New Mexico

Mike and Holly's big day finally arrived! They got married this weekend in Santa Fe. It was my first time there as well as Lynn's, so even with the wedding festivities we took some time to tour around and experience the flavor of the city. Everything from the location to the wedding was so unique and beautiful. We had a thoroughly enjoyable weekend!

One of the most infamous sites in Santa Fe is the

Loretto Chapel, which is home to the "Miraculous

Stairway" pictured here. When the chapel was

completed in 1878 there was no way to access the

choir loft. Due to the small space of the chapel

the Sisters were told that the only way to get up there

would be by way of a ladder. The legend goes that

after that the Sisters prayed a novena to

St. Joseph (patron saint of carpenters) and asked

for a solution to their dilemma, on the ninth and

final day of their novena, a man appeared with a toolbox

looking for work. Months later, the stairway was

completed and the man mysteriously disappeared

without pay or thanks. What is miraculous about this

staircase, however, is that it was built without any

nails or glue to hold it together. It remains standing

by the sheer genius of its construction, a design

which other carpenters have tried to create since and

have never been able to duplicate. Even stranger,

the wood used to build the stairs did not come from

New Mexico, and researchers have yet to be able to

trace where it came from. The railings that you see on

the staircase today were added later for additional

safety, though the Sisters used the stairs without a railing

for nearly 100 years.

Over the weekend we were also able to tour

the Georgia O'Keeffe museum and see some of the

most influential artwork of the 20th century.

The bride and groom had asked Neal to be the

emcee for the rehearsal dinner, which he pulled

off like a pro. It actually made him the hit of

the weekend, as dozens of people came up to

him afterwards to tell him what a great job

he had done. I was pretty proud of him too. :-)

The wedding took place on the rooftop of our

hotel - La Fonda - and had the beautiful

St. Francis Basilica as the backdrop. The weather

was perfect, the clouds made for a spectacular

sky, and the scenery was almost magical.

In the spirit of Santa Fe wedding tradition,

Mike and Holly, along with all 100 + guests,

followed a Mariachi band in procession around

the town square.

Neal and Mom

Lynn was like a second mom to Mike

growing up, as was Mike's mom to Neal.

She was very proud to be there to see her

surrogate son get married.

At the reception, we experienced the most

ironic thing. A man approached Neal to, once

again, tell him what a great job he had done the

night before at the rehearsal dinner. When they

got to talking - asking where we were from, etc.,

Neal discovered that he happened to be the

Chairman of the Board at the company where

I work! We've actually met several times but

didn't recognize each other since it was so out

of context. It turns out that he has been good friends

with the grooms parents for over 20 years! He lives in

Colorado, is neighbors with Mike's parents at their house in

Arizona, and we ran into each other in Santa Fe.

What a small world!

On Sunday there was a post-wedding brunch at

the house of a family friend. This house, which

is spectacular, was recently featured in

Architectural Digest magazine.

http://www.architecturaldigest.com/homes/homes/archive/bacchieri_article_102006

Awesome views, delicious food, and good company

made us not want to leave!

With the happy newlywed couple

"Clouds"

On the way back to the airport in Albequerque....

Before our flight we had a couple of extra

hours to spare so we ventured out to the

Hot Air Balloon Museum. Neal is such a huge

fan of hot air ballooning, I think he would

move to New Mexico just to be more involved

with it. Back in the day he was part of a "chase"

crew that would help set up balloons for flight

then follow them in a chase vehicle to pack them

down after touchdown. Yet, he's only been on one

actual flight. Hopefully we'll get to go

together someday, though I've never been

and am a little nervous to try!

Kauai

For the second part of our Pacific adventure, Mike, Lisa, Neal and I made our way further west to the "Garden Isle." After a 5 and a half hour flight from Cali, we arrived on the beautiful island of Kauai just in time to have some dinner at Duke's and enjoy the moonlight over the water.

Our first official day on the island, Neal and Mike

got up at dawn to capture the sunrise over Kalapaki Bay

right outside our hotel.

View from our rooms on the ground floor

Shortly after we moved into our rooms, we

were greeted by a friendly kitty, who became

our island pet the whole week (especially

after Mike and Lisa bought food to share!).

Relaxing sounds of the beach with birds

chirping in the background

Hanalei Lookout

Hanalei Beach

Lis and I had to laugh at this one......

After finding our spot on the beach and setting

up our towels to lay out for a bit, we watched the

guys venture off to the water with their snorkel

gear. They were back 5 minutes later, looking

totally beat up, saying that the waves were too

rough and knocked them all over the shore.

After we went down and tried getting in the water,

we had to agree with them - it was a rough day

to do any snorkeling.

The sand here is not white and smooth like that

of the Caribbean, but beautifully colorful

in its own way.

Taking a hike to one of the coolest spots on the

island, the "Queen's Bath." Neal and I had never

been able to get in because the tide was always

too high, but luckily this day was perfect for a swim.

Neal inside the bath

The water was so clear you almost felt like

you were in a fishbowl.

One of the most beautiful parts of Kauai is

its Na Pali Coast. However, it is only accessible

by helicopter, boat, or a 2-day hike over the

mountains. We opted for Captain Andy's - a

catamaran trip that takes you along the coast

and to a nice spot for snorkeling with dozens

of fish.

Often times schools of dolphins will playfully race

the boat, which is so fun to watch.

Snorkeling with the fish

Waimea Canyon, the "Grand Canyon" of Hawaii

Neal being a goofball, pretending to fall

off the canyon

Along with our pet kitten, we also had pet

chickens outside of our room! At first they

enjoyed snacking on Triscuits with us, until the

cat food went out and they started eating that.

Mike became so attached to these chickens he

swore that he'd get some for his backyard when

he got home.

"Two Peas in a Pod"

Before we saw the luau at Smith's Paradise, we

walked around the gardens for some photos. As

is typical of the island, there were small, two-legged

creatures walking everywhere.

Lisa going for a dip :-)

As we were walking around the gardens it started

pouring rain. Luckily, we were right next to a little

straw hut where we could hide with out cameras.

As we were waiting out the rain, we saw a huge,

double-rainbow appear in the distance. It was

so pretty it was worth the rain shower.

At dinner, there was a "warm-up" luau,

which was presented by members of the

audience. Neal was one of the lucky ones

to get picked as a dancer. He actually did

very well - I was proud of him. :-)

In true Neal-Kelly-Mike-and-Lisa fashion,

we had to have some sort of motorcycle

excursion on this trip, so we rented Harleys

for a day. Well, actually the boys did - Lisa

and I rode on the back. It was Neal's first time

driving a Harley and he liked it a lot. This was

such a great way to see the island, to feel the warm

air and smell the ocean and trees along the way.

Kilauea Lighthouse

Aside from the Hula Pie, our favorite snack on

the island is shave ice (they actually call it "shave" ice

as opposed to shaved ice). This is the biggest one

we had seen to date - it took 2 of us to finish one!

View of the Wailua River Valley

Wailua Falls

My favorite road on the island - the tree lined

street that goes to Poipu

Beach near the Spouting Horn

Spouting Horn

This is a natural wonder that occurs when water

rushes under a lava shelf and bursts through a

small opening in the surface.

Our final lunch at Keoki's Paradise -

Neal's favorite restaurant.

The last Mai Tai.....until next time