My Honeymoon

We were married on June 26, 1996 in the Salt Lake Temple in the morning, I think around 9:00 a.m. I remember having to wake up really early to get ready and be there on time. I got dressed and remember my mom fussing with my temple clothes after I walked out of the locker room (I wasn't worried about how I looked, I was just thinking about what I was about to do). My bride and I talked with the temple sealer for a few minutes, then waited in the celestial room while friends and family gathered in the sealing room. We knelt across the altar from each other, and I remember looking into the mirrors of eternity and then into her eyes. And I remember kissing her over the altar. After that we went outside and had some pictures taken, then changed and went to the lion house for our wedding luncheon. My new wife didn't like the ham (it was honey ham), but I loved it. My grandparents paid for it as a wedding gift to us. Then we left for our honeymoon.

The only way to really describe my honeymoon is to say that it was the best of times and it was the worst of times. We drove to Manti (about a two and a half hour drive from Salt Lake) and stayed at a bed and breakfast. While we were driving there was a rainstorm, and as we came within sight of the Manti temple the sun came out and we saw a rainbow. Everything was green in the valley – it felt like we were in Ireland (or at least somewhere a lot more exotic than Central Utah). Our room at the Yardley Inn was beautiful, it was called “Moonlight and Roses” and had a canopy bed, jetted tub, wood floors and a skylight. There was a stereo with a CD of the music from the movie "Somewhere in Time." They made dinner for us. I can't remember what the main course was, but I remember green beans with almonds and pistachio pie. My wife and I were really tired at that point – it had been a long day – and I think we were about to fall asleep face down in our food. We just spent one night there. We ate breakfast in the dining room downstairs with a few other couples the next morning, then packed up and left.

We went back to our house in Mapleton and spent two or three days there. I was off work and we didn't really have a lot of cares at that point. Then we flew to Michigan. My wife's ticket was free, paid for by the attorneys for her friend Hans who was on trial for murder (his uncle and some buddies had beat him up quite badly one day and a few days later he came back with a gun and killed his uncle). My wife had been asked to testify on his behalf. We stayed with her parents for most of the time we were in Michigan (to save money). I met Hans for the first time the day she testified. She was only on the stand for a few minutes. The prosecuting attorney objected several times to her being there at all and said that because she hadn't spent a lot of time with Hans in recent years that she wasn't a very reliable character witness. It was sad, because she was hoping to be able to do more for Hans and he ended up getting the maximum penalty the law allowed. He was convicted of second degree murder.

At some point after the trial, probably a day or two afterward, we rented a car and drove to Mackinac Island. She showed me around and then we stayed at the Iroquois hotel on the beach. Everything about Mackinac Island is beautiful except for the prices :) The next morning we had a huge fight and she ended up sitting outside on the beach while I was sitting in the hotel room. I wasn't at my best because I was getting sick, although I didn't know it quite yet. But I am always pretty grouchy when I am sick. We drove back to her parents' house later that day and I woke up the next morning feeling quite ill. I couldn't keep food or water down and had alternating fever and chills. I spent a few days doing pretty much nothing except playing Donkey Kong 2, but when it came time for our flight home there was no way I was going to be able to make it. My mother-in-law called the missionaries and they gave me a blessing while I was lying on the floor shivering (even though I was wrapped in a blanket). Immediately after they gave me the blessing they said, “go to a doctor.” So I did … and found out I had mono and was severely dehydrated. The doctor gave me two pints of saline solution and I immediately felt better. We barely caught our flight home, and I lived on Ensure for the next couple of weeks. It took me a few months to regain my full strength.

In 2003 my wife and I went back to Manti and had a wonderful trip. I considered it a second honeymoon, and it was much better than the first. No fights, no mono, no murder trials. Just a nice stay at the Yardley Inn, and we stayed up most of the night talking (my wife remembers it being a very bonding experience). We also saw the Manti Pageant while we were there, but the best part about that trip wasn't the scenery or the entertainment, I was just glad to be with my sweetheart. We were so close and connected on that trip, I will never forget it. It's what our first honeymoon should have been, but wasn't. Thank goodness for second chances! :)