It’s a Love Story: Part VII (Honeymoon)

The next late-morning, family who was still around, a few friends, and Dr. Wile E. Coyote and I met at the Olson Farm for brunch. Delish. I like breakfast foods anytime of the day. Especially if there’s egg bake. Or bacon. Bacon is good. Anyway, Dr. Coyote and I opened our wedding gifts. We sent a bunch of bigger stuff with Jim and Karen as they headed back home, and we took a few things with us. The plan was that in two weeks, Jim, Karen, and Beth would come down to Pikeville with a U-Haul and the rest of our stuff. (And they did, in fact. It was great seeing them and hanging out with them, even though we were still in an un-scheduled, sleep-in type of rhythm at the time!)

Anyway, we hung out the whole day with family who was still there. I think most of them left that day, but maybe a few stayed? Anyway, Doug and I left the next morning to begin our honeymoon. We still had the Cottonwood bank account open, so we deposited all our wedding money (so we wouldn’t have to carry it around) and signed Dr. Coyote on for a joint account. We closed it later, but Dr. Coyote did all that stuff, because it was a joint account now. He was a math minor in undergrad. Yeah, he’s smart.

Rochester, MN

At a diner in Indianapolis.

Drove past the speedway both to & from the diner. Maybe I’ll go back and watch a NASCAR race there someday?

Anyhoo, our first night brought us to La Crosse. Dr. Coyote planned the trip so that there were things we could do on the way if we wanted to or just not. So we stopped in Rochester, MN on our way. La Crosse is his college town. Of course he knew the receptionist at the hotel, a college student a class or two under him. The next morning, we went to Fayze’s, AKA La Crosse’s best, especially for breakfast! The next night brought us to McFarland, WI. It wasn’t very far, but it left wiggle room for what we wanted to do that day. We stayed at “The Parsonage,” an adorable little bed & breakfast owned by an older gentleman and his wife. We visited with the owner at breakfast the next morning. His wife has ALS, and he looked at the B&B as his ministry. He was telling us about how he came to own the B&B, and just his story. It was awesome. We told him our story, as well! The room we stayed in had a hot tub in it! It was awesome, and I would definitely recommend The Parsonage B&B to anyone! The next night, I believe we made it all the way to Indianapolis. The B&B we stayed in that night was downtown and difficult to find with all the one ways and such. I think we were both a little crabby by time we found it. The next morning in conversation, the owner was like, “So, here is your halfway point? So perhaps I’ll see you again?” Yeah, maybe not. Downtown Indianapolis is a headache when you’re from a town of 1200. Anyhoo, we drove by the Indianapolis Speedway that day. Dr. Coyote asked if I wanted to stop there, and we could go on the tour, but I decided against it. It was at this time in the trip when exhaustion caught up with us. But we still had a ways to go! And our trip was not over yet!

Our new home state! (We were texting parentals each new state we got to!)

Happy 4th from the Meyer’s!

That night, we got to Lexington, KY. It was the weekend of July 4^th! So we were going to spend two nights there. We asked a bunch of people where the fireworks were, and finally someone told us. But by time it was to leave to get a spot, I was just tired. So we ordered pizza and watched “The Wolverine.” (What? What did you do on the 4^th?) Although we did drive around Lexington a bunch, I would almost guaranteed-ly get lost if I tried it without directions again. The next day, we made it to our new home in Pikeville, KY.

We tried a few southern diners, and made it most of the way on gift cards. We even had to do a midnight Wal-Mart run (they don’t have Target here, sadly) that night, and we had a gift card for there, too! When we got to our house and started unpacking what we had, we realized that the little we had brought….wasn’t gonna last us. Because although we had a bunch of necessities, we’d sent everything else with Jim & Karen. Like our sheets and blanket. Our awesome landlords tried to help, though! They left us some toilet paper and hand soap (much appreciated, Workmans!). Our midnight Wal-Mart run included sheets, blankets, pillows (because who remembers their pillow?), some command strips (because one thing we did have was most of our signs!), and food for the weekend, among other things I don’t remember but we needed.

The honeymoon was great, although I wouldn’t necessarily repeat it. All that driving and bed-hopping? Tiring. We did have a few weeks after we got to Pikeville before anything started, though, so we kind of used that time for relaxation and rejuvenation before life started in Pikeville. As I said, Jim, Karen, and Beth came down with a U-Haul about a week later, and Dr. Wile E. Coyote and I had all our stuff set up and tucked away before orientation started, one month after our wedding. We did forget a couple of things that were kind of needed, but looking back, I am surprised we didn’t forget more. Planning a wedding, a huge move across the states, and our new lives together? While I was living at home in Cottonwood and at my apartment in Sioux Falls and both Dr. Coyote and I were working? We are both so thankful for all the family support we have gotten, just figuring this all out.

And although this is the last post of this series, it is by no means the end of our love story. As is the case with weddings and such: this is just the beginning.

 

Anna E. Meyer