I never mentioned here that a few weeks back over the July 4th holiday I was given the honor of officiating Sam and Jennifer's wedding. I am so happy that this group of friends has embraced the practice of becoming ministers and marrying each other...to each other. It just makes sense that instead of hiring a complete stranger to perform the ceremony, one would prefer to work with a long-time friend who knows each person individually and as a couple. I had the pleasure of knowing both Sam and Jen before they met and also the extreme pleasure of watching them grow together and now finally seal the deal. It was great to see many old friends from Jackson and Davis too. Thanks to Sam and Jen for being wonderful folks and wonderful hosts (thanks, parents!) and for a fantastic weekend. Being the minister, I didn't get a chance to take many photos, especially, obviously, of the ceremony itself. So here are some images I did capture in the downtime.
The wedding was at Sugar Bowl Resort in the Lake Tahoe area. They basically rented out the whole place, so that even though Lake Tahoe had likely swelled to its most crowded state of the year over the July 4th holiday, we were nicely insulated in our own green island. Here's a shot from our balcony.
Another balcony shot, looking down on the lawn where the ceremony would be held and the deck where the reception would be held.
Jen and her nephew Isaac, relaxing for conversation after the rehearsal dinner. Later, Isaac was a rock-star participant in the ceremony, delivering the rings to my hand with only a bit of encouragement from his parents on one end and me, Jen & Sam on the other.
Slightly sauced and very joyful parents after the rehearsal dinner. Both families were extremely gracious and a genuine good time to hang out with.
Sam & Jen post-ceremony, looking rather serious. Dan Stone off to the side looking like their bodyguard.
Groom getting down in da bowtie.
My job has me working in two separate offices. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday I work at the Bastyr Clinic in the Wallingford /Fremont neighborhood. The clinic is about two miles from our house and with the fair weather I walk or ride my bike. Tuesdays and Thursdays I work on the Bastyr University campus over across Lake Washington from Seattle in Kenmore. The campus is situated next to a lush wooded state park. I've got a carpool buddy so I typically drive one day a week and then ride along the other day. Both commutes take between 20 minutes and a half hour, but I prefer the walk to other modes. Walking up 45th in the Wallingford neighborhood in the afternoon you pass through a wonderful variety of smells - vanilla waffle cones at the ice cream shop, savory spicy pork aromas from the taco truck that never moves and always has a line, warm starchy smells of french fries sizzling in the fryers at Dick's Hamburgers (which also always has a line - whenever we drive by it's hard to resist cracking some remark like, "Wow, that's a lot of people lining up to cram some Dick's in their mouths."), sickly-sweet sticky smells from Winchell's Doughnuts (yeah, they still have one of those here), slightly mildewy-beer and cigarette carpet smell of the Irish pub always reminds me of the Shady Lady back in Jackson, the occasional stinky homeless fellow and of course, a deliciously acrid nose-tickling coffee shop every half block or so.
Since the clinic is in the city, each day after lunch I take a half-hour walk around Fremont - the neighborhood beyond the clinic in relation to the house. Today I brought my camera along and took a few photos.
Green siding peeling away to reveal red brick
Clever hanging pots - that's a bike helmet and a batting helmet. Both are apparently hung using their original straps. And how they drain!
Under the 99/Aurora Bridge looking toward the water. This was taken with my back to the famous Fremont Troll.
Bridge from another angle
Life-size fairy resting on a rooftop
