My New Adventure

I attended my first gay wedding two weeks ago. My cousin, Marilyn and I were invited by my nephew to travel to Vancouver, BC to attend his wedding. It was held at Shannon Falls in Squamish. A beautiful setting. Unfortunately, it was drizzley and cold, but we all were given pastel colored umbrellas to shelter ourselves.

After a quick hike up to the falls, we arrived at an area that was created for just this purpose. A place of beauty and solitude. A place to reflect on God's creations. Many weddings are held here, so it was a perfect place for Michael and Cordelle. The minister from the Vancouver Unitarian Church
Steven Epperson, performed the ceremony. Cordelle's mother and father were there, along with one of his brothers and one of his sisters. Marilyn and I represented Michael's family. Michael's boss and his wife were there, too. The eight of us were the only non-gays there, I believe. Everytime we were introduced, I said, "Hi. I'm Michael's aunt and this is my cousin, Marilyn." I didn't want anyone to ask us when did we "come out".

Dinner that night was in the "Howe Sound Inn and Brewery". (They were having a Led Zeplin revival that night, also, but in another part of the inn. I was too tired to care.) We had a great dinner, but I think the most enjoyable part of the evening was meeting all of Cordelle's and Michael's friends. They were a bunch of funny, kind, entertaining and intelligent men and women. They care about Michael and Cordelle. They were interested in hearing about me, too! They wanted to know about my children and grandchildren. I heard about their volleyball team and their love for poker tournaments.

Cordelle's mom and dad are very nice people, too. I had several nice conversations with them. I hope we get to meet again.

The next day, after breakfast and a quick trip back to the falls, we headed to Whistler. That's where the skiing venue for the 2010 olympics will be held. The snow up there was about 14 feet deep! And I'm talking about in the town itself. We took a little sightseeing trip through a neighborhood and it was like being in a snow tunnel. The snow wasn't pushed to the side, it was removed! Tall walls of snow lined the streets. The mailboxes were dug out and the driveways were cleared, but the front doors of the homes were completely hidden by the snow. The picture at the top of the page was taken in Whistler.

We returned to Seattle that evening. Our room was right across from the Space Needle in a hotel where Michael used to work. His friend, Howard, placed a welcoming tray in our room. It was filled with fruit, cheese, crackers, drinks, nuts - yummmm! After a little rest, we walked over to the Needle and Michael was able to get us complimentary tickets to go up to the top. Marilyn had never been up there, so this was a special treat for her. The view from up there is spectacular!

Monday was a beautiful day! The temps were in the 60s and the sun was shining. We traveled to Snoqualmie to view the falls there. After that, we went to Roslyn. That's where "Northern Exposure" was filmed. That was a delightful trip! Walking the streets where Joel and Maggie lived! We shopped in Ruth Ann's store and put pins in the huge map to indicate where we were from. The Brick wasn't open, neither was the Roslyn Cafe, but we took pictures. So touristy!

Bright and early Tuesday morning, Michael took us back to the airport for our trip home. I was sad to leave such a pretty part of the country, but I was anxious to return to my part of the country - God's country!