Our fake wedding

June 1992

I met my hubby when I was 21years old, he was 19.

I had signed up for a pottery class and on the first day of class while the teacher was taking attendance someone walked into the room late.

 I looked over and the whole room went dark except for him.

Literally all else around me disappeared and all I saw was Jesse.

It was love at first sight.

It only took me two classes to build up enough courage to give him my phone number.

He called me that night and invited me to come over for a homemade breakfast the next day.

We have been together ever since then.

After being together for 7 years, we decided to travel to Nepal. It was going to be the new millennium and with all the "scare talk" we wanted to be somewhere undeveloped;

in case the whole world turned off for a few days.

We had gone to school in China back in 1992 and wanted to go back to Asia....We saw Nepal as a little pearl in Asia, not as intense as India and not Thailand (there was a lot of robbing taking place to trekkers at this time) so we booked our one way tickets. 

We would come back home via Europe, that way would could also do an around the world trip!

Jesse was a hiker and an outdoorsman so this upcoming trip was one of EPIC nature for him,

I on the other hand was a walker...and a slow wanderer....

so this trip was a little more outdoors than I was really prepared for.

We took kickboxing classes (lasted 4 classes) and I worked out on a stairmaster at home.

I worked two jobs to save money and Jesse worked and quit his longtime job and sold his car.

We packed up a backpack full of stuff and headed out around the world!

Jesse got a cold on our third day in Kathmandu, I started to wander while he slept...explore the city.

I would bring home 7-up and treats to eat as he blew his nose and read a harry potter book in the hotel. As the week passed he got better and we booked a 16day trek in the Lantang Region with a visit to the Holy Lake (Gosainkunda is sacred lake for Hindus and Buddhists alike, and is said to have had its origin when Lord Shiva swallowed poison to save the world. It is believed he pierced the earth with his trishul (trident) from where a fountain of water sprang forming a lake where the burning Shiva jumped to soothe the burning in his throat.)

We started the trek with a harrowing bus trip that made me puke and think I was going to die via the bus flinging itself off the narrow roads and down a sheer cliff.

We trekked for 7hours that first day and being a child who was raised at sea level for my

WHOLE life I was finding it hard to breathe.

Jesse watched as I took heavy lungfuls of air high in the mountains and then stop and take a picture.

I was the last one in our foursome to reach any of our points as I was always stopping to take pictures.

Our stop for the night, was a cabin that overlooked the first of many valleys in the region.

The cabin was two stories and whitewashed, the windows were framed in blue think paint and there were flower boxes...I thought I was in Switzerland.

Jesse was already sitting with the guide and porter and very relaxed

when I dragged my sorry sea-level ass into camp.

I sat for a moment and then asked if there was a bathing area;

while I took a shower out of a bucket in the barn next to the donkey...

Jesse got our bags upstairs and a plate of food for me.

Returning to the group refreshed, I ate a little food as the guide looked at Jesse

and asked how long we were married for?

Because of our research before leaving, Jesse and I knew that culturally it was more appropriate to say we were married, (I had gotten us cheap silver bands for $10 before leaving the US to wear while we trekked.)

Jesse looked up at Robin Garung (our guide) and said, that we just gotten married in February, on Valentines day and that this was our honeymoon.

He then proceeded to tell the guide all the details of the wedding,

how it was a small group of friends and family, that we were married outside

and we kept it simple, so that we could save money to travel to Nepal.

He told him what we wore and that we danced all night long.

The guide was surprised and I was silent the whole time, only offering smiles and nods of agreement.

Jesse had woven a beautiful day in his mind and told this new friend all that he had imagined for us.

When darkness came and we went to our room, I asked where he had gotten this date from and the details...he said that it was an easy date to remember and that it was romantic to think of it on that day.

We walked many many miles together on that trip and many trips after that...and in 2002 on Valentines day Jesse asked me to marry him for real.

He said it was the perfect day to ask as it was already our anniversary.

Nov 1 2002