hilary & rick get hitched

Heavens to Etsy: The Video!

2009-07-29T12:46:00.001-07:00

I'm so excited about my latest mission video! Check it out!

There is a list of music and vendors and places below the video, but you can see photos and a more in-depth description of the items we had designed on Etsy here!

Music:
"Kiss Me, Stupid" performed by Joe McGinty's band Baby Steps
Check out Joe McGinty here: JoeMcGinty.com/joemcginty
Buy the album on iTunes!

"Good Woman" by The Tall Pines
Check out The Tall Pines here: myspace.com/thetallpines
Buy the album Campfire Songs on iTunes!

Etsy Shops:
Dress by Christy Keerins - clkeerins.etsy.com

Bouquet & boutineer by Princess Lasertron - princesslasertron.etsy.com

Yes/Love/More Magnets: TreeBed Design - treebed.etsy.com

Wedding Announcements designed by Rick Baker & Hilary McHone
Printed by tiny bird arts - tinybirdarts.etsy.com

Jewelry by Gr8n1derful - gr8n1derful.etsy.com

Fabric Envelopes by BleuRoo - bleuroo.etsy.com

Handkerchief by My Mother Mary - mymothermary.etsy.com

Shoe Bag by A cut ABOVE by Susan - acutabovebysusan.etsy.com

Places we went and stayed:
Budget (Thanks for renting us a Ford!) - Flagstaff, AZ
Super 8 Route 66 (Thanks for getting us the suit!) - Flagstaff, AZ
Rock City Gardens - Lookout Mountain, GA
Lookout Mountain Hang Gliding - Rising Fawn, GA
Mayor's Mansion Inn - Chattanooga, TN
Dollywood - Pigeon Forge, TN
Hill House Bed & Breakfast Inn - Asheville, NC
Spark Plaza (a great co-working space!) - Johnson City, TN
Lance Cunningham Ford - Knoxville, TN
The Big Bang Bar - Nashville, TN
National Civil Rights Museum - Memphis, TN
Graceland - Memphis, TN

Heavens to Etsy!

2009-07-28T04:01:00.001-07:00

My Mission for the Fiesta Movement in July tied into Rick's and my wedding! The theme for the month was Design, so we took the opportunity to have various items for the wedding designed through Etsy!

If you don't know Etsy, it's "Your place to buy and sell all things handmade". And it's GREAT! My favorite part of Etsy is the section called Alchemy, where you get get things custom made! You describe what you want and people bid on the opportunity to make it for you.

I used Alchemy to have my wedding dress designed. Here are all the fun things we got through Etsy...

Dress:
Christy Keerins
http://clkeerins.etsy.com

Christy was amazing. Several people bid on the chance to make my dress, but Christy was quick to respond with sketches and fabric ideas, each time getting closer to what I envisioned. I knew I wanted a halter, a-line, tea-length dress. And I knew that I wanted the design to be somewhat based on my Fiesta! She came up with this dress, which I love! It's fun and non-traditional - just how I wanted it! Because Rick and I are fond of bunnies, I asked Christy if she could put a bunny somewhere on the dress. She had the excellent idea of putting a small one on the tie around the neck. Very subtle - almost secret! Rick designed the bunny that was used on the dress!

Bouquet & Boutineer:
Princess Lasertron
http://princesslasertron.etsy.com

When I started looking at various wedding items on Etsy, the first thing I became sure of was that I really, really wanted a Princess Lasertron bouquet! I think they're whimsical and beautiful. I love the fact that it's something I can keep for years to come. Megan, the woman behind the magic, did an amazing job with my bouquet - I have her the sketch and fabric colors of my dress and she created the bouquet to complement it perfectly! As with the dress, one of Rick's bunny drawings was used in the design of the bouquet! So cute!

Yes/Love/More Magnets
TreeBed Design
http://treebed.etsy.com

Three words that have had meaning for me and Rick since the very beginning are "Yes", "Love", and "More". I had seen some magnets from TreeBed Design and asked if some could be custom-made using these words. He came through - the magnets are beautiful!

Announcements:
Designed by Rick Baker & Hilary McHone
Printed by tiny bird arts
http://tinybirdarts.etsy.com

Our wedding announcements are a collaboration! They started with a photo I took of a tree. Rick then printed the image and drew on and around it... Below is the result! We loved the idea of sending a little piece of our art to our family and friends to announce our marriage. We used BleuRoo at Etsy to have them printed.

Jewelry:
Gr8n1derful
http://gr8n1derful.etsy.com

I gave Gr8n1derful an idea of the color scheme we were using for the wedding and the neckline of my dress. She came up with this necklace and pair of earrings! It worked well with the dress and even my shoes, which were silver... I will get more use out of these items!

Fabric Envelopes:
BleuRoo
http://bleuroo.etsy.com

Rick and I fell in love with these little fabric gift envelopes as soon as we saw them on tiny bird arts' Etsy store! They can be custom-made - you can determine the fabrics and sizes! We got several. The large one is to keep our marriage certificate in. Rick had her embroider the word "yes" in the front corner!

Handkerchief:
My Mother Mary
http://mymothermary.etsy.com

Handkerchiefs are so sweet and romantic! We thought it would be nice to have one as a keepsake.

Shoe Bag:
A cut ABOVE by Susan
http://acutabovebysusan.etsy.com

Finally - a shoe bag! I had never heard of a shoe bag. But I DID use this on the wedding road trip. It fit my shoes, my dress (which is quite tiny when folded), and my headband. It's pretty and I used it instead of my regular bag when going around Rock City Gardens on our wedding day.

Etsy made our wedding even more beautiful and memorable. We hope that you check it out, if you haven't before!

If you have your own shop on Etsy, feel free to leave the link in comments and we will go check out your stuff!

Asheville, NC

2009-07-23T22:46:00.000-07:00

After a fun evening spent with Boss and Tim and Kendra, we were expecting to move on to Cave City, Kentucky to see some mammoth caves and stay the night in a concrete wigwam (!). But it turns out that Hilary’s Fiesta wouldn’t be ready until the following day in Knoxville, Tennessee.

So we changed plans and decided to go to Asheville, NC…Hilary had heard good things and it wasn’t too far away, so off we went…

It was a beautiful drive through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park…winding, tree-lined roads…

Ford found a nice old bed and breakfast for us (Hill House Inn). Waiting for us in our room was champagne and strawberries! The proprietors offered lots of sweets and something called the ‘bottomless cookie jar”.

After checking in, we went into town and had cocktails and a late lunch at The Laughing Seed — a great vegetarian restaurant that Kendra had suggested. Hilary had a Wasabi Bloody Mary and I had some mead. Yum. The food was good, too! :)

We wandered around town for a bit as the sun set…it’s a quaint little place with some interesting art galleries.

We considered going out for the evening, but decided instead to stay in, relax and enjoy the champagne. It was a fun night!

In the morning, we had breakfast on the porch with the other couple that was staying there. They were a curious pair—an older couple from the western part of the state, on their way to their summer home in Connecticut. The husband regaled us with tales of his days “attached to the Nicaraguan embassy” and gave us a CD of his...um...unique interpretations of romantic standards…

From there, we headed toward Lance Cunningham Ford in Knoxville to pick up Hilary’s newly-detailed and re-tired Fiesta!

Dollywood: An odd combination of things!

2009-07-23T22:30:00.000-07:00

Dollywood is an odd combination of things: a celebration of “Appalachian culture”, a collection of kitschy gift shops, an amusement park with some pretty good rides, a bald eagle sanctuary and a sort of shrine to Dolly Parton…who is apparently a mythic personality in Eastern Tennessee.

We started the day after our wedding (July 15th) by driving to Tim and Kendra’s place in Sevierville, TN—which is just spittin’ distance from Dollywood. They are Hilary’s cousins and were kind enough to buy us two tickets to the famous amusement park as a wedding present! We dropped off some stuff at their place, met their awesome cat Boss and made plans to meet later for dinner.

Both Hilary and I are fans of rollercoasters and we weren’t disappointed.

“Thunderhead” is one of those old-fashioned wooden rollercoasters. Those are the best! The rumbling and rattling and clanking sounds—as you get banged back and forth—give you the feeling that you MIGHT just run off the track…which, for reasons I can’t explain, is very fun.

“Tennessee Tornado” is a more modern type with several swirling loops. The signs said it goes 70 miles per hour and that seemed about right!

Here is video of us on both of these rollercoasters:

We also decided to pay extra to do the “Sky Zip”. The official description says it’s “an hour-long adventure soaring through the treetops over Wilderness Pass and catch a never-before-seen view of the Park!”

It included five long steel cable lines (the longest was 800 feet) that you would zip along, suspended by a metal pulley. They strap you into a nylon harness and send you swinging along, station to station. It was pretty great.

The rest of our visit consisted mainly of wandering through the dizzying array of gift shops, each with a different theme: patriotic, Christian, Irish (?), etc…I was tempted to buy an American flag/bald eagle/Dolly t-shirt…but it was so strange and sincere it transcended irony…almost scary…

In fact, a lot of Dollywood was, well, almost scary.

The day ended with an unexpected warm drizzle, sending the tired hordes scrambling for the exit—which was accessible only by going through one last MEGA gift shop—stacks of Dolly cups, Dolly spoons, Dolly snow globes…

A tram brought us back to our car and we returned to Tim and Kendra and Boss’s place for the night. Read about it here!

Visit with the Boss

2009-07-23T10:41:00.000-07:00

So our wedding day was chock full - getting married at Lover's Leap, checking out Rock City Gardens, and hang gliding! Then, the next day, we drove to Pigeon Forge and went on roller coasters and ziplines at Dollywood! (Thanks to T&K&B for the tickets - a great wedding gift! Rick's write-up on our day at Dollywood coming soon!)

We were...well...exhausted!

It was the perfect night to relax. And our visit with Boss was just what we needed!

Boss was the perfect host. He welcomed Rick and me into his home - just as long as we didn't sit in his favorite spot - smack dab in the middle of the living room.

And he had these humans there, Tim & Kendra, who waited on us hand and foot. Boy, what a life Boss has!

Dinner was prepared for us - veggie & turkey burgers and salads, with ice cream with fresh berries and fruit for dessert. Yum! And we had the opportunity to do a load of laundry! (We'd only been on the road for a few days, but had managed to go through a lot of stuff in a short period of time!)

Boss even provided entertainment, which he let his humans in on too - we watched My Kid Could Paint That, a documentary about a 4-year-old whose artwork got lots of attention a few years back. It had been on my "to watch" list for a while now!

Here we all are hangin' out in the living room - Rick, Hilary, Boss, Kendra, Tim:

Before going to sleep (oh, man, was sleep ever nice that night!), Boss had the humans entertain us by making funny faces.

The next morning, we had coffee and breakfast before heading off to Asheville, North Carolina.

Thanks to Boss for hosting us and providing us with a much needed evening of rest & relaxation! :D

Wedding Day Hang Gliding!

2009-07-23T10:17:00.001-07:00

As if getting married at Lover's Leap wasn't enough for one day...we took the afternoon to go hang gliding!

We did it through Lookout Mountain Flight Park in Rising Fawn, Georgia. They have several packages to choose from and I'm sure that Rick and I would love a longer and more in-depth experience in the future, but because of limited time we decided to first try the Tandem option. Basically, if you're under 250 pounds and willing, you're good to go.

Our flight time was scheduled for 4pm. When we arrived, we discovered that they were a bit behind and we'd have to wait a while for our turn. It was neat watching people take off and land before us!

Waiting for our turn:

While we waited, I took the opportunity to drive the Fiesta onto the field and photograph it with a couple of gliders!

Then, when they were close to ready for us, we suited up in harnesses and helmets. Don't we look hot?!

For the introductory tandem flight, we took off from a field - our gliders were attached to a small plane, which took off and towed us 2000 feet into the air!

Here I am with Rex just before take-off:

And Rick, ready to go:

Here is the plane that towed us into the air!

Take-off was really fun - it gave me that sort of rollercoaster-y feeling right away. Soon after take-off, though, it was just calm and beautiful - floating through the air.

Here is Rick being towed by plane into the air:

It took longer than I expected to get up to 2000 feet. There was a device on the hang glider so that we could watch the elevation. When we got close, the instructor, Rex, told me that there would be an initial drop when we first let go of the plane. There was indeed a drop, but it was fun - not scary at all.

Then we flew. Lookout Mountain was such a beautiful location - so much green! Quiet and peaceful. I looked down below, where Rick was waiting for his turn to fly. I knew that he was going to love it.

Flying!

On the side of the mountain (up from the field where we took off) was the office for the flight school. Rex said "Let's go say hello!" He pulled back the bar on the hang glider, steered us around, and down we dove. The people waved to us as we flew over them and then back out over the field!

Then it was my turn to take over the hang glider. First, Rex demonstrated that if we did absolutely nothing, we'd be okay. We both took our hands off the bar and the hang glider floated along with no problems.

Look, Ma! No hands!

Then he had me speed up (by pulling the bar towards me), "stall" or slow down (by pushing the bar away from my body) and steer left and right by pushing my hips and body one direction or the other. Yup, I was pretty sure I'd want to do this again! Maybe even on my own someday...

Here is Rick speeding up his hang glider and seeing what that thing can do. ;)

Our time in the air was coming to an end - it was time to land. Rex brought us down effortlessly, it seemed. It was a strange feeling landing with only a foot of space between my belly and the grassy field! I felt myself holding my legs up, just in case, but they were suspended in a way that I didn't really have to think about it. We rolled along the field and stopped just a short distance from where Rick was waiting.

"How was it?" Rick asked. I grinned. He was about to find out for himself!

Thanks to Rex and everyone at Lookout Mountain Flight School for making our wedding day even more exciting and memorable! :D

Rick, Rex, and Hilary:

Video of our wedding!

2009-07-19T19:32:00.000-07:00

Thank you to Adam Crisp & Tim Barber of Chattanooga Times Free Press for providing us with video of our wedding ceremony! :D

Rick & Hilary waiting in line for shuttle at Graceland! #fiestamovement

2009-07-19T08:56:00.001-07:00

Posts to look forward to!

2009-07-19T06:27:00.000-07:00

We've fallen behind on our updates, but we figure being on our honeymoon is a pretty good excuse! Things you have to look forward to reading about include:

- Hang gliding (waiting for some pics to be developed of us in the air!)
- Dollywood
- visiting Boss & Tim & Kendra
- Asheville, NC
- The return of thr Fiesta in Knoxville, TN
- Nasville, TN
- The Memphis Flea Market
- The National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis
- Graceland

What a great honeymoon this has been! <3

Loretta Lynn's Kitchen

2009-07-18T07:23:00.000-07:00

We decided to stop off for breakfast at Loretta Lynn's Kitchen, on our
way from Nashville to Memphis!

Article in the Pasadena Independent!

2009-07-18T05:14:00.000-07:00

Before we left on our road trip, I met up with Terry Miller from the Pasadena Independent, who talked to me about the elopement and what I've been up to since getting the Ford Fiesta!

Check it out here!
http://pasadenaindependent.com/2009/07/what-would-you-do-with-a-free-car-that-never-runs-out-of-gas/

Look what we got!

2009-07-17T14:18:00.000-07:00

Today we were reunited with our beloved Fiesta! All shiny and new, we
picked it up in Knoxville...

Our Wedding...

2009-07-16T18:52:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday, July 14th, Hilary and I woke up early at the Mayor’s Mansion Inn in Chattanooga. It’s a quaint old place—beautiful…moody lighting…strange paintings…friendly staff.

We were a bit giddy…excited and happy and ready for the day. After breakfast, we got ready…ironed and gathered things and dressed.

Hilary looked amazing in her green and yellow Etsy-designed dress.

Since I had accidentally left my suit in a Super 8 Motel in Flagstaff, I was just going to wear a white shirt and jeans. I was disappointed, but really, it was a good thing. It reminded us that those things weren’t important. What we are doing together…how we feel about each other…THAT was the point of this whole thing.

We were rushed, but smiling as we made our way down the staircase—only to find that my suit had arrived from Flagstaff via FedEx Overnight! (Thanks Super 8!)

From the inn, we drove a short distance up to Lookout Mountain, near the great Smoky Mountain National Park. It’s a beautiful, deep green, foresty place. That kind of dripping, dense, Southern Green that you have to see to really appreciate.

The weather that morning was a welcome respite from the normal steam July heat.

Our specific destination was Rock City Gardens, a sort of tourist attraction that features these unreal rock formations with colorful gardens growing in and around every corner and crevice. Go to www.seerockcity.com to take a look.

Hilary and I had decided to have our ceremony on the edge of a cliff—a little spot called Lover’s Leap. It seemed totally appropriate.

When we arrived, we were greeted by our officiant Callie Cronon and some representatives from the local media! The folks at Rock City gave us the royal treatment (thanks to Becky, Jeff and Travis!)

The ceremony at Lover’s Leap was sort of simple…and perfect.

Lovers and Friends.

Everything and Forever.

There was crying and smiling and a quiet, gentle breeze.

Our rings are white gold bands. I fiddle with mine a lot and I love the feel of it.

After the ceremony, we walked the entire “Enchanted Trail”—a pathway in and around all of Rock City. Massive granite walls. Crystal-lined caves. Panoramic views. (Below is "Rainbow Hall".)

Our favorite was the curious “Fairyland Caverns”—an underground passageway you enter after passing through the “Hall of Mountain Kings”. Throughout the caverns, there are little niches, filled with sculptures depicting famous fairy tales, all lit with black light. The effect is eerie and hilarious.

In the end, we drove off in Hilary’s fiesta, now festooned with paper ruffles and bells and a flag that said “Just Married”.

On the drive back down the hill, all of the decorations flew off.

Once again, we didn’t care in the least.

Later that day, we went hang-gliding - more on that soon.

Champagne & Rick

2009-07-16T18:03:00.000-07:00

Rick & Hilary get their Facebook portraits painted by Matt Held!

2009-07-16T17:13:00.000-07:00

Rick and I got some fun email today....

If you're on Facebook, you may have come across Matt Held's project - "I'll have my Facebook portrait painted by Matt Held"!

Several people I know have put their pictures into his pool for consideration. Rick and I put ours in too! Today, Matt shared his paintings of us! So cool!! :D Also, they will be shown in NY at Denise Bibro Platform Space in September!

Original photo of Hilary:

Matt Held's painting of Hilary:

Original photo of Rick:

Matt Held's painting of Rick:

Check out Matt Held and learn more about his project!
Facebook: www.facebook.com/mattheldstudios
Facebook Group: www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=45900815683
Blog: portraitpainted.blogspot.com/

Bloody Mary at Laughing Seed

2009-07-16T13:47:00.000-07:00

We are in Asheville, NC! We owe y'all updates! We will have some time
this evening to catch you up! :)

Outhouse trim in Dollywood restroom! #fiestamovement

2009-07-15T11:48:00.000-07:00

Thunderhead at Dollywood!

2009-07-15T10:49:00.001-07:00

Wedding Day!

2009-07-15T04:54:00.000-07:00

We will write more about our day soon, but here are a few photos to tide you over!

We have packed up the Fiesta! We will start the morning off with breakfast again at Mayor's Mansion Inn, where we stayed in Chattanooga. When we returned last night, we found rose petals scattered on the floor and bed - so pretty! And the people who work here are so sweet!

After breakfast, we'll head to over to the courthouse to pick up our marriage certificate. We had a special fabric envelope made to hold it! (More on this, my dress, the bouquet, and other items we got for the wedding from Etsy.com!)

Pigeon Forge is our next destination. We're staying with my cousin Tim and his wife, Kendra. They knew we were heading to Dollywood today, so got us our tickets as a gift! So nice of them!

And here a few photos from our big day... (More coming - you know that!)

Two modes of transportation...

2009-07-14T16:08:00.000-07:00

Man! We got the Fiesta AND hang-gliding today?! Pretty sweet. :)

Hilary's Fiesta shoes!

2009-07-14T13:57:00.000-07:00

Can't wear my green wedding dress in the air, but I made sure I wore
my green sneakers, which also match my Fiesta! :) I'm glad my favorite
color is green! ;)

Hang-gliding!

2009-07-14T13:44:00.000-07:00

A lot of people out today... We will have to wait a bit longer for our
hang-gliding lesson! It's neat to watch... We will be towed by plane
into the air and then let go! Pretty sweet. Oh, happy day! We are
having photos taken while we're up there - look for those later...

With these rings...we totally wed! #fiestamovement

2009-07-14T10:15:00.000-07:00

We gone and done it! Married! #fiestamovement

2009-07-14T08:17:00.000-07:00

Can you believe it?!

2009-07-14T06:49:00.001-07:00

Okay, we were about to get in the car when the woman at the bed &
breakfast told us FedEx had arrived! Rick's suit! So, YAY! We are on
our way... :)

Sneak peek....

2009-07-14T05:57:00.000-07:00

Hilary!

2009-07-14T05:14:00.001-07:00

Rick!

2009-07-14T05:13:00.000-07:00

Look! It's a Fiesta!

2009-07-14T05:06:00.001-07:00

Ford & the Fiesta Movement arranged for a Fiesta to arrive at our
doorstep this morning! We get to use it for our wedding day! Hooray!

Today's the day!

2009-07-14T03:50:00.001-07:00

It's 6:50am and we're getting ready for our big day!

One more "funny story" for the (from the?) road... We were driving along in New Mexico (in the rental car after our flat tire and unexpected overnight stay in Flagstaff) and I glance to the back of the car. "Rick, where's your suit?" I asked. Oops. Flagstaff. Neither of us had remembered that it was hanging up in the motel room and we left it there accidentally.

I started laughing - probably biggest laugh of the trip. It's not funny exactly, but it was just one of those "of course" moments. We called the motel, faxed credit card info, tried to set up FedEx to Chattanooga. The suit is being sent, but has not (will not) arrive in time for the ceremony. We considered changing the time of our vows so that we could both be in our planned wedding attire, but in the end decided to keep our schedule just how it was originally and do it with what we've got.

The incident with the suit made us remember that it really isn't about any of that anyway. The clothes, the car, the time, the location. We're getting married. It's what that means to us that counts.

The drive was a long one. Because of the unexpected delays in Los Angeles and Flagstaff, we were running short on time. We decided to do the Flagstaff to Chattanooga drive straight through. It took us about 26 hours, including very brief stops for gas and caffeine) to do it. We took turns driving and taking naps - far too few naps - but would have stopped if we felt we were simply to exhausted to move on.

We arrived in Chattanooga around 2pm on Monday and drove straight to the Hamilton County Courthouse where a very nice gentleman helped us with our marriage license. We then went to the Mayor's Mansion Inn, a beautiful bed & breakfast, where we were staying for the night. Gorgeous room - perfect for photographs!

Our energy was low. We needed food and sleep. We took the advice of the man at the courthouse and headed to Big River Grille & Brewing Works for dinner. We're not sure if our hunger and exhaustion played a part, but that food was delicious.

I had in my head I would do some photos, some blogging, some video. It was 7pm and we were just tired. So to sleep we went! We probably could have slept even more, but it's our wedding day! We're up and showered and getting ourselves together. With more time we would have had a suit and I might have had a mani/pedi. But we're here. Is there anything else that matters?

Happy day to all!

Soon to be wed!

2009-07-13T15:20:00.001-07:00

Big River Grille & Brewing Works

2009-07-13T14:43:00.000-07:00

We ate dinner. It was quite satisfying!

Green light!

2009-07-13T11:52:00.000-07:00

We have arrived in Chattanooga! And we have our marriage license! Yay!
Tired...

Steamboat Bill Memorial Bridge - Decatur, Alabama

2009-07-13T09:05:00.000-07:00

All Elvis!

2009-07-13T08:08:00.000-07:00

Listening to the All Elvis channel on Sirius in the rental!

Country Music Place - Walnut, Mississippi

2009-07-13T07:24:00.001-07:00

Sign on porch says "no alcohol or drugs allowed"!

Sleepyhead!

2009-07-13T05:37:00.001-07:00

Clarksville, Arkansas!

2009-07-13T02:44:00.000-07:00

Still moving! 1100 miles driven since Flagstaff today. Two time zones
crossed!

Middle of the night road work in Oklahoma

2009-07-12T22:54:00.000-07:00

We made it to Oklahoma!

2009-07-12T20:56:00.000-07:00

960 miles to Chattanooga!

Groom, TX

2009-07-12T20:02:00.000-07:00

There's a giant cross there.

Amarillo Sunset

2009-07-12T19:13:00.000-07:00

We are going to go go go as long as we can! Taking turns driving...

New Mexico...

2009-07-12T12:39:00.000-07:00

On the road again...

2009-07-12T11:03:00.000-07:00

So the Fiesta has been temporarily left in Flagstaff. So sad! The
tough part about having the Fiesta is that since it's not available in
the U.S. yet, various proper parts are not readily available. Things
have to be sent from Germany and such.

So! It's gonna be a couple days before it can be road-ready again with
the new tires.

Of course, we need to be in Chattanooga for our WEDDING in a couple
days! So onward!

We have a Ford Edge from Budget at the Flagstaff Airport. The folks
there totally helped us out and were super-friendly! Thank you, Allen!!

We are still over 250 miles from Albuquerque, where we had expected to
arrive yesterday! Looks like some serious driving ahead of us! But
once we're in Chattanooga, the pace will be slower and we have a
fantastic week ahead of us...

Let's hope we don't have too many "funny stories" about trying to GET
there in the next 48 hours! :)

Yay! We made it to...Flagstaff?!

2009-07-12T00:47:00.000-07:00

So, we got a much later start than expected, but we still hoped to power through to New Mexico.

Unfortunately, we got a flat tire about 45 miles west of Flagstaff, AZ. We had a tough time turning the bolts with the tools we had. We called roadside assistance and were told it owuld take 2-3 hours to get someone to where we were. Um. Bummer?

Meanwhile, a pickup truck stopped (we were off the highway in the middle of nowhere - no lights in sight) and a super-nice guy asked if we needed help. He grabbed some things out of his truck and had our spare tire on in less than 5 minutes. Hooray!

We made it to Flagstaff on the spare. Tomorrow is Sunday. Will we make it to Chattanooga on time for our wedding?! We still have about 25 hours of driving time left, not including breaks!

I'm sure it will all work out. Right?! :)

Here we are tonight...

The sun setting tonight in Arizona!

2009-07-11T19:46:00.000-07:00

Kinda like the "welcome to" sign? :)

Hey! Rick & Hilary have made it to Arizona!

2009-07-11T18:41:00.000-07:00

Now can we make it to Albuquerque? According to the GPS (yay! Finally
have GPS!) we'll be there at 3am. Oy.

Rick takes the driver's seat!

2009-07-11T18:33:00.000-07:00

We just got gas in Needles! Pricey there... Hilary is enjoying the
passenger seat for a little while!

Throw my ticket out the window

2009-07-11T16:29:00.000-07:00

Just hit 20,000 miles on the Fiesta! :)

2009-07-11T15:00:00.001-07:00

Old fashioned wedding road trip

2009-07-11T14:28:00.001-07:00

Fiesta in the air!

2009-07-11T12:15:00.001-07:00

Ready and waiting for the new tires! Yay!

Heading to Bob Wonndries Ford

2009-07-11T12:14:00.001-07:00

We're packed and on our way...will leave directly from the dealership
for our road trip!

Hiccup!

2009-07-11T10:08:00.001-07:00

Ordinarily I'd be a few hours into my trip at this hour (10am), but yesterday I brought the Fiesta to the dealership for scheduled maintenance and they thought it best to put on some new tires.

Great that they want us to have a safe trip with no incidents! And great that they (fingers crossed) can get those tires to arrive this morning (fingers crossed)! But too bad on the timing...

If all goes as planned, we should still be on the road by early afternoon. We may or may not get as far as Albuquerque - originally we had planned on getting farther than that on Day 1.

The car is just about packed. I cooked up all the veggies left in the fridge. All our batteries are charged. Ann-Marie has offered to water our plants while we're away - Rick has been taking such good care of them and we were very sad at the thought of just leaving them to fend for themselves. :)

Now we wait for the call from the dealership saying they're ready for our arrival!

Let's go! Let's go!

Happy anniversary to us!

2009-07-11T08:21:00.000-07:00

Today is the 1 year anniversary of Rick and Hilary's first date!

That night he picked me up at my friend's house (I was only visiting LA and staying with my friend Sean), where we were face to face for the first time.

Maybe I'll back up a little.

We met on Flickr first and had begun corresponding daily - emails, phone calls... One day he mentioned that he would be coming to NY in the fall for business. He asked if he could take me out on a date. Well, yes, but...did I really have to wait until fall?! That seemed a little silly. So when my friend Sean emailed me and said "Hey! You should come visit me in LA!" I had more than one reason to say yes. Maybe I made Rick a little nervous when I announced I was coming to LA. But I think he got used to the idea pretty quickly... :)

Back to the date.

We were happy and excited and a little nervous too. I remember seeing him for the first time and giving each other a big hug in the driveway. We went to Guelaguetza Restaurant for a Oaxacan dinner - mmmm - mole! Actually, the plate of chicken was a bit huge and I couldn't concentrate on eating. There wasn't much to do while waiting for our car to be returned from the valet, so our first kiss also came in a parking lot. We then went up to the Griffith Park Observatory for a view of the city.

We talked and stared at each other a lot. We knew.

The rest is history?

Oh, so I guess this is also an official thank you to Sean, for speeding up the process. ;) Here we all are together!

Why Tennessee?!

2009-07-09T22:26:00.000-07:00

Many people have asked us "why Tennessee?"

Well, lots of reasons!

1. Rick once took a road trip from CA and made it only as far as Memphis - we wanted to continue where he left off!

2. We both have an affinity for old-timey country music. (And we're sure we could be country stars in another life - Porter Waggoner/Dolly Parton?)

3. Who can resist a place called Lover's Leap? (Okay, we thought it was in Tennessee, but Lookout Mountain is apparently shared by TN, AL and GA. Lover's Leap is, as it turns out, technically in Georgia.)

4. It's green. We like green.

5. Oh and, DUH, Elvis. Geez.

What the heck is going on?

2009-07-09T09:36:00.000-07:00

It may be news to you, but not so much for us: Rick & Hilary are getting married!

It all started a year and a half ago or so, when they noticed each other on Flickr. (See Rick here! See Hilary here!)

After several months of favoriting and commenting on each other's work, adding each other as friends on various social media sites, emailing each other, and long telephone conversations...well, they had their first real live date in Los Angeles. That was 7/11/08.

The date lasted a weekend and it was pretty obvious that something special was happening. There were trips back and forth between NYC and LA for visits until Hilary decided to up and move across the country. That was 11/15/08.

There has been quiet talk of elopement for a while, but we've now set the date and have a whole road trip all planned out for the occasion! Although we'll be alone on our wedding road trip, we would love to share our 9 days on the road (7/11-7/20/09) with all of you! It will look something like this:

View Larger Map

Yay! :) :)