At a backyard pool party in Pittsburgh, somewhere near the Fourth of July, Kathy and I discovered that we both want our honeymoon to be in Italy. But... we are moving to Lesotho for two years. Soon. So we have opted to postpone Italy until we can make the time to do it right.
As it turns out, though, we already had a trip planned for the week after our wedding - the week of Thanksgiving (and appropriately so). We were bound for Lake Placid. We traveled by train, riding up along the Hudson River valley and into the Adirondacks. The vistas became increasingly breathtaking as the trip progressed. I have been traveling to Lake Placid by train every year since I discovered it on my way back from a Michelle Branch concert in Canton, New York, in October, 2003.
Lake Placid is a sacred place, where the veil between the spiritual and the profane thins perceptibly. I go there just to be. And to write. And write and write. It is that kind of place. So to be able to go with Kathy, on what became our first honeymoon, was particularly poignant for me. And a wonderful escape for us both. Beginning with the train ride. Kathy's company is a constant source of joy and delight for me. I can spend hours on end with her, on a train, in her truck, stuck in traffic. It does not matter. I relish each moment.
My favorite place to stay in Lake Placid is the Golden Arrow Lakeside Resort. So we got our room there, in which we had a whirlpool tub and a working fireplace. And a spectacular view. We looked out across Mirror Lake at the mountain peaks beyond. A wonderful, warm getaway from which we could take our intermittent excursions around the village.
Great little shops everywhere, including my favorite bookstore of all time, With Pipe and Book. (The one unhappy moment of the honeymoon was learning that this establishment was going out of business. It has always been one of the highlights of my time in Lake Placid, wherein I have found wonderful literary treasures, and I hate to see it go.)
We walked around Mirror Lake, walked over to Lake Placid itself (Main Street and a goodly portion of the village are located on Mirror Lake, as was our hotel), visited the Olympic Center - including the museum where we saw a wonderful video on Sonja Henie and the rink where the Miracle on Ice occurred, and we went bobsledding. Seriously. I thought they would go easy on us, but no. They put those motorcycle helmets on us, strapped us in, and we flew down a mile of ice in less than a minute. A rough ride, it felt like I would fly out of the sled if I loosened my grip. Definitely not an experience for the fainthearted. But cool. And I never would have done it, were it not for Kathy's influence.
Out in the parking lot, afterward, Kathy and I had a brief snowball fight. And I must say, for a Texas girl, she held up her end quite well. Honestly, it came out close to a draw. I like that we have so much fun together. I do believe that I would like to spend the rest of my life with her. Funny how that works out. Funny how everything works out with her. Like Lake Placid. We needed some sort of honeymoon, just to relish our initial moments of wedded bliss, and just to get away from the world for a few days and be just we two. And there it was. And it was perfect. Simple, romantic and beautiful.
Honey in the Moon
Wash my spirit in the quiet mountains
And hold my hand as we ride along the river.
Laugh, touch, become the softest sleep.
Let my heart be open and warm, the giver.
Walk around this lake with me.
You have given me an unspoiled sky
As a memory of being, a time we shared
When the earth itself rose high.
I shall always be beside you, ready
For each new journey, ever upward.
I shall call all firelight by your name
Like a prayer truly answered.
My love, what a trip we took,
Where the nights were sweet as your skin:
The moon dripped honey like ecstasy
And beauty scarce knew where to begin.
Marriage, the devoted spirit of union,
Imprinted our hearts with what we had said,
And so much of what we will become
Traces to the moment when you and I were wed.
1.14.10
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