Jim and I meet
how we met: sara and i were playing pool in agawam. decided we wanted to leave. started walking home. sean condon saw us, asked us if we wanted a ride. we said yes. they decided to go to allen and cooley in springfield. i had never been there. on sumner, i think, a car load of guys tried racing us. sean "won." someone yelled out the window of the moving car and asked my name. i told him. asked if i wanted to go to a party. i said yes-thinking he was just being a wise guy. asked for my number. i wouldn't give it to him. but luckily sara yelled it out the window. he didn't quite get it the first time. she repeated it. i think the guys may have been drinking, hence, incapable of remembering their own names, but the driver who was sober, honestly, remembered it.
"jamie" called the next night to invite me to a party. i wasn't expecting a call. i was at chris eitel's birthday party. got home, jamie called at 1:30 am. that was a big deal at the time-it was the summer before my junior year of high school (his senior)-mom wasn't pleased. he said i blew him off. mind you i had no idea who he was (well, i little idea. he went to cathedral- a catholic school-as did sara. i asked a bit about him ;), knew he was drunk and off to get many other numbers, and really thought he was playing games.
anywho, we went out the next night. danelle tagged along. he told me to watch for a white convertible. cool! then i saw it-a '69 chevy impala. it wasn't a car-it was a boat. anyway, danelle and i joined jim and his best friend bill. we went to springfield to see if they could sell the rest of a keg they had in the trunk. how romantic. we went to veterans golf course searching for a gathering. ended up walking and talking for a long time-and really connected. amazing.
07.25.91
the real first date: bill and ted's bogus journey at showcase.
the first kiss: in his mom's caddy in front of my house. we talked for a long time. i would always get home on time, but we'd talk in the car forever and i'd always end up late.
10.14.91 - 10.22.91
the first i love you. written by jim on the window of the caddy.
what a swami bastard.
10.22.91
we were both eachother's "first."
06.04.96
moved in together-marlboro, ma
12.30.98
bought our first home-merrimack, nh
10.15.00 - 12.15.01
"time apart"
02.20.02
engaged
06.28.02
married
it's been 11 years. i can't detail everything. well, i can but would you really want me to? right.
20:00 arrive in vegas after 9 hours of travel (layovers in cincinnati and phoenix)
great dinner at the Venetian restaurant on Sahara (not the resort; now closed)
first 3 nights at mandalay bay
02.20.02
06:00 wake up. bagels for lunch.
drive out to valley of fire
reach top of mountain.
jim: "you know i love you...[drops to one knee :]... will you marry me?"float down mountain
heather: [surprised] "of course i will!"
jim: "i have something for you to remember this day." [pulls out most beautiful diamond, sapphire, platinum ring in the universe-some say it's magical ;]heather:
(close-it's more sparkly and has a 6 prong setting)
jim: "i also wrote a letter of my thoughts in the past week up until i asked you to be my wife." [pulls out sweetest letter expressing gratitude, love, excitement, passion...]
heather: [radiantly smiling/reading/crying]
jim: [breaks out the champagne] "to our engagement."
heather: [taking pictures, creating echoes]
superb celebratory dinner at top of the world. it spins 360 ° / hour.
the view we had at night
drink in tropical rainforest
romantic bath
02.21.02
checked out the strip
another great dinner at mikado (which I guess is Kokomos now)
hypnotized
02.22.02
the best dinner experience we've ever had at drai's
bellagio fountain Show#: 7. Title: Rondine al Nido . Artist: Luciano Pavarotti. Composer: Vicenzo deCrescenzo. Work: La Rondine, Opera. Year: 1990. Length 3:23
botanical gardens
cirque du soleil's "o"
2 nights at flamingo
02.23.02
lounged by the pool
cirque du soleil's "mystere"
23:30 home
click on small image for larger photograph
photography by julia russell
i painted this watercolor of jim and i in a couples yoga pose. there is a lot of feeling behind it. we put in on the front of the invitations.
the ceremony will be held outdoors at the bella notte restaurant. we wrote our vows to eachother.
we are wearing our rings on our right hands. (they are satin finish platinum with a narrow etched groove around the middle) my engagement ring will stay on my left.
xpu-ha (/shpoo' ha/) resort from above
our neighborhood, sargento
our balcony
our evening view
tulum
us, hot, in tulum
iguana
me snorkeling
we got to the xpu-ha resort 60 miles south of cancun in riviera maya and were amazed. it was so lovely. xpu ha was previously an ecopark; the resort kept the feel of it. the birds were beautiful, iguanas often crossed our paths. check in was al fresco with a thatched cathedral ceiling. the lobby was the same. the decor was simple with mayan reminders all about. the resort didn't have a hotel. it had small neighborhoods of thatched roofed huts. there were about six huts per neighborhood arranged in a circle, and each had 2 guest suites. we were upstairs in quince once (1511-we had the opportunity to practice our spanish a lot). our room was so cool! thatched ceiling, of course, sliding glass doors that lead out the large furnished terrace with a view of the grounds (we also had a hammock :), a double jacuzzi, and it was stocked well with water, juice, beer and a bottle of champagne, well, spanish (i mean spanish, not mexican; look into mexican history) sparkling wine.
after a good nap we checked out the property, ate a nice mexican dinner and went to bed early. we woke early enjoyed our daily breakfast buffet and hit the beach. that's about all you can handle due to the heat. but it's exactly what we were looking for. the beach was great. thatched umbrellas, white sand, crystal clear, sparkling blue, warm water. the sun was intense, but we were smart: spf 45 and umbrella refuge most of the time. after a bit we'd venture off for the buffet lunch-probably the best meal of the day. there was fruit, salad, bread, hot dishes a grill, and even sushi. then off the pool for a nap. then dinner. dinner was a sit down and order meal. there were 3 "restaurants"-different side of the same, really. mexican, of course, italian and asian. all the food tasted the same, but, not surprisingly, the best choices were on the mexican side. after dinner a show. now, the shows at xpu ha were similar to what you'd expect to see at the resort in dirty dancing. they were hour long skits by the staff. the end of each was the same-3 guys dancing to mexican, reggae, dance tunes. that was the best part. ;)
and that's how each day was spent. we went snorkeling in the great cove they had, visited the monos (monkeys) daily, sun bathed topless, visited the gift shop to waste minutes. twice we ventured to a different resort, and although the restaurant had a better ambience, it was pretty much the same. we took a group trip to tulum-nearby mayan ruins: it was HOT. beautiful but too hot to enjoy. and i missed out on the coco frios. but let me tell you of the day we went to playa del carmen. we rented a yellow jeep and first drove to the cenotes accross the street (even though the car rental guy said they weren't the best and suggested other ones-but they were too expensive and touristy to go to). i couldn't wait to get to the cenotes, that's all i had talked about since i heard about them, cenotes, cenotes, cenotes. we arrived at the kantun-chi cenote park, it was sketchy to say the least. driving down a dirt road that passed abandoned buildings to a hut in the jungle we were a bit skeptical. but the people were really friendly, spoke no english, and there were other turistas so all seemed well. we ventured to the first of 4 cenotes. it was a dark cave with freezing water. there were bottom feeding fish that would nibble your toes if you stood in one place too long and god knows what else in the deep, dark, depths. that's when i decided no snorkeling for me-i didn't want to see what i'd be swimming with. jim was more daring. i finally got in the water, keeping my feet near the surface so nothing would snack on them, and swam around a bit. we then noticed the birds living on the ceiling of the cave. cute? not since their dropping had nowhere to go but in the water. and that's when we realized how stagnant the water was. so here we are, in the mexican jungle, swimming in stagnant water with bird crap. i jumped out. headed for the next cenote. on the way it got a bit buggy. there was a monkey in the trees. it was on a leash with a big collar 'round its neck. odd. smoke everywhere-i'm not sure if it was to keep the bugs at bay, but it really wasn't working. i was covered in mosquitoes. i've never had so many on me at once. and that's when i freaked out. i had to get out of there. screw the cenotes. i nearly ran down the road to our jeep. upon returning the snorkeling equipment we were invited to come back to see the rest of the cenotes. sure-we'll be back later. we actually went back to the resort, jumped in the pool-we figured the chlorine must have some disinfecting properties, took hot showers, drank to forget, brushed our teeth... it was as if we just couldn't get the cenotes of us. from that point on-they were referred to as no-notes. plbbbb...
ok, so we were clean, we hoped, jumped back in the jeep, and headed to playa del carmen, a mexican/tourist town. it was so hot. we'd walk a block, have a dos equis, walk a bit more, drink a bit more, we were feeling pretty good, forgot about the no-notes. it was rather poverty stricken. tourism is 80% of mexico's income. everyone seems to have a shop full of tourist crap to sell. they weren't high pressure, if you said no, they'd leave you alone. we chilled on the beach, sipping beer as the sun dropped lower in the sky. on the walk back we spotted an outdoor restaurant named 100% natural. we had to eat there. the food was really good. we replenished with fresh fruit juice, salad, and spinach enchiladas. mmmmm.... we left, realized playa had a much more chill vibe at night and found a great little art gallery/store. looking for gifts, we came upon an old mexican/mayan/indian woman making her goods, catalena. we bought all of our souvenirs from her-all beautifully hand made. back home.
one of the last nights we were there we stopped to catch the resort show: anything can happen night (previously, never having seen the show, mind you, we added: but nothing will [what jerks]). we stayed for 10 days most visitors stayed for 7, so it was an all new bunch of guests. the show started, the mc need 5 female volunteers, the woman next to me jumped up and dragged me with her. so five of us are on stage, he tells us we are now the contestants of the miss xpu ha contest. dear god. first task: walk like a model down a runway. terrible. second: dance (by applause i won that one), then: chug a beer. now, i never had chugged before but i was looking forward to it-it was so hot out. anywho, i finished a lot faster than my peers. that got me the title of miss beer. we then had to incorporate the audience: with a short time limit we had to acquire 1) the shoes 2) the shirts 3) the shorts or bras of as many people as we could (for some reason 2 ladies couldn't wait to give me their bras-i was the only one who had gotten any). the final event was to get a conga line started-longest line wins. mine was about 2 times as long as the other 4 contestants'. so, here i am, in all my glory, miss xpu ha. thank you, thank you. the whole thing was just a lot of fun.
we left our sweet little room, jumped on an electric golf cart thingy, said goodbye to all the animals of our resort: crocodillos, tortugas, monos, iguanas, big ass black moths, the mysterious one in out thatched roof (that left clues to their existence), the birds, the beach, juan, our spanish coach, and were off. the ride back to the airport was nice. we shared it with another newlywed couple from indiana. they had very similar experiences to ours. which makes us think that an all inclusive resort is not the way to travel and see the real sites/sights. the airport on the way out was completely opposite to the place we first arrived: it was cool, clean, organized, new... whatever, we just wanted out of mexico. our first flight brought me to tears: "bumpy air." but we returned safely. what a trip.