Jason and Sara Beth's Honeymoon Adventure

Tue, 08 Aug 2006 00:21:33 GMT

Saturday July 8, 2006
Jason and I both agree the wedding couldn’t have gone better. It was so wonderful to see everybody and that whole getting married part was pretty great too. We could have done without so much birdseed and balloons but oh well.
As we were getting out at the Peabody the valet radioed to the front desk that “Mr. and Mrs. Frye” were here to check in. Awesome. It was also quite fun to walk thru the lobby in my wedding dress. Lots of ooos and ahhhs. We quite enjoyed the high-class room service of the famous Peabody Hotel. I ordered chicken fingers. I know, I know. Not very fancy. But they were really good. The hotel room was great. A phone in the bathroom, strawberries and champagne, a big comfy bed…
I felt really bad because we left everything in such a mess. Birdseed and rice were everywhere. We left some of our wedding cake and other goodies for the cleaning staff. They were going to have to spend so much time cleaning in there it only seemed right.

Sunday July 9, 2006
It was great to have breakfast with friends. I really enjoyed getting to hear what everybody thought of the wedding and seeing pictures. It was a good thing our flight was so late because it left me plenty of time to pack. Then we had lunch with the family and were off to the airport.
The flight was nice. First class is the way to fly. Awesome dinner, good wine and they even had Mt. Dew. So Jason happily guzzled his crack and I took a nap. Good thing too because I needed the energy to deal with LaGuardia. Not the most friendly of airports. After being “propositioned” by a highly sketchy cab driver we decided to use a shuttle service. Took longer but was actually more fun because we got to see more of the city.
We finally made it to our hotel safely. WOW! The view was awesome. We had a huge window that looked right out over where they drop the ball in Times Square. It was awesome. Unfortunately, it was also very very bright. We had to fight with the curtains to get it dark enough to be able to sleep.

Monday July 10, 2006
Up early for the concierge breakfast. Best I’ve ever had. OK, the first I’d ever had, but it was still really good. They had scrambled eggs, bagels and lox, lots of fresh fruit, etc. It was a nice way to start the day. We had some time before we needed to be at the docks so we set out to find a Wachovia Bank. Walking in New York is an experience. Everybody is so close and yet you still maintain your personal space. Very odd. We walked by Rockefeller Center, Radio City Music Hall, and Saint Patrick’s Cathedral. I was very touristy, gaped and exclaimed at everything, and it was awesome.
After finding the bank and getting more cash (yay tipping) we headed back to the hotel to get our stuff together and head to the boat. Cabs in NY are not nearly as scary as I was expecting. They are actually quite clean and the cab driver was very nice. Checking in for our ship (The Victory) was fairly easy. Lots of lines but they had it all well organized. Our room was nice. We had a balcony with this huge window that let in a lot of natural light. It was great. The bed was comfortable and there was actually enough space for all our stuff.
After exploring our room we headed up to the top deck to watch as we pulled out of port. A tip for any of you that ever go on a cruise: don’t wear a skirt the first day. Even it’s a cute skirt that makes you look all “honeymoony.” The wind was crazy. It had a mind of it’s own. Jason had to stand behind the entire time. Which, ok, I didn’t really mind but it would have been nice not to have to worry about flashing everybody.
The view leaving was awesome. Classic New York skyline. Very fun. Jason and I had the early dinner so we had to leave a little early to go to the dining room. We had a table to ourselves, which was nice. Our servers’ names were Vas (his actual name was something much longer and not nearly as pronounceable) and Richard. They were great. Jason’s overall comment about food: “4 star quality with 5 star selection.” Vas was very helpful with selection when we couldn’t decide.
After dinner we enjoyed the “Welcome Aboard” show. It was nice. The dancers were impressive mostly because they could maintain all their choreography on a swaying boat. Awesome soundboard. Awesome lighting equipment. Not so awesome lighting design but it worked. So, enjoyable show. And then off to bed.

Tuesday July 11, 2006
This was a “Fun At Sea” day. First, in order to have fun at sea I had to find the seasickness pills. These pills are great. I stole extra for our traveling later in the trip. Once my head and stomach were settled we could enjoy the ship. Although, most of their fun activities weren’t what Jason and I had in mind. We carefully avoided the hairy man contest. The arcade was rather disappointing. The boat’s main attractions: the casino and the tax and duty free shopping didn’t really interest us. However we had our own ways of having fun. (I really enjoyed the book I was reading…)
Dinner that night was formal so we got all snazzy. Jason looked awesome in his new suit. During dessert Vas and Richard and few other waiters sang “Happy Honeymoon” to us (to the tune of “happy birthday”). They sang terribly. But they embraced their bad singing and went all out. Call Jason for a rendition. He’s awesome at it. They also gave us a little chocolate mouse cake to celebrate. Yummy.
Another show after dinner. This time it was a solute to America. Part of one of the medleys was “Rocky Top.” We thought of my poor middle sister Katharine and how many times she will be subjected to it at UT in the fall. Silly girl for not choosing Auburn. After the show there was a midnight comedian. He had done a small bit the night before and we weren’t sure if we were going to like him, but he was actually really funny. It was highly enjoyable. Overall this was a really nice day. We didn’t have anything planned or anywhere we had to be so we got to really just relax and enjoy being together. Yay Honeymoon.

Wednesday July 12, 2006
Our first port. Saint John, New Brunswick. We started the day out right: a couple’s massage. The spa on ship was great. They were really nice and gave us each an awesome massage. It was highly enjoyable. Our ship had docked a little late so all the excursions were running a bit behind and we had some time to kill. We wandered around down town Saint John for a bit. It was really cute and quaint. They had this little park area where lots of people were selling homemade crafts.
After enjoying a light lunch of wraps we headed back to the docks where we started our first excursion: a city tour by bus. Very interesting. Our tour guide was obviously a newbie but she was very enthusiastic and obviously really loved the city. The main part of the tour was lots of history and fun things to look at. I was grateful to Mom for buying me a camera with a “behind glass” option so the pictures we took from the bus mostly came out. We stopped at a place called Reversing Falls. It’s this really cool river that has backward rapids. The tides in the bay are so severe that when they meet the river they cause they rapids to flow backwards. Or something like that. It was weird to watch. But also very pretty. There were lots of seagulls flying about and the scenery was beautiful.
Our next stop on the bus tour was City Market. It’s this huge old warehouse type building that has all these vendors selling fresh produce, homemade ice cream, and lots and lots of souvenirs. Jason and I enjoyed a strawberry shake and some peanut butter cookies. Overall the bus tour was really great because was got a lot of information about Saint John and we got to see a lot in a short amount of time.
Our next excursion was another city tour but this time by horse drawn trolleys. This tour focused a lot more on the downtown area of Saint John. This tour guide had more interesting stories but really the fun part was the horses. They were sisters and every time we came to a hill they would fight over who was going to do most of the hauling. It was quite amusing. Our tour got back just in time for us to get back on the boat. They had a bagpipe player on the docks. It was cool because you could see him still playing even as we were pulling away. Overall Saint John was very fun. I wish that we’d had another day so that we could do more of our own exploring. However, I’m glad we did the tours because otherwise I would have not know I wanted to do more exploring. The day was great but tiring. Jason and I went to bed early.

Thursday July 13, 2006
Halifax. We only had one excursion planned for today but it was six hours long so that was all we needed. It was another city bus tour then a tour of Peggy’s Cove with lunch and then more city stuff. Our tour guide was cool. She had obviously been doing this for a while and really knew her stuff. Halifax is a much bigger city than Saint John. It kind of reminds me of Birmingham versus Montgomery. Even though it was bigger it still had a lot of history. There was a fort that was build for the War of 1812 but wasn’t finished until like 1840 something so it was useless. Lots of old cemeteries. A public garden that is on land Halifax still rents from England. For 1 pence a year or something ridiculous like that. Also interesting is that Halifax was the site of the largest explosion before the atom bomb. Jason bought a book on it so if you’re interested ask him.
After driving around and learning about the history of Halifax we headed out to Peggy’s Cove. It’s this cute little town that’s about an hour out of the city. The population is 42, which Jason and I both enjoyed. And it really may be the answer. The town is beautiful and everybody seemed really happy. There is only one church and one restaurant. We had lunch at the restaurant. Baked salmon, rice pilaf, and veggies. Jason was in heaven. He loved it. I thought the salmon was very good but the baked topping of bread and pepper was a little too strong. It covered the taste of the salmon instead of working with it. Apparently after eating in the equivalent of a five star restaurant for three nights I had become a food snob. Anyway, it was a nice lunch.
After lunch we got to explore a little bit. The gift shop was fun and we picked up some cute souvenirs. However, we accidentally spent a little too much time there because we had to rush to see the lighthouse. It’s the only lighthouse in the world that has a working post office. Jason wrote and sent post cards to our families (the only addresses we could remember) while I took pictures of the view. Again, it was beautiful. We ran back to the bus and made it just in time to not be the very last ones. Then we drove around the town some more. This artist used to live there and had started a monument to the town. It has all the fisherman in it and each one has a distinctly different face. Very cool. However the artist never did any drawings or plans or anything so when he died they couldn’t finish it. Sad. But it’s still a neat place to visit. We also got some homemade ice cream. Yummy. And visited a few more of the little shops. Peggy’s Cove was probably our favorite excursion of the whole cruise.
Afterwards the bus took us back into the city and to one of the malls downtown. We found this dollar store called “Buck Or Near.” It was fun. I got a box of these cute little Canadian flag toothpicks. We had fun being obviously tourists and trying to separate the American change from the Canadian change. The cashier was very patient with us. Afterwards we walked around a few more shops and bought even more souvenirs (I love early Christmas present shopping). Then the bus took us back to the pier. We spent the last of our Canadian dollars in the booths set up at the pier and then got back on the ship.
After dinner we enjoyed another musical review. It was called “Vroooom.” After reading that I was very much looking forward to making fun of it but the show was actually pretty good. They did a “music through the decades” kind of thing. Hokey and cheesy but also a lot of fun. After the show there was another comedian. This one wasn’t nearly as good as the first one. Actually, he really sucked. He was making jokes about how his girlfriend had just broken up with him but he was still so obviously bitter that it wasn’t funny at all. He did some nice character and voice work but he really really needed a writer. Overall, I think this was our favorite day of the cruise. It was just a lot of fun.

Friday July 14, 2006
Our last full day at sea was another “fun day”. We slept in. Yay fun. We actually did enjoy one of the planned activities as well. They had a “Newlyweds…Not so newlyweds” game. They asked for the newest married couple, longest married couple, and a couple in between. We were saved from having to go on stage by like 4 hours. Another couple had been married on July 8 but in the evening so they “won.” The game was really funny. The best question was “If your husband was stranded on a desert island and could only take one person with him who would he take: a nun, a hooker, or a missionary?” The old guy had the best answer “The hooker, dressed like a nun, in the missionary position.” This guy must have been like 70. It was awesome.
The game was a lot of fun to watch and kept me relaxed. I was nervous about my next appointment: the salon. That’s right. I got my hair cut. A lot. In half, actually. It now comes down to my shoulder blades and had layers. I love it. Getting it cut was a lot of fun too. It’s the first time I’d ever had it done professionally and it was a cool experience. The hairstylist was awesome. He did a great job and was really happy but calming about it the whole time. It’s a big change but one I’m really enjoying getting used it. And Jason really likes it too.
After my haircut we had dinner and then packed up all our stuff. Jason was out on our balcony and started yelling at me to come out. I did and there was this whole pod of dolphins jumping right in front of us. It was so cool. I wasn’t fast enough to get any pictures of them but it’s still an awesome memory.

Saturday July 15, 2006
Back in New York. Our boat docked at like 6am but since we did slow check out (aka let someone else deal with my suitcase, also know as The Behemoth) we got to eat a leisurely breakfast on the boat. Customs was ridiculously easy and we were in a cab on the way to our hotel by 9:30am. Sadly, hotel check-in wasn’t until 3pm. So we left our bags with the concierge and decided to do touristy things in New York. We went back to St. Patrick’s Cathedral to take pictures. It’s so beautiful. However, it was a little awkward because they were in the middle of mass. But people were still walking around taking pictures so we did too. Weird.
Next we did Top of the Rock. Basically, you get to go to the top of Rockefeller Center and look around. The view is amazing. They also had a lot of interesting history displays and a few short movies (before you went all the way up). The elevator was fun because the top was glass and they had a projector mounted to it so it played a brief “movie” on the way up. Cool. We spent a lot of time at the top just looking at everything. We even saw where The Victory was docked. The view is really incredible. If you ever get a chance to do this we highly suggest it.
After Top of the Rock we went in search of lunch at (where else?) Dunkin’ Donuts. Dunkin Donuts in Rockefeller Park on a beautiful afternoon with my husband. A-Mazing. It was a great moment. We headed back to the hotel which was just near Bryant Park so went spent some time walking around there. I was struck by how weird it was to have little pockets of green in the city. We’re so used to seeing trees and green everywhere but in New York it’s only in the parks.
Anyway, so we settled into our hotel room. Another very comfy bed. Then we went in search of an early dinner. The concierge suggested a little Italian place about a 20 min walk away. It was really good. I had spaghetti and it was so yummy. Then we walked back to the hotel and got ready to go see Wicked. Yay! (This is part where I refrain from a diatribe on what people wear to the theatre these days.)
Wicked was great. Classic Broadway musical. The leads were incredible. They were the reason the show was awesome. Lighting, sound, and costumes are were good. Costumes worked really well. The set however did not. It was cool. Very cool. But the centerpiece was this huge mechanical dragon that was on a pulley system so they could move the wings and smoke came out its nose at the start of the play. Then it was ignored for the rest of the show. Three measly references to the “dragon clock” that nobody got and that was it. I know it was a part of the book but either make it a complete part of the play or cut it. Clearly the set designer was not in on the total design concept idea. Anyway, the show was still really marvelous. And it produced one of our favorite moments of the trip. A teenage girl and her family were sitting behind us. While we were waiting for the show to start she leans over to her Mom and says in a classic valley girl accent “So, is this a true story?” Really? Really?! It was awesome. As was our entire day.

Sunday July 16, 2006
Breakfast in Bryant Park. They have a great little breakfast kiosk thing in the middle of the park. Yummy muffins and nut bread. Then back to the hotel to pack and on to the train station. We were on the express train to Boston. It was a very smooth ride. Checked in to our hotel in Boston. Jason immediately turned on NESN (New England Sports Network – official Red Sox channel). So we had a nice afternoon. Walked to dinner then went and saw Superman Returns. Highly enjoyable movie. If you haven’t seen it, I suggest it. Mostly this was just a traveling day. But everything went smoothly so that was nice.

Monday July 17, 2006
Breakfast in the concierge lounge. Not as good as the one in New York but still very nice. Then we went on a duck boat tour. These are awesome! A lot of fun. Our tour guide was “Karaoke Cow Girl” and you could tell she really loved her job and the city of Boston. This is a great way to see Boston. We learned a lot of history, got a boat ride, and had fun.
Next was lunch at the Prudential Center mall. We still had all afternoon before the game so we decided to go to the top of the Prudential Center. They have a thing call the Skywalk where you can look out over Boston. Turns out it is also a really cool exhibit on Boston history. They give you a tape player when you come in that has information about the buildings you are looking at. Just punch in the number on the wall and listen to some history. It’s really informative and neat. Jason and I had spent 2 hours before we knew it. Then it was back to the hotel to get ready for the game.
We walked to Fenway early so that I could buy a Red Sox t-shirt. It’s amazing the history that is part of that place. It’s weird, but I swear you can feel it as you walk up. It’s rather remarkable. There weren’t a lot of good places to buy a shirt outside the gates so we had to wait till they were open. Once inside we visited one of the team stores and found a great classic shirt. I changed immediately. The stadium is a lot smaller than I thought it would be. Our seats were great. Right behind home plate and only about 20 rows up (which in Fenway isn’t much at all, as the seats are closer to the action than they are in most parks). We had about an hour to wait for the game but it didn’t seem like that long at all. Mr. Frye’s friend who had given us the tickets had given his other two tickets to this really nice couple from Maine. The wife was…well, I think the best word is exuberant. After she found out that we were on our honeymoon she made it her goal for the night to get us a fly ball. It was really funny. We kept having to convince her not to go yell at the people who actually caught the fly balls.
Anyway, so the waiting was over and the first pitch is going to be thrown. And Meatloaf walks to the mound. Yes, Meatloaf. Then after he throws out a pitch here comes somebody running from the bullpen wearing a classic Red Sox uniform. It was Will Ferrell dressed as Luis Tiant, a popular Red Sox pitcher from the 1970s. Awesome. So he trots up to the mound, looks, winds up, and throws. It was off the plate, but a respectable pitch given the windup he went into. But still quite the performance. The wife of the couple sitting next to us was a huge Will Ferrell fan. I think she screamed louder at that moment than at any other time in the game. (Jason will take over for a minute to write about the game…)
And it was a good game. The first few innings were a little rough. Tim Wakefield (the ageless one, a knuckleballer) gave up 4 runs in the first 4 innings to the Royals. THE ROYALS! He then left with an injury, and the bullpen took over from there. The bullpen held the line for 5 innings, which was impressive. The only problem was, the Red Sox couldn’t score…AGAINST THE ROYALS! Every little thing went against the Red Sox in the game for the first 6 innings. Line drives hit right at fielders, little bloopers falling in for the Royals, every borderline call going KC’s way, etc.. Finally, in the 7th inning, the Red Sox started to rally. They scored a run to make it 4-1, and had 2 men on with 2 out for the catcher, Doug Mirabelli. It is important to note that Doug Mirabelli sucks ass. He’s a 35-year-old (old in baseball) backup catcher hitting .180 on the season. He can, however, catch the infamous knuckleball, so he is Tim Wakefield’s personal catcher. He was the tying run at the plate, so naturally, we were praying for a pinch hitter to keep the rally going. There was no pinch hitter. There was, however, a tie ballgame when Doug Mirabelli, against all odds, blasted one over the Green Monster. We went absolutely nuts. It was exactly like Auburn scoring a game-tying TD at home against a SEC opponent. Just imagine that it happened on a 50-yard pass to Cooper Wallace, and he DID’T DROP THE BALL. After the top of the 8th, we sang along to “Sweet Caroline” over the stadium’s sound system, including Caroline herself via cell phone. The Red Sox took the lead in the 8th on a sacrifice fly, and Jonathan Papelbon, Boston’s God of Saves, came in for the 9th. 3 batters later, the Red Sox celebrated a 5-4 win. All in all, it was a great experience. And we celebrated with Dunkin Donuts smoothies.

Tuesday July 18, 2006
Up early to pack. Breakfast in the lounge. We left plenty of time to get to the airport because of the collapsed tunnel. The cab driver did a good job of getting us there so we had a lot of time to kill. Had some more Dunkin Donuts smoothies. Delta first class was nice. We had yummy turkey sandwiches and pasta salad for lunch. No Mt. Dew, but Jason was ok. The flight was nice. I took a nap. Smooth ride and no problems. Mr. and Mrs. Frye met us at the Atlanta airport. It was crazy busy but we made it out of there ok. We stopped at Dunkin Donuts on the way home. We also stopped in Auburn for dinner. Yay Niffer’s! Then we were home at last. Our honeymoon was wonderful but it was nice to be home. :-)

Pictures are posted at www.photobucket.com
username: sarabeth_jason
password: july 8

And things

Wed, 18 Jan 2006 22:18:39 GMT

So since Amanda “nudged” me…..

I’m registered! Jason and I registered last weekend. The scan gun thing was much fun. Although the actual deciding what we want was a bit more difficult than we thought. We are waiting until after Jason moves in to the apartment (Feb. 1) to figure out what all we need. So right now all the registries are pretty bare boned. I’m taking my little sister Ruthie back with me at some point. She is a kitchen genius and can tell me which pots and pans are the best. Also, if any of you have suggestions of what we might need let me know. So, where we registered…

*Target
*Linens ‘n Things
*Dillard’s
*Pier 1

Other wedding stuff is going well too. My dress came in and is gorgeous. The bridesmaids dresses are ordered. We are going to have the reception at the church so I don’t have to worry about alcohol. But there will still be dancing and food :-). I’m sending out save the date cards within the next two weeks. They will have hotel information included. I think that’s all the interesting (or not so interesting stuff with the wedding).

Work is going well. I just opened Pump Boys and Dinettes. It’s a fun fluff musical but was extremely stressful getting up. My director and my music director hate each other and the music director was also a cast member. Oh joy. But the show is up and is good. I can finally let the stress go (Jason visited last weekend and helped quite a bit with the letting go of stress. I do love him.) Now I start working on Saucy Jack and the Space Vixens. I’m really excited about this one. We are taking seats out of the theatre and turning it into a bar. The show is being advertised as Rocky Horror meets Charlie’s Angles. It’s lots of fun.

So I think that’s about it. My life is as it has been for the past nine months: Theatre and Wedding. I miss y’all and can’t wait to see you in July!!

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Mon, 20 Dec 2004 06:10:15 GMT

As Requested....

So we went to dinner at the Capital City Club. I wore this fantastic red dress I had gotten the day before at Dillard's. Jason had told the Club that it was my birthday...the reason he told me we were going...so there were balloons at our table and my menu (which I kept) said "Happy Birthday Sara Beth. Enjoy your Evening" at the top. The meal was absolutely amazing. It was really wonderful. No, really. Pause a moment for the meal.

Ok. The view was also wonderful. The city was all decorated for Christmas. Jason and I talked about various things through the meal while spying on the table next to us to figure out how to eat all those fancy pre-dinner things they bring. Good, but confusing. Dessert was fresh strawberries (which I want at our reception...strawberries everywhere!). So a delicious wonderful meal. I thought the night was over.

But, no. Jason told me he wanted more "us time" and since his parents were home why don't we go for a drive. I said that sounds great, why not ASF? I am surprised he didn't start laughing at me. ASF is exactly where he wanted to go. He was already trying to come up with an excuse for why we should go there. So we drive to ASF. Drive around the park. Pretty lights. Jason parks and says that he wants to see the art museum lit up and we can only do this from out of the car. I agree.

(Yes, I am still not suspicious about anything. Go on, you can think it - yes am stupid at times)

So we walk around to the front of ASF. (At the beginning of the night Jason has insisted I bring a coat. Nice.) We are standing on the stone patio in front of the big door beside the lake. I mention the stars are pretty. Jason gets down on one knee and says something to the effect of...

I love you. You will be in my heart forever but I want to make it official and permanent. I want us to be together forever. Will you marry me?

Then he pulls out the most gorgeous ring. Really. Beautiful. A-Mazing.

Oh, and I say yes!

Once we get back to his house, Jason's parents have champagne waiting for us. With, oh yes, hearts on the glasses. And the champagne was the same used by the 2004 Red Sox to celebrate their World Series victory. Life is sweet.

So friends mark your calendars...July 2006 I become Mrs. Jason R. Frye! Yippee!!

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Jason and Sara Beth's Honeymoon Adventure

And things

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