Wesley’s Wedding and Other Recent Events

First, I must confess that I worried a lot about flying up to Alaska for Wesley’s wedding. I worried about the flights themselves, because they were red eye flights with long layovers. I worried about not having any money for things that we might need once we got there. I even worried about spending so much time with Wes, because it has been ages since we were together for more than a few hours at a time.

As is usually the case, I need not have worried. The first flight was the longest, but Wes slept most of the time and I got to watch the in-flight movie, “21,” which was fairly good. Staying in the Anchorage airport for six hours wasn’t bad, because they had lots of places were people could lie down and sleep, and there were many other people doing so. When we finally got on the plane to Kodiak, I was able to look down at the beautifully blue water and I could see all the gorgeously green islands surrounding Kodiak. When we landed and stepped off the plane, the first thing that I noticed was how cool and fresh and clean the air was. Breathing itself became the first pleasure and delight of my vacation.

Wesley and Elisabeth were right inside the door when we walked into the airport. They took us to the apartment where we would be staying so we could drop off our luggage, and then whisked us off to breakfast at the Chart Room. The food there was great and we enjoyed visiting with Wesley and Elisabeth. Then they just let us sleep until lunchtime, when we went to the Powerhouse Restaurant for the best food on the island. This was also when we met Elisabeth’s parents for the first time. I especially liked Monty, Elisabeth’s father. He was friendly, outgoing and very funny. He had some good stories to tell and was also a good listener when Wes told his stories. I think they found a lot in common. Elisabeth’s mom was quiet, but she seemed like a very strong, self-confident person who was just keeping herself in check. At the Powerhouse, I discovered that I actually did like the sushi that was served (California Rolls). I enjoyed the other food very much, as well.

Elisabeth was having her bachelorette party that evening, so Wesley came alone to take us to dinner. (Yes, the first day there, we mostly ate and slept, which seemed heavenly.) We ate at Henry’s, which was another place with splendid food. I had the best Chicken Marsala that I have ever tasted. We found out later that at Elisabeth’s party, all the girls dressed in hot red dresses. They went to the place where Elisabeth’s father was working and a lady there, playing along with them, told him that there was a fire. He came running out and when he saw all the young women in red dresses, he also played along. He got a fire extinguisher and ran around them all exclaiming, “It’s too hot! It’s too hot! I can’t put it out by myself.” He then called the fire department and they came out with a fire truck to put out the “fire.” Elisabeth and her friends got their pictures taken on the fire truck. I thought that was hilarious. It certainly was not something that you would ever see happen anywhere else. But everyone knows everyone in Kodiak.

Wes and I entertained ourselves for the next couple of days. One of our longer walks was to Near Island. Like the name indicates, this is an island that is close enough to Kodiak that they have built a bridge over to it. We crossed the bridge and followed a number of trails through the forest there. No, we didn’t see any bears, but Wes kept saying he wanted to find some – the nut. We read a lot and had many good conversations about the books we were reading. Wes finished God’s Problem, which was a book about “the problem of evil.” Then he started a book entitled The Gospel of Judas Iscariot, which told the story of the discovery and translation of a manuscript that was purported to be written by, who else? Judas. You know that your dad always reads interesting stuff and, like I said, we had many fascinating discussions. We visited two little coffee shops that Allison recommended and enjoyed the atmosphere as well as the coffee. Wes also slept a lot. Every day, he took naps in the late morning and the late afternoon, and then went to bed early.

Meanwhile, Wesley and Elisabeth were busy getting things ready for the wedding and the reception. On the morning of the wedding, they came to the apartment and told us that everyone would be wearing “Extra Tuffs” for the wedding ceremony. From what I know, “Extra Tuffs” are like short fishing boots. Wesley said he knew that he had been totally accepted on the island when he was given a pair of “Extra Tuffs.” Wes and I walked to the nearest carrier of the boots, intending to buy some for the ceremony, but found to our dismay that each pair would cost $80.00. We had to plead poverty. But yes, even though the picture on Wesley’s blog doesn’t show them, both the bride and the groom, as well as almost everyone else on the boat, are wearing these boots during the wedding! It was another one of those memorable details that made this a unique wedding (or if you are Allison, a very unique wedding).

Seriously, however, this wedding was beautiful. There were only about sixteen of us on the chartered yacht, which was named the Sea Breeze. We had the bride and groom, the parents, the bridesmaids, the groomsmen, the videographer, the captain, who performed the marriage ceremony and his lovely wife, who later provided the delicious wedding dinner. The weather had been temperamental during the week, but was fairly mild, with even a little sunshine, on this day. It was cloudy and cool by the time we got underway, but the rain held off. Elisabeth had decorated the bow and the cabin of the boat with touelle (white, chiffon-like fabric), ribbons, flowers and balloons and it really looked pretty. She had been careful to never let Wesley see her dress or her veil. Just before the boat got to the place where we had the wedding, Elisabeth and her mother disappeared to get Elisabeth dressed and ready. We stopped in a place that was surrounded by smaller islands that were a brilliant green and, even though the sky was grey, it was breathtakingly beautiful. When Elisabeth was ready, one of her bridesmaids started the music.

TO BE CONTINUED