A Wedding in the Catskills

       Okay, let's disregard the fact that I have been very much an absentee blogger. I'm here, my kid is napping, and I've finally got some time to write. I've got lots to catch you up on so I'm going to work backwards, starting with my recent adventure.

Mama Milam got away last weekend to the 

Catskills in New York

to celebrate and be a part a very good friends wedding.

Maria and I met in Ecuador on Christmas Day, seven years ago
(yes, I had my nose pierced, and yes, we look greasy. 
That's Lake Titicaca behind us!) .

We had so many adventures together while we were there
(including trips to the hospital, lost passports, endless bus rides, 
learning to surf, dysentery, and the list goes on). 

(Now I'm thinking I need to do a few posts about our time down there).

Fast forward to the present
and  Maria was going to be walking down the aisle! 

They chose a rural Inn property for their wedding.

The location was picture perfect.

Initially the boys were going to travel with me too

and we were going to make a family vacay out of it.

But then we realized that our son

would have nothing to do with sitting in a plane for seven hours.

 The foliage was out of this world.

The property where the wedding was held

and where we all stayed,

was scattered with several old buildings and cabins.

I stayed in the main building on the grounds.

These old buildings just oozed character and charm.

I woke up to this view from my room.

There was a fire pit 

where everyone ended up after the rehearsal dinner.

And a stream traversed through the back of the property.

It was amazing to see Maria again, 

and meet so many of the friends I had heard about.

On Friday before the wedding

a few of us hopped in the car and found a small 

market where everything was made from scratch (even the mayo and mustard!).

We devoured some delicious sandwiches.

The location of the Inn was in an area affected by Hurricane Irene. 

When I turned on to the final road before the resort, 

I was greeted by these signs 

(which were kind of creepy at midnight after a long day of traveling).

I soon realized that the signs were in place due

to damage that the flooding had caused to the roads

(again, an eerie discovery on dark unfamiliar roads).

Sadly, this house was now nearly falling into the roadway.

It looks like the house is for sale now,

and they're willing to negotiate the price.

Just sayin.

Many of their neighbors in the area had similar experiences.

There seemed to be remnants of the storm 

scattered all over the area,

and the river was still running very brown.

The rehearsal dinner was held in an old barn on the property.

The morning of the wedding, 

I needed to grab a couple of things

 so I drove down to the nearest town,

about twenty minutes away.

Talk about small town charm.

It had charm to spare.

The actual wedding was wicked 

(that's a word I picked up out there), 

although I have very few pictures to prove it. 

The following morning my feet were covered in blisters

 and my ears were ringing (from the 7 piece band!).

  True signs of a great celebration!

I did manage to snap this picture of the new

 Mr. & Mrs. Haun.

Beauteous right?

Maria was glowing. 

As much fun as it was, 

I was so happy to get back to my boys. 

More to come soon, I promise.