my nails are almost finished with their 3 layers of lacquer and Holly’s still getting an arm massage, worthy of a bride. Hey, wait a minute! I’m the bride this time!! Oh well, as per usual, I get gypped, even on my own wedding manicure! We then moved onto our pedicures. Because I shaved that morning, I wasn’t able to enjoy the best part of a pedicure…the exfoliating leg massage “it’ll burn your legs because you shaved!”. Well la-di-da. I guess I’ll arrive with my fur on next time. All in all, though, the manicure and pedicure was great, and I was grateful and excited that Holly joined me in this event. At the last minute, I also decided to chop off my hair. Probably another “don’t” on the list in my wedding planner, but I was, by far, your least typical bride. I was much more worried about my neck hurting from my veil and the weight of all my hair than having long, lush curls cascading down my back on my wedding day. The hair cut was amazing. Kathy did an amazing job and I felt so free! Unfortunately, in my excitement over the hair cut, I walked away from the Green Tangerine without the ONE thing I had told myself over and over again not to forget…the nail polish color Holly and I had specifically used on our feet! Oh well, if the toes got chipped I would not be able to fix them. I just had to be careful to keep my toes clean!

The rest of the afternoon dragged on in large doses of anxiety and fear. Fear that 2 small children would be lost in a game of ex-manipulation. Four o’clock could not come fast enough, and trust me, it didn’t come fast. Finally, I got the call I was hoping for…Scott was on his way to Manchester, Austin and Grace in tow! YIPPPEE! I could FINALLY relax. I told myself, and many loving friends who offered many a ear, that I didn’t care what happened from this point on as long as we had Austin and Grace with us. Well….someone heard that remark, and it bit me hard in the butt! (Details to follow in the next blog segment). The drive to Maine was amazing. Austin and Grace were troopers. They are amazing kids and I could go on and on about how wonderful they are, but even at 9 hours in length, I wish I could relive that drive over and over. They were THAT great. It's hard to explain in words what it's like to be a step-mom. You spend many moments loving children that you did not bear and many moments worried about how to show that love appropriately. But if there was ever a turning point, a point where I no longer worried about how to show my love truly and completely, it was during our week in Van Buren with Austin and Grace. We arrived at 114 Cyr Avenue, Van Buren, Maine at 1:15 am. Two very tired kids were carried out of the van and a very large neon orange sign said “Welcome Austin & Grace”. (My parents are amazing...to welcome Austin and Grace in true Ouellette fashion...meant the world to me and Scott.) Attached to this sign, which was tapped to my parents’ storm door, were two of the largest tootsie-rolls I had ever seen. And I wasn’t the only one who noticed. Grace, who was knocked out almost unconscious, sleeping on my shoulder, awoke just in time to notice that chocolate awaited her arrival, and BING! She was wide awake! (guess what gracie had as part of her breakfast the next morning?) hehehe

Honeymoon Extravaganza!

Waking up Monday morning, I was excited, tired from lack of sleep, nervous about forgetting to pack something, but darn ready for my honeymoon. I popped a few Vitamin C tablets because I felt groggy and achy and hoped that my mild symptoms were only caused by the AC in our room. The flights were good, on time, no waiting, and great seats on the plane. I was still feeling a bit under the weather and slept most of the flight. The flight from North Carolina to the Bahamas was exciting. The ocean was amazing and Scott and I were thrilled to start our honeymoon. When making our descent we noticed quite a large area of swamps and run down houses. A foreshadowing of what was to come.

Getting through customs was a learning experience, but it was easy once we knew what to do. We waited patiently as couple after couple bypassed us in line because we weren’t being assertive enough. Finally through customs, we found our way to the Breezes resort customer service desk. A quick peak at our voucher allowed us a free shuttle to our hotel. This was the beginning of service you won’t find here in the US. While a bumpy road lies ahead, I can say this with certainty, the Bahamians are wonderfully friendly, courteous and happy people (in general). The service in the Bahamas is like nothing we’ve seen before. It was refreshing and a highlight of our honeymoon.

Once we arrived at the hotel, my sore throat had worked its way into a sore ear and I desperately wanted to find my DayQuill meds that I had packed. Unfortunately, we arrived at our hotel at 2:20, an unlike the US, check in at 3:00 pm in the Bahamas, means 3:00 pm and not a minute earlier. By the time it was our turn to at the check in counter (there were lots of us honeymooners in line), it was 2:40 and, like all the others in front of us, we were told that the cafeteria was closed for lunch and our room wouldn’t be ready until 3:00 pm and we had to come back at that time. We were fitted with bracelets, not unlike those tacky plastic bracelets my generation were subjected to when we entered a dance club and were not old enough to drink. We had to wear this bracelet throughout our stay. Another clue that maybe this wouldn’t be the enchanting honeymoon we predicted. By this time, I was exhausted and could barely swallow due to my sore throat. I needed some medication to ease the pain and wanted desperately to get in our room so I could rest. But we walked around the resort and got the lay of the land. The beach was beautiful and the weather was spectacular; about 85 degrees, with a wonderful breeze off the ocean. At 3:00 on the dot, we ventured back inside and waited at the front desk again. This time we weren’t just among a bus load of honeymooners, we were among everyone who had arrived during the day waiting for their room key.

We finally got our room key, and went to find it. It was the VERY last room in the farthest corner of the hotel. A walk that seemed obnoxiously long and tedious at that moment, but it turned out to be our greatest ally – separated from all the action and quiet at night. We had an oceanfront room on the second floor.

The view was gorgeous. Immediately I noticed a few odd things missing from our room, but shrugged it off. Who needs an iron and an ironing board on vacation, right? We didn’t have a luggage rack, but the room was spacious enough to dump our suitcase on the floor. What I did notice and did not shrug off, however, was how slimy our floors were. Smart to have ceramic tile considering the humidity and the location of this resort, but it seemed like the floors had been washed with Murphy’s oil. The bathroom was even less inviting. I threw down a bath towel so I could walk on it, and our shower curtain made sure that our showers were fast and furious. But I was finally able to take some ibuprofen and rest a few minutes and within 30 minutes I was feeling up to the beach. We threw on our bathing suits and headed out. Like two kids at Christmas, Scott and I found two lounge chairs and food!

Then, needing to cool off, we jumped into the ocean. It was fabulous. The sun was strong, so we found our way to our hotel gift shop to purchase more sun block (thanks to Katina, we had put some SPF 30 on, but being a liquid, we could only bring 3 ounces of it on the plane, and that was long gone the first day).

Back in our room, we checked out the other amenities in our hotel brochure, most of which we knew about: waterskiing, kayaks, lunch and dinner buffets, the pool bar, the fancier restaurants located at our resort, snorkeling, etc. We would learn later on that “all-inclusive” has its limitations just like everything else in life. Though I’m sure I’ll regret admitting this, I was dead asleep the first night by 9 pm. The ibuprofen helped, but little did I know, I was very sick. I woke up at 1:30 am with lymph nodes the size of small apples on both sides of my neck. I couldn’t swallow without seething pain, and my ear was definitely infected. By 7 am I couldn’t take the pain anymore, so I called the nurse’s station at the hotel. She told me it would cost me $125.00 to make an appointment with the doctor at the hotel. Or, I could catch bus #10 outside the hotel and get to the walk-in clinic, which would be “much cheaper”. So Scott and I showered, grabbed a quick bite to put in our tummies, and headed out in search of bus #10. For those of you visiting the Bahamas in the near future, all public transportation buses are #10! HAHAHAHAHA! We hopped on the #10 bus going the wrong direction, but luckily the bus driver was kind enough to tell us to cross the street and catch the OTHER #10 bus going WEST. We had to walk about ½ a mile before we got to a bus stop and were picked up. But $2.00 got us safely to the Walk-in clinic. A clinic that was efficient, clean, and friendly. And to this day, I am very grateful for my experience there. The service could not have been better. I was taken in within 15 minutes by a nurse who, ironically, pronounced my last name Ouellette, PERFECTLY. So perfectly, in fact, that I asked her how she knew my last name. She told me that while she herself was born and raised in the Bahamas; her mother was French Canadian from Quebec. Small world! She took my complaint, my blood pressure, my weight, and my pulse. Then told me that I had to register with the clinic and then the doctor would see me. Registering was easy, as long as I could afford the $125.00 deposit in order to see the doctor. HAHAHAHAHA! By this time, it was 11 am and I didn’t care how much I had to pay because I knew no amount of Vitamin C was going to cure me. I needed antibiotics and fast. It just floored me that I could have got an appointment with a doctor at the hotel for the SAME price hours earlier. So much for trying to save money. The doctor, however, was worth every penny. She was wonderful; funny, caring, quick, but not in the slightest dismissive. Within minutes she declared I had strep throat, an ear infection and a fever. She told me how she’d like to treat me, considering it was my honeymoon, and I was only on the island for 4 more days. Then, she told me the price. For a fee of $290, I was injected (in the buttocks) with one shot of broad-spectrum antibiotics and one shot of an anti-inflammatory, which miraculously put the excruciating pain in my throat at bay within 15 minutes. I left the clinic 20 minutes later with a 7-day supply of antibiotics and anti-inflammatory medication.

With a new-found ability to swallow, Scott and I decided to check out this area of the island and walked around. It was great to just be with Scott. We found an outdoor “mall” next door to the clinic so we went to check out a few shops, hoping to find a piece of artwork to take back with us. But it was the oddest thing – none of the stores were open. The mall looked new. Some of the spaces were empty, but the place looked and felt deserted. Store signs for ice cream, hair cuts, massages/spas, gifts all looked new. We wondered if we were too early, that maybe the stores opened later in the day, but it was 11:30 am. So odd! We did take a few pictures because the mall was right on the water and it was beautiful out.

Having achieved little sleep the previous 3 nights, we headed back to the hotel for lunch and a nap. We spent the afternoon on the beach resting, reading, and playing Yahtzee. It was great. I had to make sure to take the anti-inflammatory medication once every 5 hours or else the screaming pain of my swollen lymph nodes returned. It wasn’t until Thursday that I finally felt back to normal. But thanks to the clinic, I was able to enjoy my medication-influenced honeymoon.

It took me a full 24 hours to get past a few things that I didn’t expect, like the mediocre buffet food, the not-so-cleanliness of the pools and our hotel room, and the high school party atmosphere of our hotel. Tuesday night, not wanting to endure another buffet meal at our hotel, and not being able to get reservations for one of their nicer restaurants, we decided to venture outside our hotel. This time, heading East on bus #10, we made our way to the “town center” – a much nicer part of the Bahamas, filled with shops that are actually opened, a lot of restaurants, and a lot of US influences like McDonalds and Subway. And a million jewelry stores! We found an amazing restaurant called “The Poop Deck”. This was the defining moment for us. The moment we realized that we can make our honeymoon ours by doing the things we love to do and letting go of our preconceived expectations. The food at the Poop Deck was fabulous and we enjoyed it on the deck, sitting right on the ocean.

Tuesday night, I actually made it to 10:30 pm. Poor Scott. He sure got a lot of sleep on our honeymoon! And he watched more movies those first couple of nights than he has in the last 6 months. But, we made those first few days enjoyable by relaxing by the water, playing board games (the hotel had tons of board games), and reading Harry Potter to each other. Luckily I have an amazing husband, and true to his vows, he loved me in sickness and in bad times. Can you imagine going to bed by 9 pm on your honeymoon…and not for the sake of any hanky-panky either?!

Having enjoyed our quick tour of the East side of the island, we hopped on another bus to the town center Wednesday morning. We walked around and found the ferry which took us to the famous Paradise Island, which is home to the Atlantis, a ritzy hotel that has a huge casino and aquarium. It was great! Scott ordered a real coffee and I needed something to wash down my medicine, so I stupidly ordered a mimosa. A total cost of $28.00. I don’t think we could afford to eat or sleep in that hotel. But the casino was fun. Walking around the Atlantis was a site-seeing tour in and of itself. It's gigantic, filled with beaches, waterfalls, and lots of fish. The fish were incredible. We got to see stingrays and a Manta Ray up close. There was even a shark! And I finally got some ice cream! (The ice cream machine at our hotel had been taken away to be cleaned a few days before our arrival and it never resurfaced, to my utter dismay!)

We returned to our resort late that afternoon because we had reservations for dinner. We tried to take advantage of some of the “inclusives” at our resort, but found out that there are time limitations and restrictions. First, the rock wall was only “open” one day the whole week we were there, for about an hour. The kayaks, sunfish sailboats, paddleboats, and water bikes were only available from 10 am to 3 pm, and waterskiing was non-existent. Past 3 pm and not able to do any kayaking or sailing, we laughed at our luck. Instead, we enjoyed more free alcohol and played pool and foosball until it was time for dinner.

There are two restaurants at our hotel, Garden of Eden and Pastafari. We had reservations for the Garden of Eden; attracted to the “island-specific” food, which Scott was anxious to try, and the romantic atmosphere they boasted. The restaurant was set up specifically for couples. All the tables were lined up along a long wall, facing the gardens outside our hotel. (There was also outdoor seating, which we would have preferred, but didn’t get, that sat each couple in the garden under little cabanas.) Inside, however, each table was separated by half walls of lattice and contained a cushy couch so that each couple sat side by side. The atmosphere was lovely. But we ate in a fury as each course of the meal was brought out in 4-minute intervals. We barely had time to finish our appetizer, and our salads were brought out. Scott’s soup came at almost the same time as his salad, and then we noticed that the couple next to us was already eating their Entrees. We laughed all the way back to our room at how fast we enjoyed our “romantic” dinner. Needless to say, we made reservations at the other restaurant, Pastafari, for the next night.

We changed back into our "beach" clothes, and spent time just hanging out on the beach. Another couple strolled by and we exchanged "picture taking" with them. Despite all the pitfalls, Scott and I did enjoy every minute together. It may not be the honeymoon most people dream of (playing scrabble and yahtzee), but Scott and I had a lot of wonderful moments. The nights on the beach were spectacular. Most of the people at our hotel were into partying and spent their time in the club, so the beach was empty and quiet. Very romantic.

Thursday, Scott and I ventured back into “town”. Another $2.00 bus trip to the East side of the Island where we then took a $50.00 boat tour with a glass-bottom which was great. Our tour guide tried to be funny and get our attention using his catch phrase, “if you’re having fun in the Bahamas, say ‘yah ma’an'”. We got to see where all the stars have beach homes, such as Oprah Winfrey and Michael Jordan. And we saw a lot of coral and fish on the ocean floor. It was fabulous. The weather was great! We enjoyed their “Straw Market” where we got many gifts for good prices. We had a late lunch at Senior Frogs, a very popular bar and club in the Bahamas. Free shots, ladies invited to dance on the bar, a conga line, and an MC that promoted drinking for all ages…all this at 1:30 in the afternoon. Can you imagine what this place is like at night? We enjoyed our Mexican food, and Scott enjoyed his second Kalik beer. Pronounced more like “click”, the beer was light for Scott’s typical taste, but it was so refreshing Scott really enjoyed it.

The bus ride back to our hotel was a trip! The bus driver, wanting to make the most money, filled his bus to the max. The typical public transportation bus contains one seat on the left side, and a bench seat, that barely fits Scott and me on the right side. Attached to the bench seat, which looks like an arm rest, is actually a collapsible seat. When the seat is in its opened position, the person lucky enough to sit in this collapsible seat fill/replace the aisle of the bus. (The buses are very narrow, as are the roads in the Bahamas.) When we entered the bus, there was one seat left in the far back row of the bus, which the bus driver prompted me to sit in. Scott, however, had to pull out the collapsible seats and he sat in front of me in the aisle. Lucky for Scott, a kind girl switched seats with him, so he got a window seat. Five more people were accosted on the street in order for this man to fill his bus. Finally, after 15 minutes, we were completely full and ready to go. When we got to our bus stop outside our hotel, the five people sitting in front of Scott in the aisle seats all had to get up, collapse their seats and file out of the bus so that Scott and I could get off. I felt like I was in a movie, part of some 3rd world country family being bussed to our work station so we can farm the fields.


That night, we ate at Pastafari. Unlike the Garden of Eden, we had to wait outside the door until exactly 6:30 pm. When the door opened, the manager of the restaurant welcomed us and then bluntly stated that no one wearing shorts would be allowed in her restaurant. Scott and I were completely insulted. The night before, we dressed up in our nicest attire only to be amidst jean and t-shirt-clad vacationers. Though a different restaurant, the blurb stated only “casual elegance” as the dress code, just like Garden of Eden. We made the assumption that our nice dress shorts and button-down dress shirts would be good enough for Pastafari. But we assumed incorrectly, and had to run back to our hotel room, which, if you remember, was tucked in the farthest corner of the hotel. It was not a quick jaunt. By the time we had made it back to the restaurant sans-shorts, we were full of sweat and almost everyone had already started eating. However, we were able to sit in a nice cozy corner of the restaurant, a restaurant that actually LOOKED like a restaurant with large mahogany tables, dimmed lighting, and candles at each table. We took our time and enjoyed each other’s company and a full bottle of wine or two. This meal was by far better than Garden of Eden. The evening, as a whole was very romantic.

Having spent money on medical care and food outside the hotel that we had obviously not planned on spending, we had to cut back on a few things we really wanted to do, such as rent jet-skiis and riding the open ocean and playing golf. We had REALLY wanted to play golf. But for 9 holes, we would have spent $200. So Friday, we decided to stay at the hotel and enjoy the free alcohol, free food, and do some kayaking and beach stuff. I was SO looking forward to having a full day at the beach. But you guessed it. It poured rain the whole day.

I had it all planned out too. Outside our hotel window was a quiet, secluded area of the beach with lawn chairs that no one used. Anxious to enjoy some quiet alone time with Scott on the beach, I gathered up all our beach stuff and we headed out for a quick breakfast and then off to the sand. Scott went to shut our hotel room door, and he couldn’t. Turns out, the metal plate on the door broke so that it stuck out far enough that it wouldn’t allow us to shut our hotel door. AHHHHH! We called the front desk and reported our issue. They said they would send someone out to fix it promptly. Because we knew they wouldn’t be prompt (We ran out of toilet paper a few days earlier because they had not restocked our bathroom and it took them a couple hours to get us more…thank god for tissues! We also ran out of TOWELS because they had taken our used, wet towels on Wednesday morning but had not replaced them, and it took them a couple hours to get us wash cloths and hand towels.) and because we had a safe box in our room which held our valuables, and because our room was at the very end of a very long hall, so people don’t pass by our hotel door, we decided to eat breakfast, and then come back and wait for maintenance to fix our door. An hour later, a lady with a clipboard comes to survey the damaged door. She takes a few notes and says she’ll send someone to fix it immediately. Another hour later, still no one came. Not wanting to lose time on our vacation, we took our valuables with us in a big beach bag (thanks to Teri and LL Bean!), and left our room again. Yes, the door slightly ajar!

It was sprinkling out, but we noticed a few hammocks that were unoccupied. The hammocks hung under cabanas, so we’d be shielded from the rain. Scott got into the hammock first. I haven’t laughed that hard in a long time. The idiot who created the hammocks built the cabana legs too close together. So the hammock hung low to the ground. MUCH too low, and Scott wasn’t swinging in the hammock, he was lying on the sand, the hammock resting below him, still hanging from its hooks. We should have known that the hammock wasn’t going to work as it hung only inches from the beach sand. But still, it was quite entertaining to watch Scott get out of the hammock and brush off the sand from his back. Don’t worry, despite my uncontrollable laughter, I helped my hubby. So then, we headed to the lawn chairs, finding two of them under umbrellas. That didn’t work either. The rain, coming in sideways, and we were getting soaked. So we moved again, to a picnic table housed under some thick palm trees. As soon as we were settled and had picked the first 7 letters to begin Scrabble, the wind picked up and was getting our game board wet. We decided to move to a table under the decking of the hotel (I was damn determined to be OUTSIDE!), and on the way, Scott noticed the hot tub was open and empty! (the first day or two of our stay, the hot tub was closed!). So we pealed off our clothes, down to out bathing suits and got right in. It was great! About 20 minutes later, every one else realized how wonderful the hot tub would be too. And within minutes, it was packed with smoking 18 year olds. So we got out.

It was just about time for lunch and we knew we should go check on our room and our broken door. Everything untouched, including our broken door, Scott decided he needed to get someone’s attention. We went to the front desk and told them that we had waited until 8 that morning to get our door fixed. Scott was ready to ask the woman for a screwdriver and he’d fix the door himself! But instead of fixing our door, the hotel thought it best to move us. Keep in mind that this was THE NIGHT before we left. Why couldn’t the door work for just ONE MORE NIGHT???!!! Scott and I got an identical room on the 5th floor. We had to go back to our room and pack everything. Then we had to trudge up to the 5th floor with all our luggage. No courteous bellman this time. The room on the 5th floor was wall-to-wall carpeting. It had a musty odor, but the room was so much cleaner and well stocked. A new iron and ironing board hung in the closet, as well as a luggage rack. The bathroom had tons of extra amenities and plenty of towels and toilet paper. We hit the jackpot!

Not wanting to be defeated, we headed out for kayaking. We got about 10-15 minutes in, just finally getting into our stride, and the storm clouds came blustering overhead. The lifeguard waved enthusiastically from the shore, our sign to head back in. The rain pelted us as we paddled to shore, took off our life jackets and walked back to our hotel room. Minutes later, the sun came out. J But it was short-lived and the rain kept us inside most of the day. It was extraordinarily humid and because most everyone was inside due to the rain, it was very smoky in the common rooms. We played a few games of pool and foosball and then enjoyed the coolness of the AC in our new room. We had reservations for Pastafari’s again. I had Grouper, which was astounding. Scott had NY Strip steak, which was much more like London broil. We didn’t bother with dessert this time around because the Tiramisu we had the night before was like eating generic spice cake with sweetened cool whip in the center and thick chocolate syrup on top. It was pretty awful. Instead, we went down to the buffet dinner a few hours later and enjoyed eating our choice of dessert.

Saturday morning arrived and Scott and I were completely ready to head home. The tropical storm season had started and the rain and wind were gusting. The humidity in the common areas was stifling so after breakfast and after checking out (we had to check out earlier than our departure bus time), we grabbed Scrabble one more time, and enjoyed our last game at the hotel in the air conditioned piano bar. A few minutes before our bus was to take us back to the airport, I had to go to the bathroom. But, timing is everything. The public restrooms in the hotel lobby were closed temporarily due to cleaning, and the public restrooms downstairs outside the hotel club “Hurricane” (which opened at 11 pm and in which Scott and I did not check out), were locked. So I did the pee-pee dance until someone told us that there were bathrooms available on the other side of the hotel lobby, up the stairs. This side of the hotel we hadn’t been to before, but it was beautiful. It was the “wedding” side. Banquet rooms that were luxurious and spacious, sitting areas for the bride and her bridesmaids, cocktail areas for drinks before the reception were all laid out in grandeur. So unlike the rest of our hotel, it felt as though we walked through the looking glass mirror in Alice in Wonderland.

And finally, our departure. Getting through customs was more tedious, but it was quick and painless for the most part. The airport in the Bahamas is not set up to handle many hungry passengers, so our lunch consisted of pretzels and water, as we didn’t feel like waiting in line for an hour to pay $25.00 for two hot dogs and a soda. Once on the plane, heading back home, we were quite happy. Again, we were blessed with great seats (we had to ask for seats sitting together on this first leg back to CT because we were booked sitting 5 rows apart, and again, the Bahamian airport attendant was friendly and easily willing to give Scott and I exit row seating with LOTS of leg room, sitting side by side). Once in North Carolina, we had a very long layover. Having more than 4 hours to kill, we ate at Chilis in the airport and took our time. I made a few calls to family to let them know we were safe and sound back in the US. And then, finally, at 8:00 pm, we boarded the plane for CT. A wonderful honeymoon and a wonderful return to our wonderful house. Stay tuned for our next adventure: painting and refurnishing the living room, and re-painting the dining room at the same time with all 100 wedding gifts waiting to be put away!