Honeymoon to Costa Rica, Day 1

I’m back!  And I’m married!  🙂  Our wedding day was on October 13, and we left for Costa Rica the very next day where we spent a full week in paradise before coming back to the real world.  Now we’re back at our jobs, dealing with school stuff, paying bills, and yet still basking in the glow of wedding rings and the memories from a gorgeous honeymoon.

While on my honeymoon, I forgot a notebook, of all things, to record everything that went on during this most amazing vacation.  But thanks to technology, I just used my handy dandy iPhone to jot it all down.  I can’t share all the parts (I mean, come on, it WAS a honeymoon, after all), but over the next few days I’ll cut and paste the parts I can share here for your reading enjoyment.

Love you all!

P.S.  It’s still a long read.  But you want to hear everything I CAN share, right?  😉

October 15

Shawn (aka Mr .W) has been my husband for two days now. The ring never leaves my finger, and I love looking at it from time to time just to see it shine and serve as proof that all this is really real. I sometimes catch him doing the same thing.

The wedding went by without a hitch. As everyone told me, it went by in a blur. The night before was set up and the rehearsal. Following that was a whirlwind dinner at our house. I went to my parents house and slept…sort of. I maybe got 4 hours of sleep because I had such a busy mind. But when it came time to walk down that aisle, all my nervous butterflies flew away. The look on Shawn’s face was priceless when he saw me for the first time. From there it was the vows we memorized (with only a few hiccups), exchanging the rings, and then our kiss.

The reception was a jumble of dancing, photos, eating between obligations, visiting, etc. Little girls surrounded me, all of them wanting to dance with the princess bride. I let myself be led in twirls and ring around the Rosies. The photo booth camera man was a huge hit. The cookie bar was a fantastic idea. We probably have tons of food, cookies, and milk left over. And our families banded together to clean it all up so we could go home and….

We’d abstained for 28 days in preparation for our wedding night.  We’d talked about it earlier in the engagement, waiting until the big day, but we never really took action on it.  When the 4 week mark hit, I realized it was the only way.  Not for religious reasons, at least not totally.  I mean, we’d already missed that boat.  But mostly because I wanted my wedding night to be truly special, and our honeymoon to be more than just a vacation.  So when I brought it up again, Shawn knew I was serious.  And he agreed it was a great idea.  Of course, one week in and it didn’t seem like such a great idea anymore.  Two weeks in, and it was a struggle not to cave.  But weeks three and four went by in the blink of an eye in the midst of wedding preparation and exhaustion.

Wedding night came, the party was done, and we were driving home in our “Just Married” car. My feet hurt, neither of us had gotten enough sleep, and we were both exhausted. But dang it, we were adamant that we were going to consummate the marriage!  I was briefly afraid that we’d be too tired for anything significant to happen, but let’s just say that the night was successful.  The end.  🙂

Yesterday (10/14) we left for San Francisco to catch a flight to Miami. In our excitement, we were extra early. So we drove the scenic route to get there. But we probably shouldn’t have. Once we got through a really long line in security, we had enough time to grab a sandwich and board the plane. We spent 6 hours on the plane where I leisurely read a book while sipping a gin and tonic, and he napped. We passed a thunderhead cloud where lightening streaks flew in all directions, lighting up the sky in a surreal way. I watched as the sky turned dark quickly while we lost 3 hours of time in our west coast to east coast flight. And we got to Miami around 11, checked into our hotel at midnight with a 6am wake up call. Oy.

Here’s the video of the thunderhead I took from the plane:

The alarm phone rang this morning, and Shawn greeted me with a hug. Then he placed a cup of coffee in my hands. Seems my husband had been awake for 15 minutes and already made coffee. We got ready, ate breakfast, then sat outside in the 80 degree misty morning. I got to say, I totally loved the humidity!

The flight there was easy. I read more, peeking over Shawn’s shoulder from time to time to catch glimpses of a never ending ocean covered in a cloud forest. Tufts of clouds peppered the air below us, looking like puffs of cotton candy or fluffy plumes. I got another gin and tonic, my second ever alcoholic beverage on a flight, and was soon also presented two free glasses of champagne because a flight attendant had discovered it was our honeymoon.

There’s an episode on Friends where Monica and Chandler were bent out of shape because the honeymooning couple in front of them kept receiving perks, but none were left for Monica and Chandler. I have to admit, a big part of me was hoping to get bumped up to first class, be given an exclusive suite, etc. None of that happened. But the champagne was a nice touch. Except I was getting really tipsy. I ended up not drinking hardly any of the champagne.

The first thing you notice when flying over Costa Rica is how green it is. That, and the looming volcanoes. We touched down and were greeted by warm, moist air that practically curled hair upon contact. We got our rental car and headed to the hotel. This country has a thing against making roads. We were given direction to pass three gas stations, turn right at the taxi yard, pass the BCR (still not sure what that is), etc. Miraculously we found the hotel.   It was way more beautiful than I expected, with wide open spaces, a large pool and a swim up bar, and a rooftop restaurant. Our room wasn’t ready so we headed to the lower restaurant for a bite to eat. The food was alright, the service totally incredible. While everyone here knows a little English, they all mainly speak Spanish. I let Shawn show off his impressive Spanish skills while I mostly sat by. It’s inspiring me to want to look into lessons when I get home.

The room was finally ready, a lovely King size room with a view of the pool, huge tub, and  an airy feel to it. Frankly, it was perfect. We slipped on our swimsuits and went for a dip in the pool. Despite my incredibly full tummy, I got a Mai Tai which I gingerly sipped at. We lounged, slept, read, and even went for a stroll on the beach.

The time change and 9 hours of broken up travel have totally screwed with our energy levels. In the midst of hanging out and reveling in not being parents, being away from work, and the sheer joy of being married, we’ve also enjoyed a little downtime on our phones. Part of it is to catch up on the conversation and photos surrounding out wedding. The other part is to share what’s going on with us through status updates and photos, mostly so our families know we’re here safe and to see what we’re seeing. It’s admittedly addicting to read the supportive comments back. But the ones that bug me are the people who remind us to get off our phones and be with each other.

As if that’s not what we’re doing.

I get it, I do. And I’ve now taken a FB vow of silence. But I almost feel bullied into not sharing anything. We’d already decided to keep our phones at the hotel, only checking them when we’re here. And now we’ve also concluded the photos and more can wait till we get back.

Now it’s 10:42, and we’re already in bed. Shawn is sleeping, I will when I’m done typing. My eyes are having a hard time staying open. And I’m still reeling over the fact that Shawn is my husband and I am his wife. I love hearing him refer to me as “mi esposa” when talking to the wait staff (who have some of the best customer service ever!).

The tiredness is winning out. Until tomorrow.